Palouse Living
Hey friend,
Welcome back! This thing is moving right along. Turns out, I’m not the only one who wanted to know what was happening in the Palouse.
This week I’m away on business in Georgia. Every time I travel it reminds me how much I love the Northwest and especially the Palouse. We truly live in a beautiful place. And as a bonus, I saw a map that showed the risk of natural disasters all over the country, and our region was among the safest (except for 🔥). Soo… good news! 😂
Alright, this week we got a special one. Check out the featured story before you move on to the list of what’s happening this week.
Table of Contents
Featured Story
Courage to Grow Farms
The Courage to Grow Crew.
About once a month, I’d like to feature a local business or organization in this section of the newsletter.
We all love a good story and I can’t think of better use of this newsletter than to tell stories of local people doing amazing things.
This week, we’re featuring Courage to Grow Farms.
I discovered them through a mutual friend, and then my family visited their booth at the Pullman Market a couple of weeks ago (check it out Saturdays from 9-1 in the U.S. Bank Parking lot on Paradise).
I asked a bit about their story at the market, and knew I needed to interview them and hear more.
Shaneese Dunigan and Phillip Moore started farming together, along with their two kids, in 2018 after reading a book called The Urban Farmer by Curtis Stone. The book lays out a plan for how you can practice what’s called “micro farming” with as little as a quarter acre or even just in your small yard.
The family in the early days of the farm.
Shaneese said they followed the strategy in the book to a tee, and surprise, surprise, it actually worked.
There was just one problem. At the time, they didn’t own any land.
Despite a struggle to find land they could lease for their farm, they started growing produce. “At one point,” Shaneese said, “we had 10,000 plant starts in our house.”
When I heard this, I couldn’t help but think about that scene in Jumanji.
Jumanji (1995)
The first year they were able to grow and sell so much produce, Phillip was able to quit his job and make this his full-time gig. In fact, they were doing so well that people wanted to pay them to consult and teach micro farming.
In 2019, they bought a bus and were planning to travel the country teaching people microfarming strategies, but the COVID pandemic had other plans.
They leased the plot they were living on in their Greyhound bus and farmed that one acre.
Between March and May, they put together a farm in the middle of what might have been the most chaotic and uncertain moments of the COVID pandemic.
From one temporary farm to another, Shaneese and Phillip’s search for stability was a whirlwind of setbacks and small victories. But even as the world locked down, they found ways to keep planting—and they weren’t about to let anything stop them.
After a total of 8 moves, they finally established the farm on 30 acres they bought in Lamont, WA where they now farm two acres.
For Shaneese and Phillip, Courage to Grow isn’t just about fresh produce—it’s about building community, sustainability, and showing that even the smallest farms can make a big impact.
Their business runs on a Community Sustained Agriculture (CSA) model where people pre-pay for their produce and then the farm delivers produce to their door weekly between April and December.
Most of the Palouse is used for large commercial farming operations. Those families and companies provide wheat and other crops all over the world, but that doesn't mean there isn’t land available for local farming to sustain large portions of our community.
Courage to Grow is one of the only vegetable farms in the area. Imagine what could happen if we encouraged and supported other local farms to provide fresh, local goods to our communities.
If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and learn the art of micro farming, Shaneese and Phillip are here to help. Follow their journey on Instagram @couragetogrowfarms, or reach out via email at [email protected] to get started on your own farming adventure.
The Palouse is already a leader in global agriculture. What if Courage to Grow Farms is just one of many micro farms leading the way in sustainable, local agriculture?
If you enjoyed this story, let me know! And if you have a local story you think is worth telling. Let me know, and I’d love to hear it. You can reply here or reach out on Instagram. My DMs are always open. Just follow @palouseliving.
Happening This Week
Pullman |
Music on Main – Free live concert series
Thu, Aug 7 | 6:00–8:00 pm
Pine Street Plaza, Downtown Pullman
Event Info: Visit Pullman Chamber
Pullman Farmers Market – Vendor market & community gathering
Sat, Aug 11 | 8:00 am–1:00 pm
Main Street, Pullman
Event Info: Visit Pullman Chamber
Pullman Chamber Networking Luncheon – Monthly networking event
Tue, Aug 13 | 12:00–1:00 pm
Pullman Chamber Office
Event Info: Visit Pullman Chamber
Pullman Public Schools Board Work Session – Monthly public meeting
Wed, Aug 7 | Time TBD
Pullman Public Schools
Event Info: Visit Pullman Chamber
Pullman Civic Theatre: "The Importance of Being Earnest" – Classic comedy performance.
Fri, Aug 9 | 7:30 pm
Pullman Civic Theatre
Event Info: Visit Pullman Civic Theatre
Moscow |
Cat Video Fest 2025 – Viral cat video screening
Sat, Aug 9 | 7:00–9:00 pm
Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre
Event Info: Visit Moscow Chamber
Moscow Farmers Market + Great Moscow Food Drive – Food, crafts & donation drive
Sat, Aug 11 | 8:00 am–1:00 pm
Main Street & East City Park
Event Info: Visit Moscow Chamber
Slow Light Photo Workshop – Cyanotype printing demo & hands-on activity
Fri, Aug 9 | 12:00 pm
Moscow Contemporary
Event Info: Visit Moscow Chamber
Open Mic Night After Hours – Music, poetry & storytelling
Thu, Aug 8 | 6:00–8:00 pm
Moscow Public Library
Event Info: Visit Moscow Chamber
Moscow Film Society: Invasion of the Body Snatchers – Classic sci-fi film screening
Fri, Aug 9 | 7:00–9:00 pm
Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre
Event Info: Visit Moscow Chamber
Campus Corner |
Washington State University (WSU)
Music on Main – Free live concert series
Thu, Aug 7 | 6:00–8:00 pm
Pine Street Plaza, Downtown Pullman
Event Info: Visit Pullman Chamber
Cougar Kickoff – Welcome event for new students and faculty
Thu, Aug 8 | 4:00–6:00 pm
WSU Campus
Event Info: Visit WSU
WSU Football Scrimmage – Pre-season football practice & fan event
Sat, Aug 10 | 1:00 pm
Martin Stadium, WSU Campus
Event Info: Visit WSU Athletics
Thank you for reading. It means the world to me. But I can’t grow this community alone. If you like what you see here, pass it on to a friend or send them this link: Palouse Living Newsletter
And please don’t hesitate to tell me what you’d like to see more of here.
Until next time,
Keep the Faith