The Farms
Farfields Farm & Hegyion Orchard are farmstead projects located on the rolling meadows, waterways, and woodlands in the Blue Ridge Mountains. These Mahaz program farms are home to vegetable and medicinal gardens, fruit and nut orchards, mixed pastures of steer, sheep and poultry, mushroom logs and wildlife. We are in service to a regenerative agriculture that celebrates the ecology of life, the culture of place, and the diverse expressions of natural beauty. We produce a variety of organically grown farm products for local distribution, and are a host to community events and educational gatherings.
The Name
Mahaz is a modern Hebrew word for “outpost”—but it is also connected to the root achaz / אחז that means “hold” and “be held” and is used specifically in relation to land. When we “hold” the land, the land holds us, sustainably, intergenerationally, as a heritage. In this precarious time, we must establish outposts where we can re-learn to root ourselves in sacred relationships with our living home and stronghold (ma'oz) — its contours and micro-climates, its ecological expressions and seasonal successions, and its wider community inter-connections. The two-letter root חז also suggests vision, as in hozeh (a seer). When we return to the land the land returns to us and fills us not only with skills of the hand and ways of the heart but images and metaphors of (super)natural splendor that may guide us towards balanced living and co-nourishment with the richness of life in our midst.
The Team
The Mahaz program is blessed with a diverse group of vibrant and skilled farmers/educators, and they are all looking forward to meeting this year's Mahaz cohort! Fellows will be introduced to our wider team at the start of the program and have a chance to work with many of our staff through the duration of the season.
We are glad to share introductions of our primary Mahaz staff members below:
Miri Kaiser
Mahaz Program Director
As an avid lover of all things wild, Miri has been working in outdoor experiential education for over ten years. She has spent a winter in Vermont as a lead field guide in a wilderness therapy program, directed the outdoor programming for Jewish summer camps, and has led groups of young adults on multi-day backpacking trips through the mountains of New England and Colorado. Miri has been serving as the Program Director for Mahaz, where she integrates her passion for the outdoors with her experience in program development. It is through these encounters with the natural world that Miri is inspired to create deep connections within ourselves, our communities, and the land around us. She is excited to continue weaving her experiences and skills to further develop the program and cultivate meaningful connections with our environments.
Chris Marvel
Director of Farfields Farm
Chris is the Director at Farfields Farm, where he oversees all aspects of daily operations and site projects. With over a decade of gardening and farming experience, Chris brings expertise in small-scale bio-intensive vegetable production, orchard management, plant propagation, and mushroom cultivation. Additionally, he has years of experience in ornamental horticulture through managing public and estate gardens. Throughout his career, he has honed his skills in sustainable agriculture and is passionate about sharing his knowledge with others.
Chris is a husband with his wife Whitney and a father to their three daughters: Magnolia June, Josephine, and Ellie Mae. He has a passion for cooking, gardening, and engaging in conversations about food and plants of all varieties.
Psachyah Lichtenstein
Director of Education
Psachyah is a teacher, naturalist, and artist. He graduated from Pratt Institute of Design and the Rabbinical College of America. Psachyah has taught wilderness awareness, earthy Torah, and the creative arts in the US and Israel for over 25 years. He has designed and directed nature-connected spiritual retreats, forest schools, and experiential curricula. As an artist and author, Psachyah is drawn to explore the intersection between the wilderness and the dream state. He has raised sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, and has been raised by his children.
Jorian Polis Schutz
Principal, Farfields Farm & Hegyion Orchard
Jorian is a writer, artist, publisher, curator, educator, land-steward, community builder, culture instigator, entrepreneur, yogi, and gentleman ecologist, based in Central Virginia, Jorian was raised in Boulder, Colorado and La Jolla, California, graduated from Harvard in 2006, and has lived for stints in Argentina, the Netherlands, Italy, France, and Israel. In 2013 he bought Farfields Farm in Afton, Virginia; in 2015 he founded the Iyyun Kollel in Brooklyn; in 2020 he took root in Covesville, Virginia; in 2021 he founded the Mahaz homestead program, and published his first volumes under Deuteronomy Press: An Introduction to Sabbath Agriculture (co-written with Yigal Deutscher) and Eit Yosef.