We have been asked by many people, "Why are you making Goshen?" Although we have many similar answers - our desire to live healthy lives, our love of food and gardening, our passion to preserve ancient culture, our ever-expanding environmental awareness, our dream to live in community, our faith in God, our effort to learn from our ancestors - our personal responses are very different.  

SARAH: A large percentage of my friends and family members have battled at least one of the most common modern diseases: cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. My Grandfather has had open heart surgery; a triple bypass operation. My Grandmother has battled cancer. My generation is facing a growing epidemic of disease.

According to the National Cancer Institute, "serious diseases that are linked to what we eat, kill an estimated 3 out of 4 Americans each year!"  

Goshen is a quest for a solution to prevent disease and famine so that my family, my generation, and myself can not only survive, but thrive, in the days ahead. From my personal experience and countless hours of research, I know many diseases are directly linked to our diet and lifestyle. 

After creating Back to Eden and eating from Paul Gautschi’s organic gardens and orchards, I believe in the medicinal and spiritual value of food. I drove away from Washington maintaining a fully local, fresh, and organic diet and encourage everyone I meet to do the same. For me, there is no other way to garden than the Back to Eden way - the gardening methods truly are revolutionary. However, throughout life there is always more to learn. 

Growing your own organic food is only step #1. Sustaining a physically and spiritually healthy lifestyle requires more knowledge and more action. We receive countless emails each month from Back to Eden followers asking how to save seeds, where to buy heirloom seeds, and even which variety of vegetables and fruits to buy! Goshen will answers these questions, reveal new steps, and teach you how prevent and treat modern diseases and famine by sharing diets and lifestyles from communities around the world! Our goal is for you and your family to experience health and food security. 

DANA: Since I was a child, I have been curiously attracted to the idea of those who understand how to harmoniously live off of the provisions of the wilderness. Although I admit this idea can be easily romanticized, it wasn't until I experienced it for myself that I realized how disconnected I was from practicing basic survival skills in my daily life. In 2005, I embarked on a three month wilderness survival course on the glaciers and islands of Patagonia, Chile. Surviving in the wilderness was the most impacting experience of my life. I was surprised to find that it was not my connection to the land alone that allowed me to survive but my preparedness and most importantly my connection to the people around me. 

In many nations, advancements in modern technology, abundant access to clean water, food and shelter allow people to become comfortable and complacent -- it is not a necessity to think about how to acquire daily provisions. I believe that an integration of more sustainable living practices and survival skills may be critical for people to adapt in the near future.

According to author Julian Cribb, "the global demand for food will more than double over the coming half-century, and the world faces looming scarcities of just about everything necessary to produce high yields of food – water, land, nutrients, oil, technology, skills, fish and stable climates, each one playing into and compounding the others. The coming famines of the mid-21st century cannot be solved by governments, by scientists or by farmers alone. We need a change in behavior by every person on the planet, especially in rich and urban societies.”

With this information I ask myself, what should my change in behavior look like? 

It is my desire to learn more about the following: 

1. SEED: How to save them for ultimately food security. 
2. SUSTENANCE: How to maintain a healthy and nutritious diet. 
3. SURVIVAL: How living in community can impact my spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being.

My personal experience living "off the land” and my knowledge of current environmental issues makes me passionate and equipped to share a message of seeking life, prosperity and hope in future generations, through producing Goshen. 

If you would like to be a part of the movement behind Goshen there are many ways to get involved:

You can support the production by making a tax-deductible donation by clicking here.
You can follow us on facebook. 
You can tweet with us on twitter. 
You can subscribe to receive the lastest news about Goshen! 

According to the World Health Organization, the top 3 diseases that affected Americans in 2010 were: 

1. Heart Disease
   
2. Obesity (including Diabetes) 
3. Cancer

Daphne Miller, author of The Jungle Effect, has found that epidemiological research shows there are 4 “cold spots” for these top 3 modern diseases. “What is a cold spot?” you may ask. A cold spot is a place or community where there is an unusually low number of people suffering from a particular disease. Research shows the following: 

1. Crete, Greece is a cold spot for Heart Disease.
2. Copper Canyon, Mexico is a cold spot for Diabetes. 
3. Okinawa, Japan is a cold spot for breast and prostate Cancer. 
4. Cameroon, West Africa is a cold spot for colon Cancer.

Why are these places lacking and/or devoid of these diseases? The answer is diet and lifestyle. 

Long-living Cretans vigorously walk everywhere, slowly eat local, fresh foods rich in Omega-3 and antioxidants,  and perhaps most importantly, enjoy partaking of meals together. The indigenous Tarahumara run from place to place and fill up on slow-release native grains and fermented drinks. The Okinawans prepare colorful dishes with hardly any cooking and eat only until they are 80% full. Lastly, the Cameroonians maintain a fiber filled diet with the consumption of unprocessed foods. 

We hope to explore these “cold spots” in Goshen; documenting their diverse diets and lifestyles in hope of discovering and sharing what all of their practices have in common. This knowledge has the power to transform not just the way we eat and exercise, but revolutionize the way we live without experiencing disease and famine. 

Take a moment to watch this video to see Goshen film team pilot, Mark Egolf, in action throughout the Copper Canyons, Mexico. Mark Egolf, Co-Founded Mexico Missions Aviation, a non-profit organization, and will transport the filmmakers of Goshen to and from Tarahumara communities in the remote depths of the Copper Canyons. Our goal of sharing this video with you is so that you can have a visual in mind of where Goshen will be filmed. Enjoy!

You are more than just our supporters; you are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, adventurers, gardeners, survivors, athletes, doctors, service members, and friends. You are the backbone of what brings dreams like Goshen into a reality.

In order to be on the same page, we would like to share some of the resources that have inspired the making of Goshen thus far! Our recommended books discuss topics of health related to indigenous diet, barefoot running, and living in community. We read them from cover to cover and they transformed the way we eat and exercise. We hope you walk away from reading wearing Vibram five-finger "barefoot" shoes like we did! 

The Jungle Effect, By Daphne Miller, M.D.

“In this bracingly hopeful and eminently practical book, Daphne Miller shows us how we can bring the wisdom of traditional diets to our own plates, in the interest of both our health and our pleasure. The Jungle Effect is a fascinating, useful and important book.” - Michael Pollan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food

Born to Run, By Christopher McDougall 

“Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world's greatest distance runners (the Tarahumara) and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong...For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it.” - Christopher McDougall

Vibram five-fingers shoes: minimalist running shoes that flex with the natural movement of your feet and actually help strengthen muscles in your feet and legs!

“The Tarahumara essentially run barefoot or in sandals (called huaraches) and experience very little in the way of injury. Over the years, running shoes have become more and more cushioned with more and more high-tech gadgetry attached. Rather than improving our runs, these developments seem to have worsened them.”- Chris McDougall

We are excited to be moving into the pre-production stage of our next feature documentary, Goshen. This stage involves crucial foundation building steps including, creating social media tools, website development, writing video treatments and forming alliances. Most importantly, we are seeking your participation in Goshen film's dynamic community network. Please subscribe to stay tuned with exclusive updates, including behind the scenes video footage, news updates, opportunities and more! We love to hear your input and engage in discussions with you from the beginning through the final stages of production! We will continuing to share more resources in the following months. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!