Indoor Conference
Increasing Preparedness and Self-reliance
Building a Parallel Society
15 min break
Living Outside the System and Living Naturally ā a Mennonite perspective
Self-sufficiency, Homesteading and Sustainability
Lunch, Networking, Visit Booths
Real Food and Natural Health
Holistic Health and Wellness
15 min break
Panel discussion and Q & A
Speakers
Strong leaders with years of experience
Bradley Bleasdale
Bradley grew up on a small farm in Massachusetts, one of 13 children. After graduating from college and swearing he would never set foot on a farm again, he left a successful career in financial services for ā50 acres of dirt and treesā in Tennessee. He and his family built their own home, went ābroke but not bankruptā, and now, with his wife and children,have the largest raw milk dairy in Tennessee.
When he and his wife arenāt busy with the goats or their market garden, Bradley travels around Tennessee and Georgia speaking on preparedness, Liberty, and teaching rifle and pistol classes for the Sequatchie School for Self-reliance.
Bradley will be speaking about preparedness. With so many issues in todayās society, there may be hard times ahead. We also live in an area where a natural disaster could hit anytime whether that be a tornado or ice storm or something else. What would you do if the grid went down for multiple days? Weeks? What if we enter a period of an economic depression or food shortages? What if participation in the mainstream economy requires things you arenāt willing to do? While there are many unknowns about the future, we do know that disruptions and hard times are very possible, if not probable. We want to be prepared in case times get hard. This includes thinking about the basics – food, water, energy, shelter – but also the role of community, health, and resources.
https://sequatchieschool.com
https://www.orchardhousecreamery.com
Joshua Longbrook
Joshua is steeped in the world of alternative living and applying the principles of liberty, natural living, and Christianity. He, his wife, and their four young boys had been living the small scale homestead life on 2 acres for about 5 years and have recently set out on a new adventure. They have expanded and moved to 31 acres locally where they are establishing a naturally focused regenerative and sustainable homestead with chickens, pigs, ducks, dogs, gardens, an orchard, food forests, and more. Joshua and his wife homeschool their boys and pursue their interests in self-sufficiency, agorism, natural health, and permaculture to name a few. He has a podcast, Our Foundations, that has been covering these topics for about 5 years. Joshua also heads up the Chattanooga Voluntary Society and The Agora, where these principles are all combined and put into action.
Joshua will be speaking about the concept of a parallel society. We all see issues in modern society – the culture, political corruption, corporate greed, incompetence, the education system, the monetary system, economic fragility, the food system, and on and on. The main approaches for addressing these things are to fight it, reform it, or stay outside of it. Taking the model of the original Church as well as other historical examples, Joshua will be laying out the strategy of the last option – building a parallel society that allows us to operate largely outside of these corrupted systems without fighting them or joining them. He will address various ways of applying these principles – from business structures to mutual assistance groups and more – and give examples of people using these methods today with a focus on local endeavors.
https://chattanoogavoluntarysociety.com
https://theagorahub.com
https://ourfoundations.podbean.com
Kenton Martin
My name is Kenton Martin. I am 56 years old and live with my wife, Mary, and family in Spencer, TN. We have 8 sons and 1 daughter and 20 grandchildren. We have 1 son and 1 daughter in heaven. Most of our 11 children were born in Carson City, MI. as we farmed there for 17 years. I, along with many others that share my vision, arrived at my current convictions through a negative health journey. I wish to share more of this at the festival. For now it must suffice to say- I am always prepared to shout from the rooftops, āIt does make a difference what we eat and how we live!ā
I am really looking forward to meeting all of you at the festival. I wish to share more of our business where we sell (provide) our organically grown meats and milk at our store through a Private Membership Association. We also periodically hold classes on how to process your own food. I am on fire to support others in any way I can to be more self-sufficient and be more healthy. We are Christians, belonging to a conservative Mennonite church. We live in a community where we have the privilege to live our values every day of our life. I make no apologies for incorporating my faith in God into every activity I pursue and ever encounter I make.
Kenton will be sharing with us his views on living outside the system and what it means to him to live naturally. He has more experience than anyone else here in this arena and will be sharing various benefits as well as challenges in doing so. He raises many animals naturally, has a Private Membership Association, is off-grid, and has many other experiences that we will all learn from.
Louise Milleman
Louise Milleman is an earth-loving, tree-hugging, un-schooling, freedom-fighting, world-traveling citizen of the entire world who has went from being a full-time digital nomad, traveling this big beautiful globe with her family for the last 5 years to building a regenerative off grid homestead with her husband and her 2 little girls. She is the founder of Forgotten Ways PMA as she believes that the best way for us to protect our future is to take a step back into the forgotten ways of the past. They spend their time connecting with the land while they connect with each other. She believes that life IS learning and that learning IS life. There is no distinction. By living a slower-paced life and stopping to provide guidance along the way, they are āteachingā their kids real life skills by living out their real life dreams!
Louise will be speaking on all things self-sufficiency. Her and her family have first hand experience living off-grid, homesteading, and using a creative and entrepreneurial mindset to make it through. If you have considered going from hobby homesteading to buying land and getting away completely, Louise is the perfect resource to learn from. She will discuss various options and challenges living off-grid, ways in which they raise their own food for their family, what it really means to be āsustainableā, their project building their own castle, homeschooling their kids in this setting, and much more.
Michele Reneau
Michele Reneau has been a resident of the Chattanooga area for 13 years. She has been married for 18 years and is a mother of 5. Michele has owned and operated multiple small businesses and is a hobby farmer of sheep and chickens with the help of her children. She has been the Weston A Price chapter leader for the Chattanooga area for 12 years connecting people to farmers and educating locals about the nutrient dense foods of our ancestors. In 2016, Michele turned a potential enforcement action by TN Department of Agriculture Into a legislative breakthrough and a new law benefiting food buyer clubs throughout the state. Michele continues to be active at the TN legislature advocating for food and medical freedom, parental rights, and opposing government overreach. In her free time, Michele enjoys general aviation, exercising, and cooking from scratch.
Michele will be sharing her experience and knowledge in the area of real food and natural health among other related alternative approaches. She is a long time Weston A. Price chapter leader and will give us an overview on its philosophy and research. She also has experience with various alternative health options such as homeopathy in addition to the impacts of food and diet on oneās health. She has experience, both good and bad, dealing with state overreach and influencing local regulation. It will be enlightening to hear how all of this comes together and how we can practically make use of her insight.
Brandon Knight
Brandon is a true health and wellness intellectual who has been transforming the lives of countless individuals for over two decades. Brandon has established himself as an experienced expert with his protocols that garner a high success rate among his clients. His unique approach to wellness is rooted in his belief that health is more than just the absence of disease – it’s a holistic state of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Brandon has a rare gift for making his clients feel truly seen and heard, and his personalized coaching, education, and unwavering support have been the driving force behind countless successful transformations. Brandon is highly experienced in overall wellness, having learned from many experts in both psychology and holistic health for the last 25 years of his career. This allows Brandon to support clients through their healing process who have rare and severe diseases. Brandonās passion and commitment for his clients, the field of wellness and psychology are fully evident to those who have the privilege to experience what he has to offer.
Brandon will be sharing his views and experience in the realm of holistic health. Health is not something that can be narrowed down to a single issue or diet or pill. It is all-encompassing and must be addressed on multiple levels. There are many natural alternative options that he will be discussing with a broad range of applications. Do you want to increase your self-sufficiency and lower your reliance on the system? Taking your health into your own hands is a large part of this goal. Learn how you can work towards true health independence.
Details
Agora Fest is located this year at Chester Frost Park in Hixson, TN, at the Pavilion building. More details and a map of the park can be found here:
https://parks.hamiltontn.gov/315/Pavilion-Overview
Parking is very limited so on-site parking will be for conference ticket holders only. This includes both general and premium ticket holders. Those coming for just the free Outdoor Activities in the afternoon will need to take advantage of our shuttle service. Details are listed on the Outdoor Activities page.
There will be coffee, refreshments, and lunch provided for ticket holders.
In the middle of the event, we will have a 2 hour break for lunch, networking, and exploring the booths and Childrenās Market next to the conference building.
Tickets
- $0 per ticket for outdoor activities
- $60 per ticket for speaker tickets and shuttle service from Lakesite Food City lot
- $80 per premium ticket with event site parking, a t-shirt, and input for panel discussion topics
- $50 per booth ā must attain pre-approval, optional discounted general ticket with rental