Douglas Stevenson

Douglas Stevenson is the principal spokesperson for The Farm, an intentional community located on 1750 acres in rural Tennessee, founded in 1971 on the principles of nonviolence and respect for the earth, known around the world as a living model for a sustainable lifestyle.

He is a photographer, videographer, and producer, as well as an author, with 3 books and over 1000 published articles on subjects ranging from digital technology to spirituality.

Douglas has had the opportunity to travel and live in many parts of the world. Douglas, his wife, and their two young children, spent two years in Guatemala, serving as volunteers after a devastating earthquake. He installed satellite dishes in Africa, documented the inner workings of factories in Belarus, climbed volcanoes in Guatemala and Bali, and did photography for UNICEF in Belize.

Serving as a board member, president, and principal grassroots fundraiser for the nonprofit Swan Conservation Trust, he was instrumental in raising $1.5 million to establish a 1400-acre nature preserve that surrounds his home in Tennessee. As a founding member of PeaceRoots Alliance, he oversaw a billboard national campaign and helped establish the Farmer Veteran Coalition, a nonprofit which provides funding for veterans seeking education and employment in agriculture, and as a path for healing.

Douglas is also a singer/songwriter, performing professionally for over 45 years in many different genres, including folk, country, bluegrass, and rock, using music to open the heart, spreading a message of hope, celebration, and as an essential tool for building community bonds.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Published Works

Books

Voices from The Farm (1998) with Rupert Fike
Creating PC Video (2000)
Out to Change the World: The Evolution of The Farm Community (2016)
The Farm Then and Now: A Model for Sustainable Living (2016)

Over 1000 Magazine Articles

Satellite Dealer (mid-1980s)
Satellite Entertainment Guide (mid to late 1980s)
Home Satellite Television (late 1980s)
Camcorder and Computer Video (1990s to mid-2000s)
Digital Photographer (mid-90s to mid-2000s)
Communities Magazine
Sacred Fire

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Media

2018 TEDx Wilson Park, Florence, Alabama My Life as a Hippie activist
2018 StyleBlueprint A whole new meaning to "I grew up on The Farm"
2016 The Ledger, Nashville, TN The Farm Still Thrives After 45 Years
2016 The Ledger, Nashville, TN Outreach, from Midwifery to Foreign Aid
2016 News Ch 2, Nashville, TN Making Salsa with Douglas Stevenson
2016 CNN United Shades of America, Off the Grid CNN page
2015 Lawrence Co Advocate, TN An Original Member of The Farm Shares Its Story
2015 Democrat Union, Lawrenceburg, TN A book review and interview with Douglas Stevenson
2014 Mountain Xpress Author Douglas Stevenson at Malaprops Bookstore
2012 CNN American Journey
2011` Nashville PBS / Rudder Productions 40 Years on The Farm
1991 USA Today Communities- Still havens for Spirituality

In 1991, Douglas became the primary media and public relations contact for The Farm Community. His experience as a writer and video producer, as well as his thorough knowledge of the subject, allowed him to function as both a spokesperson and producer, interfacing with news teams, television networks, and reporters from newspapers and magazines across the country. For a full listing, visit Press Listings on thefarmcommunity.com.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Early Life

Douglas Stevenson was born on November 5, 1953, in Louisville, Kentucky. He displayed an early talent for singing, learning World War II Navy songs from his father, Bernard Almer Stevenson.

In the fourth grade, Douglas was exposed to Beatlemania and soon began taking guitar lessons. By junior high, he was playing and singing with bands and performing as a folk singer in high school.

Douglas also showed promise as a talented young artist, working in various mediums, including oil and acrylic paints, watercolors, and pastels. In the 11th grade, he founded and served as president of the school's Art Club, where he met Deborah Flowers, who became his wife two years later.

He challenged the school's dress code by having hair that reached his ears and angered a former Marine drill sergeant who had become the high school principal when he started wearing armbands to protest the Vietnam War. He dropped out at the age of 16, but later received his diploma through correspondence courses that year. Ordered by his parents to get a haircut or get a job, he found employment at the downtown public library, maintaining his hair.

Now fully immersed in the hippie movement, Douglas left home at 16, moving into an apartment complex in downtown Louisville occupied by the staff of an underground newspaper called "F*** the Army," along with women at the forefront of the Liberation movement, lesbians and gays, and interracial couples.

After a few months, he moved back in with his family to be closer to his high school sweetheart, Deborah Flowers. After receiving her father's permission and signature at the County Courthouse, they were married on April 8, 1972, when Douglas was 18 and Deborah was 17.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Spiritual Journey

Douglas and Deborah spent their honeymoon that summer of 1972 riding 10-speed bicycles and camping in the remote canyons of the Red River Gorge, in Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest. Over the summer, they biked over 700 miles. During this time, their love of nature grew stronger, solidifying their desire to live off the land as homesteaders.

With cooler weather approaching, they purchased a Volkswagen van and headed west, settling for the winter in Phoenix, Arizona, and landing in a yoga ashram affiliated with spiritual teacher Yogi Bhajan. About a month into their stay, the ashram was visited for a week by Richard Alpert, better known as Baba Ram Dass, author of Be Here Now. Ram Dass provided insights and guidance, but did not have an ashram of his own. Not long after, Yogi Bhajan arrived to reassert authority over the group, but Deborah and Douglas had left the ashram shortly before his arrival. Determined to save money for land purchase and begin their homesteading life, the two drove back to Kentucky in the spring of 1973.

They first learned of The Farm in Mother Earth News magazine. In June of that summer, Stephen Gaskin arrived in Louisville, the first stop of a speaking tour. The Farm's band played for about an hour, and then Gaskin gave a talk, accompanied by a slideshow of images depicting life in the community. Soon after, Douglas and Deborah drove to Tennessee to visit the community. They immediately decided to move there and arrived in August of that year.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Farm Community 1973-1983

Arrived at The Farm in Summertown, August 1976
Became co-manager of The Farm Salvage Crew, acquiring the steel trusses for the community's dome
Jody Stevenson, born June 16, 1974
The Green River Farm, December 1975 to December 1976
Leah Stevenson, born July 12, 1976
Received Advanced Radio Operator License
The Longest Walk - ambulance driver, 1978
Guatemala, volunteer radio operator for Plenty International, 1978-1980
Production Manager, SE International, 1981
Founded Nashville Satellite Electronics, 1981

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Farm Community 1983-Present

Became Nashville Video Publications, 1987
Became Village Media Services, 1994
Board member, The Farm Community, 6 years
Media representative, The Farm Community, 1991
Volunteer, Plenty International in Belize, 2000
Board member, Swan Conservation Trust, 2002-2016
Manager, The Farm Community, 8 years
Founding member, PeaceRoots Alliance, 2002; board member, 2002-2006
Founded GreenLife Retreats, 2001
Began hosting the annual Conference on Community and Sustainability, 2004-Present

References

This article "Douglas Stevenson" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Douglas Stevenson. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.