When it comes to the work / life balance, many Americans are out of whack. They clock long hours, don’t take all their vacation time or are in jobs that don’t give them any joy. Next, we have a story about a couple in Floyd who ditched their old life and found a better way make a living. They opened a ‘Kombuchery’ where they brew the ancient fermented drink. Kombucha is said to have health benefits. And as Robbie Harris reports, for Cassie and Scott Pierce it’s breathed new life into the work they do.
Cassie Pierce says, “We were living lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, working for other people, not seeing much of each other. Scott was away from the home for 8-10 hours a day…”
Scott adds, “I was personally feeling a big disconnect from community and from what really drove me and just not really wanting to have ‘the job’ persona. I wanted to find more and I didn’t want that to start affecting the family. I didn't’ want us to go into some form of disconnect. So we decided to sell our 401K and sell our home and throw everything to the wind here and move to Floyd.”
They didn’t have a plan for what to do after that money ran out, but an idea was brewing. One of the reasons they moved to Floyd, Virginia was for its clean water and organic farm movement. And they’d read a book called, “Sacred Commerce, Business as a Path of Awakening.”
Cassie explains what it’s about, “Basically it’s using your business to raise consciousness, engaging in your community.” Scott picks up the theme, “ Also to bring community within the work place, which is very important. So many people go to work and it’s like there’s a hierarchy. There’s no connection between boss and employee. So that’s very important for us and we feel like that’s the way we’re going to succeed and that’s how we’re going to change the world is by doing these small, little steps.”
It’s been 4 years of little steps getting Buffalo Mountain Kombuchery up and running.
“These are our glass fermenters..”
Cassie points to large bottles with a brown bubbling liquid inside. At the top is a frothy clump of ingredients that transform it into Kombucha. It’s called a ‘SCOBY.’
Scott Pierce: “SCOBY stands for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast.”
When fermentation is complete, Scott will add organic fruit juice or some other natural flavorings such as ginger or Chinese medicinal herbs grown near here. The result is a fizzy drink that resembles soda but is less sweet. When it’s bottled, it will contain live probiotics, digestive enzymes and about half a percent alcohol. In this small batch Kombuchery they treat their live drink with tender loving care.
Cassie: “Kombucha likes to be warm and dark so we’ve covered them.”
With T-shirts, and each has a saying, an intention at its base.
Cassie: “The Bob Marley T-shirt the intention says, “Happiness is here and now.” And here’s a Jerry Garcia T-shirt and the intention reads, “Can you see you’re always being provided for?” And here we have Batman, this is our 13 year old’s T– shirt. It’s a Lao Tzu quote that says, “By letting go all gets done.”
For a long time, it was all getting done by Cassie and Scott, but the business is growing and they’ve been able to hire a couple of workers. And though looking back it all seemed effortless, there were challenges along the way.
Cassie: “We had a hard time working with the banks because of credit history with student loans. So we had to get creative. We did a ‘Kick Starter’ a year and a half ago where we raised over $15,000 K on our own --that was huge for us. And the ‘Kick Starter’ and all this community support gave us the clear vision that we need to keep moving forward.”
The path they took became clear to them as they walked it. Bumps in the road, sure, but that how they got from there to here.
Cassie: “It’s not giving up. It’s not taking no for an answer. It’s knocking on doors and knocking again. It’s basically one foot in front of the other. It’s getting up the next day and being happy to be side by side with your partner doing something that you love in a place that’s amazing.”
Buffalo Mountain Kombuchery doesn’t sell directly to the public. You can find it in grocery stores and markets in Virginia, both Carolinas and Tennessee. Here you can find a store locator to find it on tap or on store shelves.