A few weeks back this big red school bus cruised past my house just after dinnertime, so the baby and I went pounding out the side door to chase it down. Turns out this is the Sol Food Mobile Farm: a standard International Blue Bird school bus that’s been completely refurbed as mobile living quarters and greenhouse (!!!) by some very pleasant folks from North Carolina. Dylan Hammond–a soft-spoken young carpenter and sustainable agriculture enthusiast–was kind enough to give me the grand tour, despite the fact that I came sprinting up out of the dusk demanding answers, barefoot, smelling of beer and stir fry, and bearing a groggy infant.
My dim snapshot gives you no sense how wonderful this bus is–and I’m somewhat of a connoisseur of half-cocked hipped school-bus schemes. The interior has been entirely gutted (saved for a few of the bench seats, reoriented to form part of the dinning and social area at the front of the bus), and outfitted not just with the necessities (four bunks, a kitchenette, the aforementioned greenhouse, which occupies the back third of the bus, where the roof has been replaced with curved acrylic), but also with *panache*: maple cabinets and hardwood floors (scrounged from some of Dylan’s construction gigs), a really roomy kitchen/dining/lounge with a small library, and a living roof of succulents (I even got to climb on top of the bus with my baby girl and check it out!) All of this, conveniently, rendered the former commercial vehicle a “camper” in the eyes of the law, meaning that none of the Sol Food folk needed to have CDLs to drive the thing.
The mods didn’t stop at the aesthetic and horticultural: the bus is also outfitted with a rain-water collection and recycling system (in theory–and in less drought-stricken seasons–all of their irrigation and potable water needs can be met by their onboard cisterns), and a full engine conversion so that they can–and do–run entirely on used fryer grease.
We’ve had a terribly dry summer here in Ann Arbor (like much of the country, we’re suffering historic drought conditions), so our garden’s showing has been pitiful. Meanwhile, the bus’s greenhouse had some of the largest, most productive tomato and cuke plants I’ve ever seen in my life. “People crassly imply we’re growing marijuana,” Dylan replied evenly when I asked what question he was most sick of fielding–and I hear where he’s coming from: What kind of idiots would build a grow operation that crosses state lines in plain sight? *sheesh*
The Sol Food folks are currently touring the US in a great 10,000(!!!) mile loop, spreading the gospel of hyper-local, totally sustainable, totally delicious agriculture. They’ve been on the road since June (they just hit Yellowstone!), and plan to continue rolling through most of December. If you’re so inclined, you can support their project here.
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