Alyson Poland started Barefoot North, located in Leeds, 2 years ago. She sells dish soaps, cleaning products, body soap, hand soap, moisturizer, wine, kombucha, canning and many food items and natural products that she grows, forages and shares with her community. She has found a great passion in creating organic and holistic herbal body products.
Alyson wanted to get in touch with living the way we "used to" and get "back to nature" as she put it.

Alyson Poland, Barefoot North via Email
Alyson Poland, Barefoot North via Email
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This venture and new way of living started as a blog. From there, she decided to make an actual business out of it, she just didn’t know how.
She told me,
As the world continued to turn the way it was I became increasingly concerned about all the shortages. I also became concerned about everything that I was using on my family or feeding them. Faced with both of these concerns I thought to myself, well what did we do before the commercial industry that keeps us at whim?
We did it ourselves! We made it ourselves, we grew it ourselves, we foraged it, etc. and it was better for us. I started trying to live a more ‘Back to nature’ way of life. I started making my own dish soaps, cleaning products, body soap, hand soap, moisturizer, wine, kombucha, canning what we grew, etc. It wasn’t until I had friends and family try my products that I realized I had something decent going on.
Alyson Poland, Barefoot North
When she began this organic way of life, she noticed that people didn't realize how easy it actual was to be more self-sufficient in simple areas of their lives. She told me that most of what we need can be grown or foraged.
It is Alyson's hope that with Barefoot North and help from her social media platform that this farm stand and meeting new people will reintroduce the old ways back into our community, which in turn, connect us more as humans and to the earth around us.
She wants to help show us how to nourish our bodies inside and out with what is around us. She creates all natural products.
When folks come to get their products off of her they spend on average about a hour or more chatting with her and exchanging ideas and thoughts. It’s as beneficial to them as it is her. She really enjoys connecting!
My favorite part about this is teaching people, new to this way of life something new and seeing the confidence that comes from them trying new things. A lot will message me later on and tell me that they harvested a certain type of flower an they made their own jelly and they are so ecstatic about it because they never would have thought to try that!  I have made some really great connections within this community who have helped me just as much and I hold dear every conversation I’ve had with people who have come to my little homestead to try one of my products.
Alyson Poland, Barefoot North
She recently started this thing called, the community book exchange which was an idea to incorporate people with books!
There’s something about reading a book and knowing that someone else can find the things you’ve read just as useful.

Alyson Poland via Facebook
Alyson Poland via Facebook
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Alyson Poland via Facebook
Alyson Poland via Facebook
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She told me it is a little place for folks to go to pick up their orders and check out what books they offer and if the doors are open, so are they!
Alyson's loves when friends and neighbors come to chat and see the goats, chickens and ducks on their homestead and backyard farm she created from her love of nature. If you want to stop on by and see what she has to offer and chat with her about, anything, visit her Facebook page here!

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