F E AT U R E S TO R Y
THE MAR FARM How a love for animals and clean eating inspired this Pelham Family Farm
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PIPPA GAISER
From left, Willow, Pippa and Vance help out on the family farm, caring for the animals and helping to make soap. By Jeana Durst There are turning points in life—times that grab us, shake us up, and deposit us on the other side, forever changed and ready for a new beginning. It’s just such a life event that was behind the creation of the Mar Farm, a sustainable hobby farm located on a treelined peak near Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham. In 2017, Debbie Mar had no idea that her journey overcoming health trials would lead to a business, though she had always dreamt of raising her family on a farm. A mother of three, Director of Franchise Sales for Newk’s Corporate, Hoover City School Board member, and competitive equestrian, Debbie is never one to walk away from a challenge. Recently, I had the chance to visit Mar Farm and experience life on the mountain firsthand. There I met Karen the Great Pyrenees, three other farm pups, an extended family of goats (including Carl who greeted me on the porch), and about 30 chickens of countless varieties.
THE SEEDS OF CHANGE In the summer of 2017, life changed for the Mar family when Debbie was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. Normally an athletic person, Debbie had been struggling with joint pain at the time. “You never think you are going to go to the doctor one day and never be well again,” she says. Ankylosing spondylitis is an autoimmune disease that attacks your joints and fuses your spine. “I went through a year of trying medications and learning how much gut health relates to autoimmune issues—it has a lot to do with what you put into your body and the kind of lifestyle you lead,” Debbie says. By the fall of 2017, the family purchased the Mar Farm property, which turned out to open up a very important path. Knowing that clean eating could greatly impact her health and quality of life, Debbie decided to act proactively. “The medicines do what they do, but I could control what I CONTINUED ON PAGE 21
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