Meet Natalie Neal | Executive Director at Olivenhain Farms

We had the good fortune of connecting with Natalie Neal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Natalie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I started my business because I saw a need. I was running the garden program for a local private school when school closures came in 2020. I lived on a large property in Olivenhain and I had chickens and a large garden so I started inviting kids over to play outside, learn, and get the wiggles out in a time when we were all cooped up. I enjoyed it so much I began adopting more animals and our 501c3 nonprofit educational farm was born.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I feel like every professional experience in my life has led me to this one undertaking. Becoming a teacher, working in catering, running a garden program… it just all fits with what I am doing now and it was like the minute I started it, I knew this is what I was meant to do. If there is such a thing as past lives, I was definitely a homesteader living on a farm. I might have even been the teacher in the one room schoolhouse too. Nothing has ever felt more right. I think the simple life is something so many of us are lacking and I love helping families just settle into the present moment. There is a calmness that comes with brushing an animal or working in a garden. It definitely hasn’t been easy. There are always challenges, but for me it has been worth fighting for. We even sold our home and moved so we could open up at a better location. As more houses and apartments go up in our little town of Encinitas, which is quickly becoming a city, I want children to have a place to come to connect with where their food comes from and the natural world around them. I want to hold on to that small town feel and tight knit community.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would definitely send them to check out some local history at the San Dieguito Heritage Museum, where my programs are currently located. They could also go to a farm to table dinner at a local farm, maybe do a little hiking, hit up a farmers market and cook at home, beach walks with friends and family. I’m a simple girl, those are things I would like.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Definitely my husband Alex and my four children. They supported every crazy idea I had: baby piglet in the house, bottle feeding goats, building pens, the kids helping as camp couselors and at events… starting this was a whole family undertaking. I think everyone has thoroughly enjoyed the raw goat milk and fresh eggs though. It’ll stay with them always.

Website: www.olivenhainfarms.com

Instagram: @olivenhain_farms