We recently connected with Kalyn The Miller and have shared our conversation below.

Kalyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Milling flour was never on my [extensive] list of goals or skills that I sought to learn. I was a feral lady, living off grid in the woods and on farms for 15 years of my life. The late owner of Moxie, Andy, was a friend of mine that I met through playing music around our small community. When his former miller left to become an educator in music, (why are so many millers musicians?) Andy told me he thought I was the perfect person for the job. He asked me if I would be willing to take the position… I told him no.

“You know me. There is no way I want a predictable manual labor job with societal rent and bills. No way.”

Then he asked, “What will it take?”

No employer had ever asked me that before… “What will it take?” I asked myself.
After which, I gave him a small list of demands and he immediately fulfilled my wishes.

So, I took a risk in working a regular job. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but he taught me closely everything he knew. He put me in touch with his own mentors as back up resources. In the long days that followed, watching the sun go down from the mill, I became passionate about the work I was doing. We are stewarding the connection between farmers who truly care about their plants and the consumers, with people who truly care about the quality of food they are consuming.

This craft turned out to be in line with the values of my work in nature prior to this. It combines an old world skill with modern knowledge and allows me to provide the highest quality foods to the people in our community. The risk he encouraged me to take on his vision will shape me for the rest of my life moving forward.

Kalyn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

The old ways are calling us back. Passionate crafting, chemical free foods, clean air, regeneration of the land, harmony with nature; being a miller has deepened my knowledge and drive to provide products and skills to the community which will broaden our scope of self sustainability. It is my goal to usher in the old ways of life synchronized with modern methods.

What I feel the most pride in is our relationship and connection to the land, farmers, and the consumers, dedication to being able to offer the highest quality food to the community, being able to teach people how to use these skills in their own lives, and participation in the revolution of healthy living.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

My reputation is based solely on relationship; Relationship with nature, relationship with community, understanding the needs of both by participating in deepening connections. People recognize when we give authentic care, nature recognizes when we give authentic care.

Any advice for managing a team?

My greatest advice in managing and maintaining high morale is spending time together as a team in nature, spending time together learning, visiting other groups who share a similar vision, sharing discussions about the driving force behind why we are pursuing this work. The bonds between us have everything to do with our performance in a team setting.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @kalynthemiller
• Facebook: Kalyn LeMiller

Image Credits
myself