Hosts

Brock Barker was raised as an outdoorsman in the marshes and forests of south Louisiana. A passion for all things plants gripped him in his early twenties and hasn’t let go.  After studying horticulture at university, he’s worked many plant related jobs with nurseries, arborists, and landscaping outfits, to facilitating a horticultural therapy program, teaching permaculture design courses, and more.  However his primary preoccupation for the last 14 years has been developing a 10 acre homestead which serves as personal garden of eden as well as an educational space to host volunteers and workshops.  All the while regularly traveling to experience some of the most developed permaculture sites in the world. Brock’s proficiency in a wide range of topics from mushroom cultivation and foraging, fermentation, and all things plants, combined with his infectious enthusiasm make him the Brock of the Patch.

Ellie Barker was born and raised in Amarillo, Texas. From taking sewing lessons in the forth grade, all the way to a degree in textile design, making beautiful things with her hands has always been her passion. While studying in Massachusetts, Ellie began to live on her first farm and has been hooked ever since. Shortly after college she began gaining experience living in community and practicing permaculture at the Eco-village Training Center at “The Farm” in Tennessee. This led to a number of permaculture educational opportunities, including a teacher training where she met Brock in 2014. She has been at the Patch since. When she’s not blissfully harvesting and processing the abundance, she’s making one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras costumes. She’s recently become a doula, to support local mothers, and in preparation to create her own family to continue to grow the love at The Brock-Ellie Patch.  

Brock is keen on learning new languages, playing music, and experiencing new types of cuisine. He is quite an extravert and a conversationalist and greatly enjoys discussing deeper topics of philosophy, spirituality, politics, etc. Ellie loves reading, food preservation, sewing crafts, and yoga. She enjoys hosting visitors and living gratefully in each moment. We welcome curiosity and eagerness to live and learn together.