Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
What happens when a farm — and a livelihood — are built around gift economy instead of buying and selling? And what does that actually look like in practice, beyond theory?
In this conversation, filmmaker Mattias Olsson speaks with Adam Wilson, the farmer behind Sand River Community Farm in upstate New York, featured in the award-winning documentary Radical Neighbouring. The discussion begins with the question audiences most often ask after screenings of the film: how money works at a farm where nothing is for sale.
Rather than offering a fixed model, this conversation explores gift economy as an ongoing experiment — a process of trial, error, and learning. Adam shares how he sustains his work through requests, trust, and shared resources, while Mattias reflects on using gift economy in his own filmmaking practice, which is mainly sustained through Patreon. Together, they explore what gift economy can mean when lived day-to-day, how it challenges market thinking, and how it reshapes relationships to land, work, forests, and community.
The conversation touches on community farming, non-commercial food systems, land stewardship, and alternative ways of meeting needs — not as finished answers, but as practices still being shaped.
Adam’s writing and work:
peasantryschool.substack.com
Mattias’ filmmaking, supported through gift economy on Patreon:
patreon.com/c/mattiasolsson
Sign up for the Campfire Stories newsletter mentioned in the conversation:
campfire-stories.org/newsletter
Become a member of the Campfire Stories YouTube channel:
youtube.com/@campfire-stories/membership
What happens when a farm — and a livelihood — are built around gift economy instead of buying and selling? And what does that actually look like in practice, beyond theory?
In this conversation, filmmaker Mattias Olsson speaks with Adam Wilson, the farmer behind Sand River Community Farm in upstate New York, featured in the award-winning documentary Radical Neighbouring. The discussion begins with the question audiences most often ask after screenings of the film: how money works at a farm where nothing is for sale.
Rather than offering a fixed model, this conversation explores gift economy as an ongoing experiment — a process of trial, error, and learning. Adam shares how he sustains his work through requests, trust, and shared resources, while Mattias reflects on using gift economy in his own filmmaking practice, which is mainly sustained through Patreon. Together, they explore what gift economy can mean when lived day-to-day, how it challenges market thinking, and how it reshapes relationships to land, work, forests, and community.
The conversation touches on community farming, non-commercial food systems, land stewardship, and alternative ways of meeting needs — not as finished answers, but as practices still being shaped.
Adam’s writing and work:
peasantryschool.substack.com
Mattias’ filmmaking, supported through gift economy on Patreon:
patreon.com/c/mattiasolsson
Sign up for the Campfire Stories newsletter mentioned in the conversation:
campfire-stories.org/newsletter
Become a member of the Campfire Stories YouTube channel:
youtube.com/@campfire-stories/membership
