Energy Festival Proves Eye Opening, Educational

Chris Torres
Staff Writer

KEMPTON, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Festival is unlike any other event around.

Where else can you find samples of raw goat cheese, toothbrushes made out of cellulose and people talking about how to reuse human urine as a good fertilizer, all in the same place?

“We’re fanatics about the environment and we want other people to learn about things they can do to help,” said Bill Hennessey, festival organizer and executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Association (MAREA).

This was the fifth festival organized by the association and the largest one yet. “Harvest The Power” was this year’s theme.

More than 12,000 people visited the festival, which was held on the grounds of the Kempton Community Center in northern Berks County last weekend.

It featured 180 exhibitors, more than 100 lectures and workshops, food and entertainment.

MAREA bills it as the largest event of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic.

The group, all volunteer, started the event in 2004 as a way to shed light on issues pertaining to sustainable farming and renewable energy.

Of course, cars are a big draw at the festival.

This year featured an expanded area where exhibitors showed off electric cars and the latest advances in hybrid technology.

As usual, one lucky attendee walked away with a year model Toyota Prius, a hybrid electric car.

The festival also debuted an art show, eARTh, whose artists used environmentally friendly methods to create different pieces.

Visitors strolled around numerous tents where they could buy clothing, food and even toothbrushes made of cellulose.

The variety of lectures and workshops were enough to fill an entire day. Topics included ag related lectures on pollination, biodiesel safety, oil crops and composting.

The festival offered many exhibitors a chance to find new customers and sell their technology.

Other exhibitors, like Mark Fisher, founder of Harvest Chapel Mission, were there for a different purpose: education.

Since 2004, Fisher has been using his engineering background to help needy people in Africa.

Specifically, he has created farm machinery designed to run on electric and designed to do multiple jobs at once.

Earlier this year, Fisher spent three weeks in Uganda, taking in the local culture and talking to natives about how they can better use the land for farming.

Having been an aircraft engineer, he doesn’t do this job for the money. Helping people, he said, is his passion.

“I just wanted to do something to give back. To help other people who are really in need of help,” Fisher said. “I only knew about this thing (festival) six weeks ago. I called and signed up.”

One goat farmer at the meeting found herself in the role of educator. But for Lena Schaeffer, co-owner of Dove Song Dairy in Bernville, Pa., a 300-head goat dairy operation, it comes with the territory, especially when a lot of people have never heard of raw goat cheese.

“Some of the people ask us, ‘doesn’t it taste funny?’ They are usually surprised that it doesn’t taste funny at all and is actually pretty good,” Schaeffer said, after bringing along some flavored samples of raw goat cheese. “Samples are always great. It’s a little educational. But hopefully it attracts people to our business.”