Meet CCI Member, Barb Kalbach
Barb Kalbach is a fourth-generation
family farmer who farms with her husband Jim just outside of Dexter,
Iowa on 1,200 acres of land. Her primary responsibilities on the
farm include bookkeeping and marketing. Barb also works nearly full-time
as a registered nurse at the Winterset Hospital.
Aside from work and serving as CCI’s
current Board President, Barb enjoys a variety of activities including
reading, listening to country music, traveling and flying small
aircraft. Barb is a certified flight instructor and taught flying
at Greenfield and Iowa Aviation in Winterset in the 70s. Most of
all, Barb enjoys spending time with her family. She has three grown
children - two daughters who teach in Des Moines and a son who farms
near Dexter.
How did you get involved with CCI?
I got involved with CCI in January 2002
when Gary Weihs of Harlan, calling himself a “family farmer”,
came from 75-miles away wanting to put a 7,000-sow farrowing facility
a quarter-mile from my house. Under this threat, one of my first
phone calls was to a CCI staffer. We won and we've been a team ever
since! I will never forget what the organization has done for me,
my family and my community.
What do you like about being a part
of CCI?
CCI doesn’t solve the problem for
a person, but instead empowers that person and their community to
solve the problem and, thus, take ownership of the results of their
efforts. This creates a stronger individual and a stronger community
with new, effective leadership. It seems to be in my nature to want
to be a part of something that will make life better for others.
I suppose that is why I am a nurse and why I like being part of
Iowa CCI.
What do you think is the key to the
success of CCI?
Empowering hard-working, grassroots people
to make their own lives better. CCI members understand that the
action, the strength, and the solutions to problems come from the
grassroots.
Why do you think it’s good that
CCI has diverse issues and members?
Different issues impact different communities,
but that doesn't mean one issue is more or less important than another.
Justice won on one issue empowers us to win justice on the next
issue.
A diverse membership exposes all of us to
the common humanity. We learn that everyone cares about their homes,
their families, safe & prosperous communities, clean water,
clean air, access to health care and jobs that can support these
things. If a farmer can help stop industrial-scale agriculture from
invading his community, he has brought justice to his own community
and empowered the next community that seeks justice. If a Latino
can help create a safer workplace, he has not only brought justice
for Latino workers, but for all workers. Soon we understand that
it doesn't matter so much what your ethnicity is, we all want the
same things for our families and communities.
|
