Unity, Maine

Unity stands as the spiritual and organizational center of Maine’s organic farming movement, a small Waldo County town that punches far above its weight in influence on sustainable agriculture. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) chose this location for its headquarters, and each September the organization’s Common Ground Country Fair draws 60,000 visitors to celebrate organic agriculture, traditional crafts, and sustainable living.

The fair transforms Unity each year, filling the MOFGA fairgrounds with demonstrations of draft horse farming, traditional crafts, organic gardening techniques, and locally produced food. Visitors sample ployes and whoopie pies, watch sheep shearing and blacksmithing, and attend workshops on everything from beekeeping to solar energy. For one weekend, this town of 2,300 becomes Maine’s largest gathering of people committed to living lightly on the land.

Unity Environmental University (formerly Unity College) reinforces the town’s reputation as a center for environmental thought. The sustainability-focused institution attracts students who share values with the surrounding community, creating an unusually concentrated population of environmentally conscious residents. This concentration has influenced the town’s character, supporting organic farms, co-ops, and businesses oriented toward sustainable living.

Unity Pond, also known as Lake Winnecook, provides the recreational dimension that balances the town’s agricultural focus. This 2,530-acre lake supports fishing for bass, salmon, and pickerel, with public access for swimming and boating. The pond’s waters reflect the surrounding hills, creating scenery that has attracted visitors since before the organic movement gave Unity its modern identity.

The farming community extends beyond the fairgrounds and college. Small organic operations dot the surrounding countryside, many of them started by graduates of MOFGA’s apprenticeship programs or attracted by the area’s concentration of like-minded farmers. These operations sell at farmers’ markets, through CSA subscriptions, and at farm stands that offer direct connections between growers and eaters.

Unity incorporated in 1804, though its current character developed much more recently with MOFGA’s move to the community in the 1990s. The combination of agricultural heritage and contemporary environmental values creates a distinctive community that attracts those who want to live their beliefs about sustainability, community, and connection to the land.