Our Mission
To Establish a Regenerative Farming and Sheep Breeding Project in California.
Our product
Quality lamb meat that fulfills the diverse cultural and religious practices of local communities.
Our hope
We care about continuing education around regenerative farming and animal husbandry and providing diverse communities of the Bay Area with high quality lamb meat handled in line with their cultural and religious practices.
Our team
We are Black, Latino, immigrant, native-born American, and multilingual. The co-founder, and operations manager, is a woman. We come from the very communities we hope to reach and more importantly we care.
About Us
The Story of Timula.
The Beginning
Our story starts in a small town where the Blue Nile starts its long winding journey through Ethiopia, and where our founder's love of wooly creatures started. The setting was luscious, abundantly green, and in many ways the perfect setting to raise sheep. Livestock and agriculture were part of the daily routine, all his neighbors had goats, cows or sheep or some kind of animal.
Timula
His first wooly friend named “Timula” came into his life when as a young boy he asked his father to buy him an animal to tend to. His father took him to a local livestock auction house, she caught his eye, and the rest is history. She had twins the first year and what started with a few lambs turned into hundreds of livestock including rams, cows, and chickens. It ended up being a huge adventure, one where he became acquainted with the characteristics of livestock, day to day management, breeding habits, and their common illnesses. It was so successful that the family was able to trade, sell, and donate them to starting farmers, charity organizations, and struggling families in their area.
Lifelong Commitment
Little did he know these experiences would plant the seeds for a dream that would take hold decades later a world away, one of becoming an ethical breeder of livestock and farmer that gives back to his communities. In addition to a person who tends to livestock, the word “shepherd” can also be used to describe someone who guides or mentors others. Our founder, Mesfin Semere, has lived in the Bay Area for over 20 years and in that time he has served as a shepherd of people in his community creating an impact at the level of his block, neighborhood, and city. We look forward to harnessing these skills of community organizing, management of small business, and animal husbandry to start Upward Spiral Pastures, a regenerative farm that sells ethically raised lamb meat that is handled and butchered in line with the cultural and religious practices of diverse communities of the Bay Area, and provide educational opportunities to those underrepresented in the California agriculture industry.
Let's Get In Touch!
Ready to start your next project with us? Give us a call or send us an email and we will get back to you as soon as possible!