The seeds of Agrarian's early success planted by Andrew Brake, Anne Collins and David Stuckert were the result of their shared interest in chicken farming and urban homesteading. Their store at 661 East 49th Street is the first of its kind in Indianapolis and was recently selected as the Best New Local Shop by Indianapolis Monthly Magazine.

"The three of us founded this business to provide an in-town source for chicken farming supplies and more generally, urban homesteading supplies. Andrew is very involved in the urban chicken movement in Indianapolis and both he and Anne raise chickens at their homes in the Meridian-Kessler area. Anne is very familiar with the urban homesteading movement and has selected a wonderful array of homesteading products and unique gifts that include locally handmade items and everything needed for homesteading activities like bee keeping, fermenting and maple sugaring, to name a few," Stuckert stated.

"I think people feel out of touch with where their food comes from," says Ms. Collins. "Gardening and raising chickens are just two of the ways that people are getting back in touch with their food sources. They want to gain some kind of control in growing their own healthy choices, organically and reducing their reliance on big stores and manufactured food. Keeping chickens in an urban area is an easy thing to do because you don't need a lot of space. Many people begin gardening and then move into keeping chickens; they go hand-in-hand. My grandmother lived in Columbia, South Carolina and had always grown her own food and raised chickens. It was her appreciation for her fresh food and her love for tending to her garden that inspired me. I wanted to teach my children that same admiration. I have a degree in psychology from the College of Charleston and worked in medical sales until I had my three children. They inspired me to look at life differently and that is why I started keeping chickens. I wanted to teach them where food comes from and that we directly affect our environment. I hope that Agrarian can inspire others as well," she added.

"Chickens are a terrific alternative form of composting. I was concerned about throwing out table scraps and instead gave them to my chickens. The obvious benefit of raising chickens is the eggs and knowing where they come from," Brake said.

"You give them table scraps and they give you food and fertilizer," Stuckert emphasized.

Brake added," There are two different kinds of chickens - egg-laying and meat birds. I raise egg-laying chickens - Leghorns that lay white eggs and Rhode Island Reds that lay brown eggs. You can also get Americana Chickens that lay beautiful blue eggs. The breed of chicken determines what color eggs they will lay, it's genetic."

Brake continued, "I've raised chickens in the city for a long time and developed a business called Naptown Chickens (www.naptownchickens.org) to provide complete chicken packages for homeowners and schools. The package includes the chicken coop, the chickens and all of the equipment and supplies that are needed to get started. The chicken packages for the schools are sponsored by local businesses so that the schools don't have pay anything. Through the store we even offer the package on a trial basis for those who are not yet certain that they want to raise chickens."

"We decided to open our store at the corner of College and 49th Street because we knew that there is a high concentration of chicken farmers in the Broad Ripple area and, although there are also a good number of chicken farmers around Irvington and Fountain Square, we feel like it's an up and coming corner," Brake added. "We want our store to be a bricks and mortar alternative to the internet where customers can actually come in, look at our products, compare prices and talk to us. If we don't know the answer, we have experts who can help. In urban homesteading, one may not have the ability to do everything, but we can help provide the tools and education to accomplish the task," Stuckert added.

Agrarian will hold workshops throughout the year on urban homesteading topics. In January and February, the workshops will cover chicken farming, composting, soap making, maple sugaring, seed starting and tree care. A December seminar on beekeeping was a huge success and another is now planned for January. Some other areas customers can learn about are rainwater harvesting, worm composting, canning and raised-bed gardening. Agrarian posts information on workshops and classes on its website, www.agrarianindy.com and facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Agrarian/698201780196828

Agrarian's hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, they are closed on Monday. Inquiries can be answered at 493-1186.

Agrarian's chicken farming and urban homesteading supplies in a retail rural setting can be discovered in the budding Meridian-Kessler urban corridor at 49th and College Avenue.