Ellen Sandbeck — Worm Wrangler, Writer and Green Barbarian

Name: Ellen Sandbeck

Occupations: Natural living and gardening writer, worm wrangler
Place of Residence: Duluth, Minnesota

Background: Ellen earned a degree in studio art from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1979, a field of study which taught her how to problem solve in three dimensions. She and her husband started an organic landscaping business in Oakland, California, in 1981, an occupation for which she did an enormous amount of book research and boots-on-the-ground research. In 1984, the couple moved to Duluth, Minnesota, and continued landscaping.

In 1988, Ellen bought a pound of composting worms, which eventually multiplied, divided and metamorphosed into a small vermicomposting business, Laverme’s Worms. She now not only grows and sells composting worms and sets up vermicomposting systems for households and institutions, she is also a Federal Contractor at the Federal Prison Camp in Duluth, with the title “Worm Farm Specialist.”

Ellen is the author of the book Green Barbarians: LIve Bravely on Your Home Planet. Green Barbarians demonstrates that by mustering a bit of courage and relying less on many modern conveniences, we can live happier, safer, more ecologically and economically responsible lives. Her other books include Slug Bread and Beheaded Thistles, Eat More Dirt and Green Housekeeping. She also recently finished work on an e-book about vermicomposting called Laverme’s Handbook of Indoor Worm Composting.