Our Branches
TLC Branches
Learning, growing, and building community. Together.
The Learning Council is made up of many branches, each rooted in the same soil: a belief that education, culture, good food, art, and justice are essential. Our work is to make them accessible to everyone.
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Arbol Farmers Market
A vibrant seasonal hub connecting local farmers with their community. The Arbol Farmers Market features fresh organic produce, flowers, eggs, meats, and artisan goods alongside community meals with live music and wood-fired pizza. TLC Kitchen serves meals at 28 markets a year, investing directly in our local agricultural economy.

TLC Kitchen & Market
The heart of The Hearth. TLC Kitchen serves over 7,000 community meals a year using 80%+ locally sourced and organically grown ingredients, operating on a pay-what-you-can Gift Model. Our market stocks local produce, prepared foods, Third Bowl Ice Cream, and locally made goods year-round. We also offer cooking classes and welcome volunteers and school groups into the kitchen to learn, cook, and connect.

Arts for All
Arts for All brings high-quality arts education to students and community members of all ages across Delta County, with a special focus on youth. A collaborative project between TLC, Paradise Theater, Blue Sage Center for the Arts, and Juniper Circle Productions, Arts for All offers classes at The Hearth, kids art zones at regional festivals, and workshops and assemblies in local schools. In 2025 we celebrated the triumphant return of MYTHOS — The Paonia Fashion Show — after nine years, with sold-out performances that filled the room with joy and creative energy.

Agriculture Education
TLC collaborates with VOGA to produce an annual educational series exploring hands-on agricultural topics covering beekeeping, planting with the seasons, permaculture, biodynamic agriculture, composting and soil health, seed saving, animal husbandry, fermentation, cheese making, herbalism, and more.

Health & Vitality Council
Originally founded in partnership with the Kampe Foundation, the Health & Vitality Council (HVC) is now fully under TLC's stewardship. We provide whole-person wellness programming for all ages as well as comprehensive sexual health education aligned with Colorado HB 19-1032. Through these trainings, youth become peer health educators. The HVC also hosts Mindful Mamas, Movement as Medicine classes, Herbal First Aid workshops, West African Drum & Dance, heritage month celebrations, and the soon-to-launch Cottonwood Health Clinic.

Build Guild
The Build Guild is a community of makers, craftspeople, and learners gathered around the enduring practices of building and creating together. Through skill-share workshops in stone carving, clay, metalworking, and more, the Build Guild passes down traditional techniques in a mentorship and apprenticeship spirit. The pieces we create together become public symbols of our community's diverse cultural identity — honoring history, celebrating life, and strengthening our shared sense of place.

Regenerative Relations
This branch is dedicated to the steady, sacred, and sometimes uncomfortable work of repairing relationships across histories, communities, and with the land itself. Through our bi-annual Remember Us All Harvest Runs, we travel to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe bringing locally grown food, cooking with school groups, and sharing meals together. Our upcoming Cottonwood Convergence will center Ute culture, indigenous wisdom, and land-based skill sharing. We also work alongside the Western Colorado Migrant and Rural Coalition, including co-supporting Voces Del Campo, Colorado's first educational and advocacy convention for migrant farmworkers.

DC Cares
Delta County Citizens Advocating for Radically Equitable Spaces is a coalition of local residents, businesses, and organizations committed to justice, anti-racism, and meaningful culture change in Delta County. We offer annual scholarships for BIPOC and LGBTQIA students, advocate for systemic change, and support businesses and organizations in their DEI commitments.

Paonia Bike Co-Op
Tucked into the basement of The Hearth, the Paonia Bike Co-Op empowers community members of all ages to engage with cycling, whether you're repairing a bike, learning maintenance skills, or just getting rolling for the first time.

