James Barnes isn’t typical. He is passionate, a visionary, motivated, and filled with wisdom from his and his family’s past. He has a unique skill that allows him to speak on moments in his life with humility yet with a vibrant intimacy. James has two specific passions in life; the love for farming, and the desire to tell in depth stories.  You see, this can’t be the typical write up about a Cape Codder. James has an extremely unique skill to tell stories about his life beyond what this excerpt can reveal about him. For the most part, this story is subsidized by James’ skills for storytelling. The videos are links to the man speaking on topics we touch briefly and he drops into much more intimately.

James is a Cape Cod Native. Born in Eastham, he has lived on the Cape off and on for 40 years. His family ran a large amount of interesting businesses through the years and he felt at the time to go to college, he wanted to expand his horizons and went off to U-Mass. He returned to the Cape for the first time after a college internship ended to help his family, specifically his father who was diagnosed with ALS. The below video highlights this story.

He left the Cape again for a few brief stints in the Boston area. Arriving again, he came to work for a large landscaping company. This job inspired him to attempt opening his own business.

“I worked for a large landscape company here on the Cape and I left that to start my own company. It was an idea to set up garden centers in other businesses parking lots for their own garden lines. I couldn’t make it work. Rule number one. Don’t start a business just to quit a job you hate. The business probably wouldn’t work out. And it didn’t.”

This lead him to selling cars for a bit before opportunity came knocking for him.

“My buddy was selling cars over at Tracy and talked me into coming there. I didn't hate selling cars. You get out of it what you put into it but I always need things to mean a lot to me. Through channels, Cape Abilities found me and called me while I was sitting in the showroom one day. I was so stunned I thought one of the other salesman were pulling a prank on me.”

This would be the perfect marriage for his love of farming, and the need to be apart of something he feels passion for with deep meaning. James worked at Epcot after college, In the Land. Cape Abilities farm was designed off of this exhibit. So the match would be perfect. This started his relationship with Cape Abilities. This is when he met John, his new employee, and the gentleman that ran the tomato growing. James tells the story about John in the story below.

Cape Abilities and its impact on the community means a lot to James. He sees opportunities in every business to have a a social impact on the community and sees the work their organization puts in to helping those with disabilities thrive in the world. He combines his passion for growing which he gained from his home life, and that need to make an impact in a community. James still speaks of this with humility and believes in the team around him along with himself.

“I felt funny about doing this. I feel like you need a really big bucket fit all of the hands that should be in there — the people who built this place. I came on in 2012. There was a staff of 3 people. Over the years, It's taken hundreds of people to make this happen. I have become the face of Cape Abilities Farm but I definitely have hang ups about that because I know how many people this serves and takes. I like telling those stories. The farm was donated to us by the Milligan family, and they were really just a tomato grower and they had a little CSA where people received bags of produce each week — lettuce tomatoes and cucumbers. There was already a really strong loyalty to the tomato and we built whole farm around that. The first year we employed 3 people with disabilities; by the end of this year between 60-70 individuals with disabilities will get a chance to work here. We’re also trying to build awareness for the Cape Abilities mission, and raise revenue to support all of our programs, like housing, transportation, and day programs.”

James loves working for an organization that can make a positive impact in a geographically large community. He hopes to change lives and open people’s eyes to hiring others with disabilities. When he isn’t leading from the middle, he is busy telling amazing stories about his life, that are inspiring and funny. He lives his life by a fantastic motto.

“It’s all about kindness and empathy. I just feel like the way forward is to make friends and not fight people, whether you’re working for yourself or someone else. You can lead from the middle. I don't run the Cape Abilities Organization — we’ve got a great CEO — but I feel like I do lead in our community, helping to build our tribe. Just be kind. Make friends.”

You can see all of his work in the link below:
Farmer Barnesy

You can learn more about Cape Abilities and their mission here.
Cape Abilities

Thank you James, for sitting with us for the cast and telling your story.