The Mountain Traditions Project

Neal Peterson is a plant geneticist who has been breeding pawpaw trees for over 45 years, and has come up with seven varieties of his own. At his home in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, Peterson says the pawpaw is the largest edible fruit native to North America, but it has never been cultivated so you won't find it in grocery stores.

At Tom Dodd's home along the South Branch of the Potomac River in Greenspring, West Virginia, he and his friend JP Roby hold their annual cider-pressing party.

Father and daughter Pete Hobbie and Dakota Karper are part of a group of musicians who play together at the Cabin in Hampshire County, West Virginia. They talk about old-time music, how they started playing, and the music genre's future.

A native of Frostburg, Maryland, Mark Bowling learned to climb with his best friend in high school. Since then, he's climbed all over the world, and has worked as a climbing guide in Moab, Utah, and Joshua Tree National Park in California. While bouldering at Cooper's Rock State Forest in West Virginia, Bowling talks about the solitary pursuit of climbing as well as the greater climbing community.

Ben and Hana Yoder began Savage River Farm in the village of Pocahontas, in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, less than ten years ago. While also raising two young children, the Yoders have achieved a successful farming venture, raising various kinds of livestock, vegetables, mushrooms – and running a local CSA program. They talk about the challenges of farming, but also their passion for small-scale agriculture in the region.