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| NHESP '12 at Basin Farm |
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| Biking extravaganza |
Since our last interlude to civilization we
have undergone what I like to think of as three major components of an action
packed week. A biking extravaganza, a farming bonanza and a white water
paddling something that rhymes with anza.
We
began the week by setting off on our first expedition as a group! We may have had a bit of a shaky start, what
with leaving in four different groups, forgetting the community money as well
as the gifts for the farms, and maybe a few miscellaneous items too, but we
quickly remembered that its better to simplify anyway. After biking 9.6 miles
of rolling hills we reached our first destination near Bellows Falls, V.T.
where we camped out along the Connecticut River. We had a nice dinner of mashed
potatoes and hot dogs roasted on a stick as we settled into our nomadic
lifestyle with the overwhelming eagerness of fourteen seventeen year olds. Early Tuesday morning we peddled over to Basin
Farm where we spent the morning and into the afternoon learning about their
community and helping them with work in the fields. As soon as we got there
they immediately invited us in for some tea and breakfast, and, seeing as we
had already eaten a delicious breakfast of oatmeal with raisins, nuts and maple
syrup, we obviously accepted the invitation! After the second delicious
breakfast of fried rice, eggs, homemade salsa, and yerba mate tea we sat down
and talked with two of the community members Lemuele and Zareh about the
workings of their community and how the farm was intertwined into their lives.
We helped them harvest squash and potatoes, and they gave us a beautiful farm
tour in which we got some tasty snacks of sweet corn straight off the cob. The
farm is mostly a vegetable farm and a bakery, but there were also goats, cows,
and some of the cutest little kittens I have ever seen! Being someone who loves
cats, I was in absolute heaven. One of the most inspiring parts of the tour was
seeing their handmade tools designed by a man named Craig who lives within the
community. The artistic drawings and preparations for the tools was a wonderful
way to see how so many different skills and ideas can be utilized in a
community, and how worthwhile they can be for farming. After they had fed us a
scrumptious lunch, we took our leave with many thanks for the wonderful people
there who showed us so much hospitality and love! We remembered a quote by
Lemuele that seemed to sum up the experience, and really phrase the way we want
to think about farming: “Sustainable agriculture starts with sustainable
relationships” I invite you all to reflect upon this line, and find what it may
mean for you.
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| Charlie with a new found friend |
The
ride to Harlow’s Farm in Westminster, V.T. was only 2.3 miles, and we got there
with plenty of time to set up camp in the loft of the barn and have some rest
time before dinner. IT WAS ALSO AYERE’S BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YAYayaayaayaYay! She is now 17!!!!!!!!!!!! Lacking the proper ingredients for a
well-deserved cake we had some blueberry leather that Tommy had brought for
dessert (a cake may turn up in her future, you never know).
The
next morning we started work at Harlow’s at 8:00 precisely with the 50 or so
other workers. Harlow’s was an extremely different experience than Basin Farm,
but it was so fascinating to see the different ways healthy, organic, well-intentioned
food is produced both on the large scale, like Harlow’s, and on the smaller
scale as well. We were able to talk to Paul Harlow who owns the farm and he
told us about the logistics of running such a big production, how the crop
rotations work, where he gets his seed, the solar panels that energize his
facilities and so much more. We worked on the conveyer belt grading carrots,
harvesting kale and lettuce, and doing numerous other jobs he had lined up for
us.
In the
afternoon we biked 10.9 miles to Hillside Springs Farm in Westmoreland, N.H.
Hillside Springs represented another totally different kind of experience than
the two farms we had previously been at. Frank Hunter and his wife Kim, with
the help of their 12-year-old daughter Gwen, run the farm all on their own. It
is their sole source of income and is supported by their 100+ CSA members. They
don’t do farmers markets, or sell to any businesses, and in that way they have
created a small community of people that rely on their food. On Thursday
morning we worked in their fields weeding potatoes, and had a conversation with
Frank about his farming philosophy. I was particularly impressed with his
explanation of “For profit farming” verses “production farming”. Unlike Harlow’s
Farm which
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| Malcolm "assisting" Frank |
focuses on producing large quantities of good food, Hillside Springs
focuses on producing just enough to sustain them and their business. Horses are
their tractors, wood is their oil. With that relationship to their energy, so
much love and care can be seen in their everyday tasks. The extent to which
they have simplified their lives to an existence that is not cluttered with
debt and unnecessary influences, is inspiring to anyone who has the urge to
live simply, but beautifully.
After lunch
and a short siesta, we began on what would turn out to be an epic journey home.
We started on our 13.6-mile bike ride back to Kroka, and quickly realized that
the entire ride was going to be an uphill battle, literally. We left Hillside
Springs around 2pm and didn’t make it back to Kroka until well after 8pm, and
in between many adventures took place. About halfway through the ride, on one
of the only down hills, that happened to be extremely steep and curvy, Mateo
had a rather disastrous flip/fly/fall off of the road, onto the dirt path and
into a ditch. I happened to be directly behind him at the time, and after all
the blood had drained from my face, I quickly came to the conclusion that he
was dead and that it was
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| Siena cherishing the beauty of sunflowers |
all my fault. After I had calmed down and seen that he
was moving and talking, others started to arrive and help with our roadside
rescue. We make a great instant hospital. Contradicting my initial terror,
Mateo was surprisingly okay for the way he seemed to fly through the air and
crash straight into the ground. On his knee was a significantly large and deep
gash that prevented him from continuing the ride and Lisl was kind enough to
come and pick him up. During the wait, Shai and Raina who had already reached
the bottom of the hill biked back up to tend to our fallen soldier. We fed him
apples which seemed to hold as much sympathy as we could muster, and Churo
continued to taunt him in Spanish, telling him that his leg was most likely
going to fall off. (I am happy to report that Mateo's wound on the knee is healing well.) After the excitement we continued on with about 6 more miles
to go. Finally, after the sun had gone down, with dejected spirits and
headlamps guiding our way, we reached Kroka with yells of excitement and fell
onto the ground in desperate need of sleep. We unloaded our bikes, and made our
way over to the kitchen where Lisl had prepared a beautiful dinner of spicy Hungarian
Gulasch. The day ended with a serenade the boys had for us, they dressed up in
their fanciest attire, Tommy found his long lost alter ego of a southern
farmer, and they sang to us the performance of a lifetime.
Of
course this is not enough action for us in one week! So, the next morning we
rose at 6:30, did our chores, and headed out to Deerfield River with Raina and
Misha for a day of paddling. We learned
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| Teamwork! |
many skills that will aid us on our
major river expedition in Ecuador, such as different paddle strokes, how to
peel in and out of eddies, ferrying across the river in rapids and much more.
We were able to stop and explore the old railroad tunnel running through the
valley, which happened to be the first tunnel that was blown out with dynamite.
Some brave few (Charlie, Meredith, Malcolm, Tommy, and I!) jumped off of a
40-foot bridge, which definitely gave me enough adrenaline to finish off the
day. We paddled through Zoar Gap, with only one flip! All in all our canoeing
adventure was a success. That evening we went into Keene, to the Monadnock
Waldorf School, and saw a story telling and musical performance that
rejuvenated our senses and created a calming and beautiful close to our
rigorous week. Thank you so much to all the farms that so openly welcomed us
into their lives for a day, and to all the random teachers along the way.
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| Ciara found a beautiful place to rest |
Also a
Happy Birthday to Michael. We made him a carrot cake and had a wonderful dinner
in the big yurt on Saturday night to celebrate. Phoebe would also like to say
HAPPY BIRHTDAY to her dad!!
Bike logistics: Over the course of the expedition we
biked a total of 36.4 miles.
Quote: “Community is doing those things you said you
were going to do, long after the mood you said them in has worn off”
-Zig Zigla
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