A Reflection after My Second Visit to Libre Farm
When David found out that I wanted to learn more about growing food naturally he kindly invited me to visit his farm. Nestled at the foot of the curvy Ko’olau Mountains in a lush plain of Waimanalo, suddenly I feel very small yet at the same time very connected to everything that came before me. The breathtaking nature that surrounds the farm puts me in a place of smallness, at a time when life was more innocent. Suddenly, I feel like a child marveling at Nature’s majesty: Butterflies, bees, and tropical breezes! I truly have no idea what I am doing. David teaches me. I lovingly press a finger into the rich soil to make room for a tiny seed that soon will grow into a plant with more seeds. The purple beetles and orange worms living underground now have company! I kneel on the ground, get up, kneel, squat, and get up again. The clouds roll by. The golden, sun hemp flowers dance in the wind. The neighbor-farmer and his wife lovingly play with their granddaughter. A tractor driver smiles, and waves, on his way to till somewhere nearby. One small drop of water drips out of a small hole in a black hose into the ground, it’s like a diamond glittering in the sun. I pick up the empty hay bucket, turn it around and imitate the beat of my heart. The drive along the coast is just as impressive on the way there as it is on the way back. The spectacle of the ocean rising and falling, crashing against the rocky cliffs is like getting a high five from Mother Earth. “Mahalo” she says! At Libre Farms joy happens at every moment. To farm with David and his partner Justine is to grow in love. Whoever is so lucky to eat this food will also grow in love. Thank you for inviting me to be a part of your mission. I am honored and humbled. It’s been a super healing and very educational experience! Mahalo nui loa Libre Farm! "Reality has once again thrown its wrench into ideals and dreams of what a farm would be....."10/21/2014 Its 6:30am on a Saturday morning, my body is making excuses and my rational mind is agreeing but dammit I said I would farm today and i'm going to f*cking farm. A very good question is why? well besides the ever driving curiosity my German blood wants to see how the farming is done and to apply efficiency. I've lived on a farm in the big island and have experience with growing things besides the usual theoretical knowledge gained from reading and being a huge nerd. I have no fantasies about how farming really is, the ground does not break itself and there's a goddamn reason those giant farming combines are in such high demand. I do however have limited experience with small scale industrial farming--that is farming to produce food for more then your own consumption. The problems and possible solutions are absolutely titillating to an engineering geared mind, images of the roman aqueducts come into mind. The reality, What the fuck is this shit? its a buncha goddamn weeds! Jesus apparently all plants look like weeds when they first start growing. What I most likely glazed over during the explanation is that this farm is actually a plot to help students learn about farming hence it is clearly not geared towards growing large quantities of food for industrial purposes. Reality has once again throw its wrench into ideals and dreams of what a farm would be. Once I got used to it and actually started to get familiar with the design and layout it wasn't that bad! Farming without giant machines and poisons is apparently very primitive haha, stick seeds into a hole and kill all opposing seeds but the seeds you want. The problem is goddamn nature, the ground is absurdly healthy and swarming with literally thousands of insects and the weeds are literally everywhere. Identifying the plants you want is rather hard because a green rage settles over you and you just want to kill anything that looks like a weed. Farming is rather easy once you get used to it, a single man could easily handle that entire plot if he were to administer to it daily. In the end i'm outside learning important skills about growing my own food in case things get bad or I suddenly become rich and can afford land and the free time to administer it and I normally would be unconscious in my bed anyhow. I laughingly sung this song to myself while weeding the cucumbers nimbly avoiding the red ants that were broiling out of the holes the weeds left. I ain't gonna work on libre farm no more,
Where they say be ready by 7:15, But they come at 8! They say theres plants a-growing, But i see nothing but fucking weeds! I ain't gonna work on libre farm no more! See you on the farm every saturday! |
WordsIt's rad to see the variety of experiences people have on the farms and the various ways their perceptions are altered and their mind opened. There's always a unique dynamic of people and experiences so different issues come up depending on the group or the work that we're given. Archives
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