NHESP 2009 Update 2

Well, we survived the bike trip! 83 miles, 4 farms and a whole lot of hills later, here we are back at Kroka.

Our trip was supposed to be 5 days long. However, the day we left, most people had still not finished sewing their backpacks. So we biked all the way to Westmoreland, worked and camped at Hillside Springs farm as we’d promised we would, and the next day, instead of continuing on to the next farm, we biked all the way back to Kroka. It was many miles uphill and out of our way, but I’m glad we did it. We finished our backpacks and set out again free from the weight of uncompleted projects.

The first night that we set up camp, everyone worked together, things went smoothly and everything got done. Sitting around a crackling fire, listening to the sounds of the night, talking and laughing and enjoying each other’s company, we felt a real sense of accomplishment. It was very satisfying. There was only one small problem. Bryson had forgotten to pack our bowls, so we had to eat dinner out of pots and pans. Another thing that happened with Bryson, we lost him. We had all arrived at Harlow Farm just as it was getting dark. But where was Bryson? He had missed the last turn, and we had to send out a rescue party.The rest of the trip went really well. It was the most biking I’ve ever done in my life. I know it was a huge challenge for a lot of people, but we all did it, and it felt awesome.

Each farm we visited was very different, and we learned something from each of them. My favorite was Major Farm in Putney, VT. They milk 200 sheep and make the best sheep cheese I’ve ever tasted. We got to help out in the cheese cave, in the pastures, and with milking. David Major has the biggest grin I’ve ever seen and he clearly loves what he does.

That was one thing we noticed about all the farmers, from Frank and Kim, the couple in Westmoreland, NH who run a small CSA to Paul Harlow, who manages 1,200 acres; they are all in love with their farms.

Harlow’s farm was by far the biggest farm we visited. It is pretty fast-paced. Everything is designed for efficiency, and everyone is super hard working. Paul Harlow gets up at 3:30 every morning to organize for the day. (And we thought 5:30 was early!) It was fun and interesting working with the Jamaicans who come up and work for the summer. Some of them have been working there for 10 years. We split up into two groups. Some of us harvested kale and lettuce, running to try and keep up with the conveyer belt, while others of us slaughtered chickens.

We feasted that night on food we had harvested and killed ourselves. I think everyone has a new appreciation of food now, after experiencing first hand all the work and dedication that it takes to produce it.

Thank you farmers, for welcoming us and sharing your love for farming with us.

Since we’ve been back, we’ve been doing a lot of academic work. We had our last science class with Marina, where we took samples and tested different sources of water. Most of the water around here is clean, but it will be interesting to do some more water testing when we get to Ecuador.

Everyone has been busy working on their main lesson pages. For each class we have or every project we do or farm we visit, we assign two people to write a page about it. At the end of the semester we will compile all the pages into one book.

But it hasn’t been all work. There has been plenty of song and laughter. We had two more birthdays this week. Susanna turned 16 and Hannah Miller turned 18. Melody and Trina made a honey-apple birthday cake, which we ate with fresh cream from one of the farms we visited.Today we are diving head long into the woodshed project. Hugh Landis, a local builder and woodworker, is guiding us and helping with the design. Some people are shifting rocks and leveling the foundation, while others are measuring the timbers we cut and skinned, sorting them into posts, beams and rafters.

We will be working hard this week to finish everything up before we leave for Ecuador. It’s hard to believe we only have more 9 days!

Pesto Recipe

Frost is on the way. We harvested the basil from the garden and made it into delicious pesto:

3 cups packed-in basil (no stems)

3-4 cloves of garlic

1/4-1/2 tsp. salt

some pepper

3/4 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup pulverized nuts (pine nuts best, we used walnuts)

1/2 cup olive oil

Blend it

Until next time, for the New Hampshire-Ecuador semester, this is April, the Scribe.