Back to school, and work!

I have returned from my travels and am now catching up on lots of work and re-acquainting myself with the Market committee. Because the committee was interested in so many of the ideas that i brought to them from my previous experience, I decided to give them a document where i had explained all of my ideas and have them choose which ones should have priority. So i have started to make profiles of all the stall holders (vendors) for the market website. This is actually a really good way to meet everybody officially. I will be interviewing them mainly about their farms, or manufacturing industries then write up a small paragraph about them, who they are, why they do what they do, what their practices are, philosophies etc. This way, potential costumers can begin to know about who they are buying from and feel all the more compelled to support them and be consistent buyers. I will accompany this with a photo and put it online. Since we have so many stallholders, the diversity is really nice. Even though there are multiple vegetable stands, some are asian and focus on asian vegetables, some sell only what is growing in their backyards...

I am beginning to realize why i felt somewhat dissatisfied (in regards to my last post). I somewhat expected this market to have similar aims to the Lewiston Farmers market. In some ways, no matter what you are working towards, a farmers market provides a space for small community business owners and organic farmers to compete with large store chains and aim to provide fresh food to the masses. So essentially the success of the market is a win win situation for all. Except not really, which is what i learned with my position last summer, where our focus was to provide fresh organic food ACTUALLY to all the masses and not just those who consider farmers markets to be within their price range. Even if the products are very comparable to super market prices, there is a stigma attached to farmers markets that needs to be dismantled, as was our goal with the Lewiston Farmers market. And while that continues to be my goal here in New Zealand, and is the reason i am working with the market, i am noticing that it is not the goal of those i am working with, or at least it seems that way. If i was a more longstanding member of the group, i would feel more comfortable voicing some of my concerns but for now i have only been able to follow my own goals in more subtle and round about ways.

However, i think with time, i may be able to speak up more. The community would so greatly benefit from a bridging of the gaps that exist between the polynesian (Maori) community and Pakeha (european) community in terms of what spaces they inhabit, where they shop, who they interact with. The Market of course is ideal for a step in this direction but it may not be easy to present this as an idea...although they are always looking to expand their costumer base so...win win.

hello hello,

I am now into my fall break (strange i know) so i will not be working closely with the market for two weeks as i will be traveling, yet actually missing only one day of market which is nice! i want to make sure to be a consistent presence at the market and get to know people as this will not only facilitate my work and allow me to better assess the strategies that work (or dont) but because this is what a farmers market is really about! And this is really where you learn everything about what the vendors need, what the costumers need etc.

Since im not doing alot with the market this week as we are at a bit of a standstill, i would like to talk to you about where i am at intellectually and mentally with my work here. To be perfectly honest with you, i am feeling something lacking, a connection between what i am learning in my classes, what i am observing all around me, and the actual work for Bonner that i am doing here. I have heard many times since being here "we do what we know" and how true this little phrase is! It is only natural, that in a new environment, where you have to grasp at every connection you have and strain your ears for suggestions and opportunities, the only road open to you is quite-often a road you have traveled before. And while i believe that most of the time we should not be hesitant to engage with these familiar opportunities, we can also become sensitive enough to realize when it is time to reach a bit further and perhaps look beyond our well trodden path.

I am starting to feel this nudge, this push towards something else. However, this brings me back to square one in terms of making connections, searching for organizations etc. which, as most of you are familiar with, is both daunting and possibly frightening, even more so when you are in a different country. I am learning about the colonial period, and the repercussions of this as seen in the everyday life of the Maori (indigenous) and Pakeha (European) people of New Zealand. And what im learning and what im seeing fascinates me, especially when i think back to my Native American studies...I think i shared with you how during orientation at the university, the host prided New Zealand and Auckland on the egalitarianism of all the residents. While this may be perceived to be true in some situations, it does not come as a surprise to me to learn in our classes, and witness in my daily life and in the media the racism and prejudice that seeps its way into New Zealand society and yet is so diverse and different from race relations we may be familiar with in the states. However, instead of the racism being somewhat invisibilized and quieted as we often experience with many Native American situations because of their small numbers and perceived separation from physically, economically, and socially (though this is not true, it os often perceived this way), the Maori social, economical, environmental and political issues are often more visible if nothing then for the fact that they are a higher percent of the population and, as my Maori professor says "dont take anything laying down".

However, bridging this gap, become more intimate with these situations that are becoming familiar in the classroom but not outside, will be a challenge, and im not even sure i will succeed. What i do know is that i am feeling compelled to explore again...not leave the market work, i already have a somewhat commitment to them, but i am ready to at least keep my eyes peeled and my ears open...

Hello to all!

I have started work this week after an introductory chat over coffee with the market manager. He was very interested in my experience as a manager as this market just opened in September! So they are looking for any tips, suggestions and guidance, although i visited again on Sunday and what an impressive community effort! There were musicians, educational tables on home-growing, child care through the Samoan Baptist church that also uses the Grey Lynn Community center. This all to accompany the table of fresh produce, honeys and jam, fresh bread and pasta, eggs and even a sausage stand! It felt really good to be among the vendors and customers and live music, meeting people and helping out where i could. As a newcomer, i like to just contribute in the most straight forward way, which meant that i gathered trash, folded up chairs and tables and mopped at the close of the market. I am attending a committee meeting tomorrow evening, and working at the twilight market on thursday, and have already had a very receptive welcome from all those involved!

Recently, i have adopted an attitude towards working with established organizations and committees. When you are seeking work, to contribute to an organization, a cause that you believe in, i believe it is best to adapt yourself, mold yourself to the need of the organization. For example, after graduating, i have often thought that i would find an organization that i felt was doing the best work possible, and then ask them what kind of people they needed. Then i may go on to seek further education to meet their need instead of trying to find something that best fit the skills i already had.

Having said this, and still believing in it to a certain extent, this experience has already shown me how this attitude is not always the only route to take. Everyone who i have talked to have insisted that i do projects for the market that i would like to do. This came as a surprise to me since i kept insisting "i would like to help in whatever area you need". However, when i mentioned some of the projects Lots to Gardens has been doing through the market, such as featuring local restaurants and cafes and hosting community dinners, they have been very enthusiastic and are looking to start similar things in this community! Again, having only been here a month, i dont feel i am in a position to do outreach or connect people through the market. I would expect to do more manual labor, putting out fliers, setting up vendors, clean up. However, the manager has been keen on getting me onto some of these more conceptual and communicative projects!

well see how it goes!

Hello...

Ok, i have made progress. After what seems like thousands of unreturned emails, an experience many Bonners are familiar with, i went out to our local farmers market and began to meet people, talk, explain myself and i am starting to work for them next week! The Grey Lynn Farmers Market, which is my towns farmers market, is a new and struggling market, something i am familiar with. I have been a few times to buy produce and began to notice what a community effort it was, with musicians, children's care, etc., all taking place within the community center. The center is a beautiful new building that hosts community gatherings, art classes, senior classes, events, community dance classes etc. Since i have been looking for this kind of venue, gathering place in my new community, i was very eager to become a part of it and was very excited to hear that they needed volunteer help at the markets!

I am going to begin by attending a committee meeting, and go from there, although i suspect my work will be somewhat related to outreach, market set up/breakdown etc. What i do know, is that it will put me out into the community, meeting people and finding out where the local food is grown and who it is grown by.

I have been feeling a bit of a lacking in my classes. Most of my classes are about Maori human rights and are very rewarding so far as the actual class content and the quality of engagement. However, everything ends when you leave the classroom, there is no bridge between what we learn and what we encounter in our daily lives as students in a diverse New Zealand. I am starting to realize why CBR and service learning was created.

more later....after i begin work.

all my best!

Dani

still in transition

Well i am into my second week of classes here at the university, and am already immersed in Maori hisotry, arts, colonialism, post-collonial politics...it is so incredibly interesting to step back and compare these studies with my Native American studies classes that i take at Bates. wow. How different our lives as Americans would be if the colonial period had not devastated the Native populations as much as it did.

In terms of finding work, i am slowly, slowly making progress. To be honest, it would be so simple and straightforward to have an equivalent to the Harward center at the University of Auckland. Just walk in, tell them who i am , what i am interested in doing, and recieve helpful suggestions, and a list of potential community partners. Unfortunetly no such thing exists here. It is all a bit of a patchwork opperation as i meet with these people, walk into this office, email this organization...and im not sure right now what direction this seeking will take me in. Not yet at least. I am meeting with an organization that is very similar to Hohepa where i was farming. I am looking to do some short term volunteer work there. I also went to my own towns farmers market! And am working up to talking to the farmers and manager, to seek potential work, or to find out more about how it works here...exciting yet very uncertain. In the mean time, i am getting to know my community, a small suberb of the city.

i will keep you posted.

Dani

The Big City....

Hello All...

I dont have too much to write this week, i am in major transition mode, and also a little homeless as i go 'flat-hunting'. I went to my University's orientation on thursday and began, slowly, to get a feel for the place. Its huge and overwhelming mainly....but there are a million clubs and organizations etc. being thrust in your face (image the library quad club fair times 4).

Its feeling a bit like it will take me some time to get familiar enough with the place to look for work, projects...I have already started to email some local farms but i also know that i want to work within the city. I start classes on monday, all about the colonial period, Maori ( the indigenous population in New Zealand ) history, weaving arts, and literature. What i am really aiming for is to get connected to something through these classes, or through my fellow students. This city is already proving to be quite an experience, so different from New York or other cities i am used to but HUGE non the less. It is so incredibly diverse, with European Kiwis, Maories, many Pacific islanders, (polynesian) and asian.

I have registered with the schools employment office, and am looking around the websites for interesting opportunities but generally just in transition! i cant push it too much as i want my search to be organic, and evolve out of things i am already interested in instead of forcing it too much. On the other hand, I feel a bit helpless being this much of a foreigner at this point...

I will keep you posted on the process!

all my best,

Dani

Week Three

Hello to all of you in Maine, at the Harward center, in snowy dorms etc...

My time here is almost coming to a close, as it has almost been one month, and on wednesday i will be moving on to the big city to begin my studies. Actually i am completly dreading the day, i do not want to leave this place in any way. I could spend about 3 months here and learn a million new things everyday. I feel as if i am just getting to know the land, the area, the people, the relations between this community and the surrounding town, the managment of the environmental resources, the dynamics between the local kiwis, the native Maories and millions of foreigners all thrown into one area. And now i must move on and begin the process all over in a new place....
I guess that is part of traveling, you dont have the advantage of spending four years in one spot, getting to know how everything works as we can do back home in Lewiston/Auburn. Its frightening to have to move so quickly, there are so many things i want to do here, people i want to get to know. Instead of just switching jobs, community learning agreements etc, i am switching cities, regions. I will not bump into any of the people i have been working with on the streets as i do in Lewiston. But they will stay with me forever, and the things i learned here about being in New Zealand will help me to find meaningful work in my new city, Auckland, hopefully...

I have begun to ask questions about the place i am going, about the farms, the farmers markets, the organizations, who knows who...I find this method, if sometimes spotty, so much more rewarding then blindly typing things into google, although i do that too. I have an advantage here of being connected to the waldorf community, which is the foundation for the community and school i grew up in as well as Hohepa Homes, the community i am working with now. I can always connect to places through that but i am also looking to leave this network, put myself into a situation that has a very different outlook on things, different ways of dealing with things.

However, being in this community for the past month has made me feel much more comfortable in this country. I fell more at ease, with dirt on my hands and skin darkened by the New Zealand sun. I feel better about traveling, meeting people, and being able to say that i have already connected with this land, even if just for a little while. I have been having very intense conversations with the other volunteers and employees in the fields of Hohepa about being from the US verses being from other parts of the world...much more about that later i promise.

In work news, we completed making a huge biodynamic compost pile by hand the other day, what a feeling of accomplishment! At the end of the day it is so rewarding to stand up, stretch your back out, and stand around with the residents and other workers admiring your weeded field, crates of harvested veggies or a big, straw covered compost pile...everybody there contributed in some way, throwing grass, and cow manure, and straw onto the pile. Dirty, smelly and sore, we all made our way back to the farm shed to hold hands and finish off the day.

alright, next week i will be in Auckland....and i will let you know how things go there!

All my best,
Dani

Hello again,


It has been one week since my last blog and i have again cycled into town to share with you some words about life in Hawkes Bay New Zealand!

Its interesting to sit here and take a moment to reflect on how my time is developing at the Hohepa Community. Its difficult to find time to think when you are out in the scorching sun each day pulling, weeding, planting, laughing, digging, sharing, and on and on...when work finally lets out at four, it takes all i have to drag myself to the nearest spot on the river to cool off.

Things seem a bit different to me at this point after having just read my first installment. I had said earlier that coming to Hohepa was like stepping onto a well oiled machine. While things still seem to run at an alarmingly smooth pace, i am enough of an insider at this point to realize what we all realize about all communities and organizations we work with, that there are some subtle and not so subtle tensions that exist, some keys instances and areas of miscommunication, and systems of authority and decision-making that not everyone agrees with. While i am somewhat used to this pattern of discovery, each time the situation is remarkably different in its intricacies. Through my work with NASAP, I slowly began to recognize the places in which miscommunication and lack of attention affected the success and well being of the organization. At first i felt a bit helpless to what appeared to be a tangle. With time though, i began to realize my abilities, the tools i had to actually do things, quietly and with communication, in ways that i saw more fit based on my expereince. I have not been here long enough, nor will i be here long enough to manifest this kind of action-oriented movement against the areas of miscommunication. Nevertheless, observing and working through some of these misteps at Hohepa with the other volunteers has been very rewarding. Again though, as a foreigner and an outsider, my response is generally to sit back and observe as much as possible before saying anything even if that is not my natural response.

To give you a bit of an example, the miscommunication is centered largely around the schedules of the residents (the adults with developmental differences) during thier day to day work on the farm. They will often be left unsupervised as we go off to do a few hours of work. This is dissapointing to some because, as i mentioned earlier, they have a wide and varied range of capabilities. Sam, an man in his thirites, is able to carry full crates of harvested vegetables from the field to the truck. James uses the tractor to turn the compost or trasport heavy equipment. The list goes on and on and each one has a certain place within the days work, but can become easily distracted.

As volunteers, it is not our place to manage or counsel the residents in any way. However, we work very closely with them and often are left to a job, the three volunteers with three or four residents. We usually develop a pretty good system this way talking casually, and, when necessary, reminding them what their task is and how to do it. This is generally where we have stepped in, with a quick suggestion here and there to the residents, and it has been working out well and seems to help the employees who can be in to many places at once.

Therefore, i am seeing patterns in the places i have worked, and through my past expereinces, am developing a discerning eye for situations like this, when it is good to give a suggestion and when it is wiser to remain quiet and observent.

On a cheerier, warmer note, we harvested sun-warmed plums and pears, and crates and crates of beets and brocolli. The sun is a strong as ever but relief comes with the night time sky that is overflowing with stars...

Let me know if there are things you would like to hear more about! all suggestions welcome.

Cheers mate (New Zealanders say this all the time)
Dani

first week in New Zealand.

Hello to all my Bonner Leaders back home in snowy Lewiston.

I know it may be hard to imagine, but i am currently sweating just sitting indoors and this morning picked an orange off of a tree to eat for breakfast.

I am in Hawkes Bay New Zealand, on the coast about halfway down the North Island, which is strangely enough warmer and more tropical then the south island. The community/farm where i am working is situated on the bay at a point where a river meats the clear light green water of the ocean and is more beautiful then i can describe in words. I am living right on the water in a little one room cabin that was built for workers/volunteers.

This community/farm is called Hohepa Homes, a residential community for disabled adults as well as a dairy and a huge biodynamic/organic garden. The residents (disabled adults that are living mainly with down syndrome and autism among other differences) help out with every task that is carried out in the community. In addition to the gardens and dairy, there is a cheesery, a Weavery, a woodworking shop and a candle shop. The goods that are produced here are really quite extraordinarily beautiful and are sold for profit to support the community. The fruits, vegetables and dairy products mainly go to the residential homes to be eaten by all the community members.

I have now completed one week of work, and have calloused feet, dirty nails and several layers of sunburn to prove it. Coming into Hohepa was a bit like stepping into a well-oiled machine, and i found it quite easy to get into the rhythm of the day. This kind of work is somewhat familiar to me as i spent the first four years of my life in a similar community. However, there is nothing quite as interesting as meeting each resident personally and slowly (and sometimes very quickly) learning the best way to interact with them. The best part of this kind of work is how much time is spent with the residents in a casual work environment. Though many cannot engage with every tasks that the volunteers, employed farmers do, each has special capacities and have certain tasks that they carry out over the course of the day. For example, one resident from each house will come to the dairy each morning to pick up the supply of milk for the day. Each has a personal responsibility and place within the organism of the community.

A normal day looks like this. Wake up at eight, go to the farm shed where the residents and gardeners begin to arrive. We work (commonly harvesting) in the morning until 10:30, and then break for tea and then continue until lunchtime. We have been harvesting alot recently, as everything seems to be perfectly in season. After lunch, which is eaten together with the residents in the shed, we return to the fields for weeding, or cultivating and then break at four, eager to get out of the strong sun. I may have worked with a particular resident all day, and will then say good bye, with a hug and an assurance that i will be there tomorrow. I get to know more about each individual every day. Some of the other volunteers and i have wondered whether these temporary stays (one month, 3 weeks, 4 months) may upset the stability of the residents lives. However, they seem so eager and joyful to meet new people and after talking it over with some of the long standing community members, have learned that it is an exciting way for the world to come to them as they dont leave the community as often as they would be able to without their differences.


All and all, i love it here so far. Im starting to build a bit of a network, slowly but surely and will keep you posted on where my experiences take me. Connecting with people over working the earth, weeding, harvesting, etc, is comfortable territory. Even if i am halfway around the world, meeting people of very different backgrounds and capabilities, i am working the earth in the same way that i did at home, and with the NASAP farmers in Lewiston. Whatever capabilites we have, we can share a common space in the field. I doubt i would have been able to have the kind of casual intimacy with the residents had i met them under different conditions. I have so much more to write about Hohepa but you are all on a bit of a schedule (i know) and i will write again next week with more developments.

Fell free to ask questions or comment! anything is welcome.

Cheers!
Dani