Planning Sample:
Providence Garden Plan
Farming:
Some highlights.
I became interested in farming because my grandparents in Japan farmed their own rice and vegetables. I was only allowed to help with weeding, but I would follow my grandparents around and ask them questions, like "Why do you dry the hakusai (napa cabbage) before pickling?" or "Why do you store the lotus root in water?" Since then, I've continued to ask questions to farmers around the world through WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms).
During my monthlong stay at an Icelandic sheep farm in Vermont, I bribed sheep, shoveled horse poo, and stationed a CSA stand. This photo was taken only a few days after I helped this lamb be born!
During my monthlong stay at a dairy farm in Okinawa, I danced with cows, cleaned their poo, and fed my favorites giant blocks of tofu. This photo is of my Taiwanese friend measuring out nuka (rice bran) for the cow feed. Yep- Japanese cows eat rice!
During my monthlong stay at a family farm in Illinois, I milked goats, built fences, exercised on a bicycle-powered wheat grinder, and learned to lay brick!
During my monthlong stay on an olive kibbutz in Israel, I harvested olives and pruned olive trees. I also learned some Hebrew. I cannot express the magnitude of how beautiful this time was.
Currently, I'm enjoying volunteering at a Japanese heritage farm in Chicago. I love supporting this woman-run farm and the perk of returning home with a few shishito peppers and negi is great too.
