2013 Ecuador Semester blog post #2 September 19, 2013

         Upon our return from the bike expedition last Friday, we went around the circle at dinner and expressed our appreciation for some part of the expedition. In the firelight glow, hearts open and bellies full, we spoke of growth and gratitude as we reflected on the past week.

Julia and Tadeo
planning the bike expedition

In this close circle, we were home. The adventures of the past week gave us a strong appreciation for the home we have at Kroka and within our group, for they challenged us in many ways. We learned more about each other and the trials and tribulations of life on expedition, giving us a sense of the skills we will need for our longer expeditions in Ecuador.

On the trail

Between the first leg of the trip and the last, our biking skills improved enormously. On Monday, just about everything went wrong. The 16-mile bike ride from Kroka to Basin Farm in Bellows Falls, VT took us nearly 7.5 hours - we didn’t get to Basin Farm until 8:30pm! Early on in the trip, we decided to split into groups to practice navigation skills. One group got lost, so half the group had to wait for a while. Then Quinn crashed and bent the rim of his front tire, so we had to wait again. A few rocky trails later, I took a fall when the trailer I was pulling got out of control, resulting in another half hour or so of waiting. Asha kindly took the trailer for me but we didn’t go far before she too was taken down by the trailer’s weight! As Asha and I were both pretty shaken up, Thomas called Toby who picked us up and drove us to Basin Farm while the rest of the group biked.

Chris greeting the goat

Despite all this trouble, our first ride was a good experience. We learned all our lessons early on, so the rest of our journey went more smoothly. Overall, we covered about 60 miles, which doesn’t sound like much, but considering the terrain, it was a lot, for our route definitely followed the road not taken! Some of the trails were completely overgrown, washed out, or rife with logs to cross. Laden with our gear, it was a challenge to navigate this technical terrain. Even the road biking was difficult, for the hills were monstrous. But the challenges brought us together and taught us so much. Our legs grew stronger and our determination shone through it all. Even when we had a huge hill to climb at the end of a long day, nobody gave up!

Biking was by no means the sole purpose of our trip. We biked to visit three farms where we worked in exchange for produce, meat, and a place to camp. The three farms were very different in their agriculture and labor practices.

Basin Farm, the first farm we visited, is part of the Twelve Tribes community in Vermont. The people there welcomed us into their home, cooking meals for us and helping us in every way they could. Living with this community gave us an insiders’ perspective on religious intentional 

Jackie among
the butternut squash

communities. In many ways, the idealism of brotherhood and sharing we saw in their community mirrors Kroka’s idealism, but the strong religious aspect of Basin Farm make the two communities fundamentally different. At Basin Farm, farming was an important part of the community, for it allowed the community to eat good food and have a close connection with the land, but it was not the main purpose of the community, nor the primary source of income.

Topping onions

In stark contrast, Harlow’s, the second farm we went to, is one of the biggest organic farms on the east coast, located in Bellows Falls, VT. The purpose of the farm is to produce and sell a lot of food. At Harlow’s, work was the main thing that held the community together. Many of the long-standing workers are from Jamaica and live on the farm all summer, but they don’t share a vision in the way that people at Basin Farm do. Conveyer belts, tractors and enormous vegetable beds marked our work experience there, in which we helped harvest vegetables, herd sheep, and participate in other jobs around the farm. It was an interesting experience to see the enormous amount of manual labor that goes into food production. Spending four hours harvesting kale makes you appreciate all the work that goes into the food at the grocery store.

Heading out from Harlow's

Our hosts at Harlow's were very generous as well. We received a freshly killed chicken, produce, venison, breakfast sausage, bacon and steak in return for our work; an excellent addition to the food we brought with us.

Quality control!

Frank the fantastic farmer

The third farm we visited, Hillside Springs, in Westmoreland, NH, showed us another entirely different perspective on farming. Hillside Springs is a family-run biodynamic farm. Frank Hunter, his wife Kim and their daughter Gwen run the farm as a family. Plowing and haying is done with draft horses rather than tractors. Despite the limited “staff,” Hillside has a CSA that helps feed 88 members. Our work at Hillside included fixing fences, weeding potatoes, picking apples for cider making, and harvesting tomatoes. Working in the relatively small garden beds at Hillside right after the huge gardens at Harlow’s made an interesting study in the balance between efficiency and sustainability that every farmer has to wrestle with. Frank and his family hosted us for two nights, where we weathered several thunderstorms in our camp.

Sonya crossing a stream
on the trail back to Kroka

Setting up camp every night, cooking, getting firewood, and making sure all the bikes are in good condition for the next day takes a lot of energy and organization. In order to make our life more manageable, every student is assigned a “Big Job” that they keep throughout the semester. These jobs play a large role in our daily lives, for they include many responsibilities. Below is a list of the jobs along with a brief description:

Tadeo is our navigator. He plans our expedition routes, records our travels and ensures that we don’t get lost.

Chris is our bike manager. He is in charge of helping us with any repairs we need on our bikes and making sure we keep them in good condition.

Isaiah is our gear manager. He keeps track of all the group gear we have and keeps it in good condition.

Angus is our pots and crafts manager. He keeps track of the pots we use for cooking and all the raw materials and tools we need for our handwork projects such as spoon and backpack making.

Quinn is our medic. He takes care of us when we get bashed up or sick, brews us nice teas, and reminds us to take care of ourselves. He also ensures that we have clean water to cook with and drink while on expedition.

Jackie is our hygiene manager. She ensures that we bathe, brush our teeth and wash our hands by reminding us and making sure that we always have soap and toothpaste.

Julia is our logistics manager. She works with Marcea and Thomas to plan our itinerary each week, wakes us up in the morning and makes sure that we are always on time.

Jack is our food manager. He plans the menu for every week, brings food from the farmhouse to our kitchen, keeps an inventory of all the food we have and keeps us well fed.

Taking it easy for a bit

Asha is our treasurer and semester book manager. She keeps track of all our expenses and organizes the creation of our semester book.

Yarrow is our farm and garden manager. She takes care of all affairs concerning the farm and garden, including harvesting, eggs collecting, and caring for the farm animals.   

Robin is our wood, stove and fire manager. He ensures that we always have wood to burn and tools for wood chores and that the stoves are in good condition.

Sosanna is our home and camp manager. She makes sure that our home is in good condition and designs the layout of our camp when we are on expedition.

Spencer is our kitchen manager and food processor. He keeps track of and cares for the tools we have in our kitchen and oversees food preservation projects.

I, Sonya, am the documenter. I write the blog each week and keep a weather log every day.

These jobs help us become more efficient, for everything that needs to happen in a community can be taken care of when the responsibilities are divided amongst all. The expedition plunged us into these responsibilities and gave us a clear understanding of what needs to happen to keep our community together. Tensions were high sometimes, but we learned from it. The mistakes we made on expedition were good preparation for Ecuador, and in the end, they brought us closer together.

         We look forward to seeing you all this weekend!!

         Sonya Gluck