Made it to Burlington! Has my southern accent gotten stronger since I left New York, or are Vermonters more adept at detecting foreigners? I do suppose it's a promising conversation starter, so I'm starting to embrace the drawl rather than adapt it. I'm a week into my stay here and am glad to say have overcome the initial culture shock of transitioning from a month in the woods to the commotion of a city (toilet?! what's that??). And I still have the farm, the dirt, the veggies, and my best friends, the weeds to make me feel at home. Ah, that's where I was going with this: the farm.
The Intervale Center is an amazingly progressive organization that manages 350 acres of land within the Burlington city limits, and leases it to farmers. It's such a positive presence for the city. It creates a non-competitive community of farmers, sells local and organic produce to restaurants and groceries, and creates a more food-conscious, earth-conscious community in Burlington. There is a collective CSA managed by Intervale that includes produce from most of the farms (although some farms also have their own CSAs). There's a community garden, which, for something ridiculous like $20 a season, allows residents to have a plot of land where they can grow whatever they choose.
It houses the state's largest compost pile, where anyone can purchase miracle compost for incredibly cheap.
So I contacted one of the farms based on the exciting description of how they utilize "hand-build bicycle powered machines for keeping fields weed-free and a van powered by fry-grease for deliveries." I was intrigued. A phone call later, I was talking Eric, co-owner of Pitchfork Farm, who was excited at my request of free labor in exchange for an invaluable learning experience and perhaps a few veggies here and there. So here I am. I could not have chosen a better group of people to work with. They have completely taken me under their wing, showed me around Burlington, offered free housing, and shared with me their philosophy on farming and life.
Here's the gang:
Eric, looking uncommonly pissed off at the reemay.
And Rob, co-owner of Pitchfork Farm
Sophia, a UVM student
Sophia, a UVM student
And there's Zak, another UVM student who I haven't managed to snap a picture of yet, but he will undoubtedly materialize on the blogosphere one day.
More veggies to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment