Sunday, June 20, 2010

What is WWOOFing and why are you doing it?

WWOOF is pronounced “woof” like the sound a dog makes. Not like the ancestor of the dog - “wolf,” like one of us can't seem to break the habit of saying.

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is an independent, global network that connects organic farmers and people interested in learning about the trade and lifestyle through hands-on experience. The organization is self-regulated. Both farmers and workers (usually referred to as “woofers”) agree to certain principles as guidelines for their conduct as hosts and volunteers.

Like most things nowadays, the network primarily functions online. After paying a nominal membership fee, a woofer gains access to the network and contacts a host farm to inquire about the work and conditions. The interview process is determined by the farmer and if farmer/wwoofer decided they are a good match, arrangements are made for the woofers to come work on the farm. woofers stay on a farm for at least a month, but it seems that the average stay is 2-3 months. WWOOF operates all over the world, but it seems to have taken off more in English speaking countries than elsewhere.

Each woofer is issued a number so farms can check their work history. There are extensive message boards where woofers dish on various farms and farm scenes. This seems to work pretty well to keep everybody honest, though there have been reports of isolated cases of exploitation.

Hawai'i has a very active WWOOFing scene. It is a popular destination for volunteers and the organic farming culture is growing steadily for several reasons. Despite having loads of sun and wind, Hawai'i imports over 90% of their energy in the form of foreign oil. HI has a history as a commercial agriculture producer largely focused on the export of pineapples and sugarcane rather than sustenance. As the population of HI grown in recent decades, it has become more dependent on imported food. This makes for very high prices (8 bucks for a gallon of milk!) and very poor food security. While people all over the world are increasing interested in sustainability and local organic farming, its becoming a necessity for the people of Hawai'i. It's a topic that comes up here regularly in the papers and in casual conversation, especially in the wake of the recent oil spill.

We, as individuals and as a couple, are very concerned with these issues. We constructed our lives in MI to have a low-carbon footprint – we didn't own cars or drive very often, bought organic and local food with little or no packaging, consumed as little as possible and repurposed whenever we could. We wanted to come to a place where we could live and do some serious agricultural learning on a scale beyond what our small plots in community gardens taught us.

There seems to be growing awareness and social interest in these concerns. Farmers markets are up over the nation, many of our friends work on or with CSAs, and urban chicken movements are cropping up all over the place, even in our hometown of Ypsilanti.

There were personal reasons as well. Our lives were in a period of transition and we were dissatisfied with office work. We were also coming to HI for an important family gathering, so we figured we'd find a way to stay for a while, and make the plane trip worth the effort and energy. So, here we are, WWOOFing in Honaunau, Hawai'i!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Daifukuji Soto Mission

Daifukuji roughly translates as “temple of great happiness.” The Daifukuji Soto Mission is located in Honalo, about 8 miles north on Hwy 11 from us, and K is very happy to have found it.

The temple was founded in 1914 and formerly served as the hub of the Japanese immigrant community of South Kona. Now, like the rest of Hawai'i, it is multiethnic and multicultural. When K first attended a morning zazen session, he was surprised to find Japanese in the minority.


Though Buddhism is a growing religion in the US, the world of American Zen is still a relatively small one. Not only was the resident priest, Rev. Jiko, familiar with the Ann Arbor temple where K practiced, but members of his sangha (including the priest, Rev. Haju Sunim!) had visited Daifukuji when they were on Big Island.

The Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom practices in the Korean Chogye tradition and Daifukuji is Japanese Soto Zen, but all the important parts are very similar. The slight differences in ritual and liturgy do not distract from the dedicated practice of meditation. Last week was K's first visit, but he hopes to attend regular service while he is on the island.

Prior to K's attending service, we did visit the temple as tourists a few weeks ago. It's a beautiful modern temple with ornate altars honoring Shakyamuni Buddha and Avalokiteshvara among others. It also has a lending library for temple members.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Pu'uhonua o Honaunau

Normally we are allotted two consecutive days off for every five days of work, but B had to leave town for a few weeks and we had to work more than expected to get the farm ready for her absence. After ten straight days of work, we had today off.

On a typical weekend, we schedule one “adventure” and one day of rest. This weekend we visited Pu'uhonua o Honaunau (Place of Refuge at Honaunau). The rules governing ancient Hawai'ian social order, the kapu, were strictly enforced. Deserting, looking at a chief, preparing food for the opposite gender were just some of the many ways to break kapu, and if you were caught, the penalty was death. There was, however, one way out of your grim fate: get to a pu'uhonua, a place of refuge. There, a priest could grant absolution and the offender could reenter society. The pu'uhonua were generally in remote locations and this famous park is no different. The place of refuge is all lava rock jutting into the sea and surrounded by what was once royal land.


We hitched a ride down to Kealakekua Bay and started to walk what looked a short distance on the map. At first it was nice beach front houses but the landscape quickly turned to this

We walked this hot-ass road for nearly four miles, through a tortured landscape, and were passed by very few cars. We were less than a mile from the park when we finally got picked up. We had lunch and began walking around.

It's a barren, beautiful park. A patch of coconut trees and noni berry bushes (they are large and surprisingly stinky) surround the reconstructed historic sites but most of the park is lava rock stretching to the sea. We walked around the area, looking at outrigger canoes, a reconstructed fabricated temple (it's made from palms, so these things didn't last long) and ki'i, totem like deity sculptures.

But we were most interested in walking around the lava beach, listening and watching the ocean break against the rock, checking into the little tide pools. K thought it was the most naturally beautiful place he had been to in years.



We also took a walk down a trail that was supposed to be only 2 miles round trip, be we think we went way farther than that (we did pass through a boundary gate along our walk). It was so hot, it was almost unbearable, but the view was worth it. We walked along the edge of rock cliffs. Sorry our pictures don't do it justice, but here's at least an idea.

The path was a village road from 1871. There were no structures still standing, but it gave us a good idea of what a “road” may have been like then. Apparently, the people all pitched in to "pave" it with a'a lava instead of paying taxes.

We stopped off at Two-Step beach just north of the Place of Refuge. It's a rocky jump into a great snorkeling spot named "two-step" after the two flat lava rocks that help you as you claw your way out of the ocean. We just jumped in to cool off before heading home but hope to return for the snorkeling.

We hitched a ride up the mountain home from a guy with a DIY truck bed (amazingly sturdy, a total surprise from the look of it) then walked the last 4 miles home.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Chickens!

Taking care of the chickens doesn't take much time, but it's a big part of our routine on the farm. There are about 25 chickens living in four chicken tractors. As we mentioned in a previous post, chicken tractors are like hen houses on wheels. We move them around the farm which allows them to be free-range without having to dedicate a huge amount of land solely to chickens. They also do the farm the service of eating potential predator bugs from around the trees and leaving behind their “fertilizer.”

The chicken tractors are moved twice a day, once in the morning and afternoon. The chickens eat three times a day. In the morning, they get feed (like dog food, for chickens! and mixed with oyster shells – the calcium makes the eggs hard) and slugs that we picked out of the garden the previous night. It's probably the strangest job here: evening slugging. Every night, one of us on that farm spends about an hour poking around the garden collecting any slugs. It's a win-win: we get to eat slug-free greens, and the chickens get to eat theirs chock-full of sluggy goodness. These are Cuban slugs, which much larger than the slugs we've encountered on the mainland - 2" in length average.

In the afternoon, the chickens are fed the mango, papayas and avocados that are not good for human consumption (full of ants or beetles). In the evening, they get more chicken feed and greens (kitchen scraps or collards).

They produce about a dozen eggs a day, usually more. These are the best eggs we've ever tasted in our lives. Must be the slugs.