Organic Farm Life

Written by Alexa & Clare

This week began with a rainy campsite so we decided to take a day trip to the sunny Southside of Maui for a hike. We spent all day walking across volcanic rock along “King’s Highway” with gorgeous views of the ocean coast, even stopping a few times to take a dip in an oasis.

On Monday, we learned about keeping bees and even got to harvest honey. The afternoon brought a more serious tone to our group as we went through the “Joanna Macy Work That Reconnects” with a woman who works at the farm.

 

In the hive!

Tuesday came and our hands got dirty. Our work included weeding and prepping plant beds for planting on Wednesday. We finished off the night with Gather, a movie about how Indigenous Americans are reclaiming their culture through cooking traditional dishes from community gardens and teaching youth traditional practices.

 

Getting intel on how to prep a bed after it has been harvested.

On Wednesday, transplanting and seeding took place in the garden on (finally) a sunny day! We even got to plant in the new beds we built last week. In the afternoon, Evan set up his regenerative waterslide that we had a blast on. The best part was watching the farm puppy, Señor, slide down. The day ended with a visit from our favorite, Harriet. She taught us how to reframe how we view the solar system.

 

Planting in the new raised beds we made. A week ago this was barren, never cultivated earth!

The next day David Leonard, a famous Earth Medicine practitioner, came to teach us about traditional healing. Get ready for us to come home and know how to solve our headaches and eye scratches naturally! We also made two kids of leis using Ti leaves that were used to gather plants for patients. That afternoon, as you all probably know, we got our SIM cards back (not before having a reflective discussion on healthy technology balances of course).

 

Fun day with David Bruce Leonard learning about plant medicine and traditional lei making.
Leí making success.

On Friday we prepped to harvest by doing a gratitude circle with Evan. With the group mood properly set, we harvested cauliflower, broccoli, herbs, radishes, ginger, and many other fresh vegetables for sale at the local farmers’ market. In the afternoon, we got suited up to open the bee hive. Evan told us that as long as we thought grateful thoughts, the bees would not get upset. Finally, we had a delicious meal of curry to end off a fabulous week of healthy, creative meals by our cook crew. Stay tuned to hear about our time at the local farmers’ market!

 

Justin and Ryan harvesting carrots 🥕

Mahalo,
Alexa and Clare