We were recently at Symara Farm in Stanthorpe Queensland. Ray & Samantha will be taking a 6 month sabbatical from their farm to WWOOF in Europe with their children, Eva (9) and Charlie (7) and we were eagerly exchanging notes. In short, WWOOFING with Children has been an amazing experience for us and we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Traveling as tourists from beach to playground to museum can be fun, but will never be as rich and rewarding as working and being part of a community. WWOOFING with children however takes a little organisation :
NOTE 1: We have used WWOOFING (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) http://wwoofinternational.org rather loosely as we did not officially join the WWOOF organisation. We identified interesting farms through internet research, the Permaculture Community https://permacultureglobal.org, Organic Farms listings http://enviro.org.au/organics-directory-australia.asp and word-of-mouth. It is a small world and social media such as Instagram and Facebook are great tools to learn about and make contact with potential farms.
NOTE 2: We have heard that HELPX https://www.helpx.net and WORKAWAY https://www.workaway.info are also interesting platforms that work in a similar manner as WWOOF.
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Our family have long heated discussions about how to do things "right". Benoit was Mr Business Improvement in his previous life and is applying his know-how in our new life. Needless to say, there has been numerous debates about which SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) work best.
At our first Wwoofing job at Birdwood Downs, I was responsible for cleaning the 9 toilets and bathrooms in the ablutions block. It took me 2 hours to do it in the first day and by the end of the week, I could do it in under 45mins. I have no aspirations about becoming a professional cleaner, but it is interesting how having a process brings about efficiency. The real question is however not How to be more effecient, but Why do we Want to be more effecient! What is wrong with taking our time to pick beautiful bouquets of kale? Why can't we enjoy the time spent cleaning so it is a meditation to be enjoyed and not a tedious chore? Ultimately, I agree that a certain level of standardisation is necessary, especially when there is a large group of people working on a commercial business; But not at the expense of ingenuity and creativity. And in the spirit of continuous improvement, there needs to be a parhway to challenge existing SOPs so that they are evolving and not carved in stone. SOP for washing dishes - Most water efficient methodDIshwashing methodology has been a longstanding family debate. I think I have finally found the most water efficient and clean way. We discovered the method whilst volunteering at Wild Mountains, an educational center that holds earthcarer courses. Often, there are large groups of about 40-50 people so green and clean is important. It requires a 3 basin sink though so that will be in our plans for our new house.
SOP for cutting orangesThis is a strange but interesting debate. Benoit likes his oranges cut along the segments (picture on the left) because the orange peels off cleanly. I like my oranges cut across the segments (picture on the right) so they can be opened up easily to expose the cross segments. We have asked many people which they prefer and the jury is divided....
We are wwoofing at Natural Bridge Organics Farm in the beautiful Numinbah Valley Hinterlands. Everything is green and luscious, the weather is cool and they have soil that can grow just about anything. The Hinterlands is theoretically in the Sub-tropical zone but there is a micro-climate that allows us to grow Temperate zone veggies too.
Some members of the international team from France (Remi, Benoit), Belgium (Leila), Brazil (Enrique), India (Sid), UK (Chris), Canada (Eland- DuckCreek Farms, BC, Trevor), Singapore (Elaine, Stephan) & Australia (Luke, Dan, Joey, Paul). Luke, the farm manager has an amazing crew working for him; Dedicated, passionate and with a wealth of experience and knowledge. The garden applies Permaculture and Intensive Market Gardening principles drawing from the know-how of the team, many of whom have run their own market garden farms in other parts of the world. One thing that struck me was the number of yoga teachers and yogis who work here. There must be something about farming and yoga! Market Gardening 101Technique 1 : Preparing Garden Beds for direct sowing1. Clean up old bed. Cut weeds with a hoe.
Tools of the trade Technique 2 : Preparing seedlings for the nursery1. Prepare potting mix (2 tubs of compost, 1 tub of vermiculite, 10 50gm scoops of fertiliser. The compost should be sifted to remove large pieces and mixed well. 2. Pour potting mix into the trays and brush off the few mms. 3. Sow using a hand vibrator. Pest Control1. White flowers are grown inter-bed to prevent White Cabbage Moths. 2. Neem Tree oil and Dipel (Organic Bacteria) Spray. Life at the Farm |
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