NHESP 2011 Update 1

Hello All!

My name is Isabel, though I am commonly known as Aster within the Kroka community. I will be your trusty scribe throughout the 2011 Kroka New Hampshire- Ecuador Semester. As such, I will be providing you with updates as to how our blossoming community is fairing throughout our various adventures over the next 31/2 months. In spite of Tropical Storm Irene, the semester is off to a beautiful 

start. We begin our days with an early morning bike ride to Gustin Pond, where we swim in the icy chill of the water as the sun sheds its first rays over the still sleepy mountain tops.  Following our bike ride is “Pie Time” (a much more fitting term for the so-called “chores” we are eager to do).  We spend time in several teams: the “Hormigas”, our campsite clean-up crew; the “Cocineros”, our very own lovely chefs; the “Fuegos”, our tenders of the fire and firewood; and finally the “Fincas”, who aid in keeping the Kroka farm at its best.

Each day brings with it new knowledge and new excitement as our group blooms into interconnectedness. We are learning climbing knots and using them to shimmy our way up through the crevasses of the porcupine cliff.  We are discovering how to connect to the very soul of the sensitive sewing machines we are using to create our backpacks. We have faced challenges, and are looking forward to more.  We are already celebrating accomplishments, internal and external. While our tasks vary each day, one thing is certain.  Each day, we are working to form a strong community.

         We are on the threshold of our first expedition. We will be biking 10 to 20 miles each day, travelling to one local farm daily. At each destination, we will be aiding the farmer in their everyday work and enjoying some fine cheeses, meats, and vegetables.

On Monday, we will bike to Hillside Farm – a small-scale biodynamic vegetable farm – and learn about the impact, sustainability, and profit margin of the small-scale farm. On Tuesday, our destination is Vermont Shepherd, where we will experience how to successfully run and sustain a working sheep farm. Our final voyage will be to Harlow's – a large-scale organic vegetable and meat farm – where we see the techniques and the “big picture” of larger scale organic farming operations.

At each farm we will not only enjoy a truly hands on experience – feeling the dirt under our fingernails whilst plucking vegetables from the ground, perhaps, or learning about and completely being involved in the meat processing system – but we will also be immersed entirely in each farms' sustainability techniques. On Thursday, we will return to the sturdy canvas tents and hemlock-laden dwellings that we now call home.

In other news, this past Saturday we were privileged to aid in relieving some of the damage caused by the tropical storm that swept through the Vermont–New Hampshire area not but a week ago. Specifically, we helped an older couple, Peter and Doris Diamondstone, clean up the aftermath of the storm’s effects on their property in West Brattleboro. They live on the banks of a usually peaceful brook that rose out its bed and wreaked havoc on their yard, house, and guest cottage; spewing several feet of thick, clayey silt throughout their property and cottage. The waters themselves, at the zenith or their strength, ripped the cottage two feet off of its foundation. From the depths of the silt, we pulled broken windows; bricks encrusted with sand and clay; and an ample amount of trash, tires, and rotten wood that had been carried by the waters from surrounding properties and had laid to rest all throughout Peter and Doris' yard. After two and a half hours of arduous work, we managed to rid the cottage of silt, water, and mud, cleaned their vegetable garden, scrubbed all their mud-infested appliances to glory, and disposed of the majority of the trash and rotten wood.

Such a devastating event so close to home certainly put things into perspective for all of us. Moreover, we got to experience working together as a true community and fully realized exactly how much we are capable of accomplishing as such.

We keep all of you in our hearts and minds throughout the coming week and look forward to seeing all you fine folks soon!

Until next time,

Aster