APW: Spring Into...?

Getting older, time continues to behave differently, and perhaps memory too.  Our brains might only have the capacity for so many relationships and interactions and though the passing of time separates people for extended periods, it takes only a recollection of a shared experience to eliminate or overcome such immense emotional and physical distance.  So I'm putting this out there, as a method for myself and for you, to recall experiences you've had in the past and to engage with someone you haven't in years.  For me these exercises help give more purpose to the present, as the present too will become past.  And if the past is neglected, it suggests an element of futility to the present . Often it is a song or a smell that does the trick, or a walk to a forgotten favorite childhood tree, to bring you back to a more agreeable balance with the now.

A reflection and update from my end.

I am well.  My time away from Hawai'i has been very good for me.  As much as I love the island, the culture, the people and all my experiences there, I was very ready to create space and engage with the rest of the world.

My experiences in Asia, mostly in Nepal,have shed a lot of light on the different cultures in the world and the adversities they all face, the deities they believe in, the interactions with the government and the powers of the surrounding nations, and how easy it can be to breathe and smile.  (It is crazy how complicated the developed world and the mind that grows up inside of it as opposed to a developing nation). Each history of these landscapes and each culture that inhabits them are drastically different from the last.  And in this modern world, each puzzle piece fits in differently than it used to, while many are already established on the global network, others' doors are being gently or harshly knocked on to join.

In the last 5 years, I have lived on conservative and liberal farms.  Farms owned by Mormons, Jews and Atheists.  Farms in the desert, in the mountains and the rainforest.  Farms involved in a local,state, national and international agricultural movement.  Farms with money and farms without.  Farms in nations with money and nations without.  Each one has taught me much and brought me to the next place.    

The world is large and diverse and there is much to observe and learn.  There are many ways to pursue these studies.  Some is through a direct classroom, and others through a walk in the woods or planting a seed.  The common thread is showing up.  Being present with the intention of wanting to familiarize yourself and improve your interactions with the surrounding environment, both people and plants.  

Keeping in mind the different approaches to engaging with this world, I am now faced with two paths.  They both commence in August and share many similarities.  I have been accepted into Warren Wilson College in North Carolinato pursue Environmental Studies with a focus on Sustainable Agriculture.  I can also pursue a 5 month program called Sustainable Israel, including a 2 month "Green Apprenticeship /Permaculture Design Course" in the Arava Desert in Israel at Kibbutz Lotan.  Lots of very interesting and impacting research is being done at both of these places.  Both pursuits engage in theoretical and practical work and each affects their local environment positively and invites International Students and Travelers to their campuses to study, learn and apply these skillsback in their homes. (An environment / community that I would love to create and build in the next 10 years)

I will be reaching a decision sometime this week and would love to hear advice or stories of being in a similar situation.  I miss the Hawaiian islands though a trip back does not seem imminent.  I will howeverbe in New York in July if anyone is around.  

Would love to hear how all of you are doing,

Wishing you a warm spring, enjoy the vibrant new growth all around you,

Matthew

All Landscapes Worthwhile

After Annaporna I began a time quite unusual for me.  It was spent
mostly in Suburbs and Cities and around friends and friends’ families.
 I had a vibe of a reluctant and confused tourist being in countries
where I could not speak the native tongue, and was dependent upon
others for directions, ways to occupy my time and translation.  I also
had some great experiences during this time, eating great food and
saying farewell to Nepal and exchanging my rupees (sad day), being
welcomed into Israel with clean cities and clear roads, celebrating
the holidays by spending Pesach Seder camped next to the Sea of
Galilee, seeing friends of friends in the old city of Jerusalem,
visiting an expert in Israel on Post Harvest handling of Vegetables,
Herbs, Fruits and Flowers, and being with a family (embracing the
feeling of family) and having large and delicious meals.

Much of the delights and sensations could be summed up with food.
From Labaneh to Hummus, Eggplants Dishes to Poyke Pots, Baklava to
Kanafe, fresh salad galore and many bread dishes (up until Passover).
And I tasted a good beer finally, my first in over 6 months, in an
arab village, Tarsheha, in the north!  What a moment that was!

And then the next part of the journey began, where we headed South to
the desert, to camp on the beach, float in the dead sea (from world’s
highest lake Tilicho at 5000 meters in Nepal to lowest 400 meters sea
level), swim in fresh pools running through arid canyons, see a music
concert in the middle of night in the middle of nowhere, and then onto
the Eco-Farms and Villages and kibbutzim and research centers studying
and applying sustainable practices that is being implemented
throughout Israel, and in neighboring countries in the world.

It was great timing as I was feeling a bit antsy to get my hands in the dirt!
And ahhhhh, the desert! The stillness that is not really still.  The
blank canvas that is filled with subtle life.  The warm caressing
breezes, and the beating sun that never quits.  The hovering flies,
dry leaves, date palms, desert blossoms, composted thick top soil,
buried drip lines, endless sunsets, digesting biogas bins, mud domes
and earthen walls. Beautiful desert, it is so nice to return to you
from the tropics of Hawaii to the Mountains of Nepal.

But the desert I return to is hardly the one I have recognized in the
past.  It is not like the Bedouin Village I visited 4 years ago and it
is not like the 4 months I spent in Nevada in the Mojave Desert.  It
is not just the artistic designs that are woven beautifully into the
earthen walls either that makes this place unfamiliar.  Nor is it the
large greenhouses and shade structures lining the roads.  It is the
greenery that surrounds this place, the biodiversity and flourishing
of life that strikes me.

Something that happened to me:

My second day on the Kibbutz and I woke up at 6 and even though it was
‘holiday’ I started to work in the nursery area and weed the floor and
the pots and do some organization. I accumulated a large pile of weeds
and left them there as I went over to see who was working in the
chicken run giving them fresh water to find out the schedule for
feeding, and what the diet of the chicks included.

It was Mike, the bad ass English Permaculture guy who my friend had
gotten me in touch with. He told me how it is difficult to accommodate
people who are here for a few days (such as myself) and need to be
baby sat and this and that.  He works around 14 hours a day and still
feels like he is falling behind, so this is a more than understandable
comment.

We talked a bit while I helped him water the container gardens and
clean the bathrooms for the eco-tourists arriving today. Next he began
to search for food for the chickens and I told him about what I did
that morning and he decided the material was perfect food for the
chicks for the next few days.  One man’s problem is another chicken’s
breakfast.  This was all very serendipitous.

We continued our conversation about other kibbutzim and interesting
projects and research happening throughout Israel.  I wrote down a
list of places to visit and then shared over breakfast the history of
agricultural practices and my background in Hawaii.  Both the desert
and the rainforest attract people with certain ideologies determined
to live in extreme conditions.  And they both are isolated in a way
that stresses the importance of togetherness and creating a network
among farmers and communities.

Mike has lived here for 28 years. He grew up with a permaculture
garden and used to be a part of a punk band in England. The younger
guy, Josh, grew up in a dome and gave me the tour of the kibbutz after
picking me up from the junction. He is American who has lived in
Israel for 8 years, has a masters in international development, has
worked with Friends of the Water, and is charge of Natural Building
and Marketing and Networking for Kibbutz. Walking around and learning
of the projects going on from Josh was very inspiring.  You can check
them out at www.kibbutzlotan.com/

There is such a diversity of people and programs here on this kibbutz
and in the Arava. There is a year program here for Israelis before
they join the army, there are continual 2 week, 1 month and 2 month
Ecological and Permaculture Training courses, there are 6 month and
year long green apprenticeships, there is a kibbutz volunteer program,
and there is much expansion to come as well.  The kibbutz also hosts a
large Dairy and a Date Farm.

There are talks of future projects such as creating a food forest
model for a CSA. Building 5-10 more housing structures with natural
building. And they have done much in the past for Israel too. Kibbutz
Lotan hosted the first CSA in Israel, helped install various recycling
methods in practice today, and possibly more soon to be in practice,
including city-wide composting bins across the country.  Their alumni
from the long term programs are out there in the country and around
the world imagining and implementing such practices and systems
learned on the Kibbutz.

I will be in Israel another few months, continuing to check out
innovative projects and communities.  After which, I hope to return
home to North America for July and be with family.  If anyone is on
the East Coast in July or August, please get in touch!  It would be
great to catch up.

And then in August, I buckle down, study, work, learn, and give what I
can back, either to a community in the blue ridge mountains of North
Carolina or a kibbutz in the desert of Israel.  Keeping the doors
open, and letting in the breeze.  All landscapes worthwhile.