Women Are Awesome

I am finally mustering up the motivation for another post, reason being I would like this one to be focused on a topic I love to talk about - WOMEN! Yeah, woohoo!

But seriously though, how awesome are women?

I've been wanting to write about women for awhile, and I figured what better way than to make a post on Mother's Day, a day to commend some women and their awesomeness (the day to celebrate all other  women's awesomeness is March 8, International Women's Day).

A few weeks ago I was helping clean out the large greenhouse on the farm to make room for the incoming tomatoes. Meanwhile, Nicole was maneuvering the tractor to make room in the compost area, and shouting over the motor to Blake (her boyfriend), Ginger (another intern), and me, instructions on what to do next to prepare the greenhouse. Moon, a wonderful eighth grader at Sunfield, came up to the tractor to ask Nicole a question about selling greens at the Friday Café (a food stand that the older kids put together to raise money), to which Nicole patiently shouted (I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but that's really the only way to describe the response) an answer. I started walking with Moon back to the tables stocked with food, both of us with an armful of lettuce heads, and Moon said, "Isn't farmer Nicole awesome? I mean, who else could drive a tractor like that and look so cool?"

And I agreed with her. Nicole is very awesome, and not just for driving the tractor. By single-handedly taking on a farm during its transition stage, and by being an independent and strong-willed female, she's a role model for girls like Moon (and like me, for that matter). 

I worked at a local hardware store as a cashier during my senior year of high school. It was mostly a boy's club, and sometimes I felt out of the loop working with a bunch of tool-savvy guys. I really regret not taking charge of my experience there and having them teach me how to rewire lamps, glaze windows, or fix vacuum cleaners. I just passively accepted my role as the counter girl and didn't do much to try to shift people's thinking about a girl working at a hardware store.

Nicole sees my lack of knowledge with power tools, and encouragingly hands me the wood and screws when we put together table tops for seed start trays or set up trellising in the greenhouse. She helps me erase all doubt about my ability to do something by handing me the tool and saying, "Do it!" It's so easy to put partial blame my dad for not making me learn how to fix a leaking sink, and blame on me for not asking him. But really, it's not his fault, nor is it mine, that we live in a culture that doesn't think twice about setting a girl in front of a stove or a child, and a boy in front of a squeaky door hinge or car with a flat tire. It's the awesome women like Nicole who empower other women, who weren't exposed to hardware growing up, to grab the power saw and slice the heck out of that two-by-four.

I'm noticing that in fact many women around here in Washington are the ones waking up, seeing a problem in our food system, and wanting to participate in the change by running organic and sustainable farms. I see their callused hands making enthusiastic gestures at the farmer's market, their sunburned faces smiling at customers, and I want to skip and jump up the yellow brick road to Monsanto's headquarters and yell, "You don't stand a chance against all of these amazing women! You're just an old profit-hungry man behind a curtain!"

Ahem...now that I've gotten my Wizard of Oz reference out of the way...

Women like Nicole, who's taking on a crazy farm headstrong; women like Sylvia, who was born asking dozens of questions and got in the face of any system that stood in her way, women like the ones who started Sunfield, who have hung on hell or high water to their students and their school for the past ten years; women like my own mother, who has recently fully embraced herself by openly falling in love with an other fantastic woman; all of these ladies are wonderful examples of what women can do, and the courage displayed through their hardships inspire younger women to do the same.

And to all the guys out there, I am by no means attacking you. There is a difference between commending women and ragging on men. There are many men in my life whom I love and appreciate just as much, and for other reasons (one of whom I was just talking to tonight about a video he posted on our school's Facebook page, called Violence & Silence, a TED Women Talk, given by a man - you should check it out). I just wanted to give my fellow ladies an applause for being, well, frankly, awesome.

Hello women of the world. Thank you for being a constant inspiration, for encouraging me to break down barriers, and for holding my hand every step of the way.



Here is a brief picture set of my past couple of weeks here, enjoy!

May Day Festivities - kids dancing around the smaller Maypole

 Farmer Nicole got in the middle of the tube of ribbons we all wove while walking around the Maypole (the top broke off, so we did a makeshift weaving from the ground)

 The three bright boys I ride to school with every morning. This was taken after they helped me sing "Happy Birthday" to my brother last week on the way to Sunfield.

 Sylvia and I went to the farmer's market this past weekend and then walked in a beautiful park and on the beach. I closed my eyes and listened to kids laugh (which is something everyone should try)

 Made this for Sylvia for Mother's Day (evidently) - made one for my mom as well

 Snuggle time

 Nicole's dogs, Sis and Jim, begging for my lunch in the yard

The way the evening sunset comes through dandelions in the field makes them appear to be floating balls of light - incredibly magical

Midge and the barnacles say "hi"

Keep Movin'

One thing that has really stood out to me in my first few weeks here in Port Townsend is the importance placed on community. In fact, on our way back from the airport, Nicole mentioned the importance of having good people skills and knowledge about community organizing in operating a farm. It was something that had never occurred to me, that farming and community go hand-in-hand. But it makes complete sense, especially on a farm so closely involved with a school, a whole other community in itself.

And so far I really am seeing the magic sparks from this community at Sunfield, and getting to be a part of it is quite the honored experience.

For example, a couple of Fridays ago, Sunfield Waldorf School held their first Sun Run. It was a fundraiser for the school in which the kids collected pledges for each lap they ran around the grounds, and then were given an hour to run as many laps as possible in efforts to collect the most money. 

Circle-up at the end of the Sun Run

Many parents came, and every kid participated. It was a lovely event said to have raised thousands of dollars, an amount that is hard to come by for a non-profit school. It tickled me to finally get to see all of the people that make every day at Sunfield happen in one outdoor space, and everyone's enthusiasm proved to be quite inspiring. 

In another example of community involvement, at this time on the farm, we're working on getting people in the area to sign up for our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Program. For those who aren't familiar, CSAs are food systems that benefit the local consumer as well as the local producer, in which the customer pays upfront for a share of farm-grown items to be available to them throughout a season, and the farm is then able to purchase the necessities (such as seed and irrigation materials) to produce these products (Sunfield also offers a work-share, in which families can work a certain amount of hours a week and receive a half-share, feeding about two people, of farm-grown items). It's a great opportunity for members of the Sunfield community and even the people of Port Townsend to support the farm and its educational opportunities that it offers to the local kids.

In another instance, this past Friday I volunteered at an administrator-organized school fundraiser concert, featuring Aimée Ringle and Simon Lynge, both very entertaining and engaging acoustic performers of the area. Most people who attended were parents and kids who attend the Waldorf school, so it probably didn't raise as much money as intended, but it was still a nice event for socializing and a good opportunity to advertise the other things going on at Sunfield. For instance, there was a table to buy raffle tickets for a quilt, a table selling CDs of the performers, and another table selling a parent-made Sunfield cookbook. I was at the same table as the cookbook, trying to promote the CSA with just a few pamphlets and my poor salesmanship skills. And that's when I noticed something peculiar ...

The avid employee and volunteer at Sunfield who was with me at the table was doing a wonderful job of pushing the cookbook, but never once mentioned the CSA to people as they came by. If these people are interested in a cookbook, why not check out what the CSA has to offer? Not only does the school provide the recipes, but the farm supplies the ingredients! Come one come all! 

I was under the impression that we were both endowed to helping each other out; He represents the school in a way with the book while directing people to a way of receiving the vegetables that we're growing, and I hold out for the farm with my little handouts while showing a good recipe for a yummy summer-greens salad. But aren't the school's interests the same as the farm's? Does one even care about lending the other a hand?

It seems to me that the school views the farm as just a fun learning playground for the kids to be able to interact with animals and the processes of biodynamics, and the farm views the school as a nuisance that gets in the way of productivity. But how beautiful both are on their own! How can an interest be created in the big picture of what is being done here as a complete community of farmers, parents, and students?

I think I understand the problems. Many already busy parents are burnt out after spending their time with the fundraisers for the school, and don't have much time or energy left in the week to pull a few weeds in the raspberry patch, or help organize the barn to look nice for the CSA. And the few people who aren't parents but put their heart and souls into parts of the farm and school (such as setting up the Sunfield booth at the Farmer's Market every week, promoting the outdoor programs Sunfield offers, and working on enrollment for the coming school year) feel like their services are hardly acknowledged and under-appreciated. 

It's the non-profit dilemma. People come in extremely enthusiastic, giving their heart and soul up to "the cause",  and eventually start to feel as though they are being taken advantage of, coming away from their experience with a jaded look at certain parts of an organization that didn't even have bad intentions in the first place.

So right now, Nicole and I are working on getting an email list together to send out to members of Sunfield asking them to help as much as they can. If not on the farm, then in the office helping with administrative work. It's tiring and frustrating to see the amazing ideas and events come forward in this community with a lack of unity between the basic parts of the whole - farm and school.

And I know, you're probably thinking, "Elaine, you seemed so enthusiastic about this place in your last couple of posts! Why all the complaining?" I don't mean to come off as a whiner. As bad as this may sound, I really am enjoying getting to witness and experience both the ups and downs of this great organization. I am beginning to learn about important things involving community and the different types of people involved - skills that I will probably carry on throughout the rest of my life. And although it's disappointing to see these things happening, I am still extremely grateful that this experience isn't always going to be filled with "puppies and lollipops" (as Nicole would say). 

Last weekend I was biking up a tricky hill coming back from the food co-op, and was becoming not only irritated with the seemingly never-ending escalade, but also with my struggling feelings about how to compose all of these thoughts into a blog post as well as what I can do to maybe help unite the community during my short stay. As I huffed and puffed and mentally cursed at my weak legs, an older man in fancy biking gear sped past me with a smile and said, "Keep movin'". I laughed, not only at my pathetic amount of endurance, but also at the perfect timing for such an encouraging comment. Nicole was right, that community is such an important but overlooked part not only in agriculture, but in education as well (and in our case, both of them together).

I just have to refrain from too much frustration, take a deep breath, and keep moving.

Hello, Sunfield Farm and Waldorf School community. Thank you for the challenges that you bring and the learning experiences that come along with them.

Keep "mooo"vin'!

...couldn't resist...