I just bought a small jar of honey that was made just down the road and from a hive on the farm where I am living. There is great satisfaction in knowing where my food has come from. I was a bit nervous when I realized I'd be going to an egg farm this week after watching some disturbing videos about the way chickens are treated. I had been ready to stop eating eggs, but after all, I love eggs from head to me legs, my eyes to my thighs, my nose to my toes (camino people, I knew you'd appreciate that). Being here has given me renewed faith in free range eggs. The chooks have expansive fields to roam in, good organic food, fresh water, and personal attention. With about 300 hens, the farm produces over 1000 eggs a week. I should know because I've collected all of them, graded them, packed them, and sent them off to market. There are other animals on the farm as well: cows, sheep, pigs, a couple dogs, and a cat. In addition, there is an organic orchard and several organic garden plots run according to the prinicples of permaculture (permanent agriculture). I have been here for nearly a week and have about three more days. The family has left me in charge of the farm. I spent the first three days learning everyone's chores and feeling a bit overwhelmed but since then I have fallen into a routine and seem to have things under control. Here is my typical day:
Up at 8. Eggs for breakfast. Make oatmeal for the two dogs: Badge and Skip. Bring food scraps and milk to the two piglets. Feed chickens. Grade eggs, which involves washing and setting eggs on a machine which weighs and sorts the eggs. I then pack them and record numbers in the log book. Make bread. Milk Lulu, the housecow. Work in the garden weeding, preparing compost, harvesting cucumbers and zuccini, planting beans, watering seedlings. Lunch. Read Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom. Collect eggs from 6 hen houses. Feed pigs. Feed dogs. Feed cat. Dinner. Watch movie.
I have three more days of it and then I head up to the far northland, Kaitaia. My next stop is an olive grove.
It has been refreshing to be in a place that is almost entirely self-sufficient. If I want a salad, I just walk to the veg garden. If I need lemon juice for the hummus I am making, I go to the orchard. Toni, the mother of the house, is a firm believer in slow food. She has a pantry full of large jars with nearly every ingredient needed for a recipe. She also preserves a lot of her fruit. At first I was overwhelmed by all of the cooking and time put into eating, but I appreciate it. If I want bread, I have to make it. Although, I must confess that I am pretty bad. The last two loaves have been either too dry or too doughy, but I am learning. This week I also made some energy bars and preserved 10 jars of peaches. There is little waste in this household since all of the food scraps either go to the pigs or to the compost and everything else is bought in bulk and the bags these things come in are re-usable. I don't think they have a trash can becaue everything has its place.
Well, I'll let you know if anything exciting happens.
