Follow the Journey

Written By Ukiah

This week was a busy one, full of work, learning, and personal growth.

Monday, the group woke up (a bit colder than some liked) to our new views of fruit trees in the food forest at Pono Grown. After stretch circle and breakfast, we met up with Evan to learn more about the farm. We took a tour through the gardens, and familiarized ourselves with Evan’s vision for how these types of organic farms can contribute to the greater community. After lunch (which included a freshly picked pomegranate), we met up with Evan once again to mulch the avocado trees with cut vetiver grass, uproot two rows of cover crop and muck out the bottom of a newly dug pond. After quick showers, Elise, Stace and I did a quick late night shop to get all the essentials for the next week, including lots of ice cream bars to fill our new freezer (!!!).

Tuesday was our first day of farm work at Pono Grown. We met all six interns that are working and living on the farm and were directed by Evan and Emily (the garden manager) to buddy up and help weed the beds. The work went quickly and the rows of produce were filled with conversation as we got to know each intern better. Tuesday night, after tomato soup and grilled cheese, we had an open air viewing of “Kiss the Ground;” a movie about soil health, agriculture and how farming must change to take better care of the earth and its many inhabitants. This movie had all our minds thinking as we climbed into our tents under the beautiful starry sky.

Wednesdays are “bed prep” days here at Pono Grown, so we all paired up with new buddies and helped fork, aerate and mix compost into a smattering of empty beds through the garden. After lunch, we mixed wheelbarrows full of soil and transplanted dozens of baby plant starts to prepare to plant in the coming weeks. Late afternoon featured solo time and a chance to call and connect with loved ones at home.

Thursday morning (after an early morning journaling assignment,) we took a break from our work clothes and spent the day learning about permaculture from Jenny Pell, a Permaculture Design Consultant. We learned about how permaculture is more than just a way of farming, but instead building systems that promote resiliency and sustain our communities long term. The group then split in two to design systems rooted in permaculture ethics: 1) Care for the Earth, 2) Care for People and 3) Share Your Surplus. One was a neighborhood called Faber Castell and the other was the college campus of Catan University- inspired by our favorite board game.

Friday was a favorite day of the program so far, largely because it was “Harvest Day” at Pono Grown. After waking up early and journaling again, we helped the farm crew harvest produce to sell at their CSA and local Farmers Market the following day. We picked, cleaned, prepared and packaged lettuce, taro, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, fennel, herbs, chard and kale. After lunch, a game of Catan (Issy finally won!) and fitting our own bag of beautiful produce into our fridge, we helped Evan and his 7 (and 3/4!) year-old son, Bija, build a water slide into the pond. We spent the afternoon sipping lemonade (made by Nina and Paige the Intern from the freshly picked lemons in the orchard) and whizzing down the slide into the water. With a big hike early the next day, our wise OEs headed to bed leaving most of the rest of the group to play a long game of Catan with a few of the interns.

The hike on Saturday was big, and I think we all agreed it was worth it. We woke up early and drove an hour into Haleakalā National Park. We arrived at the top of the volcano, a whole 10,000 ft above sea-level and overlooking the otherworldly crater, nervous and excited for our big adventure. Stace and Forrest shuttled a car as the group acclimated to the altitude and did some stretching. As soon as they returned, we took off into the crater down the “Sliding Sands” trail, around giant hills of red rock and lava flow features, losing 4,000 ft of elevation and gaining some pretty incredible views. About 9 miles into the hike (11 if you were Elise or Will who had to hike back a mile to grab a dropped phone), we reached the “Switchbacks” trail. This trail, we quickly learned, was also accurately named. The group took off, each of us at our own pace, zig-zagging up the giant cliff. 2,000 ft higher into the sky, overlooking the crater on one side of the trail and a cloud-covered ocean on the other, with significantly less oxygen in our lungs and sorer muscles in our legs, we finally finished!! We drove down the mountain to celebrate our 11.5 mile success with burgers, sandwiches, small (potentially too small) pizzas and gourmet ice cream.

Sunday morning, Elise and Alexa cooked a delicious MnM pancake breakfast to comfort our aching bodies and wrap up a good week. David Bruce Leonard spent the morning teaching us about medicinal plants around the farm and we finished the day exploring the town of Makawao nearby and passing on the leadership torch to Nina and Adi.