After so many years fantasizing about permaculture and farming I finally did it! 1 month working in an organic farm north of Copenhagen. The farm spreads over 24 hectars with a crazy variety of vegetables, herbs, tubers; bees, hens, cows. Also the business model is quite peculiar spanning from box-scheme and direct selling to restaurants, to an organic shop and a cafe, as well as hosting schools, trainees and woofers.
It was a fantastic experience, especially in this covid time, and hereby I’ll try to explain why.
People. I met some remarkable people. Starting from the owners: chemical engineers passionate about organic farming and biodiversity. Always studying new ways to make things better and easier like the amazing weeding machine prototyped 20 years ago with an EU funding.
People working or studying there. Mainly in their 30s. Educated and students, most of them at the second education. Really in love with nature, growing. soil, gardening. After looking for them into data, I actually met them…it’s all true: young, educated people are happily going into organic farming. They study. Think about climate change and how to adapt current organic farming system to whatever is in front of us. They bring the educational angle: how to teach kids about all this complexity and richness? they are psychologist: what’s the effect on mental illness? They all love good, healthy food. They all hate waste and they recycle every single bit of everything. For most of them you could really say they are doing what they love to do, they had their call, they are easy, happy and free.
The land. The soil in and of itself. Being in touch with our planet everyday is something that soak in making you feel grounded. Really grounded!
And of course the vegetables. Growing in so many different variety and shape. So tasty, so healthy. I kind of forgot about other food: veggies and fruits every meal and every snack. It is so depressing to go back to the supermarket now and experience this loss of agency on the quality of my own food.
The physical work. It is a bit extreme if you are used to a room with a computer. It took me a good amount of awareness about my energy level and physical stress during the first weeks, e.g. drinking water and honey, always stretch, take care not to overdo, etc. Nonetheless there’s no doubt about it: it is good for body and mind. I can’t think of a better job to live a happy, healthy life.
Last but not least: logistic and governance. Logistic. From ‘wild’ to ‘domesticated’.
- open fields in the back: you don’t see it if you come to the organic caffe’;
- the shed to storage and process: big and messy with work stations, wheelbarrows, mini-truck, etc.;
- the pre-shop or post-shed for packing: way cleaner;
- the shop: really cool ‘okologisk’.
Funny bit: the first time I’ve been in the shop I had the feeling it was ‘aggressive’, not neat: the smell of vegetables, so intense!, all this variety, colours, plastic boxes under the shelves and the door open on the pre-shop room…..after a month watching the shop from the other side I find it beautiful and perfect, even too perfect.
Governance. A nice flexible combination of:
- to-do priorities: given at 8am by the owner and main employees, revised at 10am during the coffee break and at 1pm at lunch time;
- personal physical needs following a general rule of thumbs not to stay on the same task more than 2–3 hours and alternate work in the fields and indoor.
