Mid-term Break

Hello! This past week was our mid-term break, which is coming to a close. We are expecting the students to arrive any minute now from their trip around the South Island. It will be good to hear what adventures they have had! Speaking of adventures, I’m looking forward to sharing with you all about what I’ve been up to on my days off. First, let’s talk about what happened before break.

Last week, I was the RA for the program. The RA is responsible for a variety of things; grocery trips, meal planning, cooking, community laundry, checking in on the students well-being, prepping for future classes, etc. It can be quite a lot! Thankfully, I had heaps of support from Nora. We have also been involving the students in the kitchen a bit more this semester. They cook dinner once a week in their small groups. I love being in the kitchen and supporting them as they figure out how to feed each other as a team.

Ok, on to mid-term break. I spend six days at Blockhill, a local permaculture garden run by Olmec and Melisa Sinclair. They are wonderful! CCSP often visits them as a part of orientation week and I spent 3 days there in December of 2019. That was before I’d done much gardening myself, so it was a lovely introduction to what is possible when you work more in line with the patterns of nature.

This time around, I had a bit more experience to work off of. This allowed me the chance to deepen my knowledge, gain new skills, and re-connect with the residents of the land in a different way. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to slow down and immerse myself in their practices of sustainable agriculture.

Some of my favorite things to do were: morning bird walks in the garden, weeding garden beds, hauling logs, cutting wood, transplanting trees and tomatoes, sowing beans and fennel, mulching potatoes, re-locating weed suppression fabric, and visiting the animals on the farm. There are 6 or 7 chooks (chickens), 3 ducks, 3 kune kune pigs, 2 rabbits, birdies, and plenty of other creatures who share the land with them.

I also had the chance to spend some cozy times in my little house there. I built a fire in the woodstove in the evenings, read, wrote letters, wove kete (or baskets), drew, felted, and even did a mini ballet class on my own. The structure is partly made up of a storage container, which works well as the bedroom space. There is another portion added on that holds a simple kitchen, table, chairs, storage area, and hammock. It was very comfortable.

I’m so glad Melisa and Olmec shared this place with me for the week. I feel rejuvenated and inspired. Thanks also to Nora, Stephen, and Courtnay, who kept things going back in Kaikoura. They did was a great job watering the plants in my absence, just look how happy the tomatoes are! It’s fun to get two spring and summer seasons in one year. I’m looking forward to harvesting off of these in the coming months.

That’s all for now! I will keep you updated. 🙂