Young Agrarians Apprenticeship: Reflections
Over the course of the summer and into the fall months, Matt and I have been a part of the Young Agrarians (YA) apprenticeship program. Over the course of the past four months we have been working at Maplewood Acres Market Garden in Aremena and Newo Global Energy -- a Camrose basedsocial enterprise that focuses mainly on solar projects but is now branching out to begin a
permaculture division.
permaculture division.
During the first few weeks of the apprenticeship we had the opportunity to
take a two week permaculture design course with Adaptive Humans Permaculture. This course
gave us the opportunity to enter into our apprenticeship with wide eyes to a different
perspective on reality, a perspective that sees the connections, needs, and yields in our natural
ecosystems. Beginning work at the market garden was a joy. We loved having our hands in the dirt
and harvesting nutritious food for people to eat. One of our co-workers said that she feels
satisfied every day when she goes home because she knows her work contributed to the good
health of others, what a wonderful reason to go to work.
take a two week permaculture design course with Adaptive Humans Permaculture. This course
gave us the opportunity to enter into our apprenticeship with wide eyes to a different
perspective on reality, a perspective that sees the connections, needs, and yields in our natural
ecosystems. Beginning work at the market garden was a joy. We loved having our hands in the dirt
and harvesting nutritious food for people to eat. One of our co-workers said that she feels
satisfied every day when she goes home because she knows her work contributed to the good
health of others, what a wonderful reason to go to work.
The work at NEWO was, in part, to establish a fruit rescue program in Camrose similar to
programs that exist around Alberta such as Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton. Although we do
not yet have a fully operational program here in Camrose the conversations have begun. Matt and I recently received a Food Endowment from the University of Alberta-Augustana Campus to further our project to map out fruit trees in Camrose, hold workshops, and to plan a food forest to hopefully be installed on campus.
programs that exist around Alberta such as Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton. Although we do
not yet have a fully operational program here in Camrose the conversations have begun. Matt and I recently received a Food Endowment from the University of Alberta-Augustana Campus to further our project to map out fruit trees in Camrose, hold workshops, and to plan a food forest to hopefully be installed on campus.
One of the wonderful parts of being a YA apprentice has been connecting with the other YA interns and farmers across Alberta and into BC. During our first gathering with the other interns our eyes were opened to others that are entering a similar journey that is not often heard of in today’s society. We felt the warmth of the hearts of everyone in the circle knowing they are going through a similar transitional phase and are asking themselves similar questions. A support network of like minded people goes a long way in travelling a path that is fairly new terrain.
In 2017 CBC reported that 92 percent of Canadian farmers have no succession plan
(Smith Cross). With families encouraging their kids to find “better” livelihoods off the farm and
thus no younger generations to inherit and steward the land we are going to need a new model
for taking on a farm. Matt and I are looking forward to seeing what this question can offer us.
How will we succeed family farms? We really began asking this question more of ourselves after
a visit to Wildwood Farm. The couple who are retiring on the land, Tim and Linda, gathered us
to share in their beautiful farm and also to ask how their land could be succeeded in a
cooperative model. We had many questions, concerns and positive possibilities for a
cooperative and have been looking into the possibility of a cooperative model for ourselves.
(Smith Cross). With families encouraging their kids to find “better” livelihoods off the farm and
thus no younger generations to inherit and steward the land we are going to need a new model
for taking on a farm. Matt and I are looking forward to seeing what this question can offer us.
How will we succeed family farms? We really began asking this question more of ourselves after
a visit to Wildwood Farm. The couple who are retiring on the land, Tim and Linda, gathered us
to share in their beautiful farm and also to ask how their land could be succeeded in a
cooperative model. We had many questions, concerns and positive possibilities for a
cooperative and have been looking into the possibility of a cooperative model for ourselves.
If we want to evolve to a new society which values regenerative farming, young farmers
are going to need the support networks and the opportunity to explore what they can bring to
the table. In the book Letters to a Young Farmer --which we received at the beginning of the YA
program-- Barbara Kingsolver writes “we need farmers every single day of our lives, beginning
to end, no exceptions. We forgot about that for awhile, and the price was immense” (Hodgkins
are going to need the support networks and the opportunity to explore what they can bring to
the table. In the book Letters to a Young Farmer --which we received at the beginning of the YA
program-- Barbara Kingsolver writes “we need farmers every single day of our lives, beginning
to end, no exceptions. We forgot about that for awhile, and the price was immense” (Hodgkins
18). The YA internship program is a revaluation of young farmers and a call for their wisdom in the
field.
field.
Another letter in Letters to a Young Farmer, this time by Gary Paul Nabhan, he writes,
“you will get paid in being up for the drop-dead gorgeous dawns, in seeing the trembling
creatures give birth, in seeing fruit trees break bud into a bounty of blossoms, and in feeling
depleted soil heal into fertility once more” (Hodgkins 52). Over the course of the summer we
have seen a snippet of the beauty of such moments, and yearn for more in the days and years
to come.
“you will get paid in being up for the drop-dead gorgeous dawns, in seeing the trembling
creatures give birth, in seeing fruit trees break bud into a bounty of blossoms, and in feeling
depleted soil heal into fertility once more” (Hodgkins 52). Over the course of the summer we
have seen a snippet of the beauty of such moments, and yearn for more in the days and years
to come.
A beautiful sunrise during a weekend spent at the Ruzicka farm.
Pelicans flying away from the slough after joining us for the sunrise.
It has been important to us to have this summer to explore possibilities without needing a
clear vision of how we will make money. We have valued having the time not just to enter into a
job but to actually consider what we are going to fill our days with to make our hearts sing, since
as Annie Dillard said “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives” (Dillard). At
our final gathering with the other young agrarian apprentices, we were graced by the presence
of Takota Coen, a young farmer from our neck of the woods, to share some thoughts and
perspective. Throughout the weekend together we were constantly asking ourselves questions
such as what are you doing when you feel most beautiful? and, if you had one hour left to live
what would you be doing?
clear vision of how we will make money. We have valued having the time not just to enter into a
job but to actually consider what we are going to fill our days with to make our hearts sing, since
as Annie Dillard said “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives” (Dillard). At
our final gathering with the other young agrarian apprentices, we were graced by the presence
of Takota Coen, a young farmer from our neck of the woods, to share some thoughts and
perspective. Throughout the weekend together we were constantly asking ourselves questions
such as what are you doing when you feel most beautiful? and, if you had one hour left to live
what would you be doing?
After the weekend westarted looking into more and more possibilities for
our next steps forward. The excitement of each possibility is immense as we have a deep
seeded passion and calling. However it was not until this past weekend as were driving home
for thanksgiving that we took some time to really ask ourselves what we need in our lives to feel
balance, flow, and genuine happiness. As we delved into the things that create moments in
which we feel most beautiful we began to understand our values that will help us question what
we really desire.
our next steps forward. The excitement of each possibility is immense as we have a deep
seeded passion and calling. However it was not until this past weekend as were driving home
for thanksgiving that we took some time to really ask ourselves what we need in our lives to feel
balance, flow, and genuine happiness. As we delved into the things that create moments in
which we feel most beautiful we began to understand our values that will help us question what
we really desire.
Our boss at NEWO, Rajan Rathnavalu, often says that we started at third base, that we
live privileged lives. The question now and always is, what do we do with such privilege to give
back to others? There is a huge bounty of opportunity and we are so grateful for YA in offering a
space to enter the farming community as outsiders, to see where we need to go next in
becoming insiders.
live privileged lives. The question now and always is, what do we do with such privilege to give
back to others? There is a huge bounty of opportunity and we are so grateful for YA in offering a
space to enter the farming community as outsiders, to see where we need to go next in
becoming insiders.
References
Dillard, Annie. The Writing Life. Harper Perennial, 2013.
Hodgkins, Martha. Letters to a Young Farmer: on Food, Farming, and our Future. Stone Barns
Centre for Food and Agriculture, 2017.
Smith Cross, Jessica. “Aging Farmers With No Succession Plans Put Future of Canadian
Family Farms at Risk.” CBC News. 6 July. 2017,
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/family-farm-aging-farmers-canada-1.4207609.
Centre for Food and Agriculture, 2017.
Smith Cross, Jessica. “Aging Farmers With No Succession Plans Put Future of Canadian
Family Farms at Risk.” CBC News. 6 July. 2017,
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/family-farm-aging-farmers-canada-1.4207609.
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