Steaming
I am forever grateful for the opportunity that I had with Kristin to represent the Crop Mob on NPR. I had every mobber, past, present, and future in mind. I really appreciate all the encouragement and positive feedback.
There are a few words and phrases that were exchanged on our NPR program that make me cringe. In particular, the terms, “farm chores” and “work for free” I never associate with Crop Mob.
Chores are, menial, routine tasks that must be done. They remind me of rules and responsibilities. This can be a bit of a drag. Even people who are not actively farming have chores to do.
At a Crop Mob, we do what we want. We tackle projects, which are on-going and unpredictable and unique to farming. Like the American Heritage Dictionary defines a project as “an undertaking requiring concerted effort,” is how I feel about the type of work accomplished at a Crop Mob. And to see the outcome of one or several more projects get well underway or completed in one day is incredibly uplifting.
After spending a day with the Crop Mob I feel enlightened. This is my church. Sunday is my day off. I have faith in a new generation of farmers.
Let’s get this straight. We do not work for free. It is reciprocal.
These things are what make the Crop Mob a success. This how we make a statement. We do it ourselves without any exchange of money or formal documents. This is how we make it fun. There is next to no pressure at a Crop Mob; no pressure for time, and not for profit. We have goals and objects but, we have also many skilled or able hands, eager minds, and passionate hearts that lead us through them. We bring power in numbers and one farm of like-mindedness receives all the benefit.
And then each Crop Mobber may benefit, too. Either on land of their own, or leave with an increased desire for something, a new idea, and most definitely, in all hopes, a full belly.
“Food should be celebrated.”
Thank you to all who participate.
Posted by sam on January 29th, 2010 filed in crop mobs | 9 Comments »
9 Responses to “Steaming”
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You’re currently reading “Steaming,” an entry on Crop Mob by sam on Jan 29 2010 @ 10:42 pm
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February 2nd, 2010 at 9:43 am
Great clarification Sam! Reciprocity is certainly a key to Crop Mob, even when its not measured the way folks typically do in our modern consumer culture.
February 4th, 2010 at 12:47 am
As someone who follows your efforts and knows some of the farms you have mobbed at (Beausol Gardens for one), I have a few observations.
As someone who farms for a living and is raising a family, you need to broaden your context a bit and not be offended by the word “chores”. Farming, if done to support a family and create a real local food system, is quite an undertaking that requires concerted effort. Try running a CSA that supports 200 families without doing “menial or routine tasks” and that will lead to disaster. If you support yourself with a job and recreate by mobbing, go into your job tomorrow and just do the tasks that are fun and inspirational, and see how long you remain employed. If you are really serious about local food then start your own farm and see how long you last with any other financial support.
Pie in the sky thinking offends many farmers who work hard to raise the food that you celebrate with.
Tom
February 4th, 2010 at 9:22 am
Tom:
If a farmer is offended by pie in the sky thinking then they may want to reevaluate why they are doing what they are doing. Farming sustainably is an ideal and it most often requires lofty goals and wide eyes within the framework of real and difficult work. We farm full-time and then come do it for someone else on a Sunday? That in itself requires a belief in this work that is beyond many many people.
A good percentage of us have our own farms or work on one as an intern or apprentice. There is no doubt that there are menial and routine tasks all the time, but I do not think that is what Sam is speaking of. Without putting words in her mouth, I’m pretty sure she is talking within the context of Crop Mob itself. Chores are things that must be done. At Crop Mob a person does not have to do something they do not want to do. But they have to work.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Trace,
I understand the idea behind crop mob, and I farm b/c I enjoy the work on all levels, mental, physical, and to some extent “spiritually”. I was once accused by a full time farmer who sold next to me as being a hobby farmer, which made me mad. But his point was that until I made my living solely by farming, my point of view had its limits when it came to helping run the market, etc. There were a lot of great ideas on how to make a market better, but you only have so much time outside of the hard work of farming. I know you work for ECO and I enjoy your blog, but I strongly advise anyone involve in CM activities that if they truly want to farm as a career, nibbling around the edges part time on weekends and in their free time barely begins to address building a truly local food system. I was a teacher for 12 years and farmed on the side. I always had my “real job” to fall back on. But, when my household went from 1 to 3 kids with the birth of our twins, daycare wasn’t an option and one income now had to cover two. I decided to farm full time and devote myself full bore into it rather than just nibbling at it and still teaching. Is it easy? No. Am I some sort of hero? Groups like the greenhorns who call their efforts heroic (an email I got from them) unjustly elevates some people to some cult status for no reason. Farmers are no more valuable than teachers, and no more so than mechanics. People tend to mistake the nobility of their cause with the magic of learning skills they otherwise would never would have any use for given the current food distribution paradigm in which food is plentiful and cheap. I for one believe that children should receive and education similar to Montessori’s “head, heart, and hand” philosophy. That way, skills that the current generation behind me (I’m 40) had no use for in suburbia wouldn’t be relegated to the scrap heap due to budget constraints.
Until people walk away from their gardens as a sideline and start earning a livable wage from their gardens and supporting themselves and maybe a family (let’s bring back true family farms), little will change in regards to local food.
Tom
February 5th, 2010 at 7:08 am
Tom,
I wrote this blog only to share my feelings about the Crop Mob, a group that holds an event once a month that has elevated my life here in the Piedmont. When I am often feeling homesick for Ohio, or wonder why am here at all, the Crop Mob has been a great incentive for me to stay.
I am not using this space to delve into a conversation about farming as a living. However, hopefully Crop Mobs make farming life better for those who are doing it.
The saying holds true, “food should be celebrated,” because it doesn’t come easy.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Sam,
I understand….one of the frustration I might share with new farmers is how difficult it is to start a farm. Through luck and perseverance, we have so far managed to carve out our spot. More difficulty lies ahead. My hope is that people looking into agriculture don’t lose perspective or grounding in the aspects that make it difficult, i.e. financing, resources, land, etc. Maybe I misunderstand the references to your group “raiding” farms or descending on them, although I don’t take it literally, I think better words could be chosen. As I told Steven Horton when I met him this past fall, farming is not a once a month activity if you want to make a living, and I realize your groups goal is not to do that. True sustainability of a farm is economic as much or more so than biological. No matter how good my compost is, if I cant pay the bills and keep a roof over my family’s head, it doesn’t do much good to farm and loose money. Keep up the good work.
Tom
February 8th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Sam! Your writing is seriously inspirational – what a manifesto! Thanx for sharing.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:24 am
Tom –
Firstly, we don’t get to choose the words that media use in their headlines. “Raiding” has been a tough one to shake.
You are right that farming is not a once a month thing nor is it a weekend thing or a morning thing or an evening thing. It is also something that you should not have to do alone. I am fortunate to have access to my own farm. When I get home from my job at ECO, I can see the progress made by the folks who are there full time. I can then contribute to it with my own capabilities and knowledge. It is an unconventional hybrid living situation that many new farmers are welcoming.
Be your own hero.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
[...] to and from WUNC when we went to talk about our experiences with the mob. Soon after, Sam posted a blog to sum up her thoughts that I’ve included (the majority) here because I couldn’t have [...]