This post was written by Allison Gardner. Allison will graduate from Butler University in December with a degree in political science and international studies. She spent her summer interning on an organic coffee farm in Hawaii but returned home to Indiana to complete her degree.
I have lived in Indiana, an expanse of verdant agricultural land, for 21 years. That being said, I am a little embarrassed to admit that my first immersion in farming took place not in the countryside of the Hoosier state, but halfway across the world. My earliest memories of traveling always include leaving the busy pace of Indianapolis and staring, with fascination, out of the windows of my mom’s minivan at fields of corn and beans. Annual visits to the state fair were a treat, highlighted by strolls through rows of chickens and goats and horses. It was like visiting a foreign country. The closest I ever got to a farm was the plot of tomatoes and green beans in my grandparents’ tiny backyard.
In the past several years, I have fallen in love with the idea of local food production and organic farming. However, having no personal experience with growing my own produce, I had this nagging feeling that I really had no clue what I was rambling about. I felt inauthentic. So I took matters into my own hands: I decided to WWOOF. (Yes, you can use that as a verb. I think.) “WWOOF” stands for Worldwide Opportunities for Organic Farmers; it’s a network of farmers and workers who are interested in operating successful organic farms across the globe. So – after a bit of research – little Allie from the east side of Indy jumped on a plane with old jeans, hiking boots, and a whole lot of “what-the-heck-am-I-doing?” thoughts. I landed on the Kona coast of Hawaii, with a vision of me as a professional coffee farmer, intern extraordinaire, and expert on all things organic.
Naturally, this was not entirely the case. I did, however, experience the satisfaction of planting, harvesting, and (most importantly) eating a variety of traditional Hawaiian foods. My farm was 8 acres, with 7 acres of an organic coffee plantation and an acre dedicated to exotic fruit trees, a family garden, and a fully functional bed and breakfast. Nearly everything we grew was edible, so I became accustomed to picking random berries and eating them without a second thought. The most fulfilling moments occurred at the end of a long day on the farm, when I was caked in dirt and blood. I never thought I would thrive on feeling utterly disgusting.
I returned to Indiana with many nuggets of wisdom from my internship, but the most exciting is my newfound appreciation for the subtleties of taste. I was on a coffee farm, so I brewed my morning cup with beans that were grown, picked, dried, roasted, and packaged all on one plot of land. I’ve grown up paying outrageous prices for gross coffee that needs to be drowned in flavored syrup, so to identify the light acidity and flowery aftertaste was a new phenomenon for my taste buds. It was brilliant. I am proud of my willingness to now recognize organic tastes.
As I salivate over the stands at farmer’s markets and the rows of spinach at Butler’s campus farm, I’ll feel confident knowing I am capable of growing things myself. My summer was just as educational as any semester I’ve had in college. After years of studying sustainability and environmentalism, I’ve finally put theory into practice, and it was exhilarating.
