World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009 - (Page 35)

for teenagers, the crews are exceedingly harmonious, without cliques, social jockeying or the constant low-grade hazing that often goes with that age group. each participant in turn, says Michael iceland, the project’s outreach coordinator. Staff enforce the rules while encouraging open-mindedness (“disagreement is not a bad thing, even though it can be uncomfortable,” reads one set of guidelines. “not everyone can or should share the same point of view.”) This combination of structure and openness, along with the shared goals of fieldwork, has a striking effect on the program’s teenagers. it manages to unify an age group not known for tolerance and to create a culture of acceptance among its various participants—upper and lower class, with different races and ethnicities, from public and private schools—one that not only tolerates such differences but also appears to warmly embrace them. The differences are evident even from casual observation. for teenagers, the crews are exceedingly harmonious, without cliques, social jockeying or the constant low-grade hazing that often goes with that age group. and there is something else, a sense of relief almost, that emerges in conversations with participants, as if they feel the freedom, finally, to begin to articulate who they are. arcadio, who says he applied to the project because he “wanted to build up my vocal skills,” and who recently completed one of the food Project’s workshops in public speaking, says that he found it much easier to overcome his shyness here than at his high school. “The food Project is a really welcoming environment,” he says. “it’s very supportive.” on the other hand, he says, “School is a social structure. if i mess up there, they’re going to see me that way.” russell says he appreciates how the program mixes participants from many backgrounds. “even though there are kids of color in my school, it’s still white-dominated, so the kids of color assimilate,” he says. “here, there’s assimilation, but it happens both ways. it’s a cultural exchange.” The project’s website includes a quote from the writer wendell berry: “There is another way w w w. h e i f e r . o rg to live and think: it’s called agrarianism. it is not so much a philosophy as a practice, an attitude, a loyalty and a passion—all based in close connection with the land.” indeed, the program’s premise is quite berrian. “Connection is health,” berry wrote in “The body and the earth.” and that is precisely what these kids are learning: the many ways that food is connected to daily life, and the ways that they themselves are connected to this system, but also the ways that they are connected to each other. in the context of farmwork, the lofty goals of social and personal change seem as attainable, and as ordinary and essential, as the crates of tomatoes and eggplants hauled in from the fields. lennie, assistant leader of Crew C, says it another way. “when you work in the field with someone, you see the physical side of that person. in diversity training and workshops, you see the emotional side.” Through both of these, he says, you get to know someone in ways you might never have otherwise. “you see what to say to that person,” he says, “how to talk to them. you see how you would trust them.” Changing Overnight on a friday morning midway through the summer, the entire program—some 60 teenagers, as well as interns and staff—gather at the farm outside of lincoln, Mass., for a sleepover. The train car on the 30-minute ride from boston, for which the MTa donates part of the fare, is stuffed with sleeping bags and outdoor gear, and spirits are high. Tyree Saunders has brought a fishing pole. half of lennie’s crew is on lunch duty. They spend the morning in the kitchen of a church in nearby Concord, meticulously dicing zucchini and squash and slathering chicken breasts with honey-mustard sauce. ralph, whose task is to prepare the cilantro, delicately picks apart a stalk, leaf by leaf, scowling in concentration. “ralph, you can probably go faster than that, right?” lennie says. “Can i ask you to? just remember,” he adds, “you’re going to be eating januar y/f e bruar y 2009 | wor ld a r k 35 http://www.heifer.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009

World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009 Contents Letters For the Record The Good Life Asked and Answered Microfinance: A Lot for a Little Business is Buzzing in Honduras The World Grows Smaller Mixed Media Heifer Spirit Heifer Bulletin Calendar First Person

World Ark Magazine - January/February 2009

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