Van Der Kar: Service Learning

For the satisfaction of my Service Learning requirement, I spent over 30 hours of service with a farm and farmer training program know as ALBA Organics (Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association). Located on the outskirts of Salinas, ALBA is an organization which offers a training program for those interested in cultivating and selling organic produce. This farmer education program, PEPA, which stands for Programa Educativo para Agricultores, consists of a nine month long training course. During the PEPA program, participants are trained and educated on topics such as; organic crop production and planning, marketing, small business management, and applied organic farming. This last training section, applied organic farming, refers to the opportunity that all PEPA participants have upon completion of the course to rent a small plot of land from ALBA. Under supervision of others, these recent PEPA graduates are able to apply what they have learned in the program by cultivating their rented plot of land.
ALBA's mission statement as according to its website:
Our mission is to advance economic viability, social equity and ecological land management among limited-resource and aspiring farmers. We work to create opportunities for family farms while providing education and demonstration on conservation, habitat restoration, marketing and whole farm planning.
With my major in Spanish and a minor in Business, emphasizing Agricultural Business, my service learning experience at ALBA Organics offered the perfect culmination of my studies and interests.
Upon arriving to ALBA for my first service session, I was given the choice to participate in field labor or help with office work. Keen to further my spanish speaking and comprehension proficiency and to gain experience in farming techniques and tactics, I chose to get my hands dirty and work outside. From this decision I was introduced to a number of farmers, all PEPA graduates, with whom I would be helping over the coming weeks.
From cleaning and sorting tomatoes, communicating with the farmers about their trials and triumphs, pruning, weeding, creating raised furrows for future cultivation, pulling out plastic from past plantings, and collecting survey information from farmers for food safety purposes; my service learning experience proved to be valuable and rewarding. Coming out of this experience, it was clear that I had gained a more full understanding of the Spanish language, concepts of compassion, social responsibility, justice and diversity.
As most of my work was done either with or near heritage Spanish speakers, the majority of my time at ALBA had me utilizing my own Spanish communication skills. Most of those whom I communicated and worked with were of Mexican descent. As such, I was exposed to a number of unfamiliar dialects and slang words. Throughout my time at ALBA I kept a journal in which I jotted down a number of new terms and phrases, most of which related to agricultural tools and practices. While on several occasions I had trouble interpreting the messages of those I was working with, for the most part I felt as if my Spanish proficiency allowed me to communicate effectively.
Elements of compassion were clearly expressed at the ALBA farm. From the soil and its fruits, to the community of farmers young and old, to the ALBA staff; ALBA seemed to be a place that cultivates compassion as much as they do strawberries and lettuce. Even as an outsider who spent little more than 30 hours time at ALBA, I felt as if my involvement was truly aknowledged and appreciated. By the time my service experience had come to an end, I had not only come to recognize the web of compassion that exists at ALBA but I realized significant compassion within myself towards the organization, the people, and the land that make up ALBA.
Social responsibility and justice is at the core of the work done by, with, and for ALBA. By promoting the practice of organic agriculture through training farmers and facilitating their organic farming experience, ALBA serves as an exemplary model of what concepts of social responsibility and justice entail. Through ALBA, hundreds have been informed of the importance of cultivation and consumption of organic goods. Dozens of individuals have been informed as to the threats presented by industrial agriculture practices; from its heavy use of toxic chemicals, its exploitation of farm-laborers, to its neglect of other plants and animals, to its focus on profit over people or the planet. With this knowlege, these ALBA affiliates are more empowered to promote positive change. ALBA serves as a catalyst for promoting social responsibility and justice, the likes of which are sure to be felt for generations to come. Through my brief participation with ALBA, I gained a more clear and permanent sense of what social responsibility and justice entail as well as how such concepts can be practiced and shared.
ALBA's mission statement as according to its website:
Our mission is to advance economic viability, social equity and ecological land management among limited-resource and aspiring farmers. We work to create opportunities for family farms while providing education and demonstration on conservation, habitat restoration, marketing and whole farm planning.
With my major in Spanish and a minor in Business, emphasizing Agricultural Business, my service learning experience at ALBA Organics offered the perfect culmination of my studies and interests.
Upon arriving to ALBA for my first service session, I was given the choice to participate in field labor or help with office work. Keen to further my spanish speaking and comprehension proficiency and to gain experience in farming techniques and tactics, I chose to get my hands dirty and work outside. From this decision I was introduced to a number of farmers, all PEPA graduates, with whom I would be helping over the coming weeks.
From cleaning and sorting tomatoes, communicating with the farmers about their trials and triumphs, pruning, weeding, creating raised furrows for future cultivation, pulling out plastic from past plantings, and collecting survey information from farmers for food safety purposes; my service learning experience proved to be valuable and rewarding. Coming out of this experience, it was clear that I had gained a more full understanding of the Spanish language, concepts of compassion, social responsibility, justice and diversity.
As most of my work was done either with or near heritage Spanish speakers, the majority of my time at ALBA had me utilizing my own Spanish communication skills. Most of those whom I communicated and worked with were of Mexican descent. As such, I was exposed to a number of unfamiliar dialects and slang words. Throughout my time at ALBA I kept a journal in which I jotted down a number of new terms and phrases, most of which related to agricultural tools and practices. While on several occasions I had trouble interpreting the messages of those I was working with, for the most part I felt as if my Spanish proficiency allowed me to communicate effectively.
Elements of compassion were clearly expressed at the ALBA farm. From the soil and its fruits, to the community of farmers young and old, to the ALBA staff; ALBA seemed to be a place that cultivates compassion as much as they do strawberries and lettuce. Even as an outsider who spent little more than 30 hours time at ALBA, I felt as if my involvement was truly aknowledged and appreciated. By the time my service experience had come to an end, I had not only come to recognize the web of compassion that exists at ALBA but I realized significant compassion within myself towards the organization, the people, and the land that make up ALBA.
Social responsibility and justice is at the core of the work done by, with, and for ALBA. By promoting the practice of organic agriculture through training farmers and facilitating their organic farming experience, ALBA serves as an exemplary model of what concepts of social responsibility and justice entail. Through ALBA, hundreds have been informed of the importance of cultivation and consumption of organic goods. Dozens of individuals have been informed as to the threats presented by industrial agriculture practices; from its heavy use of toxic chemicals, its exploitation of farm-laborers, to its neglect of other plants and animals, to its focus on profit over people or the planet. With this knowlege, these ALBA affiliates are more empowered to promote positive change. ALBA serves as a catalyst for promoting social responsibility and justice, the likes of which are sure to be felt for generations to come. Through my brief participation with ALBA, I gained a more clear and permanent sense of what social responsibility and justice entail as well as how such concepts can be practiced and shared.