Introduction
My work as a UBC Farm volunteer (with both the Urban Farmers and the Maya Garden) has led me to wonder about connections between the Farm as a small-scale organic food producer and large, industrialized, factory-farmed food systems (perhaps represented by the nearby Save-On Foods supermarket). More specifically, what are the lines of connection between the Farm and the industrialized food systems around us? I am also interested in differing notions about food amongst Farm staff, volunteers, and the Maya-Guatemalan (my term) garden caretakers. How do UBC Farm workers/volunteers conceive of and relate to food? How might the Maya-Guatemalans conceive of and relate to food differently?
Research Process
My research partner Victor, and I currently volunteer six hours per week with the Farm. Thursday afternoons are spent with the Urban Farmers (usually six of us in addition to the work leader) performing a variety of farm-related tasks such as weeding, mulching, and eventually, harvesting produce, while Saturday mornings are spent working at the Maya Garden under the supervision of the Maya-Guatemalans. At the Maya Garden, Victor and I engage in hard, manual labour with tasks such as weeding (using a long-handled cultivator tool, much like a hoe but with a fork on the end) and the unearthing and removal of the multitudinous rocks in the planting fields.
During our shifts, there is not much time to do research, but there is usually time to chat while we work, and in this way, we are able to acquire meaningful information about the farm, other volunteers, and the Maya-Guatemalans. We have gotten into the habit of spending time writing, straightaway after our shifts, so that we can record important information while it is still fresh on our minds. Before I began work at the Farm, I was certain my research project would be related to food, but I was unclear as to how. After starting work at the Farm and having the chance to chat with Farm staff, volunteers, and some of the Maya-Guatemalans, I realize I am most interested in natural food systems as contrasted with industrialized food systems. Applying this to my work, I have conjectured that there must be various meaningful connections between the Farm and the nearby industrial food systems and I want to discover just what those are, what they mean to people, and how they tie/bring people together.
Conclusion
After every volunteer shift, my research seems to unfold and come together a little more concretely. It also evolves as I discover more about the Farm and about how people relate to it. The Farm comprises very different narratives; I must find a way to relate them to each other as I seek to discover the connections between these natural food narratives and the nearby industrialized food systems.