I arrived at the airport on Sunday to be picked up by Gerry, the owner of Kapa’a Organic Farms in Maui, Hawaii. I slept well the first night and began my next morning with a couple of fresh fruits, pancakes and some homegrown coffee. Immediately I felt welcome, the owners, Gerry and Janet, have charming personalities that make me feel as if I’m at a bed and breakfast.

We started work early, and a lot of members from the local community came out to volunteer their time and support the farm. We split into small teams and headed toward the composting area at one end of the farm; little did I know this was the most testing job I’d have all week. Right away my nose knew that I was in the composting area, and as I looked to my left to see a rotting goat in a bucket beside me, my eyes quickly knew where I was too. We walked past the goat and lifted a big black tarpaulin to uncover an area of compost that was to be used in the gardens. It wasn’t that easy though, first the compost needed to be shovelled into a sifter where I would sift it by hand to separate and collect smaller materials. One hour and 12 buckets of sifted compost later, I could breathe easy. We spent the remainder of the day planting crops in new beds.

I feel like compost-sifting was the most trying time for me, and if it hadn’t been for that I would probably be complaining about the much easier, cleanlier tasks I’ve been doing. Being surrounded by strangers that were all taking part in sifting compost probably helped me too. I don’t want to be the one sitting out and watching as everyone’s working; it wouldn’t be the best way to make friends.

As much as I like the work, I also like my time off. Hawaii is great for that, and I’m making the most of it. Here’s a picture of some fresh food I picked for my lunch the other day.

Aloha,
Chris