La Milpa Organica

The three squash that Marguerite gave us for our "weeding" effort.

Zoe and I visited La Milpa Organica Farm this morning. I learned about La Milpa last week by pure serendipity - I was reading some stranger's blog and link following link, I stumbled upon La Milpa. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was in our own backyard, but five miles north of us! Because it sounded just so wonderful, and because it seemed like they take volunteers and because I am immensely interested in vegetable gardening, I looked forward to visiting it.

I'm glad I did. Zoe did too, I'm sure.

Coming into the farm, we met a very kind young man - Raul - who gave Zoe and I a little walking tour of the farm. Then, after I expressed my interest in vegetable gardening and how I know nearly nothing about it, he introduced me to the owner and a few other people about. Then, he handed me some tools, showed me a bed that needed weeding and trusted Zoe and I to do it. Imagine that!

For an hour, while I dug and prodded the soil for the long, green weeds, Zoe played about me. Sometimes she helped, other times she mimicked what I was doing, except that the weeds had nothing to fear from her. We were not in want of company. In the time that we were there, we met Emily, Marguerite, and Marabel. Emily is young, and no more than twenty-five. She translated for me what Marguerite had to say about squash blossoms. When Emily took off, conversation eased off between Marguerite and I because her English is just as limited as my Spanish is. Still, it was very convivial. This was the classic commune I read about. Happy workers who live off the land, interesting houses with interesting artwork about, welcoming to people and children all alike.

It certainly lifted my spirits! It is not just the working (since it was really minimal). Seeing all that green, row after orderly row of growing, healthy green was very satisfying and centering. It made me think of Isak Dinesen description of her coffee farm:

"In the wildness and irregularity of the country, a piece of land laid out and planted according to rule, looked very well. Later on, when I few in Africa, and became familiar with the appearance of my farm from the air, I was filled with admiration for my coffee-plantation, that lay quite bright green in the grey-green land, and I realized how keenly the human mind yearns for geometrical figures. All the country round Nairobi, particularly to the North of the town, is laid out in a similar way, and here lives a people, who are constantly thinking and talking of planting, pruning or picking coffee, and who lie at night and meditate upon improvements to their coffee-factories."

I can't wait to go back there.