Beth Jennings the WWOOFer na biostatku
29.10.2012
Beth přijela na Lubencké nádraží za ukrutného deště krátce před půlnocí jedné ze záříjových ponurých nocí. Pár dní nato přišlo babí léto, jehož část u nás strávil a takto si svou first experience of WWOOFing pochvaluje: it took me to a tiny village in the Czech Republic. I arrived in the pouring rain at 11.30pm. The late hour was due to poor planning on my part and generally not really knowing where I was going. However on my arrival I was met by the friendly and cheerful Vojtech and taken to my new home for the next six nights and five days: the orange caravan. I was pleasantly surprised in the morning to find that the caravan was situated in beautiful green fields, wooded hills and next to apple trees.
Vojtech and his wife, Lenka, run this small but diverse farm. The live a sustainable lifestyle; making their own cheese and juices, growing herbs and vegetables, and producing milk and honey. They are well travelled, interesting and knowledgeable people. I learnt so much from listening to them talk about their journey and discussing their experiences.
The main thing that attracted me to this farm was the number of different aspects to it which meant that I had lots of different jobs and experiences. They included washing dishes, holding Vojtech and Lenka's delightful four month old daughter, making cheese, delivering cheese to a customer on a scooter, milking sheep, looking for the sheep, watching V feed the bees, washing bottles for the apple and pear juice, filling bags up with juice, looking for the massive dog that escaped into the village, carrying boxes and chopping vegetables. My main task and what I spent most of my time doing was picking apples and pears from under the many trees and piling the rotten ones up. The ground below the trees were covered with fallen fruit so there was plenty to pick and it was satisfying drinking the juice I played a (small) part in making!
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One evening I was given the responsibility of milking the eleven sheep. Unfortunately there was no sign of them so I wandered around the grounds for about half a hour before, to my great relief, I finally saw them returning to the main grounds through a hole in the fence. The next challenge was to get them into the pen from which I would milk them. When Vojtech rattles some wheat around in a tin the sheep all come running but this tactic didn't work so well for me. The sheep were very defiant and after a lot of rattling, calling and chasing, I still only managed to get nine sheep into the pen!
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at biostatek farm and learnt so much. I am grateful to Vojtech and Lenka for their hospitality and generosity. I would recommend biostake to anyone seeking an adventure and to learn what day to day life is really like for those who seek to sustain themselves on their own land; a dream which many of us hold.
Autor: Beth Jennings | Sekce: ENGLISH SECTION | Tisk | Poslat článek známému