It is July 29 and the internship is almost over for me. I started it right after the exams, and I think it has been my most productive summer so far.

 We started exploring the concept of permaculture, an acronym for “Permanent Culture” and “Permanent Agriculture”. Even though more than 30 years old, this concept is blooming again all around the world as people are realizing that our industrial agriculture system is falling apart because of its economic and environmental non-sense.

 Most of the work done this summer was qualified as “ground work” because it is the very first year of the Organic Garden Internship and we needed to install all the basic infrastructure. Since we started this project, we have raised up a 6 feet fence around a 1-acre piece of land (in a slope!)  along with several gates, a 12×12 chicken coop that will host 45 chickens, a chicken tractor, and a chicken brooder.

Yes that’s right, 45 chickens, representing at least 9 different breeds! Of course, they need care (water, food, protection), but they will give us eggs, manure, meat, and feather (last 2 are optional), they are an excellent natural pest control, and they weed the land we want to plant on thanks to the chicken tractor. A chicken tractor is a structure containing a small coop (for 3 to 5 chickens), and a run (ours is 4×10 feet) that can be moved all around the garden at any time. The concept is simple: the chickens will prepare the beds (4×10 feet) for us! When the soil is weeded and fertilized, we move the tractor and we can start planting. It goes without saying that one of the best thing the chickens bring to us is their presence. They are really fun to be around!

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Additionally we have started different beds using different techniques (rectangular, keyhole, raised, etc), and we have grown a large diversity of crops in small quantities (we mostly experiment and learn new techniques of cultivation). These crops include but are not limited to: tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli, cucumber, yellow squash, zucchini, peppers, basil, dill, onions, garlic, carrots, beans, peas, pumpkin, corn, different native flowers and other plants, wild raspberries, wild blackberries, blueberries, hops, grapes, etc.

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The organic garden has been a success so far. We have already held a workshop (see below) and received the visit and the help from a nationally known fruit trees expert, Tom Burford, and several bees’ specialists.

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Several projects are under construction: pond, beehives, greenhouse, several compost piles, vermiculture, orchard, mushrooms, etc. The list can be long and expanded everyday!

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The overall goal of the garden will be to attract many local people and turn this project into a center for community building around the concepts of sustainable agriculture for a sustainable living.For more info about this unique project, or if you would like to participate, contact Mr Abbassi at sabbassi@randolphcollege.edu, or Professor Warren at kwarren@randolphcollege.edu.

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PS: a second workshop is coming! August 22nd is the date, and the time will be confirmed to all the participants. Please contact Mr Abbassi or Professor Warren to sign up!

Until recently, our rooster didn’t have a name. He was simply called “The Rooster.” We felt that no title could do justice to his arrogant cockiness. He reigns over a kingdom as far as the eye can see. From a chicken’s eye view, that is only about three hundred feet. However, to The Rooster, such trivial details regarding size and distance obviously do not matter. Although we are nearly three times as tall, apparently that makes no difference to him. Every run in with The Rooster seems to mirror a David versus Goliath struggle - with The Rooster playing Goliath!”Chicken wrangler” is the standard job title for us students who are dealing with hens this summer in Randolph College’s Organic Garden, but with the addition of The Rooster our job seems closer to “Matador.” As I enter the bullring, the rooster begins to charge. I pull out my red bandana to distract him. Olé! Often times an audience of forty or so amused chicks gathers around to watch the spectacle. Following a series of deft maneuvers that include some impressive passes, I usually succeed at luring him into the chicken coop for the night. Next, I try my luck with the balls of fluff, employing more maneuvers that make herding cats look simple. After getting a good chuckle out of my pitiful attempts at baby chick wrangling, The Rooster will let out a cock-a-doodle-do signaling all the chicks to obediently get in the coop.The chicks already knew The Rooster’s name. Now I know it, too: he is “El Jefe,” aka “the Boss.” I have a lot to learn. Olé!

Hello once again from Power Shift 2007!

Saturday turned out to be even more exciting than we originally expected. In fact, we did so much that we are quite exhausted, so we’ll keep tonight’s blog quite short. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we were off to attend panel discussions. There were dozens of different panels today in many different areas dealing with climate change, including science, politics, economics, social justice, faith, the media and careers. I particularly enjoyed Ralph Nader’s presentation on global warming and progressive politics. At noon, all of us from Randolph College were fortunate to be invited to a luncheon with the National Wildlife Federation, where we were pleased and honored to sit next to Mr. Thomas G. Gonzales, Chair of the NWF Board of Trustees. The third panel presented an eye-opening discussion on “Rainforest Agribusiness, Community Struggle and Biofuels: Testimonies from the Global South.” State and regional break-out groups followed. In the Virginia session, we learned about regional environmental challenges where we can make a difference; e.g., movements to stop mountain top removal in seven locations in the Commonwealth and  to stop Dominion Power’s plans to build a coal power plant in Wise. At the start of the evening, we sat in on a book session that focused on changing the language of being green to encourage participation by business persons as well as environmental activists. All the power shifters returned to the main stadium to listen to Saturday’s keynote speakers and enjoy musical  entertainment. On a serious note, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s speech was hugely popular. On the lighter side, more than a thousand students flooded onto the ground floor of the arena to spontaneously start dancing to various musical groups, such as a wonderful banjo performance.

Hello from Power Shift 2007!

After a long, scenic road trip through the beautiful Appalachian Mountains, we arrived at College Park, Maryland. We wasted no time in the hotel and headed off to the University of Maryland to check into Power Shift 2007. Even though Friday night’s scheduled activities lasted only three hours, they were full of exciting keynote speeches. We heard from speakers with varied backgrounds in environmental activism, from urban areas like Brooklyn, New York to rural areas of the Chesapeake Bay and everywhere in between. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet with other college students from across the nation who are just as enthusiastic about climate change as we are. Tonight’s program was capped off with an environmentally focused musician who was able to get all of us 5,500 college students on our feet and join in on the fun. After the end of tonight’s program, we had a late dinner at an IHOP. The dinner conversation was dominated by talk about tomorrow’s schedule, which if it turns out to be like tonight, will be an action packed day to remember.