Speed Farming

I was hoping to make some new friends while working on the farm. I have had several occasions where I have worked side by side with someone for 1, 2, or even 3 hours and happily chatted away while working. I always assumed I’d see the person again next week; after all if Saturday morning is a good time for them to work one week, it’s probably going to be a good time for them to work another week.

But the reality is that I have yet to work with the same person twice. As I toiled alone last week, hoeing the pepper plants, I realized…working on the farm is more like speed dating. (Speed dating is a phenomenon that started in the late 90s as a way for busy singles to meet. Participants spend 5-10 minutes at a small table with a potential date and then move on to another table and potential date.) Clearly I spend more than a few minutes with each person, but every week it’s a new potential friend.

Three hours is a lot of talking, and I get to learn a lot about each of these people. Even if I don’t get to work with them at the farm again, I make community connections that mean a lot to me. For example, one woman I met live less than a mile from me and runs a kids’ Lego-robotics class. My oldest son would LOVE a class like this and as soon as he’s old enough, I’ll have a personal and local connection to turn to.

So while I may not be finding my new best friend through hours of communal work on the farm, this “speed farming” method of getting to know people is really helping me to connect to my community in an entirely new way.

– Written by Gina Sampaio, CSA member