Working on a Community Supported Agriculture farm

Hey, I’m back, continuing my journey and the blog. It was nearly two months ago that I returned from Portugal. Now, I continue my journey and want to keep you posted about my experiences and stories along the way. I missed living in my 6m^2 tiny house, and I’m glad to hit the road again. I’m really thankful for the opportunity and freedom to continue my journey, exploring other cultures, countries, and alternative ways of living. I hope to share new adventures, stories, and insights about the world outside the living room. I’m sure it will be good. Enjoy.

The past two months at home were exciting. I was happy to see everyone again after nearly half a year. Many things had changed, and it took a while to adapt to the environment at home. Mostly, I missed my family and friends during my time abroad. Sometimes it was a bit lonely and isolating when everything changed so fast on the road. In those moments, I appreciated being home, where there was always someone nearby. So, I spent most of my time at home with friends and colleagues. We had great moments together, be it at a wedding, the football club, or a spontaneous hiking adventure. It was a lovely time, and we made the most of it. During my free time, I did a few tasks at home for family and friends and worked mostly on my second website (hopefully launching this year—be surprised!). The farewell at home was not as easy as I thought. I was back in my comfort zone, and it really felt safe. At some point, I considered staying home. But soon, I remembered all the great moments from the past half year. I thought: “Maybe there won’t be another time in life when I have the freedom to do such things. We don’t know what will happen in one, two, or ten years. So, I will do it now. What am I waiting for?” So, I packed my bags, moved back into the van, and hit the road again.

My first stop was not far from home. Some people from Inneringen contacted me on Workaway, asking if I was interested in helping them on the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. What is a CSA, you ask? A CSA is a form of agriculture where people (mostly farmers) share their harvest directly with members of the “solidarity club.” This means there is no supermarket in between. People pay a monthly rate to the CSA to cover production costs, and in return, they receive a share of the harvest. Farmers can focus on their work without depending on market prices, and members get fresh, local food. Everyone knows where the food comes from, who grew it, and how it ends up on their plates. Additionally, members can help on the farm to reduce their monthly rate—a win-win for everyone.

I knew about the concept of CSA but had never engaged with people creating this form of agriculture. It sounded like an interesting opportunity to start my new journey. So, I decided to make my first stop in Inneringen. I arrived on a Sunday and was warmly welcomed by the hosts, Nadine and Philipp, and their two kids, Lilo and Maja. At first, I thought I had the wrong address because the place was in the middle of the village, but soon I saw the gardens and the polytunnel behind the house. After parking my van next to the barn, I got a little tour. The CSA produces vegetables on two garden beds and in one polytunnel. It’s the second year for the CSA, so they are at the beginning of their journey. Nadine and Philipp, the landowners, started the whole initiative. Neither are professional gardeners, but they decided to use the property of their 1-hectare farm and turn it into a CSA. One of the main reasons was the local supply of food, doing something for the environment, and community involvement. I quickly fell in love with the project because it addresses many problems and makes sense in every aspect.

Next to Nadine and Philipp’s house is the community house, where all the volunteers stay. During my time, I had the pleasure of meeting Samira, Pauli, and Alberto, who were also volunteering on the farm. Pauli is doing a voluntary ecological year and has been with the team since the beginning.

Soon, we started working. Every week, Philipp gave us a list of tasks to complete. Mostly, we worked in the garden, seeding grass, picking out snails, preparing new areas, loosening the soil, planting different seeds (salad, soy, beans, pumpkin, beetroot, onions, etc.) and harvesting on fridays. It was fascinating to see how things are planted and grow. There’s always something new to learn. Last time in France and Spain, I missed this process because it was already winter. So, it was welcoming to get hands-on experience in the garden. Besides the garden, we worked on the polytunnel. The water system and the front and back doors were not finished. Our task was to install valves to fill the two IBC containers on one side and get water out of the containers on the other side to water the polytunnel (using a pump). We had issues with the pump because the quick connectors of the hose and valves were not airtight, which caused air to get into the system. We had to order new parts to solve the problem. We also started mounting a framework for the front and back doors of the polytunnel. We used old metal bars, mounted them together, and attached them to the polytunnel, so everything was leveled and the doors could be mounted.

The work was from 8 – 12 o’clock. For lunch, we always had something from Foodsharing. For those who don’t know, Foodsharing is an organization to prevent food waste. It means that items supermarkets would have thrown away are given to charities or people willing to take them for free. Most of the time, the food is still good but past its expiration date or slightly damaged. So, we had plenty of food in the fridge. You wouldn’t believe how much food is thrown away. I quickly researched: Worldwide, 1.2 trillion tons per day. That’s up to 40 percent of all food produced. According to the WWF, countries in Europe, North America, and Asia are responsible for 58 percent of the waste, even though they account for just 37 percent of the world’s population. It’s crazy to consider that 735 million people in the world do not have enough to eat. It really makes you think…

In the afternoon, we had free time, and everyone did their own thing. In the evenings, we mostly cooked together, had bonfires with stick bread, went for walks or bike rides in the forest, or Alberto tried new “Apfelstrudel” creations in the kitchen. There was always something to do together, and we had a great time. By the way, Alberto has a master’s in philosophy, and it was really insightful to get new perspectives on life and the world. He inspired me to learn more about philosophy. Everyone had something interesting to share, and we never got bored in Inneringen. After two weeks, it was time to say goodbye.

Thanks for the time at the CSA, Nadine, Philipp, Maja, Lilo, Pauli, Samira, and Alberto.

I’ve taken many good impressions away from this place. My next destinations are the northern countries, back where it all started in 2018 with the motorcycle.