Grampus Heritage and Training Placement Report.
During the five weeks of working at Apple Farm in the Czech Republic, I
acquired a number of skills. I was part of a friendly group of eight people,
all of whom I worked with very well when applying myself to the tasks given.
Because of this group environment, we were able to learn from not only Kristyna
and Rudolf, our hosts, but also from each other. Everybody had different
interests and different levels of knowledge about traditional skills on
an organic farm. This meant that the experience was stimulating for all
of us.
Every day differed greatly from the last, and we learnt skills that I do
not think I would have anywhere else - scything for one, is a skill that
is not used at all on commercial farms, but is such a benefit to learn,
because it can be of much more use on a sustainable farm. I found that this
not only was a good skill to learn, but i also got a lot more physically
fit through doing it.
Along with scything, and usually on the same days, we all helped to build
the compost heap. This is another new skill for me, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
It was interesting to find out how big a compost heap can grow.. Also the
length of time that a good compost heap should be left was new to me. This
was hot work, but very rewarding. Other tiring, but rewarding jobs, were
weeding and hoeing. I learnt to identify the weeds that had to be ridden
of. This job is one that appears small, but in the hot sun can be tiring.
It is so nice however, to look back at a neat nursery or vegetable patch.
We also did a lot of pruning of the apple trees, during which we learnt
about grafting.
There was never a day when the food was not delicious. I learnt such a lot
about holistic cooking, something I have never known much about beforehand.
Kristyna is a wonderful cook, and taught us some things about cooking that
I will not forget. It was also a real treat to be able to learn how to cook
on an Aga and to learn how to use a traditional bread oven - we cooked bread
and pizzas in this, devine!
I learnt how to chop wood too, and work with clay to create insulation on
walls, make bricks, and provide nutrients for trees. This was fascinating
for me, particularly plastering an old apple tree with clay. There was hedgelaying
too, which I feel to be a skill that I especially want to apply when I get
the chance. I strongly believe that there should be more hedges to increase
the number of wild birds and fauna and flora.
Much of the more physical projects were shown to us and navigated by Rudolf,
and sometimes his helper, Lucas. But Kristyna taught us a great deal of
plant identification. The herb identification was so valuable to me, because
I am eager to create a herb garden. I am also interested in the medicinal
uses and the traditions behind herbology. Kristyna covered this too. This
was great to learn in Czech Republic because it meant that we not only learnt
about English traditions concerning the plants, but Czech ones too, making
it doubly interesting!
There were some fun traditional activities that I will also never forget.
Tinkering, ceramics, and dreamcatching, were all skills that I am going
to take home with me and put into practice.
Generally, the placement was five weeks of good fun as well as hard work.
It was handy to be living in a Czech family environment. It meant that we
had to live the Czech culture and began to fully understand it. This was
enhanced by their having a son of five, Andrj. We went with he and Kristyna
to experience Czech pantomime. This was so enjoyable. I also loved to play
with the little boy and learn that communication with body language and
clear motives can far override the language barrier. After the pantomime,
we listened to some live Czech music, then went to the pub. The beer, pivo,
was very good.
All in all it was a very rewarding five weeks. I liked that we were able
to see the finished result of the Amphtheatre that we built, again a completely
new skill to me. It gave a contented feeling of completion to the end of
our time at Apple Farm.
Rudolf and Kristyna were great. They could not have been better hosts, and
made all of us feel at home and able to settle into their wonderful family
environment immediately. I will miss them a lot, and will no doubt come
back again at some point!
Thankyou for arranging this placement,
Maisie
xxx