Chickens say WWOOF

Pictured above, myself, Melissa Eddison and Erin McCluskey, had an incredible experience working on a rural organic farm in Panama this winter break. One of the most gratifying jobs we were given was to tend the chickens. Although I consider myself a learned gardener, chickens were a new ball game for me. They squawk and peck at you and flap their wings a ton when they get flustered and it just makes me flustered and I start flapping my arms like a chicken too. On the farm, I really had little choice, either be a chicken or be above the chicken. I did my best to accomplish the latter.


Erin was very calm around the chickens, a chicken whisperer, if you will. This chicken was named Petcho, he was too rogue for the coop and escaped every time we put in him there. He just foraged around the farm for worms and bugs, too cool for the chicken feed.

These were the meet hens and we about 6 weeks and 1 pound away from being dinner! They sure were cute though.
More posts about our time on the farm coming soon and maybe even some video!!

Goodbye for a month, but we will be back!

As the fall semester comes to a close, all of us at Food Justice Alliance are studiously ace-ing our finals : ) Please excuse the scarcity of posts in the last few days and the rest of this week! While this final exam buildup makes the winter break that much sweeter, some of the Food Justice members are taking a different path. Instead of chillin at home with mom and dad, we are doing something called WWOOF. For those of you unfamiliar with the acronym, it stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms...or Willing Workers On Organic Farms. Either way, through WWOOF, you can travel to any country in the world and work for your stay on an organic farm. The idea is to learn and spread knowledge of organic farming because it transcends cultural differences. We all need to eat and most of what we eat has origins in the ground, thus, connecting everyone on this very basic level.
Erin McCluskey and I are going to Panama for the winter break to work on a farm that focuses on organic permaculture. Permaculture is an ancient practice of farming in harmony with nature that is making a comeback these days. Ellie Smith will be WWOOFing in Puerto Rico on a GW Alternative Winter Break Program.
WWOOFing is an excellent affordable way to travel as it is just airfare that you are responsible for. In addition, you get to learn about organic farming and connect with a family or community anywhere in the world. Stay tuned to hear about our experiences and see photos of our trips!