First full day in St. Croix
On our first full day in St Croix, our grouped traveled to Little Lagrange farm for a day of activities. In the morning, we worked with a nature educator called Snow Bear who taught us how to use the calabash plant to make a goblet. He explained that the calabash plant had been imported from Africa in times of slavery, and was traditionally used for making bowls and cups. We sawed the top off of the Calabash fruit, scooped out its insides, then sawed off a piece of bamboo to use as the stem of the goblet. Students also had the opportunity to carve a design or words into the sides of their goblets.
In the afternoon, we learned about the workings of an organic farm and got our hands ( and knees and feet and arms and whole bodies ) muddy by weeding several rows in a garden bed setting down irrigation tubes, and even planting a few lettuce plants. It was dirty and tiring work, but luckily not too hot because of intermittent rain. It certainly provided us some connection to nature, which is the purpose of our course.
