Volunteering Experience
I signed up for the volunteering experience at the farm through the website that I came across about a year ago. I was excited, as well as a bit nervous about the adventure that I have never experienced before, therefore in order to experience it I flew all the way from Seattle, Washington to Hamakua Sanctuary, Hanokaa, Hawai’i.
Nestled in the lush, verdant landscapes of one of Hawaii’s islands, the farm was a testament to the power of permaculture—a holistic approach to farming that emphasizes harmony with the natural environment. Throughout my journey of a week here I learnt so much about permaculture and plants, in general. I had varied kinds of experiences including being a little reluctant and scared at first working (as it was my very first time doing any such work) to being enjoying it fully without even realizing how the time passes by. I had immense experiences with my emotions too while working, as coming from a world where your work is done just with the help of a laptop and there is not a lot of need to be on your feet to work from your hands and being there on your feet all the time changed a lot, especially the thinking process. Some of the noticeable changes I saw included feeding ducks or just observing them started to give me a sense of joy. On a personal level, I had an impactful experience while practicing meditation here and reached different heights of the subconscious mind and was able to resolve a couple of things which I was carrying throughout. My experience not only consisted of the work but the people with whom I was sharing the dorm. I met a bunch of strangers who were here to attend some training and soon became my friends with whom I had nights of wine and dancing, stargazing and some profound topics to discuss and explore the island as well.
Lastly, this post would be incomplete without mentioning Ryan's hospitality. The reason I had such a good time here is because almost every other day Ryan was checking on what I needed or what was missing in order to get a fulfilling experience. I really loved the mindfulness of the personalized attention. I enjoyed working with Kathryn as well, she was the one who picked me up from the airport. After that we went to the beach and had lots of conversations about numerous things which made my first day memorable. Overall, I really enjoyed working on the farm for eight days, it gave me so many insights about myself, environment and other things too. I am surely going to miss the aroma of the trees and the sounds of birds that come during the day and the sounds of frogs that come in the night.
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