RICE
PADDY-MAKING CROP MOB AT EDIBLE EARTHSCAPES
February
28, 2010
EARLY
MORNING RICE PADDIES
Crop Mob is a
growing phenomenon in our neck of the woods. Started by friends of ours
who sought to tackle large tasks with a large labor force while solving the
problem of isolation, crop mobbing reminds us of Amish barn raising.
Basically, small farmers take turns hosting and reaping the benefits of a
mob. Specific tasks are accomplished in a much shorter period of time than
it would take the small farmer and their staff and interns. A large meal
is prepared and everybody eats together after working together for several
hours.
On this morning,
the rice fields below Scott and Rachel’s home await the mob. Click on the
picture on the left to see the large file. The field will soon be transformed into an
extended rice paddy network.
DEMONSTRATION
Jason (in the hat)
gave a demonstration of how to make a paddy and everyone got started. Gray
of Circle Acres Farm opted to work barefoot as did several others. The
paddy starts with rock removal, then digging up the middle and building up the
walls with shovelfuls of mud. Then the bottom is smoothed out, compost
added and smoothed out again.
CLOSE TO
ONE HUNDRED
This was the
largest Crop Mob in the history of the mob! So many of our friends showed
up that we were continually giving and receiving hugs. We reconnected with
a few people who we had not seen in over a year.
Bob headed up a
crew of hardworking volunteers who worked with him to pull out heavy metals from
the woods and haul it away, including a really heavy washing machine.
A HUNGRY
MOB FEASTS ON AN PAN
When the call came
for the 2:30 snack of green tea and An Pan, everybody dropped their tools and
took a break. An pan is a Japanese snack – little bean filled buns which
are tasty, nutritious and filling.
Camille spent the
morning helping make one hundred and four sweet buns. She teamed
with Angelina from Angelina’s
Kitchen, Dee Reid from Sustainable
Grub, Ann and Susan to make the sweetened adzuki bean paste, roll out the
dough, fill it with beans, pinch them closed and bake. Camille made the
dough the day before and it weighed sixteen and a half pounds! We’ve
posted a recipe here: An Pan Adzuki Bean Buns
JESSICA
AND SIMON GOT RIGHT IN THERE
From the looks of
her boots and the mud splatter on her arms, Jessica worked as hard as
anyone. She and Simon sat down to enjoy their An Pan and Green Tea.
GRAND
FINALE
The end of the day
brought tired muscles and a great feeling of accomplishment as the two groups at
each end of the field met in the middle. Kate is still going strong after
working all afternoon wearing her bright red Abundance
Foundation tee shirt.
There were a lot
of writers and photographers at this particular Crop Mob. For one thing,
we all knew it was going to be the biggest one so far. For another, an
article came out in the New
York Times Sunday Magazine the week before the mob about another mob at
Okfuskee Farm.
The L.A. Times
covered the story. As did Dee, who wrote a nice blog entry titled “Cooking
for the Mob” on Sustainable Grub. And the reporters from The Daily
Tarheel and the local PBS TV station covered it, too!
If you are a
farmer, know a farmer or just want to support local food organize a mob in your
area! Everything you need to know about starting a mob can be found at Crop
Mob the site friends Rob
and Andrea put together to feed those hungry for sustainable, local farming.
