Sustainability

For the last week I have been living and working at the Kanjini Co-op.  When I decided to take some time away from the daily grind, one thing I really wanted to do was explore gardening further as learning to grow some of my own veggies is appealing to me (maybe all those years of shucking corn as a kid had something to do with this).  So when the Papua New Guinea trip came together, I quickly planned to set aside some time for WWOOFing.  I became a member and got my wwoofing book and started looking for a farm or garden, a place to put my hands in the soil.  Well, I quickly became a little overwhelmed as there are about 2000 wwoofing hosts in Australia.  The book does divide these options according to location and type of work.  In the Cairns area, the Kanjini Co-op stuck out to me as its posting included working in a veggie garden and the ability to borrow their bicycle.  The co-op and I sent a sent a few e-mails back and forth.  When they offered to pick me up at the airport, it seemed like everything was set: I would work 5 hours a day for a place to cover my head and some food to fill my belly.

Shiralee, my hostess for the week, picked me up at the airport. Plans quickly changed that first night, as Svargo - the other co-op director - was ill.  Before I knew it, I was being dropped off at a hostel.  Well, things worked out as they usually do.  I got over 12 hours of sleep that first night in the hostel and then got to look around Cairns and enjoy a flat white coffee at a local shop the next morning.  I sat for a bit slowly sipping my coffee and reading Clayton King's book about discovering God in the daily experiences of our life.  It was nice to have that morning of quietness, and I felt like I was reminded that God is totally in control of this trip. Despite my best attempts at planning, He still knows what is best for me.

Well, Shiralee held up her end of the bargain and picked me up at 11 AM the next day.  We drove "up the mountain" to Koah which is located in the Tablelands, a tropical area filled with rolling hills.  The Tablelands are approximately 700 meters above sea level which gives this area a perfect climate, nearly all year (for all you Wisconsinites - it's winter here and the temperature has not gotten below 60 degrees).  As we drove west for 45 minutes to the co-op, I asked Shiralee - a shiny, lady in her mid-fifties born and bred in Southern Australia - about the vision of the co-op.  She gave me a long spill and painted a beautiful vision of what their vision is for the next 10 to 15 years, as this co-op is just getting started.  To sum it up in one word - they hope, plan and dream of being a place that is sustainable. Now a days, the word "sustainability" is thrown around quite a bit.  However, I wasn't quite sure if I really knew what it meant.  So I probed further in the car ride, but once I got to Kanjini, I really didn't have to ask much more about sustainability because I felt like I walked right into the definition in that 11 acre space.

The co-op currently has 4 different "buildings".  Shiralee's bedroom is located at the top of the hill in an old caravan.  The large shed enclosed Svargo's bedroom on one side, the didgeridoo business in the middle (which should be a whole other blog post) and a guest room on the other side.  At the bottom of the hill was an octagonal area open on all sides with one side leading into the kitchen.  Since the living room and kitchen were open to the tropical dry lands, there was plenty of opportunity to see the wandering spider, ant and yes, even the friendly millie (Australian slang for mouse).  Finially, there was another bedroom and living area in another building just a few feet away from the kitchen. 

Jess was the other wwoofer.  She had just finished up a study abroad program in Australia and New Zealand.  And of all places is the world, she is from Florida - a University of Florida student to be exact (it's OK, she is really not into football, so we did not have to get into any heated debates over our beloved football teams). It was great having her companionship to not only share the work and chores, but also good discussions and laughter.  I am so thankful our paths crossed.  Our work at the co-op included everything from transplanting coconut trees to making additional raised beds and harvesting ginger and turmeric.  My favorite job was making the raised bed and harvesting the ginger and turmeric.  My least favorite job involved revising a raised bed which basically required moving a whole lot of dirt so that we could fix the wall and then moving a whole lot of dirt back.  It was good to perform some of those non-glamorous jobs - it reminded me how so much of life is made up of doing non-glamorous chores and duties.

Staying at the co-op this week got me thinking about sustainability.  Shiralee and Svargo inspired me a great deal.  Their electricity is powered solely through solar power.  Their drinking water is rain water that they collect during the rainy season.  They not only have a recycle bin but also a compost bin and a worm farm bin in addition to their rubbish bin.  They limit they're driving into the city to 2 to 3 times a week.  Yep, they are pretty passionate about their sustainable practices.  We didn't agree on everything, but none the less, I left this week wondering how I can add more sustainable living into my lifestyle.  In this environment, it did not look like people were giving up stuff in order to live this sustainable life.  In fact, there no shortage of laughter, singing and good food.  The meals usually included garden fresh veggies and tropical fruit. In addition to picking up some great gardening tips from Shiralee who was practically born in the garden, Jess and I took home some good recipes.

At this point, I relate living a sustainable lifestyle to being a good steward.  I looked up "stewardship" this week in my Bible concordance, and it took me to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.  We are each given a certain amount of resources.  Growing up in the West, I have been given a lot of resources.  Am I wasting those resources, burying them, or multiplying them?  Resources can be any thing from fossil fuels to finances to time.  I don't think we are all called to the co-op lifestyle.  But living in this type of lifestyle for one week has inspired me to be a better steward.  I am definitely thankful for this first week of exploring and getting my hands dirty in some Ozzie soil.  I feel like I have already learned so much that I could even come home today and be totally satisfied.  But, on second thought, maybe I'll just go to the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow instead.