Obtain a Yield :: Permaculture Principle 3
You can’t work on an empty stomach!
I’m finding it is incredibly synchronistic how these principles have been lining up with the teachings I’ve needed during the month and the theme that’s occurred during the month.
This month I’ve been focusing on obtaining a yield from the farm I’m currently interning at in Maui. One of my favorite aspects about HAPI is how in touch we are with harvesting from the land and finding creative ways to incorporate tropical perennial foods into our diets. Eating so many community meals from the aina! To be honest, I’ve grown many of the same plants that grows at HAPI, such as cassava, papayas, bananas, and perennial greens, but I’ve never harvested any incorporated nearly as much food as we do here!
Green papayas & cuban oregano freshly harvested for our community lunch
I’ve definitely had moments of disconnection in the past where I could’ve harvested and prepared the food I was growing (i.e., harvest cassava, process it, then cook it), but I was still stuck in the convenience mentality of going to the health food store and buying ingredients to make something familiar, rather than taking the time to actually learn how to incorporate these foods into my diet.
Lychee harvest!
Some incredibly delicious meals we’ve made were green papaya pad thai, green banana hash browns, cassava (yucca) tortillas with barbecue jackfruit, taro burgers, cassava mash and fries, pigeon pea burgers, jungle salads, pineapple coconut custards, and incredibly delicious medicinal teas… all from the land! This experience has seriously shifted my entire connection and perspective behind the power of growing your own food, especially in a regenerative forest garden system.
A huge insight I came to from this principle is how much my connection with the land has deepened and grown by harvesting and eating so many meals from her! Harvesting the fruits of your labor, quite literally, provides you with such a profound sense of fulfillment and connection to a source greater than yourself.
Getting muddy from planting taro in the lo’i’s and obtaining the yield from fresh coconuts
In the inner landscape, I definitely obtained a yield of beautiful relationships this past month. It was definitely an emotional month for this Cancer baby being in Cancer season… whew!!! But I was able to connect and be supported by soul brothers and sisters during these times of need.
I was also able to obtain a yield of all the spiritual work I’ve been doing over the past years and show up to stand for protecting Mauna Kea. It’s fascinating how being there allowed me to obtain a yield of their ancestral wisdom, knowledge, power, aloha spirit, and an unfathomable connection with the land.
What a seriously profound month. I truly love that these principles allow a deep reflection of my life through the lens of permaculture. I am obtaining such a profound yield from this permaculture principle challenge!
