Farm Life - The Good, Bad & Ugly (part 1)

“This is horrible! We NEED to get the heck off of this farm!” 

[next day] 

“Wow, actually, this place is fine and we’re making cool friends! We’d be stupid to leave now…let’s just stick it out.”

↑ Our thought process for the last few weeks has been a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. My good days on the farm were Aaron’s bad days, and Aaron’s good days were my crying emo-filled days. 

Working and living on the Maui Dragon Fruit Farm was an experience that we’ll never forget- we have endless funny stories, thoughts of centipedes will never be the same, and any time I hear the word “manifesting,” I’ll think of the poor frog that was squashed like a pancake on the farm driveway…. “Well, he clearly had manifested what he wanted in life.” 

-fellow wwoofer

I’ll start from the beginning, but first a little back story: Our farm is a member of WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms): “a unique educational organic farming and cultural exchange program that allows participants to gain practical and sustainable agriculture experience, while meeting and forming relationships with people from around the world.”  https://wwoofhawaii.org/what-wwoof

So, in exchange for about 20-25 hours of work per week, farmers offer accommodation, food and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles. By becoming a member of wwoofhawaii.org, we got access to a description-like contact list of all hosting farms in the Hawaiian islands- 240 to be exact!

We were pumped! This was exactly what we wanted to do, together (just click the tab "Aaron&Jana”). 

Overcome with enthusiasm from all the great wwoofer reviews about this farm, we reached out to the owner and she welcomed us with warm arms. We were promised a long list of accommodations, but one we were the most happy about was privacy. Since we are married, we would be provided with a private cabin right when we arrived. 

This was all so exciting. Doors were opening left and right, and as our coffee barista Jim explained, “Dude, Mother Maui either sucks you in or just spits ya right out. I’m happy for you guys- looks like you’re getting accepted.” And we felt it! 

Jim went on that we could basically get a job anywhere and sleep in our car like him. “You don’t even have to be good at what you do,” as he hands me my coffee, “but just make sure you show up to work.”  

(we loved Jim, and Mother Maui totally has accepted him for the last 30 years)

We were overwhelmed by the gorgeous, tropical scenery while driving to the farm, which sits on 27 acres cradled by the lush West Maui mountains. Tropical flowers, exotic birds, cute horses and chickens at the Lahaina Stables next door - heavenly. 

We were on a mission-  to learn about organic, sustainable living and farming, and to become masters of growing, maintaining and harvesting dragonfruit, papaya, bananas, pineapple, guava and sugarcane. With a private cabin, all meals provided, and a view that takes your breath away- everything looked perfect. 

When we arrived our two farm supervisors, both in their early twenties, greeted us with weary, kind eyes. 

It was a very hot day and we were relieved when she guided us back through the plants to show us our living quarters.

Through the leaves we entered into a land of twinkling lights hung in the trees, and trails leading to different little cabins and a tent. Think Never Never Land Lost Boys/ Swiss Family Robinson vibe.

Walking slowly behind, observing and trying not to trip on rocks, a pungent smell began to fill our noses, and then Crash! Something scurried across my feet and leaped into the trees beside me. 

My heart jumped, and I turned to see where the noise came from...one cat, two cats, three cats...40 cats! EVERYWHERE! 

Fleas were hovering around them as they lounged together, licking and staring at me with these evil "who's the new couple" kind of eyes.

I then noticed a similar nuisance surrounding me, and little red mosquito bites began to swell all over my arms and legs. 

DUN DUN DUN…Our perfect vision quickly started to fade.

For the next two weeks, we slept in a carport tent/canopy from Costco, on a foundation of rocks and rotting plywood laid on top. So much for the private cabin…at least we had a king-size bed - farm royalty! A moldy mattress with stains I don’t even want to write out. We had a cozy outdoor shower and sink, but the water was always cold - no heating (understandable). 

After we cleaned the tent... starting to feel better.

Our kitchen was a little shed with a sink and two never-been cleaned refrigerators. 

It was cozy in there, but if you wanted to eat you made a sacrifice: 20 mosquito bites every time you walked in the kitchen vicinity. 

The food provided was really great. Crystal (the owner) would meet a few volunTOLD wwoofers every 2 weeks at Costco in the evening, after we finished our work. We would stalk up on lots of organic, healthy foods, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, etc. (and 3 huge bags of cat food). Also, each wwoofer got to pick one speciality item, which was very nice. Aaron, Uriah and I went one night on our first week - it took about 5.5 hours total to do it all. 

Our first couple days were the hardest. It was SO hot and humid, and since Aaron and I were the only people (out of 10 wwoofers) living in a tent, there was a lot of cleaning and fixing that needed to happen. The week before, the only other tent next to ours got completely blown over in the wind- all the mattresses left in the rain, getting soaked and moldy.

To be honest, it felt a bit like a homeless living area. Like a tent city but tucked away in the jungle with 40 flea-infested cats and mosquitos everywhere. The rugs that were laid as walkways were saturated with (what smelled like) cat and human pee. 

Man, I hate sounding so negative but this was the reality of our living situation. 

But, I do believe that we grow as human beings when we live on the edge of our comfort zone. When I’m feeling uneasy, I am comforted in the fact that I know I am growing, or at least learning a new perspective. I think this is really valuable in life. 
Aaron and I made our tent a home, and we fixed it up as clean as we could- it started to feel pretty comfortable.
We would wake up to moist bed sheets and clothes some days (just due to moisture in the air), but it was fine. We got fresh sheets from Target, and if I just didn't think about under my sheets, the mattress provided was actually one of the comfiest I've ever slept in. Ha! 

Taco, one of the cute cats that would never leave us alone. He always found a way back into our tent. 

I am so thankful to have met the other people on the farm too. They’re all amazing to me. Some have been there for 4 months, others just arrived and felt the same way as us. 

Some of the people there actually were homeless, and had been for year on the island. Our closest friends we made are from Slovakia who moved to Vancouver, Canada and literally have the same type of seasonal jobs as us and moved out here for the SAME reasons. 

We also met an amazing girl named Liz, who is 29 years old and been traveling the world for 2.5 years by herself! She is from San Fransisco, wears Raybans, and left her amazingly paid job at Facebook to travel. She’s been to every continent except Antarctica. AMAZING people! 

Uriah, who I had no idea what to think about at first, ended up being our favorite ‘little brother’ on the farm. He’s only 20, and after talking with him many days and nights, I learned so much. It blows my mind that he’s that wise and so young. 

Everyone is so brave. We all have our homes and families, and we all came out here for specific reasons. Many people seem like they want to reinvent themselves, others just need a break from society and it’s pressure. 

Fascinating. 
Overall, we made the BEST of our situation and really saw how much we depend on each other. It's been a good ride. 

I’ve wrote A LOT and I haven’t even explained the work situation (which was mainly weed-whacking and weeding). So I’ll save that for the next post. 

Hope you've enjoyed the pictures :)