Volunteer Voices: Working on the Solar Warrior Farm and Loving Every Bit!

by Patrick Hall, TWP's Solar Warrior Farm Intern What an exciting season it's been! The farm seems to have a life of its own. I've been surrounded by farming my whole life, I've seen bits and pieces throughout the seasons, and I've studied a little and talked about it with friends, but I haven't actually done farming myself. So in a way, this has been a very new and experimental opportunity for me. I've grown and learned so much just by listening to the winds and watching nature.One difficulty I had early in the season was that the truck we use for hauling things and making store runs broke down, so I've been unable to get a lot of the supplies that I would like. However, that allowed me to focus on what I DO have and how I can utilize those things to reach my end goal. This season's theme has been success and failure. Two steps forward, one step back. We started off with a late frost killing ALL of the transplants. Ouch. But with determination, we grew enough seedlings and talked to enough organizations in Fort Collins, CO to resupply.However, I had never worked with irrigation before. So during this lag time between extermination and revitalization, I began experimenting and learning. Even after the plants came into the ground, I was still puzzled about certain aspects of irrigation. I still play around with it, trying to maximize the amount of water the plants are getting, only to realize I need a lot more emitters. So I bought some more — they were the wrong type. So I bought some others from somewhere else — they didn't work. And we were buying hundreds at a time, so I really hope I can get some emitters that do WORK because these plants need more water!Something I truly appreciate is the magic of this place. Listening to stories of the elders, reading books written by medicine men, visiting sacred sites and hearing the spirits' call, this has been a beautiful place to reside. I've left the farm a few times to go to a sweat lodge or go hiking with a friend, but for the most part, I've been staying right here. We even had a local mama turtle lay her eggs in one of the garden beds! Good turtle medicine, showing signs of fortitude and persistence, which was really helpful for me at the time. Tankashila (Grandfather Spirit) blesses me with what is needed, not just what I want. I've had a friendly face show up just as I begin to get lonely; a volunteer engineer shows up on the day that I was determined to put together the irrigation system and much more.Trees, Water & People is a unique nonprofit working to find solutions to some major issues on the Pine Ridge Reservation. If you like the work they're doing, show it by supporting projects like the Solar Warrior Farm.