Farmers for a day (or two or three) | Campus Ministry Service

Posted by Maria Solomond on Thu, Jul 11, 2013 @ 09:25 AM

Gardening played a rather large role in our time in Taiwan. When we first met with the students from Cardinal Tien Nursing College- a group of enthusiastic teenage girls- we visited an organic farming community. There we learned about the importance of organic farming as well as a general overview of the methods. We also got some hands-on experience. We tilled, planted, weeded, and fertilized, as well as created compost.

Saint Vincent and Cardinal Tien students till and plant at the organic farm.

The temperature may have felt like 111 degrees Fahrenheit, but with so much fascinating work to do, there were no complaints. Afterwards we were rewarded with making and eating our own onion cakes and dumplings as well as other organic dishes that were prepared for us.

Kate Steinel (far right) joins the Cardinal Tien students in making organic onion cakes.

When we moved on up into the mountains of Taiwan, we got to try our hands at gardening again. There, the gardening group was brought to a field of weeds and asked to remove them all. It seemed like daunting work at the time, but with the help of our friends from Cardinal Tien, we got the work done in two days.

(from left to right) Zack Zuck, Kate Steinel, and Maria Solomond make some delicious organic dumplings.

Despite the hot weather and the unhappy insects that we were stirring up, the work was rewarding, and the beautiful view of the mountains paired with the exuberance and happiness of the Cardinal Tien students made our efforts even more enjoyable.

Br. Matthew Lambert hauls a load of freshly-pulled weeds.

Topics: Campus Ministry, Taiwan, Kate Steinel, Zachary Zuck, Maria Solomond, Br. Matthew Lambert, organic farming

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Paige Casario is a junior International Business major with minors in Spanish and Operational Excellence. She is studying Business and Spanish and living with a host family in Sevilla, Spain, for the spring semester. She is very excited for this opportunity and experience and can't wait to venture all over Spain and Europe.

Hi! My name is Nicole Reitz and I’m a junior psychology major at SVC. This spring, I’m studying at Edge Hill University in England.

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Theresa Thimons is a sophomore majoring in mathematics. She is the proud little sister to nine siblings and aunt to seventeen nieces and nephews. Theresa believes that each encounter she has with another human is an opportunity to better understand the heart of Jesus, as every person is the result of God’s love. In whatever career path she ends up taking, she looks forward to solving problems and hopefully inspiring more people to explore the world of fun that is found in math.

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