One of the spaces in my life I consider sacred is located at my long time summer camp and also the base camp of the program I will spend a semester in Ecuador through this fall. My sacred space is the "Farm Barn" at Kroka Expeditions in Marlow, NH. Kroka is an organization that offers summer camps and semester programs for children/teenagers ages 9-19, interested in learning about nature and conscious living. Their mission statement, practiced throughout every physical and mental aspect of the organization, is "Kroka Expeditions is committed to awakening in young people a connection to nature and the spirit within, and a capacity for conscious living and compassionate service. We strive to achieve this through wilderness adventure, community living, farming, and the practice of traditional and indigenous skills."
The Farm Barn at Kroka was built to support the farming they do at their base camp. Many Kroka alumni, current students and generous donors worked together to construct a barn to both house their large farm animals (a horse and cows) and process food for students, staff and local community members. After participating in many summer programs, I chose to volunteer as a farm apprentice in the summer of 2016. This was the first summer that the brand new Farm Barn was available for use; I speak of the barn specifically as my sacred space, but in truth, any space I am with my Kroka family is sacred to me. I felt especially drawn to the Farm Barn as a sacred space for me because of the individual time I got to spend here - the past summers I had spent at Kroka had been with a group of ~10 other girls, but last summer, I was much more independent and in charge of myself as an apprentice rather than a student.
In summer 2016, I came to Kroka with a love for animals, but learned a lot about how to handle and work with them. Living in the Farm Barn, there are five cows and a draft horse used for hauling wood and other materials and tools. Throughout the day, I worked with the animals; feeding and watering, exercising and bonding with them. I think that these animals make this beautiful space even more special because there is a constant essence of love and innocence in the space. Another part of the space that I adore is its capability to process the raw foods grown on the farm into more complex foods. There is a walk-in freezer used to store the organically grown fruits and vegetables; a milk room used to process milk from the cows and make it into cheese and yogurt; tools for cleaning and packaging eggs from the chickens. This barn makes me feel so much more connected to the Kroka community and the most raw and real parts of my soul because I am caring for creatures I love and working to provide nourishment and joy for my family and myself.
To be even more specific about the setting, my favorite time of day in the barn is at night when the sun was setting; dinner was at six every night and after I finished eating with other apprentices and counselors, it was my job to put the animals inside for the night. I loved getting to know each of the animals’ unique and beautiful personalities. Seeing the calves interact with their mothers and being able to take Brita, the horse, for evening rides as the sun set on the horizon each night brought an unmatchable sense of peace, calm and oneness with myself and my world on those warm summer nights.
Often when I am in an undesirable mindset or situation in my life, I find myself barefoot, sore muscles from working all day and hair wet from a dip in the pond, relinquishing the last minutes of daylight at the Farm Barn at Kroka.
I’ve attached some pictures of my time here if you’d like a better visual picture of my sacred space.
Danica, I love your blog post, and thank you for providing pictures! I like how your sacred space, although relaxing, is a place where you are working instead of relaxing. Personally, I never thought of how a place where you work could be a sacred space. Additionally, I loved how you explained that this sacred space helped transform who you were. For example, you said you felt more independent and in charge of yourself. I think sacred spaces are good for transforming who we are and bring the best qualities out of ourselves. Do you think the barn is a sacred space to the other kids within the program?
ReplyDeleteThe Kroka farm sounds like a great opportunity to better connect with civilized nature. I say "civilized nature" because it's not the wilderness, and agriculture is a human development. It also sounds like hard work, and I applaud you for that. Many teenagers would chose a summer of tanning and "hanging out" over a summer of tending cows and children. What made you want to?
ReplyDelete(Also, that's an adorable cow in the picture)
After reading your post, it makes me want to experience the Kroka Farm for myself. I think it's amazing that you not only get to experience and find peace through your time at Kroka, but also get to see and experience the world through Kroka with your upcoming trip to Ecuador. I love how your experience added to the significance of your sacred space, and how it seems to have given more depth to your love for animals. I can relate to the animal aspect because back home I'd help my grandfather tend to the cows and goats on his farm. out of curiosity, do you feel like you have any connections with a specific animal there? If so, which one? I absolutely loved this entry!
ReplyDelete