[Sdpg] Permaculture Scott Pittman's Training/Front lines of change: returning soldiers become farmers

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

Front lines of change: returning soldiers become farmers
http://www.guilfordian.com/world-nation/front-lines-of-change-returning-soldiers-become-farmers-1.2003635
By Omar Hamad

Published: Thursday, February 17, 2011
Updated: Thursday, February 17, 2011 17:02
Though thousands of miles away from each other, the deserts of 
Afghanistan and the deserts of Northern New Mexico are strikingly 
similar. Containing dry, mountainous landscapes, irrigation ditches, 
and agricultural economies, it seemed the perfect place for 
schoolchildren to teach organic farming techniques to National 
Guardsmen.

The members of Oklahoma's 2nd 45th Agricultural Development Team (a 
division of the Guard), were trained by students from Pojoaque, New 
Mexico's Camino de Paz Montessori school in the art of beekeeping and 
goat-milking, Tikkun Magazine reports.

The members of the unit were training under the auspices of New 
Mexico's Permaculture Institute, preparing for deployment to 
Afghanistan in the Fall of 2010. Their mission: to revitalize that 
country's much-diminished agricultural infrastructure.

  This is only one of many recent examples of the links between the 
U.S. military and efforts to revitalize agricultural inside and 
outside of the U.S.

While some troops prepare to assist agriculture overseas, more and 
more U.S. combat troops are returning home to an increasingly fragile 
job market. However, the agricultural sector, in which half of all 
farmers are expected to retire in the next ten years according to The 
New York Times, is attempting to fill an increasing demand for young 
blood with returning veterans.

"There is a tremendous need for young farmers, and a big wave of 
young people inspired to go into the service who are coming home" 
said Michael O'Gorman, founder of the nonprofit Farmer-Veteran 
coalition, to The New York Times.

At Archi's Acres in Valley Center, California training in organic 
avocado farming techniques overlaps with classes in Business for 
interested veterans.

Teaching sustainable practices including hydroponics, the former 
Marine and founder of Archi's Acres, Colin Archipley, began 
informally training veterans after buying his Valley Center farm in 
2007. Working together with his wife, they benefited from the farm's 
proximity to the Camp Pendleton Marine Base, just north of San Diego.

Since then they have began administering classes through the Veterans 
Sustainable Agricultural Training VSAT program at MiraCosta College. 
The program runs at $4,500 to Camp Pendleton provides assistance to 
veterans from the base seeking training there.

"What the farm offers veterans is decompression from the trauma of 
war," said Archipley to San Diego's East County Magazine.

According to The New York Times, while only 17 percent of America's 
population is classified as rural, 45 percent of returning Army 
veterans are classified as such. This means that many returning 
soldiers enrolling in VSAT and similar programs come in with previous 
farming experience, while also being exposed to new agricultural 
methods.

The hydroponic techniques used at Archi's Acres means that crops are 
grown in soil-less mediums rather than in soil itself. In addition to 
being more energy-efficient, Hydroponic methods eliminate 90 percent 
of contaminates by using alternatives to soil.

"We're able to water several thousand plants off just five gallons of 
water," said Archipley of the technique's efficiency to East County 
magazine. "This greenhouse alone uses about as much water as two 
avocado trees, but it produces several times as much income"

While the program operations have not been entirely smooth, the 
majority of veterans working at the farm have been positive about 
their experiences.
"Archi's Acres has given me a lot of peace of mind. Working with 
other vets is very peaceful," said former Navy Lieutenant Olaf Hansen 
to East County Magazine. "I don't have to watch every word - and I 
don't have to dress up, plus I'm learning a lot about organic 
gardening"

Many returning veterans expressed optimism about the ability of 
programs such as those at Archi's Acres to ease the return into 
civilian life.

"One thing I've noticed about agriculture is that you become a 
creator rather than a destroyer," said former Marine Mike Hanes to 
The New York Times. Hanes has suffered from PTSD and was left 
homeless for a year after returning from a tour in Iraq before coming 
to Archi's Acres.

The efforts of organic farm training have not only helped integrate 
returning veterans into civilian life, but also aided in connecting 
military personnel with their surrounding communities.

"We went to the website of this unit (Oklahoma 2nd 45th) and looked 
at their goals and found that we have some things in common: 
teamwork, responsibility, discipline, and helping each other make a 
difference" said Pat Pantano, executive director of the Camino De Paz 
school of the student-soldier relationship promoted by the 
permaculture program.

With sustainable agricultural practices increasingly important in a 
world of limited resources, soldiers and veterans to pave the way for 
progressive farming.

"For a comparable age, you won't find people who have had as much 
responsibility," said John Maki, transition assistance specialist at 
Archi's Acres to The New York Times.

"They've been tasked with making life-and-death decisions, already." 
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