What is your previous experience with Organic Agriculture and Sustainable Development?
I have been gardening all my life, as my parents brought me up to grow our own food and enjoy the beauty of nature. I graduated in 2009 with honors from UC Berkeley with a double major in Genetics & Plant Biology and Agroecology & Land Use Policy. A large part of my education was understanding and putting to use organic gardening techniques as well as studying the political economy of sustainable agriculture. Since then I have spent a year apprenticing at a sustainable, family-owned and -operated farm in southwestern France. I also volunteered over 100 hours with City Slicker Farms in West Oakland, an inner-city, organic gardening non-profit helping to encourage the disadvantaged residents of the neighborhood to have access to fresh, sustainably grown produce and empower them to determine their own food sovereignty. Finally, I have worked in the produce department of Whole Foods, learning from inside this profit-driven company how they source and treat their organic growers. This entire time, I have built and maintained a large garden and orchard at my parent's house in Redwood City, using sustainable agriculture techniques.
What are your reasons for joining WWOOF Mexico?
Learning about sustainable living and agriculture, Getting to know Mexico better
What do you want the farms and fellow WWOOFers to know about you?
After my wife, compost is my favorite thing in the world (don't worry, she knows this and loves compost too!). I have a wide-ranging knowledge of farming and sustainable agriculture from my previous experience, including the variety of tasks necessary to run a successful farm and the hard labor involved. I am a quiet but sociable guy who loves to read as much as hike 20 miles in a day. I also enjoy cooking and eating excellent meals in good company, especially with food grown by my own labor! I hope to attend the renowned Apprenticeship in Horticulture and Sustainable Agriculture at UC Santa Cruz this coming Spring 2015 (I am currently waiting to hear back about my application). I plan to complete my education of sustainable agriculture with this program and launch my own small farm in Northern California. It has been a long-time dream to learn about sustainable agriculture in a region of the world known for its long history of agriculture, pushback against corporate control of our food system, and collaborative knowledge creation of sustainable agriculture techniques...I can't wait!
Messages Box (1 message)
Yes Robert, you can pass by, lets write at: robertolepe@gmail.com
Best regards, R.
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