Food, water, shelter...these things are important

Let’s start from here:

“…wait, I need to have a more basic fundamental education about being human. Food, water, shelter...these things are important”. This is what Kally, an American girl of my age (30), thought a few years ago as she left her job as a kindergarten teacher and started working on farms (see the article linked below).

I must say that I actually agree whit her: those things are important. Although in our (western and rich) society we can’t help to take them for guaranteed, it seems that people are increasingly more attracted by rural life and food sources.

I, myself, am an example. Last summer the terrace of my flat wasn’t coloured by flours and traditional plants: its “guest” were strawberries, tomatoes, pumpkins , squashes… Despite the fact that only strawberries and tomatoes survived the insects and the illnesses (we aren’t experts at all!) , it was such a satisfaction! And so we went on planting pees, cabbage and carrots for the winter season… I’ll let you know how it goes!

There are many more serious experiences. An architect friend of mine last year got fed up whit short-terms jobs and decided to start a small farm activity in an unused piece of lend of her granddad. She has no farm background but she rolled up her sleeves and she has recently obtained some UE funds to develop her project.

This article is about young and educated Americans going “back to the farm”. I think it summarises well the different reasons that can explain this phenomenon.  Although US must have a very different agricultural system, I reckon that some young Europeans may think the same way of their Americans contemporaries.