2010 FOODSHED JOURNEY

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PACK IT IN.

PACK IT OUT.

INTRODUCING NECESSARY RITUAL

 

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FODDER PROJECT

ANTON CHICO I NM

 

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HOBO RANCH

LAS VEGAS I NM

These are the cattle of Hobo Ranch just outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico. They approached us with hesitance, in a triangle like formation with the biggest bull at the head of the crew, scoping out the group. It felt as though a scuffle was about to go down, but soon it became clear that the gathering of humans facing the curious bovine were just as curious as they. The Land Arts 2010 voyagers met with Dan and his cattle pack at Hobo Ranch to learn about his organic grass-fed cows during the FIRST LEG of the Foodshed exploration segment of our semester long journey.

This is the first post about the trip this year, and time is limited, however we wanted to get just a small morsel of our experience posted before we head back into the farmers markets, grasslands, mountains, and soil. We anticipate with great excitement sharing with you the wealth of knowledge that our fellow land dwellers and environment have been offering us on our adventure!



The word is FOOD.


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Marta Ferrate Torra

GEAR DRYING AFTER A "MALE" STORM IN SHIPROCK, NM

THE CALM AFTER THE STORM

ROASTED CORN DRYING AFTER COOKING ALL NIGHT IN THE HORNO

A LUXURIOUS DAY... VERONIKA REPLENISHES THE WATER IN THE OUTDOOR SHOWER THAT RAY BENALLY BUILT ON HIS FARM.

FREE TIME ON STILTS!

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Veronika Geiger

The Foodshed trip smoothly rounded off two days ago at the Hog Waller Farm in Shiprock, New Mexico. As I'm slowly processing all the impressions and experiences I think about the Navajo people we got to know at the Hog Waller Farm. Their generosity, warmth and great sense of humor made a big impression. We were welcomed Tuesday evening with dinner, fry bread, beans, chile, and a bunch of other dishes and I think we were all overwhelmed by their generosity and openness.

After dinner we prepared corn for overnight roasting by putting many hundreds of corn ears (still in the husk) in the horno (outdoor mud oven). They roasted overnight, at around 600 degrees I think. We took them out the next morning while they were still steaming. They smelled smokey and sweet. The rest of the morning we peeled off the husks and it was great to participate in this process from beginning to end.

Corn is a great part of the Navajo food culture and besides the fact that they can prepare it in any possible way, it's a very important element in religious ceremonies and rituals. At Hog Waller Farm they grew white corn, but the Navajo traditionally grow distinct strains in white, yellow, red and blue. Thinking about this experience in the frame of the Foodshed project I'm wondering about what it is that made this experience significantly different from what we have been doing so far. Maybe it's that thought that we are just a little part of a bigger context that seemed to be very present at the Hog Waller Farm or maybe it was the personal aspect that drew closer the idea of 'local' by working directly with the people there.