With one of the farmers suddenly too busy to meet with us, a broken camera body, and malfunctioning lens, it hasn’t been all roses the past week out here.
Luckily, we’ve been able to get some other interviews and Suhee knew a very kind (and inexpensive) camera repair man who was able to fix the broken gear for us in just one afternoon.
Dumulmeori Activities
We visited the the Dumulmeori Farm this past weekend to see how life is going in this area which has experienced some intense turmoil in recent months.
The area is breathtaking piece of land at the head of the Han River, a major body of water which eventually winds its way East and through the middle of Seoul.
The farming area was busy with all sorts of activities, including planting by several local farmers and groups of city-folk, the “weekend” farmers.
A group of activists from Rogpa Shop in Seoul were also at Dumulmeori, making Masanobu Fukuoka style seed balls. The technique — which involves coating seeds in balls of mud-clay mixture — was used by Fukuoka as a way to protect seeds when using the natural “no till” farming method.
The Rogpa activists, however, were making “seed bombs” to distribute around Seoul in hopes of sprouting edible gardens across the largely concrete city.
In addition to planting by local farmers and city “weekend” farmers, there also happened to be a “natural dyeing” class at the farm, where students used local plants to dye silk fabrics.
Coming Up…
It’s the last week here in Seoul before heading to Nara, Japan where we will be meeting with Yoshikazu Kawaguchi, the leading natural farmer in Japan.
Photos from Dumulmeori