Orientation! What is it Good For?

Orientation! What is it Good For?
By Birch K


“Why haven't we done any real work yet?”
Not something you’d expect to hear from a teenager, yet it’s something I wondered just about every day for the 2 weeks of my orientation. I heard it from some of my peers too. I personally had come to get my hands in the dirt, others were excited to get ‘real life’ work experience. Yet here we were doing name games and getting lessons every morning. It was valuable for sure, but I say this in hindsight. At the time I wanted to know why the curriculum involves so much learning? Why couldn't we just jump right in? It’s been 3 years and I’ve observed folks employed at MAP with different levels of prior knowledge, the value of the 2 weeks quickly becomes evident.

So what is the orientation? Every year, MAP employs roughly 25 new youth for a six-week summer employment program. And every year, two of those weeks are dedicated to a "youth orientation." Essentially, we spend two weeks giving new youth the knowledge they need to be familiar with MAP; so they’re comfortable doing the work they will be responsible for in the following weeks. Most people coming into the program do not immediately know what food justice is, how to make a kohlrabi, or what organic really means. Working at MAP and within the wider food justice community requires vernacular you won't necessarily just pick up if tossed into the work. Maybe you know how to cut kohlrabi safely (hint: cut it in half, peel, and julienne with a sharp knife), but that’s where the learning ends. However in those 2 weeks prior to jumping in you get to see the context you're working in. New youth are introduced to the idea of food as a part of a wider system; full of many working parts that worked together to have the kohlrabi end up on your cutting board. The idea of your food not beginning with your plate, or even a seed but with people. So, in the first two weeks, we get to know ourselves and the people around us a bit better. This year that took the form of a writing activity, we envisioned ourselves as parts of nature. Later there will be exercises to envision a perfect farm and work on MAP's farm, and when it is time to cut up that kohlrabi, it won't be a meaningless thing. The experience will be an accumulation of 10 days of learning.

Just walking into a kitchen, identity workshop, or farm isn't going to give you the whole experience of MAP. One could easily engage with every part of MAP without understanding how cooking, growing and food justice are related. Knowing the value of a piece of produce grown without chemicals allows for a more enriching learning experience. So while 10 days may seem like a large time investment to some, it pays off when you can walk out and see your plate in a whole new way.




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