Visa we will be allowed to work.
2008/09/08
Who we are
A couple of French, Sophie, 24 years old and Arnaud, 26. We will come to New Zealand from November, around the 20th. It’s going to be a quite long trip of one year. Thanks to the Working Holiday 
Visa we will be allowed to work.
Visa we will be allowed to work.
Our Motivations
The first motivation for our trip is the curiosity of course. Go and see New Zealand. It already seems good. We have the luck to be able to travel, so we do. Last year, we went to Canada and it was a great experience, sometimes difficult but most of the time it was just fantastic.
The second motivation is improving our English. We both have a “not so bad” English, good enough for work but sometimes quite limited for tell exactly what we want to say, how we think. We need to practice and progress.
And there is a third purpose. We would like to work for organic agriculture. Fruits and vegetables mainly. We had experiences last year in British Columbia (Canada), farming and selling. We enjoyed it and then something change in our agriculture perception. We are thinking about some projects, why not, when the time will come.
The second motivation is improving our English. We both have a “not so bad” English, good enough for work but sometimes quite limited for tell exactly what we want to say, how we think. We need to practice and progress.
And there is a third purpose. We would like to work for organic agriculture. Fruits and vegetables mainly. We had experiences last year in British Columbia (Canada), farming and selling. We enjoyed it and then something change in our agriculture perception. We are thinking about some projects, why not, when the time will come.
Why organic agriculture
We are not considering organic agriculture just like a job as all the others but like a way of life more respectful about life and people. Not an easy way but a means to find humility and dignity. Not an utopian way of life either. The mind we found last year was something completely different from the spirit of all the others jobs than we did so far.
Unfortunately, for the moment organic agriculture is still very limited in France and most of the exploitations are to small for employed people, but it’s growing up. Some organics supermarkets are opening and we can find, step by step, a few products from fairtrade and organics products in the others markets and supermarkets.
Unfortunately, for the moment organic agriculture is still very limited in France and most of the exploitations are to small for employed people, but it’s growing up. Some organics supermarkets are opening and we can find, step by step, a few products from fairtrade and organics products in the others markets and supermarkets.
Our experiences
We worked for agriculture essentially last year in British Columbia.
First, Sophie was selling organics fruits and vegetables at the Granville Island Market of Vancouver. (Almost three months)
During the same time, I was selling Fruits (non organics fruits) at the same place.
Thanks to Sophie's job, we found the farm in the middle of British Columbia.
We arrived at the farm at mi season and what we did essentially was weeding, harvesting, cleaning and packing. We also had the market every Saturday morning and we planted some salads.
Arnaud was also in charge of tractor's work.
The products was only vegetables: Potato, garlic, onion, corn, parsley, many kind of cabbage, many kind of chard, many kind of summer and winter squash, radish, spinach, beet, sunchoxe, leek, carrot, cauliflower...
There were cows and pigs at the farm too.
We also spent some time like woofer in Spain but we wasted our time and money with people who don’t know anything about agriculture and organic system.
First, Sophie was selling organics fruits and vegetables at the Granville Island Market of Vancouver. (Almost three months)
During the same time, I was selling Fruits (non organics fruits) at the same place.
Thanks to Sophie's job, we found the farm in the middle of British Columbia.
We arrived at the farm at mi season and what we did essentially was weeding, harvesting, cleaning and packing. We also had the market every Saturday morning and we planted some salads.
Arnaud was also in charge of tractor's work.
The products was only vegetables: Potato, garlic, onion, corn, parsley, many kind of cabbage, many kind of chard, many kind of summer and winter squash, radish, spinach, beet, sunchoxe, leek, carrot, cauliflower...
There were cows and pigs at the farm too.
We also spent some time like woofer in Spain but we wasted our time and money with people who don’t know anything about agriculture and organic system.
This year, Arnaud worked in a vegetable expoitation. Non organic cucumbers, tomatoes and salads.
Intensive and unrewarding job.
What we expect
Working for a small exploitation. Local and organic. Vegetables mainly. Good mood as much as possible and sometimes patience for answering to our question.
We are not afraid by working hard. In BC, we worked seven days a week from August to mid-September (Then we got 4 days off and we went to the Rockies Mountain) and six days a week from mid- September to the end of the season (end of October).
In exchange, our boss gave to us a room, food and 800 Canadian dollars a month. It was a good deal.
Turn over for the house work. Make the food, wash the dishes, clean the bathroom the kitchen and the dinning room...
We are not afraid by working hard. In BC, we worked seven days a week from August to mid-September (Then we got 4 days off and we went to the Rockies Mountain) and six days a week from mid- September to the end of the season (end of October).
In exchange, our boss gave to us a room, food and 800 Canadian dollars a month. It was a good deal.
Turn over for the house work. Make the food, wash the dishes, clean the bathroom the kitchen and the dinning room...
What we expect to learn
We would like more about manage a small exploitation.
When and why you we decide to plant in a place and not in an other?
How to preserve the soil?
How to manage the water?
How "to fight" the bugs and others animals?
How to collect the seeds?
...
And others questions than we don't know yet.
When and why you we decide to plant in a place and not in an other?
How to preserve the soil?
How to manage the water?
How "to fight" the bugs and others animals?
How to collect the seeds?
...
And others questions than we don't know yet.
Thanks
We already can thank you if you read this and maybe thank for your help. We tried to do our best for being understandable with what is our English today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)