Carrots and Kindness, they
go together. Well, at least in my mind they do, because carrots are root vegetables and grow underground, they absorb a great
amount of nutrients from the soil. Once
carrots have been allowed to grow, they can be harvested, so that all the good
things they contain may be shared.
Kindness can also be grown, harvested, and shared with others. Why am I talking about Carrots and Kindness
you ask? Well, let me tell you…
As many of you know, in January
during the ILSSO trip, we traveled to South Africa. On January 6th we had the
opportunity to visit the Langplaas Vegetable farm. The Langplaas Farms belong to the Van Rensburg family and it is now in the 4th generation of ownership. Their
farm is irrigated, and they also have a state of the art packing house and
cooling facilities which include a hydro cooling system. The family raises approximately 500 Hectares
(1200 acres) of vegetables including butternut squash, garden beets, sweet
potatoes, onion and, yep you guessed it…carrots.
When we arrived to the
Langplass Vegetable Farm, it was our second farm visit that day. It was a very warm, very sunny, 96°F when we
stepped off the bus. A welcomed temperature to us Midwesterners on the trip, but a very warm day for those
working in the fields each day. We were
greeted first by the farm manager who explained to us the history and overall
operation of the farm. After our introductions,
we were invited to go directly into the fields and work side by side with the
farm employees harvesting carrots!
Immediately we were greeted
with extreme kindness and felt very welcomed by everyone participating in the
carrot harvest. Can you imagine...you are hard at work in the warm sun, going
about your job, picking carrots, hauling them to the truck and suddenly, 75 American
college students are spreading out among your field? The farm workers didn’t blink an eye. They welcomed us immediately and despite the
fact they spoke very little English, they tried to communicate with us as
much as they were able. Smiles, however,
know no language barrier, and kindness and friendship were instantly universal and
apparent. These workers were totally
gracious and freely sharing of kindness with us. I was humbled and grateful to
be here and tried to absorb every nutrient of this hands on learning
opportunity. 
We “dug in” and began harvesting with the farm
employees. The carrots were picked from
the ground and then loaded into large crates.
Once the crates were full, it took two people to hoist the full and
heavy crates onto the top of the head of another worker. Once the full crate
was placed on top of the worker’s head, it was walked across the field and
loaded into the nearest truck for transport to the on-farm packing
facility. Talk about farm fresh
produce. I was shown how to properly
pick the carrots from the ground, then I was encouraged to try and carry the
full crate of carrots on my head! With a
gentle kindness, the farm employees placed a type of head wrap on me, that
helps protect the head when transporting the heavy crate to the waiting
truck. A little bit of fear washed over
me… I was thinking: what if I can’t do this or what if I am not strong enough to
carry this heavy load on top of my head?
I didn’t want to let down the very people who had opened their field,
minds and hearts to us. With
encouragement and help from my new found friends, I was successful in landing
the crate on my head! Now, just to get
to the truck! Again, their kindness
encouraged me, and I was successful in transporting the carrots to the
truck! They applauded me and celebrated
my efforts!
Here they were applauding me
for my efforts in succeeding in a task they accomplish daily, and I was so
touched by their support. At the end of the day, the carrots were successfully
harvested, taken to the amazing packing facility, packaged and sent out to
the consumers. But at the end of the
day, it was more than a successful harvest of an orange root vegetable. It was the welcoming actions and kindness of these
farm employees that was at the root of this experience. What could have been viewed as a simple act
of agricultural farm labor in a beautiful farm field, turned out to be so much
more than that. Because these amazing
people opened their workplace to us, welcomed us to their daily lives, and
showed us kindness, we all truly became better people that day. 8,000 miles
from home and we were taught the lesson of a lifetime, to carry with us and share.
I’ve been thinking about
this experience a lot since my return home, and I can say I see the power in
kindness and in even a simple smile. A
simple gesture can literally change someone’s day. We don’t have to know their entire life
story, their struggles, or even their accomplishments. We can be kind to each other, no matter
what. So my FFA friends, I encourage
you…be kind to others. Be a day changer,
a day maker for someone. It doesn’t cost
anything but can be of great value to others with whom you cross paths.
I truly lived and felt the FFA
Motto during this farm visit: We were Learning to Do and Doing to Learn during the harvest, we got to assist the farm
employees in Earning to Live and now
we can be Living to Serve by sharing
the life lessons in kindness from that day.
Remember…Kindness is the root of all good things.
Stationed by the Flag,
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