"We're living in a very wasteful time, and the advantage for small-scale organic farmers is that they can take advantage of all that waste and turn it into a good thing."
Charlie Collins, a kingpin in the organic gardening community sits across drinking his royal milk tea. Since moving from Phoenix two years ago, he has become active in the local farmers markets as well as joining the community supported agriculture scene. Last year he was the farmer for SPROUT!, Richmond's community supported agriculture program, which involves members paying a farmer up-front, and then receiving a share of his or her produce each week during the growing season. Farming is his passion. As he sips his boba tea, obviously intrigued by the tapioca "pearls" that are waiting in the bottom of his cup, he answers my questions.
How long have you been farming?
I've been farming for 14 years. I began in Phoenix, at the Farm at South Mountain. It's kind of a pretentious name, but I did an internship there my final semester of college. After that I was hired on.
What were your aspirations as a kid?
I knew I wanted to grow vegetables. Some of my earliest memories were of running through my dad's organic garden. Feeling all these plants … it felt great. I was fascinated by the compost too, and the worms.
How were you introduced to farming?
My dad was ahead of the curve … he got into the whole organic gardening thing. I remember going around with him in a big, old, black Mercedes-Benz and putting bags of grass clippings and leaves in the back trunk to compost.
When did gardening become personal for you?
I was working at a bindery around these big reams of paper all the time. It was good money. We had a 20 by 20 garden out in the backyard, when my wife and I first got together … I used to spend hours out there just putzin' in the garden. My wife said, "You know, as much time as you spend in that garden, you might as well do it for a living." I took her up on it; it just made sense because I loved it so much.
Why did you want to become a farmer back then and why do you continue to farm today?
I really have a strong desire to feed myself; I always had a garden growing up. It was really tough to go on vacations … to be away from the farm and the vegetables. And then when I started having kids … I wanted to be home … my wife wanted to go to work. I started being an at-home, farming house-dad.
Do you consider farming a job?
It's more of a lifestyle.
How do most people react when you tell them that you're a farmer?
Young people are hip to it. Old people are a little wary of it. They look down at my shoes and look down at my hands. I get a lot of disbelief. What's your main cash crop, marijuana?
What are some of the hard things about your job?
It's really hard to separate your life from the farm. That whole idea of rolling out of bed and going to work is great in a respect … but it can be a little hard to get away from.
Do you think that not being able to separate work from play is a widespread problem in America?
Yeah, it's kind of a rip-off when you think if it. We work so many hours we think we're so much more efficient … we multi-task, we have all this technology… it's really hard to imagine not having cell phones now. I will go for days and weeks at a time and just use my phone as an answering machine when things get crazy.
What else is tough about your job?
It's nurturing thousands of living things, so the cultural requirements are sometimes overwhelming. Sometimes … I can't really go anywhere, I have to keep an eye on (the plants).
At a self-starter job like this, how do you keep yourself invested?
I always way over-challenge myself. I think it's just to keep interest; I get bored pretty easily. I'm not motivated by money; I'm not motivated by a lot of the things that people would relate to success.
What sets your farming style apart from that of others?
I've kind of stayed away from mechanization. I'm more motivated by trying to take my field and stretch it, doing as much as I can with as little as I can … using the waste produced from our cities, towns and neighborhoods and converting it to nutrients to grow plants and feed people.