In March 2008, it finally happened - after 13 years of Waldorf School, my A levels were over. Now what? I'd never had a dream job and none of my ideas for study lasted more than a few minutes! An Open Day at the University of Zurich at least gave me one certainty: I now knew I was not going to become another anonymous face in an auditorium ful of hundreds of students!
So, time for a gap year, time to travel, to learn a few languages and discover new corners of the world.
An affordable way to combine art, travelling and learning languages is WWOOFing - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. From January 2009, I started travelling through France, working on various organic and biodynamic farms in exchange for a room and meals. After a few months of working in vegetable fields, with cows, sheep, cheeses, greenhouses and fruit trees, it slowly dawned on me - Biodynamic Farming! That's what I want to study!
Next step was to find a college running a course in Biodynamic agriculture. Not easy because when it comes to training centres, Biodynamic farming is still in early development. But after some serious research, I found Emerson College in East Sussex in the South-East of England
On September 17th, I got off the plane at Gatwick. I'd never been to England before and expected pouring rain and dense fog, but to my surprise I found that this big green island had prepared a sunny welcome for me! A few hours later, I was enrolled as a full-time student on The Art of Sustainable Farming-- Biodynamic Organic Agriculture Training
The training takes 18 months in total and is divided into three semesters. From September until the end of March there are about 4 hours of subjects with a theoretical focus, such as botany, soil science, vegetable and livestock production and beekeeping. Theory meets art during other subjects like astronomy and phenomenology. During the afternoons the group is divided into small groups, one of which works in the newly developed Emerson College vegetable garden, one group goes to a nearby farm to milk cows and help in the dairy, one group is familiarising themselves with welding and fixing tractors while the last group is learning how to drive tractors. After four weeks the groups rotate. Mornings in the classroom and afternoons outdoors creates a pleasant mixture of theory and practise.
The second semester, from April until the end of August, is spent on an organically or biodynamically certified farm. Some students do their placement in England but most go on adventures and end up in places like Brazil, China, Norway, India or France. There is a wide variety of destinations!
After the work placement most students return to Emerson College for another six months. Exciting subjects await, such seed growing and breeding, farm management and social dynamics in a business.
In spring the training is finished and graduates can choose: either jump into professional life and take up a responsible position on an organic or biodynamic farm, or alternatively (or simultaneously) enrol on the 2-year biodynamic farm management course at Warmonderhof College in Holland.
…But I’m not that far yet! Although I haven’t been at Emerson College for all that long, I know it was the perfect decision for me to live and study here. Never before was I in such an exciting class: students ranging in age from 18 to 40, and 11 different nationalities among 19 students! Although most of us speak English pretty well, nevertheless there is an impressive range of languages to be enjoyed: Chinese, Hebrew and Norwegian can be heard alongside French, German and Italian… This international character is surely one of the most striking and most beautiful aspects of Emerson College!
Considering living at Emerson College, one thing is sure: the community is important. Apart from us farmers there are storytellers and artists on campus. Previously there were courses for Waldorf teachers, gap year students and eurythmists as well, but these had to be cancelled this year due to low enrolment. The daily tea breaks (of course, we are in England!), common lunches, various activities such as weekly storytelling performances, Monday evening courses – dance, photography, drama, creative writing and many more, the choir and movie nights: all these activities bring students from different courses together in an informal way. On top of that most of us globetrotting students live in one of the five student houses on campus, where we meet each other for teas (still in England!), cooking, singing or card games…
Having been to Steiner Waldorf Schools for most of my childhood I felt immediately at home at Emerson College: the familiar style of teaching, morning verses, eurythmy, watercolour painting… even our exercise books! Surprisingly most of the students at Emerson College don’t have a Steiner Waldorf background, however students from all different backgrounds fit in wonderfully well. Some interest in the work of Rudolf Steiner might be helpful if you want to study here, but is definitely not a requirement. In fact, for many students, coming to Emerson College becomes a springboard into the depths of anthroposophy.
In conclusion, I can say that after being here for three months, Emerson College is a very special place. Of course it isn't perfect, but nothing is! Little beauty spots add to the character and ensure that Emerson could never be seen as a cold or inapproachable institution but a heart-centered place where I love doing my training.
Roxana O.M. Reichel
Biodynamics Student in 1st Year