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September
22, 2006
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Svitek,
I would like to take this opportunity to express
my deepest gratitude for your generous contribution
to my internship this past summer. With your support
I was able to spend the summer volunteering on organic
farms throughout the Republic of Ireland. The agreement
between me and my host was a day’s work in
exchange for room and board so airfare, transport
and everything else had to come out of my pocket.
Receiving this award allowed me to take an unpaid
position in a field I am passionate about and I
feel very fortunate to have had that opportunity.
One of the coolest places I worked was at a center
for alternative technology on the beautiful west
coast. The farm is 40 acres, half of which is being
reforested and managed. The other twenty are used
to grow vegetables organically and for some animals
as well. The farm is completely off the grid and
produces all of their own electricity via windmills,
solar panels and a micro-hydro system. All this
produces enough electricity to run the entire farm
with enough left over to watch a movie at the end
of the day. The people that own the farm are extremely
knowledgeable about both farming and alternative
technology and I learned a tremendous amount from
them.They are also some of the funniest people I’ve
ever met and
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I really enjoyed working
with them. Even jobs like weeding and shoveling
manure were highly enjoyable!
In addition to all the valuable skills I attained
on the farm, I learned a tremendous amount off the
farm as well. The locals were very friendly and
there was never a dull moment at a social gathering.
I spent the last two weeks of the summer traveling
around the country and got to talk to several residents
about their culture and the status of organic food
production. One of the most exciting things I discovered
is a trend of individual households starting to
become increasingly self-sufficient food producers.
The most popular reasons for doing so include economics,
food security and the confidence in knowing where
their food came from and how it was produced. I
think this is going to continue to be a trend not
only in Ireland, but around the world as the energy
crisis approaches. Agriculture will be one of the
hardest hit industries and also the most important
in my opinion. Alternative technology in agriculture
is the main focus of my ongoing research project.
I hope to utilize the knowledge I gained working
at the Center for Alternative Technology and with
further research make alternative energy recommendations
to the other places I worked this summer.
Another thing I enjoyed about living in Ireland
was the great music! I spent many evenings listening
to traditional Irish music, which I developed a
great love for. I also joined a samba/reggae band
one of the places I stayed and got to play several
gigs with them!
Again, I would like to thank you wholeheartedly
for this tremendous opportunity. I learned an incredible
amount and am very excited to go on and share that
knowledge with other people in my field.
With great appreciation,
Nicole Desnoyers |
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