Roots of Change: Growing Food, Friendship, and Solidarity

The funniest moment of the experience happened one sunny morning while we were building a compost pile. We were all working enthusiastically, adding layers of leaves, soil, and organic waste, when someone accidentally poured in a bucket of still-warm kitchen leftovers. Within minutes, the pile began to smoke and release a strange, earthy smell — it looked like a tiny volcano erupting in the middle of the garden! At first, we thought we had done something terribly wrong, so we all started running around with shovels and watering cans, trying to “cool it down.” Then our coordinator came over, laughed, and explained that the steam was completely normal — it meant the compost was “alive” and working perfectly. We all burst out laughing, relieved and amused. From that day on, we nicknamed it “Compost Volcano,” and it became one of our favorite stories to tell during lunch breaks. It reminded us that even mistakes can turn into moments of joy and learning.