VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE # 313
AIR DATE: 01 12 2024
FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT

OPEN
((VO/NAT/SOT))
((Topic Banner))
Harvesting Seaweed
((SOT))
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
We had trouble thriving and surviving in the modern world as it is. So we created this little village where we could eat simple foods and be involved with nature, a world that made more sense to us that we wanted to bring our kids up into and ourselves up into.
((Animation Transition))
((Topic Banner))
Farming Kelp
((SOT))
((Matt Moretti
Co-Owner/CEO, Bang Island Mussels))
Farming mussels in 2010 and very soon after that, we decided to add kelp to the mix. The main reason was that it was a chance to do even more positive environmental good.
((Animation Transition))
((Topic Banner))
Growing Oysters
((SOT))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Once COVID came along, we had basically zero sales. Hopefully you guys like big oysters, because they're still there. They're still growing.
((Open Animation))

((PKG)) INTENTIONAL HARVEST / SEAWEED COMMUNITY
((TRT: 14:32))
((Topic Banner: Seaweed Community))
((Camera/Editor/Producer: Gabrielle Weiss))
((Map: Kasilof, Alaska; Jakolof Bay, Alaska))
((Main characters: 2 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 2 female; 4 male))
((Blurb: Ionia, an intentional community in Kasilof, Alaska, has the goal of living a more sustainable and cooperative life. We travel with some of the community members to harvest their year’s supply of seaweed, a staple of their diet.))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
Come here, Addy. Good morning. Do you want help with your breakfast, Fiona? Are you awake enough for breakfast? We’re going to go to Homer today.
The thing I love about our day sea weeding, which I've done since I was a small child, which is that the whole community comes together.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Agam Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
What’s the goal here? How many are we making?
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
We are aiming for three for everybody.
((Michael Creighton
Ionia Resident))
What else…
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia resident))
…45.
((Michael Creighton
Ionia Resident))
…are we bringing?
((NATS))
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia resident))
We got our rice balls made. We got some walnuts with some homemade miso on them. And now, we have some wild fiddleheads going. And we're going to sauté some kale with some homemade tofu. That'll be our lunch at the beach.
((NATS))
((Agam Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
We’ve got to feed 15 hungry mouths that’s going to harvest beautiful seaweed. And this is a great source of energy, plant-based energy.
((Ally Brill
Ionia Resident))
We're going to go down to Homer and catch a boat across the bay and pick seaweed for our seaweed for the year.
((Agam Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
You’re ready for my perfect rice ball?
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
Yeah. There you go. Perfect B. I give it a B.
((Ally Brill
Ionia Resident))
It’s supposed to be sunny, so it's going to be a warm, wonderful experience. There have been years where it's been snowing and freezing cold and we do it anyway, so...
((NATS))
((Eliza Eller
Ionia Resident))
Ionia is like a safe haven that we created 30 years ago. A group of us found each other in the movement called Macrobiotics in Boston. And we had in common, trouble thriving and surviving in the modern world as it is. So, we created this little village, where we could eat simple foods and be involved with nature, and learn how to relate more kindly with each other, so that we could really find that support that we needed, and create a world that made more sense to us, that we wanted to bring our kids up into and ourselves up into.
((NATS))
((Ionia Residents))
Let’s go.
Come on Alex, let’s do this.
Let’s get out of here.
Eight to a car.
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
Make sure you have eight, whoever's going in there.
((Alex Eller
Ionia Resident))
Get in the car now.
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
When tide is low, it is time to go harvest our seaweed together. Even though it's a really hard, long day, it brings us together. ((Agam Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
It just feels every time like kind of unique or special, every time I leave the community, because it just doesn't happen very often. I have all my life there, you know. I raise my kids there, home schooling, and I never get to get outside so much. And when I do, it just feels like, wow, there's a whole world out there.
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
You guys ready? Almost there. Water doesn't look too bad, actually.
((NATS))
((Eliza Eller
Ionia Resident))
We had a dream of a rurally-based village, but we were all city folk. We had no idea how to do that. We had no money and nothing going for us. And we heard that there was free land in Alaska. And we heard that there was this thing called the Alaska Permanent Fund, which was a little payment for every man, woman and child, that happens every year. Not me, but some of us got the idea, the crazy idea, to go to Alaska and try to homestead. And so, I was dragged up here pretty much kicking and screaming. But I came and after a few years, I just fell in love with the place.
((NATS))
((Eliza Eller
Ionia Resident))
We found this land. It wasn't free, but it was $300 down and $300 a month, and we could do that. And we took our first year of permanent funds, which was a whole lot, you know, because it was a bunch of us. And we just pooled them all together and were like, ‘Wow! That's more money than we've ever seen anywhere.’ And we took it, and we put in a road, and we put in the well, and we actually bought teepees that first year, and put them up and lived in them for the first winter and with our families. And then, we started building in the spring.
((NATS))
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
That’s a nice handful. I grew up here. My parents are one of the founding families. I remember being outside a lot, especially when we didn't even have a house to be in. We still felt very warm and cozy, kind of a tribal to be out in teepees together. But it wasn't too long before we definitely got on building our log cabins.
((NATS))
((Rosalie Eller
Ionia Resident))
Whoever fills up their bag first...gets…an order of French fries that we’re all going to share, but they don't have to pay for it.
((NATS))
((Ted Eller
Ionia Resident))
You cut it so that it regrows. So you leave the stem that's anchored to the rock, and that's what it looks like. It's got one spine and it's got a lot of really nice leaves on it. And after you dry it properly and store it for a while, that spine stops being tough. It's best fresh before you dry it, but it only lasts two or three days.
((NATS))
((Connor Eller
Ionia Resident))
Been every year since I was five. My favorite day of the year. Yeah, it's very, very small. But it's been that way for the last, the last few years. Nothing like when we were kids. They used to be like twice as long as I was.
((NATS))
((Ally Brill
Ionia Resident))
The amount that we eat is just like, to buy it, it's just too much. It's ridiculous. So hopefully get enough this year that we don't run out. ((NATS))
((Eliza Eller
Ionia Resident))
We don't have any religion in common, but we did have this way of eating with grains and vegetables and beans, and using principles of balance that really nourished us and helped us to find our health and our centers and take care of our kids.
((NATS))
((Agam Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
We’re working nicely. Everybody are collecting. I think we're going to probably have enough for the year, hopefully. It feels so good right now to collect something local. It always feels weird to buy something that you have right next to you, that you can collect or harvest or gather or grow.
((NATS))
((Michael Creighton
Ionia Resident))
I think we have plenty of time to pick the rest before the tide comes back up.
((NATS))
((Rosalie Eller
Ionia Resident))
Are the fiddleheads good?
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
They look good. Vegan in Alaska? How is that using what’s on the land? I grew up vegan and I've always felt like I got everything I needed from the plants, especially if you like look closely to the abundance of food that's around. You just have to look a little closer. Like open your scope to like all the vegetation and all the mushrooms and all the sea life, and it feels like a sustainable choice, even in Alaska.
((NATS))
Get all the seaweed to the dock. We’ve got 40 minutes.
((Ally Brill
Ionia Resident))
Great day of sea weeding. Beautiful day. Good harvest.
We had a good day but we’re only halfway there.
((NATS))
((Ted Eller
Ionia Resident))
I’m getting too old for this stuff.
((NATS))

TEASE
((VO/NAT/SOT))
More after the break…
((Topic Banner))
Seaweed Community
((SOT))
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
Hands are cold, hot, fresh, cooked seaweed.
((NATS))
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
Fresh seaweed.
((Greg Eller
Ionia Resident))
I want some. Yummy. Mmmm, yummy. Give me, give me, give me, give me…
((NATS))
No.
((NATS/MUSIC))

BUMP IN ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect
((Social Media segment))
((PKG)) PAINTING ALTOID TINS
((TRT: 1:00))
((Original Producer/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Social Media Producer/Editor: Lisa Vohra))
((Blurb: Meet Remington Robinson, an artist who paints miniature oil paintings in Altoid Tins.))
((Remington Robinson
Artist))
The number one thing that inspires my art is nature itself. ((Courtesy: Remington Robinson))
((Remington Robinson
Artist))
This is a landscape of Boulder [Colorado]. There are the Flatirons [rock formations near Boulder, Colorado] right there, at sunset during a rainstorm. I was painting on the overlook
((Courtesy: Remington Robinson))
off of Highway 93 in South Boulder. You can see a little bit of rain coming down there.
((Remington Robinson
Artist))
I’m just setting up my tin so I can start another painting. This is a brand-new tin. I don't always use the same colors. I like to kind of keep it fresh and experiment a little bit.
((Remington Robinson
Artist))
For younger artists starting out, what I would recommend is find a niche
((Courtesy: Remington Robinson))
of something that you like to paint but also something that sets you apart from other people. And if you really feel strongly about ((Remington Robinson
Artist))
your work and you like it a lot, then other people will like it too, I think.
BUMP OUT ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect


((PKG)) INTENTIONAL HARVEST / SEAWEED COMMUNITY ((contd.))
((NATS))
((Ted Eller
Ionia Resident))
I’m getting too old for this stuff.
((Agam Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
Our community, with the intention that it has to learn how to live with difference, there's a few points where we come together. And those are usually around local foods, to eat what's around us in our environment, and that we can do it ourselves. And so, seaweed is an amazing opportunity for that.
((NATS))
((Alex Eller
Ionia Resident))
Hard to lift in there.
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
Some of Ionia’s uniqueness comes from the fact that it's an intentional community, intention of really learning how to live together and to live in harmony with the world around us.
((NATS))
((Eliza Eller
Ionia Resident))
There’s always someone else you can pass your baby to. There's always someone else you can go and talk to. And, you know there's no privacy, and there's no such thing as doing something that doesn't affect, you know, 50 other people. However, that tradeoff is worth it for a lot of us because doing it all by yourself can become very lonely and it can become very unsustainable for some of us.
((NATS))
((Greg Eller
Ionia Resident))
It's going slow. In years past, before global warming probably, we had two meter long and a half meter wide pieces of seaweed and you would hang everything in two hours. It was really much nicer. Really nice.
((Alex Eller
Ionia Resident))
This is going to make it taste better though. In the winter, when we're eating it, we'll know how much energy we put into hanging it and drying it.
((NATS))
((Emma Becherer
Ionia Resident))
Really cold.
((Eliza Eller
Ionia Resident))
I'm kind of sorry I didn't go on the boat this year, but it's a very highly prized position to get on that boat and everybody wants to be on. It's so fun out in the water.
((Connor Eller
Ionia Resident))
Got to use it as a moisturizer.
((Rosalie Eller
Ionia Resident))
I should be cooking dinner. I wanted to be here for the conversation and the cold hands.
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
Hands are cold. Hot, fresh, cooked seaweed.
((NATS))
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
Fresh seaweed.
((Greg Eller
Ionia Resident))
I want some. Yummy. Mmmm, yummy.
Give me, give me, give me, give me…
((NATS))
No.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Jesse Brill
Ionia Resident))
I’m still not tall enough.
((Greg Eller
Ionia Resident))
Little stuff. A lot of it fits in one bag. So it goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Connor Eller
Ionia Resident))
14 hours. Getting a little tired.
((Michael Creighton
Ionia Resident))
This is very exciting to have all this seaweed hung. It's one of our better harvests we've had in a long time. But yeah, ready for dinner and a nice evening. Hell, yeah.
((NATS))
((Ann Ohn-Bar
Ionia Resident))
Oh, my goodness. Quiet down everybody. First, I just want to say: Yes, we hung all the seaweed. Thank you everybody for helping harvest. And last but not least, to the cooks: Thank you. Saori.
((NATS))
((Saori Habuta
Ionia Resident))
Okay, begin.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Eliza Eller
Ionia Resident))
Every day is different. I love the dream of a village. I think it’s a wonderful way to live on the planet. And I hope that Ionia can be a little example for other experiments and projects like this all over the planet.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Eliza Eller
Ionia Resident))
And it keeps me, yeah, it keeps me sane. It keeps me on the right track. It keeps me nourished. As long as it does that, I have no reason to think about anything else, ever.
((NATS/MUSIC))


((PKG)) KELP FARMING IN MAINE
((Previously aired February, 2023))
((TRT: 5:05))
((Topic Banner: Kelp Farming in Maine))
((Director/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: Portland, Maine))
((Main characters: 2 female; 1 male))
((Sub characters: 0 female; 0 male))
((Blurb: Fishermen diversify their income by farming kelp in their off season.))
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Briana Warner
President/CEO, Atlantic Sea Farms))
We're looking at a pretty significant economic development issue here on the coast of Maine as the Gulf of Maine warms faster than 98% of oceans in the world. We're working with fishermen to diversify their income by farming kelp in their off-season.
((NATS))
((Matt Moretti
Co-Owner/CEO, Bangs Island Mussels))
The working waterfront in Maine is traditionally very independent. Most of the people that I can think of are all, you know, owner operators or own independent boats, and I'm mostly thinking about lobstermen here. The ASF [Atlantic Sea Farms] model allows people to maintain their independent owner operator status, but also get the support that they need to venture into a new field that's totally different from wild capture.
((NATS))
((Matt Moretti
Co-Owner/CEO, Bangs Island Mussels))
I started out farming mussels in 2010 and very soon after that, we decided to add kelp to the mix. The main reason was that it was a chance to do even more positive environmental good. Kelp is grown in the winter. It's a very fast-growing organism. So, we plant all of our kelp, 40,000 feet of it in the middle fall, you know, sometime October, November. We grow it over the winter exclusively. We maintain it during that period and then we harvest it all in the early spring.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Briana Warner
President/CEO, Atlantic Sea Farms))
We help fishermen get their leases. We help our partner farmers seek their spots, set up their farms. We provide technical assistance on how to grow kelp. We have an overarching kelp transfer kind of program, and then we also grow all of the seeds for the kelps, and we give those seeds to our partner farmers for free. So, if there is some sort of problem on their farm, if they do see some sort of, you know, disruption from storms or the lines break, they're not out money. They're only out the time they spent seeding out that farm. After this, the growing season is over. We work with them to harvest, to give them harvest bags. We do all the transport. We do all the logistics and they basically land it on the dock. We weigh it on the dock and it goes away and it comes back to this facility, which is 27,000 square feet [2508 sq. meters], where we turn it into a value-added product.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Matt Moretti
Co-Owner/CEO, Bangs Island Mussels))
Kelp is good for the environment because it helps remove some of the excess nutrients that are in coastal ecosystems. Often those nutrients are caused by human reasons, human sources. So, kelp actually absorbs those nutrients from the water, which can help balance ecosystem, make a healthier coastal ecosystem.
((NATS))
((Jesse Baines
Chief Marketing Officer, Atlantic Sea Farms))
My father's a fisherman, primarily lobster. I have uncles, cousins. My brother grew up fishing, and still today lobster is king in Maine. But we have a very vibrant, sustainable, beautiful fishery filled with really hardworking, dedicated people.
((NATS))
((Jesse Baines
Chief Marketing Officer, Atlantic Sea Farms))
Growing up, sustainability was always kind of at the forefront of our conversations around lobstering. And that's why we knew we wanted to work with leaders in the industry because chances are, if you're a really good lobster fisherman, you're going to be a really good kelp farmer.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Jesse Baines
Chief Marketing Officer, Atlantic Sea Farms))
We had a few people who came to the forefront as leaders. And one of those people was Keith Miller, who’s like, "I'll give it a try, guys." But sure enough, that first season, what Keith saw was a beautiful crop and he saw us come to the dock and pick it up and hand him a check. Keith held up that check to the community of people who were around him, wondering what the hell he was doing out there and said, "Look boys, this here’s the future." He and our other partner farmers, especially the ones who came on early, they're innovating every year. They're problem-solving with us. They're figuring out new ways to lay out moorings and lines and seeding lines and all of these different things that are really key to developing this industry.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Briana Warner
President/CEO, Atlantic Sea Farms))
I think what I get most excited about with my job is I get to really challenge conventional wisdom about what a food system can be and what food can do for people and the environment. So, to be able to look at the coast and see the exact same issues that we're confronting everywhere else, just maybe 20 years early, so that we can actually do something about it, is pretty exciting. And so, we can also be, not only like a warning sign for the rest of the world, but also a beacon of hope for how we can go about climate change adaptation in a way that is thoughtful and preemptive.
((MUSIC/NATS))


((PKG)) OYSTER FARMING
((Previously aired February, 2023))
((TRT: 03:00))
((Topic Banner: The World is Their Oyster))
((Director/Camera: Aaron Fedor))
((Director of Photography: Scott Stevens))
((Writer/Producer: Kathleen McLaughlin))
((Editor: Kyle Dubiel))
((Map: Barnstable, Massachusetts))
((Main characters: 0 female; 3 male))
((Sub characters: 0 female; 0 male))
((NATS))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
When we were kids, our dad would take us to work with him, and it was hard work. I basically spent my whole life saying I'd do anything but this, working, you know, on the oyster farm. I worked in HR [Human Resources] for a while. I was a corporate trainer. And I just didn't really find it very fulfilling. So, sometimes what you're looking for is under your nose the whole time.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Hi, I'm Aaron Hemmila and I work at Barnstable Sea Farms.
((Jared Hemmila, General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
I'm Jared Hemmila. I'm the general manager of Barnstable Sea Farms and I coordinate basically what we're going to be doing for the day, whether it's harvesting or doing maintenance work, and I do a lot of the deliveries myself.
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
What I love about farming oysters is that every day is different, you know. We work both sides of the Cape. We're on the north side and the south side. You know, sometimes we're diving up oysters or raking up oysters or using our drag to dredge up oysters. But every day is different, and we get to work outside and we have flexible schedules and we get to work with our family. So, altogether, it's a home run.
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Once COVID came along, we lost all our sales for at least a month, maybe about two months, we had basically zero sales. Sales are starting to come back but, you know, this was supposed to be our banner year. And we got a lot of oysters and, you know, hopefully you guys like big oysters, because they're still there. They're still growing.
((NATS))
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Jared's pulling up one of these bags of seed. We keep it on these lines to keep them out of the mud. So, we'll crack this open and take a look at it.
Yeah, so that one's grown quite a bit.
Do you want me topping these off?
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Sure. Probably good.
((Aaron Hemmil
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
Okay.
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
I think that's fine.
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
What have we got? Seven, 14, 19. Some of them are like half full, but…
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
That'll give us the…
((Aaron Hemmila
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
I think we'll be all right. See that's probably about, what would you say? Like 20 bags? So, about 2,000 oysters, maybe. 2,000 saleable oysters.
((Scott Stevens
Oyster Farmer, Barnstable Sea Farms))
There is a saying that you should only eat oysters in months that end in “er” [cooler months]. You might enjoy an oyster more in a month that ends in “er”, but I think they're actually, you know, they're perfectly good to eat every month, every week, every day.
((Jared Hemmila
General Manager, Barnstable Sea Farms))
What's for lunch? Oysters.
((NATS/MUSIC))

((PKG)) NATURE KICKER: BOATING IN KACHEMAK BAY
((Title: Nature: Boating in Kachemak Bay))
((TRT: 2:00))
((Reporter/Camera/Editor/Producer: Gabrielle Weiss))
((Location: Kachemak Bay, Alaska))
((Description: An assortment of boats and wildlife in the Home Harbor and Kachemak Bay, Alaska.))

CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect


IN COMING WEEKS
((VO/NAT/SOT))
((Topic Banner))
In coming weeks…
Plant Enthusiast
((SOT))
((Tracey Hairston
Interior design, plant, lifestyle Content Creator))
It might kind of act like it wants to act funny on you because you’re messing with the roots, but don't worry. It's just getting acclimated to its new spot.
((NATS/MUSIC))
In general, never fill up your pot all the way up to the rim with soil because when you water it, you don't want the soil overflowing on the outside.

What I hope to do more of is gathering like-minded people who really have a desire and love for not only just plants, but just like to be involved with the world around, like bringing that outdoors in, in some kind of way.
((NATS/MUSIC))
I call these like plant talks because we're just talking. We're having these conversations. I will never say that I am an expert. And the reason why is because I'm still always learning. Lime green and there’s a little pink in there. Absolutely beautiful.

((NATS/MUSIC))
((Topic Banner))
Fungi Photographer
((SOT))
((Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist and Photographer))
Oh, and the other way to get a good picture of this would just be to close the aperture down. So, that way I'm not stacking. I'm just taking a picture.
((Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist and Photographer))
There's a lot of reasons that it's important to photograph nature. One of them is
((Courtesy: Alan Rockefeller))
scientific documentation, so you can record all of the features that you see. ((end Courtesy))
The other is just to get people excited about nature. So, if you can take a really good picture of something out in nature, you can share it on social media and thousands of people will see this picture and they'll be like, “Wow, that thing is really cool.
((Courtesy: Alan Rockefeller))
I want to see something like that. I want to be able to take pictures like that.” So, you can really spark people's enthusiasm and excitement about nature with a good photograph. ((end Courtesy))
((Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist and Photographer))
The light was just coming from behind the mushroom, so the light was like the sunbeam was kind of coming at me and I'm just kind of on the shadow side. That's the only picture I've ever taken like that. I love how it turned out.
((Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist and Photographer))
Mushrooms are just really interesting. One reason is that, you know, I've always liked to be out in nature, but I would kind of feel like I wasn't really making good use of my time when I was out in nature. Because sure, I get a little bit of exercise and sure, it's pretty out there, but, you know, am I really furthering any of my goals when I'm out in nature?

CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect


SHOW ENDS