The 177th recipient is Martina Gonzalez of Aloha Redland Farm @aloharedland in Homestead, FL. Martina writes, “I feel so blessed to be a small scale farmer; growing healthy food in a natural way. I used to have jobs that were entirely on the computer, and though they paid well enough, I was never satisfied. When I made the switch and started to farm, having my hands in the soil every day, breathing in fresh air, working with the elements, I felt a deep connection to my purpose; and I know that through these 5 years that I have been farming I have connected more profoundly to my spirit.
But, as we all know, farming is hard! My wife and I run our farming business together, which isn't always the easiest thing, both being an entrepreneur and co-operating the farm with your sweet heart. There are so many times when we get inspired or enthralled about work and want to talk about it outside of working hours, or work beyond a healthy limit of hours in the day. But that starts to chip away at your free time, time that could be spent as quality time together or by yourself. So the self care I wish to share is the term "OFF DUTY". For example, after a hard day's work, my wife and I can be found cooking a meal together. On occasion we start talking about work, after doing farm work all day. I don't know about you, but that can get a bit overwhelming. So my partner or myself politely says "OFF DUTY", and we respectfully shift the conversation away from subjects related to work and onto other things, like how delicious this meal is or how beautiful your eyes are. I feel I have found a wonderful balance between working hard and having enough time to also play, read, take a bike ride, go on dates and enjoy life outside of the farm-scape.”