The following is my final essay for occupational science which I got 38/40 for so it must be alright. It's the final piece in trying to demonstrate some basic occupational therapy concepts to my community.
“What is a weed?
A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, (1878).
Over the past year I have learnt a new
hobby of making wine from weeds in which I sought to affirm Emerson’s
statement. I am now writing this opinion piece to reveal the undiscovered
virtues of an occupation, including wellbeing through occupational
participation and satisfaction. I will cover my experience of learning a new
occupation beginning with an explanation of the process of wine making from
weeds and then how I have applied it to a framework I designed with other
students, called Te Wharenui of
Occupational Participation which explores all the different components
necessary for occupational participation. I will also discuss the value and
meaning I have found within making wine which I have documented in a blog and
make references to the literature on the different concepts. I will also look
at how this framework may apply to a service setting which encourages on-going
participation in occupation. This service is the Wai-Ora Trust Community Gardens,
focusing on the natural environment and food production elements which I found
in my own experience of wine making with reference to horticultural therapy. I
will conclude with my opinion of how my learnt occupation relates to the
services at Wai-Ora Trust and to occupational therapy.
My learnt occupation was making wine from
weeds. This involved collecting weeds from my neighbourhood such as elderberry,
dandelion, nettle, yarrow and elderflower and following specific recipes to
create wine. Elderberries were prepared by smashing two kilograms of berries,
mixing with sugar, water, citric acid or lemons, wine yeast and nutrient and
left to ferment for four days in a bucket. After the primary ferment it was strained
and put into a glass fermentation jar (demijohn) and put under airlock for a
month. The wine was then ‘racked’ into another demijohn and left to ferment for
another seven months until it was bottled. Dandelion and elderflowers were
steeped in sugar solution and followed a similar process of the elderberry.
Nettle and yarrow were boiled in the sugar solution and then followed a similar
process. Other activities around this occupation included researching for
inspiration and recipes, and collection of the specialist equipment either by borrowing
from family members or buying from the brewing supplies shop. Collection and
preparation of the weeds took from an hour to roughly five hours of pulling
dandelion leaves off. Transferring between fermentation vessels or bottling
took under an hour with the most time consuming part being sterilisation of
equipment.
Two other students and I developed a
framework of occupational participation and satisfaction which referred to
occupation being similar to a wharenui
with many components necessary to hold it together (see appendix A). The
different components necessary were motivation leading an individual to an
occupation where they began the transition into participating in the
occupation. The occupation’s core or tahuhu
is to ‘do’ but this can only be held up the pou;
‘be’, ‘become’ and ‘belong’. The maihi
and raparapa, the arms and hands
represent the necessary skills, tools and resources required. The tekoteko represents the ancestor and
historical context of an occupation. A wharenui would not exist without the whenua/land to rest on and all the
outdoor space represents the environment that exists around an occupation.
Throughout the wharenui are the
concepts of occupational identity and satisfaction, community, culture. There
are circumstances however that deviate from the occupation with occupational
disruption and deprivation in the marae
atea.
Each wharenui
component was essential in allowing my occupational participation and
satisfaction. Firstly I needed the motivation or volition to choose my topic
(Kielhofner, 2008). I drew on my interests in cooking, food preservation,
gardening, sustainability, herbal medicine and wine. This led up the path to
transition into being a wine-maker. In order to make wine, I first needed to
reach with my maihi and raparapa to explore my environment and
gather the necessary tools, equipment and knowledge necessary to craft
(Collingwood, 1958). As I explored and gleaned I had time to be, to relax and
feel in my true nature and further develop my sense of place as I saw my
neighbourhood with a new perspective (Rowles, 1991; Wilcock,1998). This
transition continued over the year as I became an alchemist of weeds and
produced a few brews to testify to my new status (Wilcock, 1998). An unexpected
part of my occupational journey was the community I gathered through it
(Christiansen & Townsend, 2010). I knew I would be interacting with friends
who already brewed but my wine making cut a position for myself to belong in
the Blackstar Books collective as I worked in collaboration to provide a brew
for this community (Hammell, 2004). This experience increased my self-efficacy
in my occupation that I usually perform alone, and while I made a brew with
others, we increased our collective efficacy around our views of society, waste
culture and how to promote our ideas of wellbeing (Bandura, 1997). The
environment was a large component of my occupation and certain presses and
affordances which allowed, challenged and stimulated my occupational engagement
(Christiansen & Baum, 1997). Restrictions I experienced were time
variations and seasonal variations however a freezer afforded me the ability to
preserve materials for a time that suited me better. I did not experience any
occupational disruption or occupational deprivation and doubt that I would feel
a huge sense of grief if I were unable to perform this task (Whiteford, 2010).
The value and meaning that I derived from
making wine from weeds was a lot more than I had expected and has become an
asset to my identity, resulting in a lot of satisfaction (Christiansen, 1999).
When I first chose my occupation, it was just light-hearted decision, I had
thought about foraging as my occupation and I noticed that several foragable
weeds could be used to make wine, so I thought why not? Many of my friends
brewed beer and I thought this was an unique twist on their interests and it
gave me a medium to explore the value of many weeds in my local environment. I
also thought it would be great to have wine as an end product.
As the year progressed, perhaps due to my
enthusiasm or my curious occupation, I gathered a lot of interest from others
who further affirmed my identity as a wine maker. The topic gave a chance for
networking and dialogue with others on topics including brewing,
sustainability, herbal medicine, the big alcohol industry and capitalism. My
networks branched through many demographics, my friends of course were
interested but equally were my grandmothers (who I’ve learnt both made wine as
was a normal household activity growing up), my student peers at polytechnic
and my Maori classes were intrigued, and so were the neighbours where I
collected my weeds. My blog, which documents a lot of my personal journey with
wine making, became a method to express and detail my experience and a way for
my community to see what I was learning, some of the theory behind it.
I also used my wine making skills to
participate in the Dunedin Zinefest; a Celebration of DIY Culture, where I made
a zine and held a workshop throughout the day about making wine from dumpstered
ingredients. This put me in a role of leadership and organisation however I
used it as a forum on brewing and exchanged many ideas with my enthusiastic
participants. I’m now recognised as the ‘wine-maker’ and will soon donate the
product of my workshop to Blackstar Books; which holds a weekly free meal to support
a radical thinking community. I am incredibly proud of the wine I have produced;
having been in some doubt that it would be palatable let alone enjoyable. I’m
already a proud (yet humble!) cook and so this will be another element to add
to my hosting abilities.
I’ve also learnt a lot about herbs and
weeds throughout this process which I value highly and brought more
understanding of my physical, natural environment. With each brew I researched
the properties of my material. When making elderberry wine I also made a cough
syrup. Researching yarrow for mead led to me making a poultice to treat a
bleeding foot. I already drank nettle tea for anaemia but I didn’t know about
food options and made a nettle pizza. After researching dandelion leaves are
now found in every salad I make and I plan to make a coffee like drink from the
tap root.
Another unpredicted aspect of value and
meaning I experienced through winemaking was that of the time I spent with my
son gathering materials, preparing them and talking about the different plants
and what they are useful for. He keenly warned me of all the hemlock plants as
I picked yarrow which look similar. As we went for walks he happily picked
dandelions for me.
When considering my occupation’s potential
application to a service, I will consider the broader aspects of it of
gardening because of the value I found using my natural environment. Haller and Kramer (2006) provide a framework
around horticultural therapy which lists the therapeutic benefits of
horticulture as a medium to; encourage human growth, offer restoration, address
innate psychological needs, offer versatility, provide meaning and purpose, and
interact with others. Related to horticultural therapy is social and
therapeutic horticulture which is described by Sempik as “a community of
vulnerable people working together on horticultural activities in a garden or
allotment, with the aim of providing mutual support and benefit to their health
and well-being (p.18, 2010). A service in New Zealand which uses social and
therapeutic horticulture is the Wai-Ora Trust in Christchurch (Wai-Ora, n.d.).
This charitable trust provides opportunities for participation in horticultural
practises as well as cooking and fitness programmes promoting wellbeing. It is
open to anyone with support systems for those with disabilities, mental health
issues, and general social disadvantages. Aims from Wai-Ora Trust are to teach
interpersonal relationship skills and teamwork, gardening skills, provide a
natural environment for self-reflection and relaxation and a friendly working
environment.
In relation to the framework this service
has many of the components of the wharenui.
The tahuhu or spine of the projects is
on the doing of activities around gardening however this is held up by the
ability to be in place and to relax, to learn, acquire new skills and
potentially become an employee, and belong to a friendly social community. The raparapa and maihi refer to the physical resources that Wai-Ora Trust supplies.
The whenua is the land that the
service owns and provides for community gardens but other environments are the
social and cultural environments which also hold the wharenui together. The environment will provide challenges such as
weather but affordances allow participation such as a service focus on
inclusion and support. The service can provide a transition for its users as
they gather new occupations. Away from the wharenui
in the marae atea is occupational
disruption and occupational deprivation. Services users may experience
occupation disruption to their ability to garden. The service aims to provide
for those who may have experienced occupational deprivation including through
lack of employment opportunities, discrimination and environment by providing a
supportive, open service with wheelchair access. Within the practise of
gardening Wai-Ora Trust provides a setting for individuals and community to
experience occupational identity and satisfaction, self-efficacy and collective
efficacy culture.
In conclusion I will offer my opinion of
the value of wine-making from weeds for myself and then how this relates to
others who require facilitated engagement in occupation.
One of the more valuable experiences of
making wine for me was the ability to interact with my natural environment and
my neighbouring community in order to craft a product. I experienced a strong
sense of being during gathering or preparation of materials. This is something
that both the literature around horticultural therapy reported and Wai-Ora
Trust promoted during interaction with the natural environment. I feel that
gardening, or indeed, foraging would be of value for those who need to be
facilitated in occupational engagement, as a means to create a connection with
their sense of place especially for those transitioning to new place,
experiencing an occupational disruption or trying to overcome occupational
deprivation. The environment may provide some restrictions such as weather or
access issues but adaptations can afford participation, such as a freezer or raised
beds. Some press was need because without being challenged I may not have felt
so satisfied with my end result.
Another valuable experience of making wine
from weeds was the unexpected community I created through it. As I thought of
wine making being a solitary occupation I did not expect the interactions I had
with community around it, I certainly did not expect to be facilitating a
workshop. Gardening within a service such as Wai-Ora Trust could also be a
solitary activity but there are also opportunities for social interaction and
community which could lead on to many other opportunities such as community
meals or even employment. As a community works together it improves its
collective efficacy and opportunities.
A potential difference in my experience
and that of a setting where engagement in occupation requires facilitation is
that of my motivation for engagement. I have the freedom of choice to discover
my own means of self-expression which encourages my motivation. However
gardening and connection with nature may be of little interest to someone else
and engagement will have little value to them. My motivation pulled me through
hours of picking nettles and pulling out dandelion petals. If someone lacks
motivation or the ability to see future benefits then it may be difficult to
engage them in potentially boring and repetitive tasks.
As an occupational therapist works with an
individual, the therapist needs to be aware of all the components involved in
occupational participation. Starting at the path with motivation into the wharenui of occupation to support an
individual in gaining their new occupational identity and satisfaction. An
occupational therapist can provide education, adaptation, encouragement, and
planning to navigate the potential difficulties than an individual may face
when attempting to engage in occupation especially in understanding
occupational disruption and overcoming occupational deprivation.
It is through this process of identifying
the components of occupation that a simple hobby can be realised for its
virtues in occupational participation and satisfaction. Just as I discovered
the virtuous plants in my neighbourhood with a delicious glass of weed- wine.
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