Nate Gorczynski
Letter in support of the Many Hands Sustainability Center
July 20th, 2008
My name is Nate Gorczynski, and I am an employee of Many Hands Organic Farm. I also work for the Massachusetts chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association, of which Julie Rawson is the Executive Director.
My story has some less-then-admirable details, as far as how I came to be involved with Julie, her husband Jack, and their farm. I was raised in a decent home by decent people, but at some point I began experimenting with drugs, and by the time I reached my twenties, I found myself in the spiral of jails and institutions that comes standard with an opiate addiction. In fact, I'm tempted to say that my last ten years were basically a lot of wasted time.
In December of 2006, I began yet another prison sentence. After 14 months, I was granted parole to a residential drug program called Almost Home, in Worcester, MA. I learned a lot at Almost Home, about my disease, and about living a productive life. Perhaps the most important thing that occurred there was my introduction to Many Hands.
Almost Home residents come to Barre, MA once or twice a week to help out on the farm. Jack and Julie welcomed me with a warmth I hadn't seen for years. They didn't look at me as a convict or an addict, but as a human being. They were genuinely interested in getting to know me, and I consider them friends.
Over the weeks, I found a sense of accomplishment watching things grow. I felt like what I was doing mattered. Plus I was working outside, getting healthy.
After a couple of months, I was offered a full-time job at the farm. These people had faith in me and wanted me to work for them. So now i not only earn a living doing some honest work, but I'm constantly learning new things. Everything from science facts and nutritional information, to the skills necessary to do the actual farmwork. I've learned a lot from my work with NOFA/Mass as well. I correspond with NOFA members, mail out literature, and use a computer to create various databases. I had barely ever touched a computer prior to this job, and now I'm constantly learning new computer skills.
Most important, I think, is the environment in which I work. Julie is very patient when I don't know what I'm doing, and always willing to help me learn. We hold conversations while we work, during which I'm sometimes confused as to whether I'm at work or a counseling session. She always has good advice, and wants to see me thrive in life. Some of the other employees are also in recovery from drugs, which makes for a very therapeutic workday most of the time (for me, anyway).
The work is healthy, physically and spiritually, and it has changed my life.
Sincerely,
Nate Gorczynski