An Opportunity: Day One at Athens’ Own

 Katie's Internship Log  No Responses »
Apr 092013
 

Constantine Faller approached me to work with him at Athens’ Own through Facebook. He informed me that Alyse his liaison/public information officer would email me. I later received an email from Alyse and was told that there are internship positions available. I contacted Constantine through Facebook messaging and told him that I was not interested in working for free. He assured me that I would be paid and that Alyse was a paid intern. Constantine then asked me what my full attention would cost per week. This question was intimidating for me because I did not know who he was or what working with him full time would entail. I proceeded to avoid him and the question to the point of being at the Athens Farmers Market on a Saturday; I greeted him in the parking lot while he was away from his booth carrying a banana box of apples on his way to distribute them to Seaman’s grocery store.  I did not recognizing him as a potential employer or the owner of Athens’ Own. Constantine is connected to many businesses in Athens and yet I still had no idea of what kind of man he is, the work he does, all the products he sells, or the wisdom that he practices. My knowledge was limited to my distant observations which were that he was kind and engaging and that I once bought coffee from him at the Athens Farmers Market.

Alyse informed me that there is a certificate of training with Athens’ Own but there is not an outline or specified timeline for the Workers Readiness Certification. She has been working at Athens’ Own for eight months and she is still an intern without the certificate. Alyse has an undergraduate and masters degree from Ohio University and is the only paid worker at Athens’ Own.  My first day, I showed up at the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks, ACEnet, located on Columbus Road in Athens, Ohio. ACEnet is where Athens’ Own and Faller Foods is stored, packaged, and distributed. Constantine was not present at my first meeting, he had left prior to my arrival and I was a half an hour early. Alyse gave me the marketing material that they are distributing and told me to go home and read it and come back the next day.

What I learned is that Athens’ Own Collaborative Business Network was established in 2001, which is the same year that Dawn Chorus Coffee was sold at the C & E Market on Richland Avenue in Athens, Ohio. The business focus has always been to create community resiliency, sustainability, teamwork, education, and local foods. Resiliency and sustainability are closely linked; sustainability is the ability for an economy and the ecosystems supporting the environment of that society to be able to meet all the needs of all its inhabitants for the foreseeable future. Resiliency is the ability of an economy and the ecosystems that support the environment of the society to respond to change with symbiosis. In the event of a catastrophe the community could continue operating during and after the effects of a catastrophe.

I was surprised to learn that Constantine has many Athens’ Own products such as: Dawn Chorus Coffee, Hot Spiced Cashews, Pickled Peppers, Pancake and Waffle Mix, Aged Wisconsin Cheese, Dry Aged Beef, Sweet Beef Bologna, and Worm Castings. Constantine Faller is the creator, manager, distributer and steward of Athens’ Own.  Faller Foods is the product logo that encompasses Constantine’s products and other producers that do not have their own name brand. Therefore the Pure Ohio Maple Syrup is from River Sugar Camp in Stockport, Ohio and the Ohio Honey is from either Gillogly Orchard or Washington County. Everything with the Athens’ Own logo is a product of Constantine’s efforts. Faller Foods is the logo that represents the standard to which Constantine lives and works. The product is thereby guaranteed to be high-quality, locally grown or raised, and/or value is added to the product locally.

Your Internship Log: What is it, and why?

 Alyse's Log to Interns  1 Response »
Apr 092013
 

Your Internship Log : What is it? Why do we want our interns to write them? What is the purpose?

Your internship log fulfills at least three important purposes:

1. Tracking. It is a record of your internship progress. Your log can help you remember things you have already learned, reflect on things you want to learn more about, and keep track of what you have and haven’t done. If you are working on an internship for college credit, many universities require a written log just for this purpose, so it can help you with your school requirements as well.

 
2. Feedback. Through the logs, we can evaluate concepts you are understanding well, and identify ones which need worked on. If you are assigned a certain task to help you understand a concept, your log should reflect on not just what you did that day, but how it relates to your learning objectives. It helps both us and you understand where you are. We can see areas or ideas that you are making good progress on, and/or areas you need to improve, and then we don’t waste time repeating the same lessons, but rather we can use your log to stay on track and keep moving forward. The logs are on the website in blog form because that makes it easy for us to comment and give you feedback, directly on a specific log entry.

 
3. Community outreach. The question: “What does Athens’ Own do?” comes up often in conversation with community members. Your logs will help illustrate some of the actions we are working on, as well as vividly illustrate how we are attempting to educate and train you for future opportunities. The community can also see the feedback process, and other people looking for educational models can clearly see how we use our logs to work towards our goals.

 

How to write a log:
Although each person has their own style and format preferences, here are a few things to keep in mind when writing a log:

1. The audience. Keep the above purposes in mind. Try to write in a way that is as transparent and clear as possible, so that the Athens’ Own team, community, and distant readers can understand what and why you are writing. There is so much happening and so much connected to each small action, that there is no reason why your log should be just a recount of the day’s events. Think about what you want future readers to glean from your experience and write to them.

 
2. Timeliness: We work at the speed of business and the speed of resilience, which is nearly instant. Please don’t wait a week to write a log. By then, it’s likely the information is out of date. Ideally, you should post a log when you get home from working with Athens’ Own, or even DURING your workday, while it is happening, if you can.

 
3. Concepts and connectedness. If all of our interns wrote logs which simply stated: “This is what I did today”, we would have a lot of repetitive information, and not much interesting or visible progress. Try to connect the small actions you did today to the bigger picture, the concepts behind what you are doing, and what you have done before. If, for example, one day you do extensive work with a mentor to learn about Holistic Management, and the next day you package coffee, see if you can draw in some insight into the coffee packaging from what you learned about Holistic Management. Or, you could think ahead and speculate as to how a future project or learning session could enhance your understanding of the coffee process.

 
4. Do your best. This is your opportunity to demonstrate not only your writing skills, but your ability to organize information, present it, and motivate others to get involved with Athens’ Own. We take the logs very seriously, and we hope you will too.

April 5

 Miles' Internship Log  No Responses »
Apr 082013
 

We went to the OU mini market for the first time ever on Friday and it was pretty nice. It was certainly smaller than the regular Athens Farmers Market but it still was rather productive. There were less food sellers and more sellers of actual items like jewelry, of which there are none at the Athens Farmers Market. We also made the first ever AO credit card sales via Alyse’s smartphone and therefore got a little better view of how that process works. I feel though that to make that market better, they should move it somewhere with a little more space, maybe even just across the road to the main green allowing then many more people to attend as vendors, increasing overall size and thereby increasing the whole appeal of that market . Other than that, it seems like they’ve got a good thing going. I think the lady running the market said that this one was their 6th one and it was pretty nice and well attended for being that young.

Also, as I have stated before, I think this internship is a great experience. I have been learning so many things about so many things. To begin with, I have learned how to better greet customers at places like the Athens Farmers Market and how to make change for them. I have also learned how to correctly weigh and package various products. I have seen/learned how to inventory, stock and deliver to stores and restaurants. I have also gotten a better view of the community, the business and my life as a whole and so forth through holistic management, of which I hadn’t really any experience before this internship. It’s very much education that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. It’s also real world and pre “real job” experience, which is of course invaluable.

Athens’ Own Introduction

 Katie's Internship Log  1 Response »
Apr 082013
 

I love coffee and I drink it everyday. On Thursday April fourth I volunteered at Athens’ Own. It was really fun because they package their products at ACEnet, the community kitchen and office location on Columbus Road. I was able to see many of the wonderful community members that enhance the sustainability practices and knowledge in Athens everyday. I received free potato seeds and garlic from Community Food Initiatives on that day. I learned that Athens’ Own is not just a business, Constantine Faller and his team are working to actualize a vision of resiliency. While you are enjoying your cup of Dawn Chorus Coffee you are supporting ethical economic choices. Constantine Faller, owner of Athens’ Own, orders coffee that is certified by the Café Feminino organization which ensures living wage jobs and works to create education and better living conditions for women in coffee countries such as Peru. Dawn Chorus Coffee is fair trade, organic, shade grown, and the coffee is roasted in Athens County. The boxes and equipment used in the production process are up-cycled or re-purposed. The packaging of the coffee is done at the community kitchen in Athens, Ohio known as the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks and is made of compostable material that has been recycled. Therefore the purchase of Dawn Chorus Coffee is a small action that reinforces a larger vision of holistic management.

Historically women in South America are limited to working in the household/farm and are married between the ages of 12-16. Currently due to the network of businesses supporting the work of Café Feminino, one thousand women are sharing experiences that increase their self-esteem, leadership qualities, and security while working outside of their homes. They are coffee farmers preparing the terrain and the nurseries. They compost fertilizer, prepare bio-fertilizers, harvest, de-pulp, ferment, and dry the coffee. They also sell the coffee and have the privilege of deciding how the money is used. This is a rare accomplishment! Two cents per pound above fair trade price is paid to the US Importer of Café Femenino to pay for the income and education of these working women producers.

Athens County is documented as being one of the poorest counties in the nation, yet many people of Athens have learned that the meaning of wealth is found in the strengths of a community, holistic education, Biomimicry, energy that is ecologically and economically sustainable, clean water and air, healthy food, bike paths, community gardens, seed sharing and public parks. The local business owners, farmers, distributers and workers support one another in Athens which is the true standard of wealth. The focus of Athens’ Own is community resilience, sustainability, teamwork, education, and local food. Holistic Management is the vision that Constantine Faller is working to expand. Coffee is a common beverage yet how the coffee bean is grown and who it benefits from its sale is not always a common consideration. Luckily Constantine Faller has created the opportunity for the consumer to make a mindful choice. A drop of Dawn Chorus Coffee in your cup creates ripples of resiliency. Constantine is impeccable with his word, clear eyed, strong willed and ready for a challenge. I feel fortunate to have met him and his team and look forward to learning and sharing more about Athens’ Own in the near future.

Dawn Chorus Coffee is served in Athens, Ohio at Salaam Restaurant, Bagel Street Deli, Jackie O’s Pub and Brewery, The Union Bar and Grill, 9 Tables, Columbus Road Diner and Burgers.

It can be purchased at the Athens Farmers Market, Seaman’s Grocery Store, Hyacinth Bean, Village Bakery, Dale’s B.P., Amesville Manna House General Store, Poston’s Carry-Out in Stewart, Ohio and Sharpsburg Gilchrist B.P.

March 26/28

 Miles' Internship Log  No Responses »
Apr 012013
 

This log covers both Tuesday (26) and Thursday (28).

Tuesday, Alyse and I first packaged some more marinated olives and sealed jars of honey. After we were done with those two things, we went to Seaman’s to inventory our products, which was good since I hadn’t done that before and so I learned more of where our things are in Seaman’s. We back back to ACEnet and got everything ready to go to stock Seaman’s. We couldn’t yet take stuff because Constantine was not yet at ACEnet and we needed the inventory book which he has in his truck. While we waited, I worked on my HM stuff (whole and goal) while Alyse also did some things on her computer. Once he got there, he sliced some more aged cheese for us to take with us to Seaman’s and then the two of us went there. We then stocked Seaman’s with our newer products to replace the ones that they had sold. I hadn’t yet ever done that before and so that, both the inventorying and the stocking, were fun and learning experiences.

Thursday, we didn’t package anything but we mainly first inventoried the AO cage at ACEnet and replaced cheese boxes milk crates or other boxes because the cheese boxes aren’t holding up under the increasing weight on them. We also placed a few orders to places like Snowville Creamery and we also prepared deliveries to places like 9 Tables and Jackie-O’s. Once we were done with that, the three of us went to the conference there at ACEnet and we did a little resilience chart exercise, using the initial cattle that we get the beef for everything from. Stating at the farm level, we looked at everyone involved in the processes of the AO beef and we got something like this: Farm, (Redbird Ranch) processing, (Dick’s meat processing) ACEnet, (value added, one of which is some aging) retail, (packaged, Seaman’s, Hill’s Market in Columbus) retail, (cooked/served, Farmers Market, 9 Tables) and finally ending in compost which he gets from some of the business which will then circle back to the beginning of the cycle. There were of course other steps and other businesses involved, but I can’t remember them all. Constantine also said on Saturday that a good way to view the products (the meat sticks for one) is to look at them like they are Legos and to look at them like they are a new kind of building blocks and that the building is in fact the community. When you look at how many people/businesses are involved in just one product, I think that analogy of them being Legos is quite right.

April 1

 Blogs, Miles' Internship Log  No Responses »
Apr 012013
 

On Monday, Alyse and I first packaged coffee and then bagged and made some more spiced cashews. We then went to the conference room and Alyse gave me a short tutorial on the athensown.net wordpress stuff. She showed me how to update the plugins and how to backup the site. She then tasked me with making a small page on athensown.net and to mess around with themes, colors and stuff. I did and it’s rather easy, once you figure out your way around. Just a few things to remember, never update Widget Context; it will break EVERYTHING. Also, under discussion in making a new page, ALWAYS unclick both “allow comments” and “allow trackbacks and pingbacks”.

March 22

 Miles' Internship Log  No Responses »
Mar 252013
 

The other day, Alyse and I went to the opening of the new Hills Market in Columbus and as per her request, this log will have more of a theme than just about the day.

Her first question: “In what ways did you see the Hills Market attempting to be sustainable and build community resilience? How do you think Athens’ Own could help them towards this goal?”

I think that they are doing pretty well in that first part, considering the large amount of “Made in Ohio” products that they have for sale. They aren’t just relying on big national companies for their products, even if that company is organic or whatever. They involve many small Ohio businesses and seem proud to do so. That involvement makes everybody a bit more sustainable and resilient because if they sell the products, that’s more income for the producers (thereby helping those small businesses) and more for the store itself.  As for the second part, I think that Athens Own is helping the Hills Market by providing them with a great Ohio product that doesn’t just come from one Ohio business, but also from the various farms that the meat comes from in addition to Athens Own.

Her second question: “Do you think selling our products at the Hills Market is a good “form of production” to bring us closer to our goal?”

I do think that the selling of AO products does help in bringing us closer to the goals. It certainly helps with “generate profit from fulfilling work.” I also think it helps with the “participate in activities that are fulfilling, challenging, and inspire growth and development.”, mainly the challenging and growth and development,  in that it is a bigger distributor than anything AO is involved with so far. That’s growth and development, but also the challenge is in providing more product to a big (er) distributor.

Her last request was to go through the holistic management testing questions with the decision to sell or not sell at the Hills Market.

I think that (from what I have learned so far) the decision to sell seems to pass the relevant questions. The only thing that I think could be worked on and therefore would help,  is the pricing of  the sausage. It appeared that AO had increased the price of the meat  for just Hills Market transactions (which they would still need to mark up) and not for everybody. I think that if AO gave them a lower wholesale price for the meat, the Hills Market would sell more, needing more from us thereby helping us towards our goals.

 

Test post

 Interns' Blog  No Responses »
Mar 142013
 

This post is to test subscription options. You can now edit individual subscription options for every post category if you are signed into your Athens’ Own account, or enter your email in the sidebar box to receive default subscriptions. If you received this email, you are subscribed to new blog and news posts from Athens’ Own.

March 11 – Miles McFadden’s log

 Miles' Internship Log  No Responses »
Mar 132013
 

Yesterday was the first day that  I did any serious work (besides the work at the Farmers Market) for Athens Own. I worked with Alyse and Matt at ACEnet bagging coffee, cashews, marinated olives and we started a new batch of olives. As expected, I saw a new side of Athens Own. I see most of the products at the market and I have even in the past helped packaged some of the stuff at the market itself, but I hadn’t yet  participated in this process to this extent. Seeing as how I had done some this before, I already knew how do most of it, but I had forgotten some of it. I quickly re-learned what I had forgotten about the coffee bagging process and of course learned new things throughout. The same goes for the cashews: I re-learned some things and learned some new things. As for the olives, I didn’t really remember that AO even did olives, but as soon as I saw them I remembered. That was all learning, both the packaging process and the making/starting of the new batch.

I also learned things about ACEnet itself.  I learned more about the contents of the AO cage and the freezer/cooler. I learned more about the layout of ACEnet and where things are like the sinks and which sink is for what and where utensils are. I also saw more of that local community mindset because there were other people there at ACEnet doing things too. It seemed like everybody was everybody else’s friend. Even the people I hadn’t met before were really nice and accommodating.

All in all, this internship is full of learning and new experiences and I expect it to remain that way. It’s also more learning and experience than I could get from the market alone.

March 11th — Mathew Roberts Log

 March 11th — Mathew Roberts Log  Interns' Blog, Mathew's Internship Log  No Responses »
Mar 112013
 

Today I went into ACEnet to help Miles bag some coffee for the week. Alyse handed the torch to us as we went over a new checklist of items needed for coffee packaging. The main goal of today was to introduce how to begin coffee bagging without help from a supervisor. I was pleased that Miles and I knew most of the ropes, but we still need more practice to improve our efficiency and teamwork strategies.

I think the only portion of today that still leaves me confused is labeling the coffee bags before final packaging. The next improvement for Athens’ Own intern duties would be to create a visual aid for this labeling technique.

I’ll be sending an environmental impact report of Dawn Chorus coffee from my Environmental Geography class assignment. While its not extensive as Alyse’s piece, this can help us as interns understand possible shortcomings of classroom expectations, my personal mistakes as a student working on these assignments, and current perceptions and/or motives of the general student body.

 

–Mat