My kelp in San Fran

Great way to start the New Year: selling seaweed to a healthy handful of the 700 plus farmers that attended the NOFA Massachusetts Winter Conference. You could call me a “farmer of the sea” as one fellow did yesterday except that I simply gather a natural resource, and gladly share it. I work on the more strenuous end of the wild crafting spectrum! I received so many excellent questions that challenged my knowledge on the trade. The inquiries lead to many wonderful conversations ranging from the water quality of our bay to how the body assimilates minerals from seaweed- raw vs. cooked. I met a woman that had harvested seaweed with Ryan Drum a West Coast seaweed guru. I would love to visit him. I met someone that graduated from my high school 40 years before me and is also a teacher and farmer. I also saw the familiar faces of seaweed customers and enthusiasts encountered over the past year from Maine, RI, and Ma. Being set up alongside mostly exhibitors, at an educational event, I wasn’t sure that I would sell as much seaweed as I do at markets. People approached my table very eager to learn all about the harvest, few left without a bag of seaweed in hand. The conference was the perfect environment for me to educate people about seaweed, the main reason why I started this project/business. I really felt that I had found my niche and many people expressed their appreciation. At one point I though, I get it! People want to support me and buy my seaweed because unlike other seaweed companies I am filling a nice out in the communities connecting with people. I wouldn’t be able to do it if I didn’t have the customers. I am so drawn to the culture of farmer’s markets and eager to learn about opportunities related to food education. If anyone that attended the conference reads this and would like to share a bit about their experience at the NOFA conference please post a comment as I missed out of the workshops. Thanks to everyone I met Saturday for being so open and supportive!