Farm Life
Although I've been back in the US for three weeks, there are a few entries that I wrote (on paper, in my head) while traveling and would still like to share. The dates will reflect when I post them, but for this entry, imagine it is the end of June nearing the end of my time on the farm in Peru...
When I was a little kid, I wanted to live on a farm. That desire probably had its roots (pun intended) in my reading the Little House on the Prairie books, the Orphan Train Quartet series, and many other historical fiction books about pioneers. I can happily say that I've now fulfilled that childhood desire.
What does working on a farm actually consist of? Although I can only say what it was like for me in Peru, I think there are many things that remain the same. I quickly learned that every day is different so in this entry, I will give a taste of what I've been doing for the past few weeks. Peruvian time also means that we didn't have a set daily schedule, which I would have expected on a farm. There were chores we had to do every day--such as feeding the cuyes (guinea pigs) twice a day--but our working hours varied. Sometimes we only worked from 9am to noon, sometimes from 8am to noon then 2pm to dark (6:30pm), and sometimes some combination of that.
Some of the major work Erin and I did on the farm consisted of:
Feeding the cuyes, chickens, ducks, and other small animals. This is the pen that they lived in.
Weeding, weeding, and more weeding! Above is a field of beets that Erin and I weeded by hand! We spent many, many hours weeding.
Building a stone wall on the border of the farm to deter trespassers.
The wall before
We worked with an old man who called Erin "Eli" and called both of us "mamacita". He taught us some Quechua words (none of which I remember, unfortunately), and many adjectives to describe rocks. For his small size, he was incredibly strong. At one point, he was instructing me which rocks to give him to carry across the road to put in the wall...and what followed was a somewhat comical sequence that Erin captured on camera!
One rock...
two rocks...
three rocks...
four rocks...
five rocks!
Ay caramba!
The finished wall
Clearing land in the back of the farm to cultivate it. We hacked down small trees with machetes and scythes, weeded some more, and burned the most espantosas (dreadful) weeds.
Erin, me, and Luisa standing on one of the trees that Luisa cut down
We also did more traditional farm activities, such as sowing seeds. Not only is the farm organic, but they also try to follow the guidelines of biodynamic agriculture. You can read more about biodynamics here and here, but basically it's a way of agriculture that believes that there are many natural forces and objects that affect the health and goodness of a plant, which in turn affect those of us who eat the plant. There is also a calendar for when to plant each type of plant (root vegetables, fruit that comes from a flower, fruit that comes from the stage after a flower, etc.). One tomato plant, for example, may look just like another one, but because it was planted on the right day, it will have more beneficial qualities for itself and for the person or animal that eats it. Erin and I mostly learned about the seed planting calendar, but there are many other aspects that go into biodynamic farming (and that are explained more eloquently in the websites above).
And, of course, we had the dreaded tasks that are stereotypically associated with working on a farm and ones that you wonder if you'll actually be told to do. What am I referring to, you ask?
Cleaning the pigpen! That moment finally came about halfway into our time on the farm. Jano and his uncle killed one of the two pigs on the farm. Although we didn't have to participate in the slaughtering or cleaning and cutting of the pig, we were told, "put on the white boots and clean the pigpen."
Erin and me in our pigpen-cleaning gear
Me demonstrating how we felt about cleaning the pigpen
When I was a little kid, I wanted to live on a farm. That desire probably had its roots (pun intended) in my reading the Little House on the Prairie books, the Orphan Train Quartet series, and many other historical fiction books about pioneers. I can happily say that I've now fulfilled that childhood desire.
What does working on a farm actually consist of? Although I can only say what it was like for me in Peru, I think there are many things that remain the same. I quickly learned that every day is different so in this entry, I will give a taste of what I've been doing for the past few weeks. Peruvian time also means that we didn't have a set daily schedule, which I would have expected on a farm. There were chores we had to do every day--such as feeding the cuyes (guinea pigs) twice a day--but our working hours varied. Sometimes we only worked from 9am to noon, sometimes from 8am to noon then 2pm to dark (6:30pm), and sometimes some combination of that.
Some of the major work Erin and I did on the farm consisted of:
Feeding the cuyes, chickens, ducks, and other small animals. This is the pen that they lived in.
Weeding, weeding, and more weeding! Above is a field of beets that Erin and I weeded by hand! We spent many, many hours weeding.
Building a stone wall on the border of the farm to deter trespassers.
The wall before
One rock...
two rocks...
three rocks...
four rocks...
five rocks!
Ay caramba!
The finished wall
Clearing land in the back of the farm to cultivate it. We hacked down small trees with machetes and scythes, weeded some more, and burned the most espantosas (dreadful) weeds.
Erin, me, and Luisa standing on one of the trees that Luisa cut down
We also did more traditional farm activities, such as sowing seeds. Not only is the farm organic, but they also try to follow the guidelines of biodynamic agriculture. You can read more about biodynamics here and here, but basically it's a way of agriculture that believes that there are many natural forces and objects that affect the health and goodness of a plant, which in turn affect those of us who eat the plant. There is also a calendar for when to plant each type of plant (root vegetables, fruit that comes from a flower, fruit that comes from the stage after a flower, etc.). One tomato plant, for example, may look just like another one, but because it was planted on the right day, it will have more beneficial qualities for itself and for the person or animal that eats it. Erin and I mostly learned about the seed planting calendar, but there are many other aspects that go into biodynamic farming (and that are explained more eloquently in the websites above).
And, of course, we had the dreaded tasks that are stereotypically associated with working on a farm and ones that you wonder if you'll actually be told to do. What am I referring to, you ask?
Cleaning the pigpen! That moment finally came about halfway into our time on the farm. Jano and his uncle killed one of the two pigs on the farm. Although we didn't have to participate in the slaughtering or cleaning and cutting of the pig, we were told, "put on the white boots and clean the pigpen."
Erin and me in our pigpen-cleaning gear
The bandanna was a must as the smell was overwhelming! The pigpen was caked in a layer of pig refuse about one to two inches deep. We had shovels and the boots so we were able to stay relatively clean, unlike Diana (the nine-year-old daughter) who jumped into the pigpen in her sandals to show us the "right" way to shovel out the pig dung since she thought we weren't doing it correctly. Needless to say, we scrubbed ourselves for a long time after cleaning the pigpen! And made Diana do the same!
Me demonstrating how we felt about cleaning the pigpen
Okay, now I really can't wait for the rest of your entries! It's so much fun to read about life on a farm from your point of view. This one really got me laughing!
ReplyDelete