Farming Part 3

A Shit Day

One day we were assigned to clean out the pig pens, i.e. shovel shit. It was somewhat like cleaning out a diaper from the inside. For this sort of task you can’t help but swear constantly, and every swear rings oddly literal. At first, as we raked the pig droppings on top of the pen’s earth floor, it didn’t seem too hard a job. That was before we realize it was shit all the way down. Our first pen was packed, dry waste. Our second pen was only 1/3 a thin peninsula of earth; the surrounding sea was wet and stinking. It took us 6 hours, and what we moved was the build up of 1 month.  

            To be honest though, it wasn’t that bad. It was disgusting, and I was appalled by my own smell, but it was also funny. And neither as hot nor as tedious as weeding.

On Usefulness

One thing I really liked about working on the farm was that at the end of the day it was obvious I had done something tangible and worthwhile. It also meant that I didn’t feel oblidged to talk much at meals or be entertaining, because I felt  like I had already contributed. One reason there may be less depression in developing nations is that they feel useful even if they have bad jobs. Luis teased his son that if he didn’t pass his exams he’d have to be a train driver. That’s still a lot more valueable to society than the crap jobs I’m used to seeing like telmarketing, working at McDonald’s, or being a clothing store salesperson.

I was also a fan of not having to look nice. Being on the farm and camping, clothes only mattered for function; I felt like I’d done well if I just showered or brushed my hair.

Farm Summary

The sort of tasks I did were weeding, harvesting garlic, planting beans, harvesting lima beans and peas, shucking garlic, feeding animals, raking compost, distributing compost, shoveling out a pig pen, washing dishes, deepen irrigation channels.

The plants grown on this farm included: apples onions, two types of garlic, carrots, raspberries, lettuce, zaptillos (a type of Latin American pepper), cucumber, berries, artichocke,  quinece (a type of fruit resembling a large pear), chives, oregano, sunflowers, parsley, and corn. They raised pigs, rabbits, chickens, and sheep.