A week in the Campo

I just returned from a week in the campo. The campo is similar to what we USAers refer to as the country. There was no electricity where i was staying, though I very much appreciated the nights by lantern. We arrived Sunday to a welcoming party at the community center where some people sang a despedida, a 10 verse song with solos throughout, a dynamica or group game, and introductions to our host families. My host family in this campo was an older couple and their granddaughter. My host dad Julio Rodriguez-Valasquez grew shade grown organic coffee on three acres of his property. He also began a reforestation project on another hectare or so. I was fortunate to be able to talk to him about the process of planting, fertilizing, harvesting, roasting, and grinding coffee. It was a grand introduction to my future, especially since he knew almost everything there is to know about the reforestation techniques that I will be teaching to people in my community. His wife Arcadia, made all organic sombreros. I was incredibly impressed by this craft as it takes her a month of 9-5 days to produce one sombrero, and of course, she cooks, cleans, washes clothes helps her grand daughter with homework, among other daily activities of women here in Panama. So, in reality it takes her over three months to produce one sombrero. Simply amazing. However, Panamanians are much much smaller than gringos and therefore no hat in the entire country of Panama will fit me, so I have to get someone to measure my fat head so they can make a special mold for me.

Anyways, this week, we prepared planting beds for Yucca and tomato. This requires about an hour of machette work cutting down the grass to ground level. Then using a rope, two sticks, and a coa, which is a hard stick with a pointed metal end, we made 110 holes in the groud where we planted the yucca. Mind you we did this twice in one morning. We also planted rice on a hillside farm which was unbelievably hot. Here, they practice slash and burn, which leaves an entire hillside or field schorched, without shade, without water. We planted rice until everyone ran out of water and everyones skin was a shade of dark red. We visited another farm as well and learned about a very interesting form of organic fertilizer. There is a type of ant called a leaf cutter. This ant travels to trees in the thousands, all following the same path. This path can be a mile long, but the nests are usually near mango trees. The ants will cut the leaves of many different types of trees once it cuts all the leaves off the mangos. Anyways, the ants bring the cut leaves back to the nest where they stack it. The leaves then decompose to create a very rich compost inside the nest. In this compost a fungus grows, as well as mushroos and other fungi that the leaf cutter ants eat. Once the compost has no more nutrients with which to grow the fungi, the ants take the soil out of the nest, and climb a tree nearby where they drop the soil off. In one week the pile of used compost can be a meter high and wide. The ants work day and night. So, the farmers find this pile of used leaf cutter compost and collect it in sacks. They then mix this compost with coffee bean shells to create a very rich and all organic fertilizer that has proven to work better than most, essentially free, organic fertilizers. I will say that this process is absolutely incredible to see.

We also hiked for 2 and a half hours to a series of water falls that were up the river valley. We hiked through pasture land, farm land, and finally primary jungle to reach a 30 foot water fall, most of the gringos began to bathe in the water hole here. I decided to go with a few other panimanians to the next two water falls. The second water fall was quite a distance, or so it seemed because we were trail blazing through thick jungle straight up hill with only one machette to hack the trail. Finally, we rounded a bend and before me stood a cave with a water fall 30 feet high going straight through it. We walked into the cave to see the fall and bats began to fly out, what a sight. The elder who came with us told me a folklore about the dwindies that live in the water in the cave. He said that there are little beings that are made of all white that live in this cave. The dwindies lure kids with sweet smells, beautiful sights, and refreshing sounds. However, the dwindies do not like to get dirty, so the kids throw dirt and mud into the water before entering to ward of the evil spirits. I think thats what he said anyways. The third falls had a pool that was soo deep no one had ever touched the bottom.

I have to go now

Adios,

Marcos