Ok so that’s a total lie… nothing can replace the sensation
of raking leaves all morning just to create a massive pile and jump in it (or maybe snow is more accurate at this point). But
I have to admit, when I saw the piles of cotton recently gathered in my village
for our cotton harvest, all I wanted to do was jump!
Add cotton to the list of things about which I had no idea
how it grew. When I saw my first cotton plant I was expecting lots of sharp
thorns, but instead I saw beautiful flowers and these funny pod looking things
that eventually open up to reveal bunches of cotton.
 |
| A cotton bud |
Once all of the cotton had been harvested, the cotton
company in my region, SODEFITEX, came to weigh the harvest and truck it away.
The entire process took about 4 days. It was a whole village activity – men
loading up horse carts all across the village and driving them to the weighing
location.
 |
| Using a mosquito net to cart cotton - this man got a stern talking to haha |
Each household then just dumped their cotton in a pile, and somehow
everyone knew which pile belonged to whom. It was definitely one of those
organized chaos things…
The cotton is then loaded into these large sheets and
brought to the scale. Once weighed, all of the cotton is loaded into a truck
and driven away.
 |
| A new social hangout |
My host family is actually one of the few in the village
that does not grow cotton. When I asked my host dad about this, it turns out he
has very strong feelings. He said that the company sells the farmers the cotton
seed and fertilizer to grow the crop, but doesn’t give the price of those items
until they come back to actually collect the harvest. At that point, they weigh
the cotton, subtract the cost of all the items they provided the farmer and
then give out the farmer’s profit. According to my host dad, it’s a lot of
work for not a lot of payout. That being said, it is one of the main crops we
grow. I didn’t help with the harvest like I did with the peanuts, so I’ve got
something to look forward to next year!
 |
| This is too funny - just wait for it! |
Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! My valentines (Mom &
Dad) are on their way right NOW! Stay tuned :)
Thanks for reading. Peace & love,
Lindsay
No comments:
Post a Comment