A Day at the Farm
Hot, humid, enervating . . . and totally delightful! That was yesterday's trip to an organic farm that Manos de Esperanza has supported with the purchase of a water tank that fits on the back of a pick-up to irrigate the soil.
The farm is in Guazapa, a small town about an hour from San Salvador. It is important to know the "back story" to understand why this farm is important. The land in the area is considered by agronomists to be poor soil - Category 7, for those who are familiar with the categorization. Without farming, there is little or no work for those who live in the rural areas of El Salvador. For that reason, many leave for the large cities or they leave the country altogether. This farm was begun to demonstrate that the land can be farmed, and to serve as a model for others who want to farm in the area. It also provides work for people in the area.
The farm primarily raises fruit - mangoes, jocote (a fruit we do not have in the U.S.) and lemons - as well as hibiscus flower. (If you have found "jamaica" as a drink in a Salvadoran or Mexican restaurant, it is made from the hibiscus flower.) The farmer and his brother, an engineering professor at the Central American University, have developed a system of irrigation that depends on gravity and uses water from the river that runs through the property. In addition, they have developed a solar-powered system for drying fruit that retains maximum nutritional value. There are forty-four farmers in the immediate area of Guazapa who have developed farms on this model. Meanwhile, the farm sells its products - dried fruits, jams, dried jamaica flower (for tea), and jamaica flower wine - nationally, and they are looking for international markets for the products.
We conducted an interview of the farmer, and shot quite a bit of B-roll - farm products, the drying system, the irrigation system, and so on. And a few of us caught some Zs in the hammock hanging under the veranda, where there was an occasional breeze.
On the way to the farm, we passed by the Eleno Castro School, a school with two classrooms and some 60 children ranging in age from 5 to 12. Manos de Esperanza has supported this school since its inception, resuscitating the building from disuse, painting and plastering, and creating a library. Yesterday, Manos handed out notebooks and pencils to the children, and presented the school with a laptop - the first and only computer the school has had. There, we were able to interview Evelyn Huezo, who heads another NGO that works closely with Manos, and to get wonderful shots of children, the chickens and dogs that wander into the school yard, and the rehabilitated classrooms. It was another great production day.
The farm is in Guazapa, a small town about an hour from San Salvador. It is important to know the "back story" to understand why this farm is important. The land in the area is considered by agronomists to be poor soil - Category 7, for those who are familiar with the categorization. Without farming, there is little or no work for those who live in the rural areas of El Salvador. For that reason, many leave for the large cities or they leave the country altogether. This farm was begun to demonstrate that the land can be farmed, and to serve as a model for others who want to farm in the area. It also provides work for people in the area.
The farm primarily raises fruit - mangoes, jocote (a fruit we do not have in the U.S.) and lemons - as well as hibiscus flower. (If you have found "jamaica" as a drink in a Salvadoran or Mexican restaurant, it is made from the hibiscus flower.) The farmer and his brother, an engineering professor at the Central American University, have developed a system of irrigation that depends on gravity and uses water from the river that runs through the property. In addition, they have developed a solar-powered system for drying fruit that retains maximum nutritional value. There are forty-four farmers in the immediate area of Guazapa who have developed farms on this model. Meanwhile, the farm sells its products - dried fruits, jams, dried jamaica flower (for tea), and jamaica flower wine - nationally, and they are looking for international markets for the products.
We conducted an interview of the farmer, and shot quite a bit of B-roll - farm products, the drying system, the irrigation system, and so on. And a few of us caught some Zs in the hammock hanging under the veranda, where there was an occasional breeze.
On the way to the farm, we passed by the Eleno Castro School, a school with two classrooms and some 60 children ranging in age from 5 to 12. Manos de Esperanza has supported this school since its inception, resuscitating the building from disuse, painting and plastering, and creating a library. Yesterday, Manos handed out notebooks and pencils to the children, and presented the school with a laptop - the first and only computer the school has had. There, we were able to interview Evelyn Huezo, who heads another NGO that works closely with Manos, and to get wonderful shots of children, the chickens and dogs that wander into the school yard, and the rehabilitated classrooms. It was another great production day.
Labels: 201203-4, BECA 580, Media and Community Service, video production
posted by Betsy J. Blosser at
7/03/2010 08:16:00 AM
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