Out in the fields

September 4, 2011

So the family who lives right next to me that I spend time with every day has been inviting me out to see their fields since the summer began...and the day finally came for the trip yesterday. The youngest daughter, Nini, came to get me around nine in the morning. I had my mini backpack all ready- swiss army knife, neosporin and bandaids, full water bottle, baseball cap; you can just never be too prepared, ya know? Babba (father of the fam) had already headed out to the field, so Nini, Dadda (mama Fadi), Saddam (the only boy of the kids, second youngest to Nini), my new puppy Mila and I headed out. We passed field after field of other's crops. Lots of corn and lots of beans with other veggies mixed in. Along the way, we found a friend of Saddams' plus his puppy playing in a cornfield and they decided to join us. Mila was in heaven...as was I walking along these beautiful fields and into the bush behind our village.

Introducing... Mila...she says woof

Whenever the fam has talked about their "champs" or field, they describe it as being not-too-far. Let me tell you though....it was a trek. But, as my sister always says, it's all about the journey not the destination. We transversed two streams, went up and down two huge hills and passed countless other bean fields before finally reaching their field. The voyage took about an hour. After their field, there is nothing but bush. Yes, their field is the last one. When I turned around, I could no longer make out our village, just specks of tin roofs and pavement where the road continues after our town. We sat down for a few minutes and had a biscuit snack that Fadi brought. She was fasting for the day (even after Ramadan, some people are still into it and go for an extra week....um ya'll are crazy) but the rest of us ate up the biscuits and drank down my entire water bottle. Then we walked down the rivine to their field. I asked Babba why their field is so far out from the others, and he said they didn't want just any field and that this is the best one even if it takes longer to arrive there.

In the fields

In their field, they have already planted corn, sugar cane and peanuts. At the top of the rivine, they planted two fields of beans. They hired a cow team a couple weeks back to help turn the land for the beans, but for the rest of the crops down the hill, the land was all worked by hand. There is a stream that runs through they field, or it's better to say that their field has been strategically placed so that a stream brings water at all times. The first thing they did is set up corn to dry. Fadi had apparently already done this yesterday, but the wind in the night caused it to fall down. The corn has already been cut from the ground, but they arranged it in a huge column around one central still-in-ground stalk. I watched most of this process because I had no idea what was going on and I'm ridiculously weak compared to these jacked Cameroonians. They tied to stalks with a rope and will leave it like that for a week to dry.

Babba and corn column

Babba with sugar cane

Then the real work began. Fadi brought peanuts to plant. Saddam plus his friend dug holes, Fadi placed peanuts, and Nini and I went behind Fadi covering all the holes. We planted one field full and by the time it was done, I was pretty spent. Just by covering the holes. Fadi was still rearing-to-go after she helped make the corn column and place peanuts...and she was fasting...man these peeps are strong. Anywho, so we headed back up the rivine. It was just about noon at this point. The fam has a straw hut by the bean fields for shelter when it rains and we hung out by that. Saddam started up a fire and roasted us all fresh corn. Mila and I chowed down on fresh corn; I was surprised she likes it.

Then we collected our things and each grabbed some wood that was collected and headed back. But we only made it halfway back before the rain started. So we ducked in another person's straw hut and hung out there for about an hour. We arrived back in the village around three in the afternoon. I went back to the house to wash up and then arrived at the fam's house for din. In the time that I was at my house, Fadi had made the sauce and cous-cous and bru-ee. And then broke her fast at 6:30 pm. I honestly don't know how she does it.

Saddam, Nini and Sakina

All in all, a great day out in the field. Beautiful walk, great scenery and it felt good to do some physical labor. I will be going out again before the season is over.