Oasis in the deserts of our lives

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I hope three photos can give you a sense of what the sertão is. It reminds of Southern Utah but with less rainfall. We are really blessed in Utah to have the mountains to retain so much of our water in snowfall, but here the water quickly sinks into the ground. Where the water isn't close to the surface it is very dry and inhospitable to plant. It is hot and the sun is very strong. But for three days I had the chance to learn not only about the sertão and the sertanejos (the people of the sertão), but also about life.

We left Recife early on Monday morning and drove for almost six hours. The coast gave way to green farmland and green farmland gave way to baked red ground. We arrived at Afogados da Ingazeira and had a chance to relax, which was lovely because I wasn't feeling too great from the car ride. That afternoon we had a chance to talk to Mario, one of the directors in the region for Diaconia, the NGO that we have been working with. He explained many of the difficulties that are prevalent in the Sertão such as: unemployment, lack of education because children have to work on the family farm, lack of infrastructure and sanitation. He went on to explain that what Diaconia does is identify families that can be helped by helping build or develop technology systems around the farm to help conserve water, money and production costs. Whenever they build a system (like a cistern or one of the ones I will show you) they make sure the owner learns how to manage and even make more.

On our second day we went to two farms that Diaconia had been working with. The first farm we met the family of Ivan. Walking through their farm it felt like we were in a different part of the country. The land was green and growing. They grow a lot of fruit and process and package the fruit pulp all at home. They take the pulp to market and sell it and it is really paying off for them. They have a system of collecting rainwater and storing them in a system of cisterns that helps them save water so they don't have to rely on underground wells.

The rain falls on this cement pad and runs right into the cisterns

Ivan and his family were really gracious in taking a large part of their day to show us what they had been able to accomplish. He shared a lot about his feelings of being able to work smarter with the land, instead of competing with it. He also shared something that hit home really hard. He showed us the small 3 room house they had shared for many years, and they were recently able to construct a larger home because of their profits. He told us that he was the first in his region to start growing fruit and processing pulp at home and that some of his neighbors had started to try it as well. I thought "That stinks for business, to have to compete with your neighbors." But than Ivan said something that really sank deep. "I'm glad that they will have the same opportunities as me".

Fruit Orchards

That idea of finding something that works well and sharing it with others and hoping that they have the same success gave me a lot to think about. I know that competition is a good thing, that it drives improvement, but to be able to hope that others have the same success as you do is something we as Americans, Westerners and Christians, and most importantly as Children of God.

Ivan (back right with the cap) and his family

We then traveled to the farm of Valmir and his family. They had a much smaller area, but had developed it really well. They had planted larger plants and trees and underneath them they planted plants that aren't from the area and they are able to grow underneath with the shade. They had a large vegetable garden and sugar cane and it was able to sustain their family. The irrigation system was very impressive. Valmir showed us how he grew one type of vegetable, then another type and then would plant more of the first type. He doesn't use chemicals against bugs and does this so that if bugs attack one part, they won't be able to get the entire crop. It was a really interesting idea.

Valmir shared a little about his philosophy of living in the Sertão. He talked about changing your way of living instead of trying to change the environment. I think that is one of keys to living and enjoying life is that instead of trying to change what you can't, you change yourself. Valmir can't change how often it rains in Brazil. He told us that it is supposed to rain from May til August. But the rain stopped in June. Instead of worrying about that, he did his job to store as much water as he could. If we worried more about what we will do than about what is happening around us, we would be able to find a lot more personal success.

The rain gutter collects the water and puts it into the cistern

Yesterday we went to a school that serves as a chapel and where a youth group meets. Because of the unemployment a lot of youth will leave for the larger cities. Usually conditions aren't much better there for a person without a high school diploma. To help them Diaconia helps organize a group that uses seeds and nuts from the Sertão to make jewelry. They showed us some of what they have made and we bought some because it was amazing. I'll show you when I get home.

Materials for making jewelry

I learned a lot the past few days especially about the importance of 1)taking advantage of opportunities that come, 2)changing what you do, and not waste time on trying to change what you can't and 3)family is important. All the groups we talked to mentioned the importance of their families, whether is was working, playing or providing for, it was all about the family. I'm grateful for the lessons I learned and can apply that I learned from the sertanejos and their harsh, but beautiful land.