We traveled to two farms today, the first was the farm of José Ivan Monteiro Lopes. Ivan received us with a warm smile and an enthusiastic interest in showing us the pride and joy of his life: his farm. He shared with us how this year his farm had only received 350 ml of rain compared to the annual average of 850 ml. However, this statistic almost seemed unreal to what Ivan showed us.
Ahead of us we were surprised to see a beautiful and green farm, adorned with fresh fruits and vegetables and plenty of water stored for home and farm use. Ivan was so generous and shared with us delicious fruits from his farm. We found bananas, oranges, graviola, manga, and other fruits that I have never tasted anywhere else but Brazil. We also found cotton (see picture above).
Since without water none of this would be possible, Ivan showed us how they store water: cisterns and wells. Diaconia helped Ivan build these, and in return Ivan has helped other neighbors do the same. It takes 4 days to build a cistern and they cost around 1,500 reais. Not bad. Also with Diaconia's help was the fruit processing room. In there we found machines that turn açerola into pulp and then are wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen in big freezers. This pulp will be sold in the market, as so will the produce from this farm. Ivan said that they are able to sell everything they take to the market and the lanchonete of the local town, and if they had more to sell, they would most likely sell everything.
After the tour we ate lunch at Ivan's house. What a bounty of foods! I was so impressed with Ivan and his family. They are physically beautiful, and spiritual at peace. They gave us the very best that they had, without wanting anything in return. Moreover, when Carbonel gave the family a picture of the whole group and his family, you could just see the pride and joy Ivan felt for receiving a present. It was a touching moment, and it made me think about the society I live in, where people take but don't give back. It also made me think that if the sertanejos can be self-sufficient like Ivan and others, so can I.
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