El Campo

I had to drop off some wool yarn at a weaver's house last week and absolutely enjoyed the trip over to her house. This particular artisan, lives in the campo, or farmland, between the cities of Nueva Imperial and Chol-Chol.

Getting there by public transportation involves taking two buses on a very limited and set schedule and takes about 2 hours. In contrast, the trip takes about 45 minutes by car...just goes to show how necessary a personal vehicle is for getting work done in this part of the world, even though gas prices here are also quite expensive (750 Chilean Pesos per liter).

Once at the artisan's house, it was very nice to see her acres of farmland- complete with herds of sheep, cows, pigs, and chickens. After dropping off the wool, the family generously gave us some fresh chicken eggs and lettuce straight off the land as well. The contrast between her lifestyle and that of the businesspeople in Santiago where I was living earlier this year is quite striking. While she wakes up at daybreak to feed animals and tend the fire, those in the city kick off their days by grabbing a cup of coffee to go and hopping on the metro.

Personally being raised in a society more akin to the latter option, talking with artisans as well as their extended family is extremely educational and grounding for me. For example, I had a very nice conversation with her grandmother about modern medicine vs. traditional, natural herbs. At the age of 78, she explained to me that she has never taken pills or modern medicine, except for one time when she needed a serious operation at a hospital in Temuco. She also very kindly showed me some of her more recent weaving pieces and explained more about the yarn-spinning and dying processes she uses.

The way these people live in harmony with nature fascinates me. However, their age-old knowledge and customs are disappearing in the face of the realities of our globalized world. Her grand-daughter, who is 20, knows little about weaving and currently attends a boarding school 4 hours from their house. She is studying to achieve her life's dream and become a professional veterinarian- an occupation that will help her earn a living wage in the future. In order to help her attend school, the family must work extra hard to save money. Her mother, for example, left home to work on a fruit plant several hours away to help make ends meet.

El Campo, Farmland

Sheep on the Horizon

Chancho, Pig

The Bus-Ride There

Although we were planning on taking a bus back home, a cab saw us waiting by the road and offered to take us for the regular bus fare of 50 cents each. Taking a cab out this far into the campo usually costs about $10 USD, however getting back to main cities is almost always easier and cheaper. This is because cabs usually get paid the normal amount to drop off someone and then look for an easy way to make a little extra by picking up stragglers on route back to the cities.

In the campo, people also tend to be more generous with others since they understand how difficult it can be to make it back to cities. (the buses only pass by a few times a day and go extremely slowly compared to cars) In turn, it's also quite common for people with cars to offer free rides when they run into others waiting by the side of the road.

Vacas, Cows

our cab had to swerve out of the way to avoid this herd crossing the road : )