Day 26: Meeting the Sertanejos

Day 26: Meeting the Sertanejos

On Tuesday we had breakfast at the hotel, which was delicious. I love eating the food here, everything is so fresh and it feels like its healthy, but it’s probably not, but it’s still yummy.

Anyway, the day was going to be long, and I was really excited for it.

We first travelled about 1 and a half hours away to a place in the middle of nowhere in the sertao. Here we met the first sertanejo, his name was Ivan. To my surprise, he lived in a really pretty home, and it was really well taken care of, neat, painted, organized, and clean.

We learned that with the help of Diaconia, he was able to build multiple water storage systems on his property, which he uses to water his fruit trees. He also uses the cow manure on his property and turns it into natural fuels, which his family uses for cooking. He said that it saves them about 35 reais a month, and that it has been a big help for his family. His property has grown as a result of Diaconia’s help, and so has his prosperity. He is able to be self-reliant and now sees a future for his life.

We took a tour of his property, and he had a lot of land. He had corn fields, graviola trees, acerola, guava, and many more fruits that I cannot even remember. What Ivan does for a living is, he pulps the fruit juice and sells it to people for 3 reais a bag. He said that some of his neighbors are beginning to do the same, and for him it is not a competition, but it is a sign of his neighborhood growing and progressing.

Something interesting that my friend Jordan brought up was that as we were touring, we were also eating the fruit off his trees. That fruit is how he makes his money, and he was more than willing to share it with us. It goes to show that there are good hearted hard working people in this world that are genuinely good people.

As I was walking around his lands, I was with my friend Cristina, whose iPod was on and you could hear the song Someone Like You by Adele playing. The little girl, a niece of Ivan, wanted to hear, so as Cristina placed the ear bud to her ear, the 10 year old girl started singing along. She knew all the words. It is incredible for me to see how a girl, who is living out in the middle of the desert in Brazil, could possibly know the words to an Adele song.  

We later had lunch with the family, and the food was amazing. It is incredible to know that these people have little in comparison to Americans, and yet they are living these productive and happy lives, in the desert with no water. They truly impressed me with their humility and dedication to improving their lives.

The next stop we made was at a man named Vladimir (?)’s home. He, too, was helped by Diaconia to develop his land. He said that his family had been producing sugar in this land for over 200 years. He was able to show us some of the tools they used. It is an old practice, and they had been doing it the same way in his family for generations.

Yet, with the help of Diaconia, his family could move on from producing sugar. They now were able to produce their own fruits and vegetables that they can sell. He had on cistern on his land, which provides water for the entire farm, and it was a very large farm. He had everything from onions, to carrots, to bananas, to coconuts on his farm.

His family, a boy named Eric and a girl named Erica and his wife, worked the land all by themselves. It was incredibly for me to wrap my mind around how much hard work they put into their living. He said that on a normal day he wakes up at 3 am, to beat the heat, and goes to bed at 8 pm. He is a very structured and self-motivated person by any standard.

After taking us around his property, he showed us an outdoor shower that his family uses for fun, which was interesting because Ivan showed us that his family also has an outdoor shower that they use just for fun. They were not showing off the outdoor shower, but they were simply showing us how happy they were to have the ability to have this water.

We then went back to the hotel. Some took naps, while it was others turn to teach our fellow travelers more English.

For dinner we went to a plaza. I asked one lady for a sandwich, and she was so excited she almost died. She said “look at all these Americans in my little town.” I smiled and laughed, I really wanted to leave a good impression with these people. Everyone is so nice and accommodating. Sometimes, you don’t know if the American card is good or bad one to be played.

After dinner we stopped at an artist shop where we looked at his art work and he played the guitar for us.

We were all too exhausted to go to the pool again, but it was a really great day!