Harvest Season - drying and putting up beans

After the beans that had been left on the stalk to dry were sufficiently dehydrated, they would be gathered and placed out in the hot sun to continue drying out. Susana's aunt, who we called Tia abuela, would usually do this. She is quite old, walks with a limp, has no teeth, and is quite hard to understand. One might ask, why on earth would you make this poor old lady go out and work in the fields!? But that is just not how people think around here, including Tia abuela. She is always asking Susana for something that she can help with, and requests to do the harvesting every year. The thing is, she likes to work and feel useful. All she asks in return is to be included in the meals and have a little bit to take home for herself. Like a lot of the things I see in Ecuador, it leaves me with an impression that this was more common in the US years ago, before such things as retirement and golfing communities convinced older couples to leave their families and take it easy. Then without anything to occupy their minds or bodies, they just kind of waste away, dependent upon medication for aches both corporeal and spiritual. We need our older people; need their wisdom, their wit and their advice. As hard as it may be, we are of the opinion that when parents get older and have no young children to take care of, they should (to the extent possible) live with the kids, helping to raise the next generation. The breakdown of the family doesn't just mean unwed mothers and deadbeat dads. It also includes abandoning our parents to waste away their final years playing golf or bingo.

Anyway, off the soapbox now, and here you can see Tia abuela with Amy and Bentz. The beans have been harvested and are drying in the hot sun. The shells (is that what they are called?) of the beans actually peel apart and curl up, and when you walk on them, the beans fall to the bottom of the pile.
















Here are the beans that have fallen out of the shells. They are a variety of red, black, and speckled beans. During this time, we would often sit and shell the beans with Tia abuela. Amy in particular loved to sit outside and work on the beans. Susana was surprised both that she enjoyed doing it and the speed at which she would get the beans out of the shells. Although every now and then we would attempt a conversation with Tia abuela, we never really understood anything she would say. So it was mostly just smiles and nods.
















After shelling the beans, they would be placed in little straw baskets. Tia abuela would go through the beans one last time to take out any errant pieces of dirt or bean shell. The shells would be gathered together and fed to the animals. Like I said, nothing is wasted. There is no such thing as a garbage truck to take away "green waste" because there is no such thing as plant waste. Every plant is used again, either to feed animals or to nourish the plants that would soon be planted. It was definitely nice to see people follow the natural order of things, using plants and animals together in the way that they were designed/evolved.
















Another nice thing about all the time spent harvesting and putting up food is exactly that: all the time. We were able to sit with our family (and Tarryn!) and work together to get something done. We could chat, teach, laugh and just enjoy each other's company. And all while accomplishing something - being productive. It was easy to see what a healthy, wonderful alternative this is to what has often overtaken the families of our society, each with their own pursuits and interests, concentrated on what best entertains or pleases the individual. Hopefully we can remember that doing productive things as a family is more rewarding and enjoyable, and more helpful in the long term, than video games, television and movies. Although I admit that it is harder, especially convincing kids to accompany us when their friends don't have to, it is most definitely worth it.