From coffee farmer to teacher
In 1945, in the State of Monagas, Venezuela, there is a village called Santa Maria, located on a fairly high hill, bordered by a large vegetation that gives shade to other trees that need it to protect themselves from the incandescent rays of the sun. To reach this village you have to walk over several river passes, riding donkeys, horses and mules for two hours, until you reach this community, especially the farm where Evargio lives with his mother Clara Antonia and six labourers who help them in the process and planning of coffee cultivation. He directs this activity following the steps of the knowledge acquired from his ancestors, applying it at the moment of sowing this crop; from the moment when the harvest must be carried out, its collection, following all the steps, taking into account the state of the climate in the surroundings until it reaches its final phase. In this way, he obtains an excellent production. This young man always arrives on time to carry out any activity, especially farming, and to study so as not to be illiterate, since the inhabitants of that town were illiterate.
One early morning, walking with his mother, he said to her:
"Down there they opened a country school, I'll enrol, to learn to read and write, to teach you, mum."
She replied:
"‘¡My son, old parrot, doesn't learn to speak.!"
Very excited, he replied:
‘‘¡Look, little girl, you naughty girl, I will do it and you will see what I will learn!.’‘
The next day he enrolled to start studying in that school.
In the course of the day, coming from his work in the company of his mother and the six farm labourers, he said to them:
‘Remember that the time for harvesting will soon be over’.
Clara Antonia added:
"True, the coffee fruit turned from green to yellow, then to orange and most of them are turning red".
Evagrio, with great affection for his farmers, said to them:
“Tomorrow I start studying to learn to write and read to pass the sixth grade”
The next day after taking care of the coffee plants, he saddled his horse and took the road to go to school. Halfway there he noticed that the river was very swollen. He shook his horse to speed up his pace, arriving in time to receive your classes. As soon as this activity was finished, he returned to his farm.
A few days later, when Evagrio arrived in the company of his farmers, he observed that the coffee fruits were already as red as ripe cherries.
He spoke strongly:
“¡We have to hurry to collect the fruits, before they fall off the plants, since the good quality is lost!”
In a short time they collected the coffee harvest. Evagrio said:
“We will pulp it, then we will continue with the other procedures”
They were taken to the pulper to separate the shell from the coffee bean, then these beans were put to ferment. After 2 days they washed them. Later, they spread all those quintals of coffee beans in the harvesting yards. Moving them with wooden walkways, in the presence of sunlight.
Evagrio muy preocupado a sus trabajadores les dijo:
"Watch for drying, if you see a black cloud in the sky like an elephant's foot, pick up the coffee; it announces that rain is coming".
The 6 farmers in unison replied:
"Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out".
He immediately set off on his horse for his school. Late in the afternoon, on his way back to his farm, he looked up at the sky and saw an elephant's foot in a dark cloud. His heart pounded like the sound of the clock. Sweat ran down his like a jug spilling water. He spurred his horse's spurs to get to the coffee drying yards in time, before the rain came. As soon as he saw his labourers, he shouted to them:
"¡Hurry up, pick up the coffee, a heavy downpour is coming!"
Immediately, they picked up the coffee; one of them said:
‘"hank God you arrived in time, otherwise we would have lost this coffee"
Over the days went by, they brought the coffee to its final stage, sold it to PACA (Productores Asociados de Café Agrícola) and earned a large sum of money. This enabled this young man to set up a small school for the inhabitants of his village,
with the aim of teaching them all the knowledge he acquired.
ESPAÑOL
De caficultor a maestro
En 1945, en el Estado de Monagas, Venezuela, hay un pueblo llamado Santa María, situado en una colina bastante alta, bordeada por una gran vegetación que da sombra a otros árboles que la necesitan para protegerse de los incandescentes rayos del sol. Para llegar a esta aldea hay que caminar por varios pasos de río, montados en burro, caballo y mula durante dos horas, hasta llegar a esta comunidad, especialmente a la finca donde vive Evagrio con su madre Clara Antonia y seis peones que les ayudan en el proceso y planificación del cultivo del café. Dirige esta actividad siguiendo los pasos de los conocimientos adquiridos de sus antepasados, aplicándolos en el tiempo actual de sembrar este rubro; desde el momento en que se debe realizar la cosecha y su recolección, siguiendo todos los pasos, tomando en cuenta el estado del clima en el entorno hasta llegar a su fase final. De esta manera, obtiene una excelente producción. Este joven siempre llega a tiempo a realizar cualquier actividad, especialmente la agrícola y a estudiar para no ser analfabeto, ya que los habitantes de esa población eran analfabetos.
Una mañana temprano, paseando con su madre, le dijo:
"Allí abajo han abierto una escuela rural, me matricularé, para aprender a leer y escribir, para enseñarte, mamá".
Ella le contestó:
"¡Mi hijo, loro viejo, no aprende a hablar!".
Muy emocionado, él replicó:
''¡ Mira, niña, niña traviesa, lo haré y verás lo que aprenderé!.''
Al día siguiente se matriculó para empezar a estudiar en aquella escuela.
En el transcurso del día, al llegar de su trabajo en compañía de su madre y de los seis labradores, les dijo:
"Recuerden que pronto se acabará el tiempo para darse la cosecha".
Clara Antonia añadió:
"Es verdad, los frutos del café pasaron del verde al amarillo, luego al naranja y la mayoría se están poniendo rojos».
Evagrio, con gran afecto por sus campesinos, les dijo:
“Mañana comienzo a estudiar para aprender a escribir y leer para aprobar el sexto grado”
Al siguiente día después de realizar el cuidado de las plantas de café, ensilló su caballo tomó el camino para ir a la escuela, a mitad de camino observó que el rio estaba muy crecido, agitó su caballo para que acelerara el paso llegando a tiempo para recibir sus clases. En cuanto termino esta actividad, retornó a su finca.
A los pocos días, al llegar Evagrio en compañía de sus campesinos, a sus faenas observó que los frutos del café ya estaban tan rojos como las cerezas maduras.
Habló fuertemente:
“¡Tenemos que apresurarnos a recolectar los frutos, antes de que se desprendan de las plantas, ya que pierde la buena calidad”
En poco tiempo recogieron la cosecha de café. Evagrio dijo:
“lo despulparemos, luego continuaremos con los demás procedimientos”
Los llevaron a la despulpadora para separar la concha del grano de café, luego estos granos los pusieron a fermentar. A los 2 días los lavaron. Más tarde todos esos quintales de grano de café los extendieron en los patios de sacado. Moviéndolos con las paseras de madera, en presencia de la luz solar.
Evagrio muy preocupado a sus trabajadores les dijo:
""Pendientes del secado, si ves una nube negra en el cielo como una pata de elefante, recoge el café; anuncia que va a llover».
Los 6 agricultores al unísono respondieron:
'No se preocupe estaremos atentos,!".
Inmediatamente partió a caballo hacia su escuela. A última hora de la tarde, de regreso a su granja, miró al cielo y vio una pata de elefante en una nube oscura. Su corazón palpitó como el sonido del reloj. El sudor le corría por su cuerpo como una jarra derramando el agua . Espoleó las espuelas de su caballo para llegar a tiempo a los patios de secado del café, antes de que empezara a llover. En cuanto vio a sus jornaleros, les gritó:
"¡Deprisa, recoge el café, que viene un chaparrón!».
De inmediato recogieron el café; uno de ellos dijo:
"Gracias a Dios que viniste a tiempo de lo contrario habríamos perdido este café".
Con el paso de los días, llevaron el café a su fase final, lo vendieron a PACA (Productores Asociados de Café Agrícola) y ganaron una gran suma de dinero. Esto permitió a este joven crear una pequeña escuela para los habitantes de su pueblo, con el objetivo de enseñarles todos los conocimientos que él adquirió.
Traducción realizada con la versión gratuita del traductor DeepL.com
What a beautiful story of overcoming and passion for what one does placed at the service of others. Coffee production is a very demanding job that requires a lot of care and knowledge.
Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Excellent Tuesday.
Thank you for your comment, have a happy day.
Once your mind is fixed at what you intend to do, there is not limit. Nothing helps one to achieve more than passion.
Thank you for reading and commenting on my story.Have a happy day
I'm happy they didn't lose all the coffee to the rain.
He wanted to go to school and he made it happen. That's determination.
Thanks for commenting on my story. Have a happy day
I loved your story since I started reading it. Coffee growing is one of my favorites and I liked that you gave technical details about harvesting and processing.
The message of your story is excellent. There is always time to learn.
Regards @rammargarita