"Before the reward there must be labor. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before you reap joy "- Ralph Ransom
We gonna sow in tears first before we gonna reap and harvest joy which is very applicable in every aspect of our life.
Hello, My Dear Hivers !!!
I hope you're well and healthy today. I'm inspired to share this blog with you to feature how our farmers were so hard-working and dedicated in their work field.
It was Monday, January 2, 2023, when my family went to visit my parent's in law in the farmland ( bukid ) at Bahi Lapaz Bogo City, Cebu, Philippines. I already shared in my previous blog that my in-laws were living on farmland and we had animals that we used to take good care of over there.
That day was a cold Monday, there were little rain showers and the clouds were a little bit shady. When we were about to arrive near my in-law's house, we've seen farmers harvesting sugarcane.
They harvested sugarcane once a year and usually, it happened either in December or January. If they can't harvest it within December, the harvest time will be January the following month.
I had seen these farmers who harvested sugarcane. Harvesting sugarcane is commonly known as "Tapas" in Bisaya terms. They cut down the stalk and remove the leaves. Meaning only the stalks will be left. The leaves will be used as food for their animals usually farmers had animals that they took good care like they have goats and cattle who also used to eat leaves.
They used Cane Machete known as " Pading " in Bisaya terms, this was their special weapon to cut down the stalk wherein which was so sharp that the stalk could be easily cut. They polished it first and make sure to sharpen it first before the operation.
Farmers started their harvest early in the morning. My husband told me that one of his friends who is a farmer named Roselio, commonly known by his nickname Selyo used to be on the farm at 4:00 a.m. to start harvesting. He is known as a diligent and hardworking farmer. He brought a flashlight with him and this was his useful equipment to harvest more sugarcane but if it is already 8:00 a.m., he will be relaxed and have a bottle of beer while other farmers have just started their harvest. That was Selyo's secret technique and after he got relaxed he will get back to the farm.
They were farmers but mostly of them were not the owner of the farm. They will be given equal compensation according to what had agreed upon. Some of them were paid individually according to how many bunches they harvested and made on that day. Some were paid through as a group, meaning the payment as labor in harvesting will equally be divided among all the workers on the farm.
These were the bunches/bundle of Sugarcane that they harvested. One bunch contained 30-40 pieces of stalks and they bound it using the sugarcane leaves. They bonded it like this so that it will not be difficult for them to carry it whenever the Sugarcane truck arrived.
After harvesting, they just have to wait for the delivery truck to load the harvested sugarcane and all of them will help each other to load all those bonded bunches. Cooperation with everybody is a great virtue to be successful.
I appreciated the hard work and dedication of our farmers. One of the known sayings was true that "to plant is not a joke" they experienced challenges especially under the heat of the sun all day long. But if it is already the harvest season, they will reap happiness ( the fruit of their labor). I salute all the farmers, if not because of them, we don't have anything to eat or to supply our daily needs.
That's all for today my dear hivers. Hope this inspired you and made you appreciate more our hardworking farmers. God bless them with more strength and good health. Thank you also for your consistent love and support my dear friends. Keep safe everyone and to God be the Glory.