Greetings everyone 🙌
This is all about how I came about farm work and the easiness I get while doing it.
Under normal circumstances, in my part of the world, it's somehow unappealing to openly admit that one lived their life farming in the village, but I'm not shy when it comes to sharing where I was raised. I grew up in a rural setting where farming was the basic way of life. I adapted to the farming lifestyle at a very early age because there was no escaping it; farming was essential for survival. You had to farm to produce food, otherwise, hunger would set in. Back then, even the rich among us had a plot of land for farming...it was just for everyone.
Naturally, I'm very slim with a fair complexion, and no one would believe that I know how to work with a cutlass. In fact, whenever I tell my friends that I still go to the farm today, they laugh and call me a liar because my stature is deceiving.
I learned how to master the use of a cutlass effectively at a young age. I loved to accompany my dad to the farm mainly because of the delicious farm food. I don't know what the magic is, but farm food always tastes delicious, sometimes even better than home-cooked meals. This was the magnetic force that always made me want to go to the farm.
When we got there, my dad would assign me tasks suited to my abilities, along with appropriate tools, while he tackled the more complex tasks.
As I grew older, I began to handle more challenging tasks like clearing forests, with my dad which he always warn me to be careful with the cutlass.
In forest clearing, the cutlasses are always sharp, and a slight mistake could result in a deep cut. We regularly use a cutlass sharpener (which we called a FILE) to keep the blades sharp, enabling them to cut through sticks, trees, and grasses with ease. If the cutlass isn't sharp enough, it would require more strength.
More also, sharpening of cutlass with a File is risky and one needs to be careful because I slight mistake could open the hand with a cut.
To be honest, if I hadn't experienced that stage of life, I might have been considered a lazy fellow. When I left my family's house for school, there were many times when things were financially tough, and I needed to earn money for myself. So, I began clearing farmlands for people to earn a living. At first, when I told them I wanted the job, they underestimated me because of my appearance, but I had to convince them to give me a chance to prove myself. They did, and they were amazed by my work ethic.
Although I no longer work on the farm today because I'm far away from that setting, I still seize such opportunities whenever they arise. While others in my neighborhood (city people) shy away from using a cutlass to clear the bush close to their compounds, I handle mine with ease and leave theirs for them to deal with.
Thanks reading.
This is for day 16 of #Aprilinleo prompt.
Do well to read the full details here