Coming of the Cuy

As mentioned in a previous blog, cuy is the word for guinea pig here in Ecuador. And as mentioned in the most recent episode, every family in Tolte is receiving a clutch of guinea pigs as an economic boost. I was wrong about the cages and pigs being given out on different days. In fact, it seemed that everyone was given a plastic crate full of guinea pigs first, and the cage materials (hardware cloth with a corrugated fiberglass roof) afterwards. A variety of methods were used to transport the guinea pig crates. The most picturesque involved elderly women who would wrap their all-purpose wool shawls around the crate and carry it on their backs. This method is used to haul everything from babies to loads of alfalfa, and it seems to work pretty well. I think it also reflects the astonishing strength of the women involved.

In any case, it's quite astonishing to seem people handing out crates full of guinea pigs as an agricultural commodity. I don't know if I'll ever be able to think of guinea pigs as pets ever again. Meanwhile, i can't quite think of them as food. When I got home, there were about six roast pigs being served to the road crew for lunch, and a less attractive group of animals it would hard to imagine. Let's face it: as efficient a system as this is, the things still look like rates, especially with their fur off. Not that appetizing to the outsider.

In response to the perceptive comment from Skee Jones, people here have their own land, though some have more, or better, or flatter land. This is a fairly recent phenomenon. Until the 1980's, most farmers here worked in a kind of share cropping system, or worse, for the owner of the local hacienda. They weren't really paid, but received a certain amount of access to water to grow food for themselves. Reforms have given the land over to the local people, most of whom grow a certain amount of alfalfa as food for their guinea pigs and cattle. I have been told that a good alfalfa field will last ten years before it needs renewal. I don't yet know what "renewal" consists of, though. The main thing is that, as I mentioned in the lats blog, the alfalfa-cuy system produces meat quickly without requiring much in the way of fertilizer (though I imagine phosphorus, in some form, has to be added now and again.) On a small farm, a family could probably feed itself with half the land in alfalfa and the other half in potatoes, with a little space for the guinea pig coop and a vegetable garden. It might not be the most appealing diet, but the food security would be pretty good.

In other news, there seems to be a problem with the paperwork for the 4/5 teacher, and I spent the day subbing again. I can't say I liked it much, but just when things seemed hopeless, the fifth grade uncorked a really good English class, and I felt like I was getting somewhere. Kids are so inventive when it comes to finding new ways to torment a person.