How some of our food gets to Coopera

Recently Michael and I had concerns about where we would be living after November 1st.  When we signed our lease last year it included an option that the homeowner would have the contingency to raise our rent by 10%.  We decided if that happened, we would look for another place to live.  The rental contract stated we had to tell the landlord by October 1st if we wanted to stay, and he had until the same day to let us know if he was going to raise the rent.  Because it took us so long to find a place that would accept Oscar, we thought we would try to get this issue taken care of in advance of October 1st.  We contacted our realtor, and she called our landlord.  He decided that he "respects" the way we take care of his property, so he will "respect" the rent, and not raise it.  (I think the choice of the word "Respect" is so interesting). We were very happy about that, we DID NOT want to move.  We really like our community.  Many cab drivers have come into our little enclave and comment on the fact that is so pretty, one guy couldn't believe that he had never seen it before and called it a Secret Garden.  We have very convenient access to bus lines to El Centro, but at the same time we are sort of rural, and we like that, alot.

 

OK, that brings me to the subject of the blog.  We have a balcony off the master bedroom, one of the first things I noticed when we moved here was a "lean to" shack type thing, with a tin roof.  I thought to myself, well, that is a bit of an eyesore, but oh well, whatta' ya' gonna do. 

 

That "lean to" has been an amazement.  We get to watch farmers bring their produce there for pick up by Coopera.  For the  non-Ecuadorian followers of the blog, Coopera is a market that carries fresh fruits, vegetables, Meat, Fowl, Seafood, dairy products, some of the BEST bread I have ever had, and an assortment of other stuff, at incredibly LOW prices.  Coopera is different from the Indigenous markets in that they have cash registers, accept the Experta card, and there is no bartering, but the quality of the food is amazing. 

 

In the States, things are labeled as Organic, and several dollars are added to the price for that label, here, that is simply a given. You are not over charged because the food is Organic, and it is actually much cheaper to buy these items at Coopera rather than at the supermarket chains. 

 

We get to enjoy incredibly fresh food, at low prices, with the knowledge that the fruits/vegetables haven't been sprayed with anything, and the meat and fowl are steriod free. I think some of the seafood might be from Fish "Farms", but I can tell you that Michael has never been a fan of Shrimp, but he thinks the the Shrimp we buy at Coopera are delicious.

 

Sorry for the digression, for the second time.

 

We watch the farmers bring their produce to the "lean to" across the road from us.  OMG, they are such hard workers, we wonder what they get paid?   They carry the produce in baskets tied around their shoulders to this spot, and then transfer the cabbage, lettuce, cucumbers, or whatever produce they have into crates to be picked up by the Coopera truck.

 

 

This the road the farmers walk down with their produce, it

is right behind our home.

 

 

These are the baskets that they wrap around their shoulders to carry the stuff, hard, heavy work.

 

In previous posts, I mentioned that I ask permission to photograph people, well that is true 95% of the time, but a few of these pics were taken from the balcony without their knowledge. 

 

 

 

The father seemed to be lost in thought while he took a break.

 

 

 

This is the Dad washing out the crates in a stream behind our house.

 

 

I felt a little weird taking pictures without their consent, so I decided to go over and ask this father and son team if I could photograph them.  The Dad was more than happy, but the son seemed reluctant.

 

 

Before the food gets to Coopera, these guys check it over and rip off dead leaves and stuff.

  

Michael and I like to take photographs of peoples hands, to us it seems like a road map of life. 

I found it interesting that the son preferred to wear gloves, and the father didn't.  Maybe old school versus today's standards.  It was sweet, they seemed to understand  I was trying to photograph a family bond, and they cooperated. 

Again, me - no Espanol, them, no English, simple communication through smiles. 

 

 

 

 

On another day I noticed these ladies carrying the big heavy baskets to the "lean to".  I decided to go and ask if I could take their photos instead of being covert about it, asking permission worked out well with the guys, so I thought, what the heck! They said "Si Senora" and stopped working to pose for me.

I stopped taking photographs and started helping them with their work.  They were loading up a truck with broccoli, but the stems and leaves had to be chopped off.  I think they thought the "Gringa" was a little crazy for jumping in with the work, but I thought it was the least I could do for the privilege of taking their photographs.

 

Normally, within a few hours the Coopera trucks shows up and takes away the produce that we will probably buy the next day.  How cool is that????

 

The Coopera truck usually has a stencil of Che Guevara on it,
I find that intriguing.

 

I am just including this pic of the neighbor across the back road, he was out cutting roses when I was going over to see the "Broccoli" ladies.  When you smile and ask permission for a photo, sometimes you get really good ones, what a nice face.

 

Cuenca, gotta love it.