Anecdote of Argentine rural life during economic collapse

[Guest guest]

Dear conference,

 

I thought I'd like to share with you all an anecdote

of rural life in Tucuman, Argentina during what can

only be called an economic collapse. This could well

be relevant to many 1st world devotees as Argentina

itself was the 6th richest country in the world only

80 years ago. Such economic misery that the Great

Depression brought about may not be too far away. As

devotees know on this conference, I am not a scare

monger for "end of the world, run to the hills", but

when facts are facts one must respond. Whilst many of

the details may seem to be "the worst of karmis", much

can be learnt from there life.

 

In the centre of Argentina is found a small state

called Tucuman. This, and the surrounding states, have

temperatures of upto 50 C (110 F) in the summer, and

in the winter it will rise to between 20-30 C (70-90

F) in the day and 0-10 C (30-50 F). Whilst the land is

arid bush, there is ample rain in the summer and a

wide range of crops can be grown all year round. It

lies at the end of the great Argentine pampas, over

3000 km of flat land, going from humid to arid zones.

Then the foothills and mountains of the Andes

cordilleras spring up.

 

In the rural outback live people very simply, devout,

superstituos, traditional and simple. Whilst there a

man came from Tucuman city to sell cleaning solutions.

His face was pure anxiety. In contrast to the faces of

the locals there was no comparisson. The locals, due

to bad education, had poor teath, poor health and

looked rough and ready, but they had a simplicity of

contentment that knew no bounds. The city man had

nothing but tales of economic hardship, no jobs, no

money, how it was impossible to pay the bills and to

raise his children - to eat, to have shelter for

married life whilst protecting ones interests.

 

Very few people go hungry in Argentina, why should

they it is a country a little smaller than the US with

less than 40 million people, where as the US has

lamost 300 million. The land is rich and fertile, cows

are everywhere and nourish the bodies of the locals

(we may disagree, but that is how it is). For people

looking to emigrate from the US, EU and other danger

spots, Latin America is a very good bet, mostly if you

are in rural areas. The air system in the northern

hemisphere mix little with that from the south, so any

nuclear or biological warfare would leave the south

more in safety. As with Australia, the population

density is very low, but there is a wider distribution

in Argentina than many places - it used to be

developed, and has always profited from

developed-world wars.

 

The moral of the story here is that the rural people

were entirely immune from the economic chaos engulfing

the country. They owned on average 10 hectares of

land, most of it bush, they went about the land on

"sirkos", one horse carriages, or on bareback on

horses. They were connected to electricity and

television and mobile phones, but were quite aware

that they could do with out them, they did before,

they could again. It was not too long ago. Heating was

from a wood stove and social life was round a campfire

with a gutiar, dancing and home made brews. Food was

animal (cow, chicken or pig) with home grown corn

intercropped with pumpkins. Pest control was via "cura

palabra", known to us as withcraft - taking the insect

and hexing it, which would then remove all the insects

from the area. So with just the above ingredients

there food needs were met. Water was from a well that

each household had.

 

This may all seem very familiar to many in the US or

in other former collonies. That is why it is relevant

to us, more so than India, because at the end of the

day no matter how much we absorb other cultures we

still harbenger the simple things that we grew up

with.

And at the end of the day, it may well be much more

difficult for "whities" to live in other cultures in

Asia or Arabia, or Africa; just as the corollary may

be true.

 

Another major factor is that people are used to

working hard for little recompense, they know how to

work the land, how to build simple shelter and

contraptions to aid in farming. They may not have a

diverse farming system suitable for the

lacto-vegetarian diet, but many stepping stones are

there to aid. Such may not be easily found now in more

developed countries where farmers are

subsidy-agrochemical-mechanisation junkies and whilst

rural life may be simple compared to LA or New York,

it is extremely complex compared to 3rd world rural

life.

 

 

Quite a few issues are raised here, and I hope you

enjoyed the anecdote and the lessons that we can learn

from it. I have others too, similar but different that

I may share if wanted.

 

Mark

 

 

--- "ISCOWP (Balabhadra Dasa & Chaya Dasi - USA)"

<ISCOWP (AT) pamho (DOT) net> wrote:

> Dear prabhus,

>

> PAMHO. AGTSP.

>

> In reference to our previous text, I am expressing

> my thoughts on how we can

> proceed.If whoever wants to will put their thoughts

> in as to what is the first

> priority to discuss.

>

> When we did the standards I played the role of

> chairman/organizer and recorder.

> I think it was last year that we formed another

> private conference to discuss

> how to get devotees on the land. The discussion

> died. I think when we have an

> open forum it helps to keep things going. We have a

> lot of experienced devotees

> on the conference and enough young persons who are

> interested in this so that

> we can get a good perspective.

>

> Some may think, oh waht is the use, the GBC will

> probably not accept the

> proposal and even if they do nothing will come of

> it. My answer is that if they

> don't accept it we all still have a plan to present

> to others. If they do

> accept it we can use the weight of that to get

> cooperation from disciples of

> gurus etc. who have money. So the plan should be

> also usable regardless of GBC

> approval. The Standards, except for the management

> section, is usualble on any

> cow protection facility.

>

> Please feel free to express thoughts. This is

> becoming a time for a great need

> for KC rural communities like never before.

>

> Your servant,

> Chayadevi

>

 

 

 

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