In the 1970s, I lived with my grandmother in rural Jamaica and she was a farmer. As a boy one of my dreams was to become a farmer. At the time I was not sure what my motivation was to become a farmer. However as I look back I can say confidently that I was inspired by grandmother’s positive attitude towards hard work. Another wonderful thing I liked about farming was the fact that I always saw what grandmother produced during harvest times and especially when she cooked her delicious meals and presented the delectable dishes on our dining table.
On reflection, my passion for farming was heavily influenced by the socialist philosophy of Michael Manley when he was re-elected as prime minister of Jamaica in 1976 preaching nationalism and self-sufficiency. Michael Manley was charismatic and he spoke eloquently about education, self-sufficiency and independence. Since I was a little boy and I attended school regularly I did not spend much time to understand his core message on education. However, in my boyish mind I had my own interpretation of the meaning of self- sufficiency and independence. As far as I was concerned my grandmother was a farmer and she was self-sufficient and independent. She produced what she consumed and consumed what she produced. In a boy’s eyes that was as simple as self-sufficiency and independence gets.
As I grew older and studied economics at the University of the West Indies I learned that my grandmother and many of the people in her community were merely subsistence farmers and the practices of subsistence farming were rudimentary. Today I have a much better understanding of the meaning of education, self-sufficiency and independence. Undoubtedly my perspectives and views have been shaped by the valuable life lessons I learned in my first job helping out on my grandmother’s farm.
Be creative but be careful
Living with my grandmother in rural Jamaica I learned how to improvise and how to be creative. For example to protect the cornfield from birds my cousins and I could either set up a scarecrow in the middle of the field or we could sit and wait idly for the birds then shoot them with our slingshots. The scarecrow was made from two pieces of sticks tied together into a cross and decorated with thatch and dressed to look like a human being. Using the slingshot involved risks as my cousins and I could inadvertently hit each other instead of the birds if we were at opposite ends of the cornfield. Clearly it was safer to use the scarecrow to chase birds away rather than the slingshots.
We also had to be careful when attempted to get rid of rodents. For example, to protect our potatoes from being eaten by rodents such as mongoose we set traps. The traps were made of a wooden crates or cardboard boxes held in a slightly tilted position by a piece of stick to which a cord or string was tied. The cord was about 30 to 50 metres long. We would hide in the field for the mongoose to crawl under the crate and then pull the string tied to stick to trap the unsuspecting mongoose. Once trapped inside the process of getting rid of the mongoose was a barbaric one. We would sprinkle the box with kerosene oil, set it on fire and watched as the mongoose on fire raced across the field. Boys will be boys…we enjoyed seeing the flashing light of a mongoose on fire raced across the field!
The mongooses were imported into Jamaica from India by the colonial government for the ostensible purpose of eradicating rats and snakes which played havoc on sugar cane plantations. While the introduction of the mongoose was successful in eliminating most of the snake population in Jamaica they later became a nuance to farmers like my grandmother. Although the process used to get rid of the mongoose was barbaric it was a creative one. It was also a very dangerous practice.
Occasionally in our attempts to set the mongoose on fire we would end up setting part of the field on fire. The fire would destroy crops vital to our economic survival. Consequently, we learned how to be careful with the placement of our traps and our use of fire in field. Very often when we are confronted with challenges, we seek out creative solutions to our problems such as setting mongooses on fire without due consideration to the risks. In seeking out creative solutions on my grandmother’s farm I learned the importance of taking precautions which today in business we call risk mitigation. The barbaric process of setting mongoose on fire was rudimentary but it taught me how to identify, manage and mitigate risk from a very early age.
Don’t Count Your Chicken Before they Hatch
Growing up with my grandmother I learned a lot about uncertainty and the lack of control. I learned the true meaning of the old saying, "Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch." Every year before the planting season I would help to prepare the soil for planting season. We would use fertilizer and manure to increase the nutrient necessary for better crop yield. Even with the best plan and best land preparation, some things will not go as expected. Farming may be affected by the act of nature such as too little or too much rainfall. Produce may be affected by rodents or other pests. One year you may have high yield but a glut in market demand.
As a child growing up on a farm I learned how to deal with such uncertainties and lack of control. This taught me how to see challenges as opportunities and to constantly search for solutions. In farming you learn to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Each year we try to learn something from past experiences. It taught me how to be tolerant and patient as nothing happens quickly in farming with any degree of certainty and control. Today as a small business owner confronted by uncertainty and the lack of control I patiently painstakingly seek out solutions for problems.
The Importance of education
I also learned the importance of going to school and getting an education. My grandmother never had the benefits of an education but she was adamant that her grandchildren would get an education. I remember one day watching my grandmother as she gracefully labored away tirelessly at her chores humming to the tunes of “Amazing Grace” and “How Sweet Thou Art.” That day my cousin named Denny came home very early from school and told my grandmother that he had a severe toothache and that the teacher sent him home. I was just a little boy but I suspected that my grandmother knew Denny was lying and she decided to chase him straight back to school that day. She grabbed a broom stick and started inflict serious lashes on Denny as she chased him back to school.
Denny, a teenage boy, could not outrun our partially crippled grandmother with her fierce determination and ambition. It was a rather comical sight watching her expertly inflict lashes on Denny’s behind while at the same time counseling him and offering words of wisdom on the importance of going to school and not lying. With each swing and lash of her broomstick, she needed to protect her thatch hat or skirt from the wind, so she would pause long enough to expertly hold the hat on her head or her skirt. Denny was defenseless. I guess he must have accepted each blow, believing that the punishment would end soon as there was no way our grandmother could chasing him all the way back to school. He was wrong because our grandmother’s determination and ambition fueled her strength and energy to chase him all the way back to school. That day I learned that while my grandmother took great pride in her work as farmer she wanted to ensure that her grandchildren reap the benefit of her hard labour and the opportunities that a good education provides. I was one of her first grandchildren to get a tertiary education and today I use my education and experience to see the beauty of the world.
Perseverance, Hard work, Responsibility and Humility
In farming, if your produce is not being eaten by rodents or pests before you harvest it, it may be affected by rainfall or market demand. Despite the circumstances, when your livelihood depends on farming you learning the importance of perseverance. No matter the circumstances you never quit. You also remain hopeful and move forward. Growing up on the farm with my grandmother I learned from a very tender age the importance of hard work, responsibility, punctuality and waking up early. I learned the importance of compassion for our neighbours and above all you learn humility.
Mark McKenzie is a leading Subject Matter Expert in financial services regulation and supervision as well as a professional motivational speaker, corporate trainer and youth mentor. He can be contacted by email mastbmckenzie@gmail.com or by telephone 647-406-4622. Read my blog http://mastbmckenzie.blogspot.ca/ and always write me a comment and share. Follow me on Twitter @mackynacky. Connect with me on www.youtube.com, Google+, Facebook and Linkedin.
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