Betania Trip to Clear a Field

Today I went to Betania with three of the older boys from the orphanage, Christopher (16), Alonzo (15), and Johner (14).  We woke up at 5:00 am, put on our rubber boots, grabbed our machetes, and then hit the road in Pastor Earls personal truck.  We arrived in Betania around 6:30, and I immediately went to find my friend who owns a farm, he is a past leader of the community, has been very helpful in teaching me about their farming strategies, and best of all he is willing to incorporate new ideas that I might suggest.  We found him at his house, but he informed us that weather was too bad to go to the farm at that moment, so we waited for about an hour and a half.  During the wait a young boy, one of the farm owners sons, went out back and milked the cow, not long after we had breakfast, which consisted of an egg and fried bananas for me and pieces of bread for the boys (we had already eaten some cookies and crackers on the way, but they made the food for us without asking).  We also each received a cup of coffee, it was probably the best coffee I have had in Nicaragua, but upon finishing my cup I realized that they had used the milk from the cow as creamer; the coffee was boiled, but I am pretty sure the milk was not.  I feel great, and am simply going to assume that either the milk was clean or my body has built up an immunity.
Shortly after breakfast we bought a file, sharpened the machetes, and then headed out to the farm.  We arrived at the farm and began chopping while the farm owner went to lend the file to another farmer; by the time he returned the rain had started, so we stopped to talk for a while.  During our conversations I learned a few interesting things; when preparing a field for beans they chop all of the small plants and vines, plant the bean seeds using a pole to make a hole, after planting the beans they come through and chop down all of the trees and bamboo, chop this material into smaller pieces, and then leave the field to grow.  After the beans are about  eight inches tall they will go through and clean up the weeds, and then they simply wait for harvest.  The reason they plant beans at the end of November is that the "dry" season is about to begin, and they always have problems with excess water in the bean fields.
I was trying to explain to the farm owner that bamboo and tree branches have high Carbon to Nitrogen ratios and therefore actually pulls nutrients out of the soil if the material is not cleared off; I then went on to say that I would make sure that this information was correct by speaking with my professors at the university, because they know the contents of plants better than I do, but he told me that "there is nothing inside bamboo, it is hollow."  We were also talking about how to make Biochar, a natural fertilizer that can be made at very low cost right in the field, and I told him that after burning the material to make the charcoal it is a good idea to mix it with some sort of fecal matter, such as cow poop, or as I put it, "even better horse poop."  He agreed that cow poop is a good fertilizer, but he told me that horse poop doesn't work because it is "too hot."
The farm owner told me that he is going to let me do whatever I want in a section of the field so we can compare the two strategies, I am very excited to have this opportunity, but I wish I would have known two months ago so I could have properly prepared.  Even though I don't have very much time, I am confident that I will be able to demonstrate some new, successful techniques.  All we have to do now is finish clearing the field, and then "wait until the mood is right for planting."  The Miskito people are very superstitious about the moon, and they also rely heavily on traditions, which makes it hard for me to understand some of their practices, but after hearing the answers a few times I have been able to piece together a descent understanding of how and why they do things the way they do.
I will be going back very soon with more of the older boys from the orphanage to help finish clearing the field, and I will do my best to keep the blog updated.

Austin