Life tastes good in Syd-Österbotten and university life and Va(a)sa feel very far away. A bit more than a month ago I wrote a blog entry about how it is to be working in a greenhouse for the summer. Yes, I still do work in the same company as I did during the last post, thanks for asking! The trial period (which was one month in my case) went fine and the owners were satisfied with my attitude and my work rate. Now it’s been slightly more than two months “sangue, fatica, lacrime e sudore” (eng. “Blood, toil, tears and sweat”; yes, the original version of the quote is in fact Italian) and it’s time to write about some things I have learned during the time between the posts:
I have learned…
…that there are also other tasks to do than just picking/harvesting, cutting the leaves and cleaning the greenhouses. Last week we started cutting clusters from the plants. The procedure is basically the same as with cutting the leaves, but you cut empty clusters. It’s in my opinion the toughest task out of the tasks I have had. It’s relatively slow and the amount of cut clusters is just mind-boggling. In order to clean them from the greenhouse, you need usually 2-3 times as many boxes as you need for transporting the cut leaves.
…that the other new task is cleaning the overrripe/rotten/moldy tomatoes from the floor of the greenhouse. You gently lift up the plants and the irrigation pipes and brush the tomatoes to the middle of the row/corridor. Because the floor is covered in slices of plastic (with soil underneath), it’s important to be careful with NOT brushing them UNDER the plastic. It’s easier when you fold the plastic slices so that the tomatoes will slide to the middle straight away. It’s actually a pretty pleasant and fast task, even though it’s slightly smelly at times.
…that I won’t use ready-made tomato products as pizza sauce anymore. Using the tomatoes of our cooperative is both enviromentally savvy and a source of pride. Tonight I made pizza after a while with own tomato sauce. Such a wonderful taste! I think I managed to find the perfect combination of flavours.
…to understand better the hard reality of being a farmer in today’s Finland.
Some further tips for you who is aching for working in a greenhouse:
– It’s a good idea to do some stretching after work; especially after days with a lot of lifting, loading and unloading. Alternatively do some light sports activities in order to combat further wear and tear of your body.
– After you have joined the union, talk with your friends/fellow workers about it and ask whether they would like to join as well. The fact is that the more people join the union, the better basis we create for having better collective agreements in the future. Everything we take for granted in the working life nowadays, such as: 40 hour working week, work from Monday to Friday, work safety legislation, parental leave, pay rise, protection from dismissal and holiday money have all been achieved because of the hard and committed work of the women and the men of the previous generations.
My dad belongs to those who started their working careers by working 45 hours a week. The 40-hour working week was reality in all branches first in 1970. During the years I have had the pleasure of talking with him about how it was to be a worker in a big factory in the past. He has for instance participated to the longest ever strike in the labour history of Finland. In 1971, the Metal Workers’ Union of Finland announced a strike that would halt the whole metal industry. The reasons behind it had to do with the insufficient improvements in the collective agreement negotiations with the employers’ organizations. People were emigrating to Sweden, since the salaries were much better and at the same time the food prices were going up relatively much. After nearly seven weeks the negotiations found a solution to the situation. Via the memories my dad has I have come to realize how important it is also nowadays to have strong unions. NB. Being part of the union doesn’t require a certain political opinion; there is freedom of opinion inside the unions.
– Remember to take your own cup to the coffee room! Less waste and less raw materials used for manufacturing paper cups.
– Be open! If there is something that is not going well, or if you just want to talk for a moment, don’t hesitate to talk with your boss. No one can read your thoughts. 🙂
Now it’s time to get ready for the new day. Tomorrow is Friday again, which means the Friday bag and weekend. About the bag I will tell you next time.
Soundtrack of the post:
Sogand – Romantic
Youssou N’Dour – Bamako
Woody Guthrie – This Land Is Your Land
Robert Johnson – Me And The Devil Blues
Actitud Maria Marta – Dragona del Hip Hip
Dubioza Kolektiv – Kazu
– Pekka