This morning when we were told that we were picking potatoes many of us were worried. What does picking mean? Don't potatoes grow underground? Are we using shovels? How long will we be out there?
When we arrived at the Leket fields, owned by the Weitzman institute but lent to Leket for farming, in order to feed Israel's hungry, there were large tractors already plowing. After a brief explanation we arrived at the fields, were given blue crates, and we set out to gather and pick up the potatoes that had been pulled from the ground by the tractors. Once we filled our crates, we then dumped the potatoes in much larger crates, which when filled weigh 400 kilos. This morning our group collected 1200 kilos of potatoes, which we learned will serve 300 families potatoes for a week.
It is not easy to bend over and gather potatoes, nor to carry filled baskets. Thankfully the group worked wonderfully together and some bent over while others lifted. While we were not able to clear the entire field we learned that a group of 100 kids was coming behind us.
As we finished picking (which we did beginning at 8:30 am) the temperature hit right around 100 degrees. It was a hot day!
No comments:
Post a Comment