Labour input

Bocachi is prepared within the household, but many need to hire some help for fertilizing and cleaning the coffee fields. In these work intensive periods the women are often helping on the fields. Several female respondents explained that the woman normally do not dig the holes for fertilizing or three planting, but she can do other work such as applying the fertilizer.

It is said about organic farming that it potentially favours resource poor peasants because the fertilizer is cheap, and the ingredients are available in the local environment. Instead of spending their scarce financial resources on agrochemicals, peasants can invest in human resources, such as labour and knowledge, and natural resources, such as ingredients that are available in the local environment. This is believed to benefit resource poor farmers,

because“[s]ystems that depend upon sustainable use of locally available natural resources and peasants knowledge and labour are far more likely to meet the needs and aspirations of resource poor peasants than those which require costly or scarce inputs” (Parrot et.al 2006: 167) However, many of the peasants lead already pressured lives and may not have the possibility or will to spend time and energy in the preparation of fertilizer, or money to hire help for fertilizing . The labour input is considered the most important trade off to organic farming techniques. (FIDA 2003, IFAD 2003)

Because of the labour needed to prepare bocachi, the peasants who have less hands available, have a harder time preparing the bocachi. One of the peasants has three grown sons to help him, and makes bocachi every year in March when the coffee harvest is over and there is little to do on the fields. He explains how bocachi is a cheap alternative to agrochemicals, but underlines the importance of having someone who may help to prepare it:

Organic agriculture was initiated in order to lower the costs, and it is true, the costs are lower, but when one cannot find human resources to prepare the bocachi it is also difficult, it is hard to make enough, so in one way the

costs are lower, but in periods the human resources to make bocachi can not be found¹³ (respondent #1, from Santiago Santa Ana)

Not all households have adult men to help with preparing bocachi. Earlier studies show that may complicate organic farming for female producers (IFAD 2003). The women who are single head of their households within this study (three women) have diverging ways of facing this problem. Two make the bocachi themselves, but need help to fertilize. One of these was in head of her of household, and in charge of maintaining the fields, while her husband was away working as a construction worker - as he had been the last five years. However, he sent her money so that she could hire help on the fields.

The other female peasant makes bocachi with the help of her 14 year old daughter, and in the following citation she explains how demanding it is

(responent # 4, Opatoro):

She: It is a bit difficult, but it gives good results.

I: And what is difficult?

She: …since you have to move it twice a day, first in morning, and when it is a lot it is heavy, you have to move it from one place to another, and in the afternoon move it back…this is what is difficult.”¹⁴

This same producer also takes her nine year old grandson with her to fetch cattle dung in the common areas. When I visited the other female producer on her field, I observed how she and her daughter collected cattle dung from the path and stored it by the fields. The examples show how children can participate in the gathering of materials and preparing the bocachi, and that the claim promoters of organic farming often make, that the whole family can involve in organic

farming, is true for some.

13 “La agricultura orgánica se creyó con el fin de abaratar los costos, y es cierto, se abaratan, pero cuando no se consigue el recurso humano para hacer el bocachi también es difícil, es difícil hacer bastante, por esto en parte se abaratan los costos, pero en épocas también no hay, pues, el recurso humano para hacer el bocachi”

14 She:Es un poco difícil, pero da buenos resultados. Yo:-Y qué es lo difícil?

However, the third of the female single heads of households says that fertilizing is sometimes not a possibility for her, since she has to hire help to fertilize, and sometimes she has other needs to spend her resources on. This woman used to grow coffee without any fertilizer; so for her, to fertilize means that she has one more agricultural task during the year. When the project

provided for the ingredients, they prepared the bocachi as a group, but now when they have started to make the bocachi individually she has stopped to fertilize.

She takes care of her three and five year old grandsons, and her oldest son is seventeen and in school. Even if she managed to prepare the fertilizer herself she would have to rent help to fertilize. On the other hand, she highlights the

possibility to be able to fertilize as the reason for why she believes it has been good to learn the organic techniques. In order to explain her situation, she says:

“I have so much will, but I do not have the economic means” ¹⁵ (respondent # 3, Opatoro). It can be concluded that a female producer needs to hire more help for work on the coffee fields than a male producer. Some of the farmers committees which used to be all female, have solved this by inviting men to their group, to ease the hard work, and for protection when they work with micro irrigation at more distant fields. As the woman puts it: “Men with their own land can do it well, because they work the land themselves”¹⁶ (respondent # 3, Opatoro)

However, the extra labour input needed for organic fertilizing is arduous for the men as well. Almost all the respondents say that the hard work is the most challenging part of organic farming. Since the ADROH peasants combine a number of activities to make a living, such as subsistence farming, vegetable farming, agricultural enumerated work, factory work and unskilled work in the cities, coffee migration, and so on, the time and energy left for new agricultural activities is limited. Other studies have also observed how “investment of time and other resources might not seem worthwhile if benefits are not apparent, if the farmer has more pressing problems […]” (Parrot et.al 2006: 173)

15 “me sobran voluntades pero falta lo económico”

16 ”Varones con terreno propio lo pueden hacer bien, porque ellos mismos trabajan la tierra.”

The following citation serves as an example of how competing tasks draw attention from organic fertilization. A coffee producer, who made loads of

organic fertilizer two years ago when the project provided for ingredients, but has not prepared fertilizer since, explains that he cannot find time to work on the coffee fields, because he himself is working at a factory in the city of

Comayagua, in order to support his sons schooling: I fertilized two years ago, and since I got held up..no,no,no..the thing is, I have the kids in school I have no extra time..”¹⁷ (respondent # 14, Opatoro)