Grounds Keeping

A local Ngobe Indian who lives on this Island, Isla Solarte, showed up on my doorstep last Friday looking for work. The landscaping had suffered from years of neglect so I thought I'd give him a go. I pointed out some trees that needed branches removed and was met with the response that he had no machete with him. I handed him a very sharp 26" machete and he walked down the hill, climbed 30 feet up a trunk with nothing but splayed toes and his hands, stood on slender branches and pruned, hacking through three inch limbs in a minute or two then descending, chopping them into smaller lengths and hauling down to the water beneath the mangroves. There was a flurry of activity for a couple of hours then I made the mistake of inviting him to take a rest and have some water. It was difficult to get him to resume any meaningful activity. I had some tasks I needed to take care of in town so I headed out. Upon returning a little after five he indicated that I owed him for fifteen dollars for eight hours work. He had done nothing in my absence, claiming that there was too much rain. He took the new machete and sheath that I gave him earlier along with a full days pay for a couple of hours asking for a beer. No, I don't have any beer here, would you like some iced tea or water? He told me Geoffery always had beer and drank it warm, that would be ok. I told him I thought there were some in the cooler on the boat and he could have one.

The following Monday he returned and with much coaxing put in about three hours of actual labor, contented to sit on the deck, smoke cigarettes and gaze out out on the water. As I continually had to point out the same trees that I had previously indicated needed trimming and with more than a little reluctance he half-heartedly resumed work. I was heading into town anyway, I offered him a ride. He accepted and used the opportunity to buy some laundry soap. Six miles is a fair haul in a dugout canoe.

On Tuesday I tended to some business in Changuinola, leaving shortly after sunset and not reappearing until near sunset. The "worker" was here and told me he had worked all day and wanted another $15. I couldn't figure out what he had done. He indicated that he had cut down some grass and swept out the bodega. Maybe an hours work, if that. I gave him yet another $15, took his mother's number as he doesn't have a cell phone and told him I would call if I ever needed him again. He left, looking very dejected as I was his sole source of money. He raises cattle on 40 hectare, 100 acres of land about a five minute boat ride east of here, but it is hard to barter a cow for laundry detergent.

Most of the Ngobe laborers here are strong reliable workers. Leave it to me to find a slackard. Maybe I'll find another worker, maybe I'll invite him back, maybe I'll just do the work myself. I know one thing for sure, he'll go a month with no income and if I do give him an opportunity he better deliver.