#9 - Mexico en la piel
If you want to know why the Travelling Farmers are dressed like this, read this article !
It's already time for us to leave our wonderful Mexican family. It is with a touch of sadness that we will fly on Monday to the United States, for a two-month adventure that promises to be eventful!
This week, we learned a lot about corn thanks to two brothers, Jorge and Rodolfo, and we visited a production site of Sukarne, one of the global leaders in meat production. We also shared our experience with the students of the University of Technologia de Monterrey where we have been invited to talk about our adventure.
Rodolfo, Jorge and Jules
We spent a day with Jorge and Rodolfo in their beautiful corn farm not far from Culiacan. After offering us a typical local breakfast in their beautiful hacienda, they explained to us the differences between different corn species that grow in Mexico. Thanks to the work of several generations before them, 300 hectare of crops are now operated and irrigated. Some large channels cross their lands (where you can sometimes see two-meters long caimans) and supply all their fields with water. Leveled thanks to a GPS system, the fields have a tilt which is invisible to the naked eye, but which permits the water of these channels to irrigate the entire surface. This astonishing system is very impressive and enables them to increase the quality of their corn.
After discovering the culture of vegetables and corn, we only missed one element to complete the panorama of food production in Sinaloa: breeding. Thanks to a contact of Carlos, we visited one of the six places of production of Sukarne, a global meat producer. The tour that we got Saturday morning was the most impressive of this month in Culiacan!
Carlos Sr and Tristan at the entrance gate of Sukarne
As we approach Sukarne’s production site, we realize that the company's area of influence is not restricted only to its factory: it extends well beyond. In the closest village first, where almost all of the workers live, and where the bus stops have Sukarne’s logo. But that's not all: in the whole region, there are many medical centers subsidized by the company. In short, here in Mexico, companies like Sukarne "work much more than the State for the development of Sinaloa" according to Carlos Sr.
Once inside, after strict security checks at the entrance, we are greeted by Raul Carrillo, a senior official within the company. We feel really impressed by his eloquence, and we are astonished to receive such a great reception. After listening to our project, he takes the time to explain us in detail the activity of the company. We find out that more than one million cattle is produced every year by Sukarne, before being then exported to all major markets: USA, China, Japan ...
The site we visit brings together 80000 head of cattle. Bought very young to a multitude of producers across the country, they are fattened between 3 and 29 months before being slaughtered, cut and packaged in a factory built into the site.
We first visit the place where food is prepared for animals. The whole process is automated and huge industrial plants produce a daily amount of 750 tons of food consumed by the livestock. The mixture consists of corn, fodder and sugar cane molasses, to which is added calcium, salt and other ingredients depending on the characteristics of the animals. Once the mixture is ready, huge trucks distribute food to livestock.
Then we enter the "factory" where cows are shot and cut. Once again the safety measures are impressive: we even go through to a mini "medical examination" to be able to get in. Once equipped to avoid contamination of carcasses and to resist the cold of the plant, we pass several decontamination areas before finally discovering everything the cow goes through after being shot. There are over a thousand people working in the factory, a butcher's hook in one hand and a large knife in the other. Once slaughtered, the skin of cows is taken off and their paws are cut until their knee. The carcasses are then washed, cut in half and suspended to butchers hooks mounted on rails. Each butcher has then a specific task to perform and the different parts of the carcass are methodically separated and packaged to be finally exported. The number of hygiene and quality control is impressive and the plant looks like a modern hospital, far from what we imagine when we think of a slaughterhouse!
Equipped !
Unfortunately, it was forbidden to take pictures on the entire site, and we only have this photo as a souvenir!
On another level, we spent a part of our week to meet students of Culiacan and to share our experience and learn from theirs.
Wednesday, we were invited to the University of Monterrey Technologia to talk about our adventure and about the lessons we draw so far. In front of forty people, we talked about the motivations that led us to leave, the practical organization of such a journey and the first striking anecdotes of this adventure.
The presentation, made in a mix of Spanish and English, has apparently been well received. Some students came to talk to us at the end and we could share a lot with them.
Many of them told us about their daily routine: wake up at 6 am, school from 7am to 1pm, back home for lunch and 2 hours of sport (at the gym for most of them) and 3 hours of homework in the afternoon before having dinner and going to sleep.
Yet the desire to go on an adventure as we did does not always seem adapted to their situation for a reason that we did not expect: the family. Used to spend a lot of time and all their holidays with their families, they have mostly never tasted adventurous trips with friends and do not always feel the need to do so. Except, of course, some of them that are already planning their next trip to a distant destination, often in Europe.
The French teachers of the university also appreciated this presentation. We have been invited to speak in their classrooms the next day to talk to as many students as possible in our native language about this project.
Friday, so, we went back to the university. In 3 different classes, we extensively shared with students, both on our adventure and on what they had learned about France. Talking about our project is not the primary purpose of our trip, but we decided to seize this opportunity, as it seemed interesting to discuss with these young people of our age on how to consider the future that awaits us.
Our last week in Sinaloa has been rich in new teachings, but gave us also time to better appreciate the pace of Mexican life. If there is indeed something that we will retain from our visit in Mexico, it is the peace and tranquility that show the local population. The days are not always full here, activities are not always linked together with maximum efficiency, but everything is done in absolute serenity. Mexican people have time.
This is part of what we look through this journey. Far from the bustle of our lives in Paris, we realize the absurdity of running continuously frome one thing to another. Why do more if it means to enjoy it less?
Here, we have learned to be where we are, without thinking of anything else. We try to concentrate fully the energy we put into what we do in the moment that we live. And to those times of activity follow empty moments with nothing planned. We never have time to get bored in France, here we sometimes accept to remain inactive, and we learn gradually to also enjoy these moments.
This is the end of our long stay in Culiacan. Again, we learned that the stereotypes often prove misleading. Certainly drug traffic exists in this region, but we have not feel insecure of worried at any moment here. Mexicans are incredibly funny, and the month we spent here was very rich! It is with great memories in mind that we now move to the United States.
We wish you to spend a beautiful week,
We’ll be back next Sunday!