#40 Helping Harvest Garlic (ajo)

One day while visiting Quiriza we were asked if we would like
to help President Flores (Branch President) harvest some garlic.
This is a field of garlic with people working to gather the garlic crop.
They use the oxen to pull a plow through the rows to loosen the
soil around the garlic.   

We pulled the garlic from the ground and layed it in small
bundles of the ground.  

A couple of men come along with string and tie
the bundles and stand them up.  

Lloyd is pulling the garlic and gathering it into bundles. 

On the ends of the rows and oxen can not always loosen the soil.
So you have to dig the garlic by hand. 

President Roly Flores with the string to tie the bundles together. 

After all the garlic is bundled, everyone throws 4 or 5 over your
shoulder and takes them to a wagon and tractor. 

I even helped carry them out of the field to the wagon.  I'll admit
I probably did not carry as many bundles as most of the
woman there.  They are strong and hard workers and
most much younger than me.  

This is the tractor and wagon they were hauling garlic with. 

Loading the wagon was three young boys. 

Benji was helping too.  He is about 5 years old.  His mother
was working in the field. 

Mothers bring their children to the field while they
work.  The older children watch the younger ones. 

President Flores with his bundles.  We had to walk across a
ditch with an old tree for a bridge.  

We worked hard, but it was fun to be helping out.  

The corn is getting tall now and the fields look pretty and green.  

Another day we stopped by some members home and they
were unloading the garlic.  So Elder Avila and Bradshaw
helped out. They put the bundles on their backs again to
unload them.  

Elder Avila  and Bradshaw carried them in front so their white
shirts would not get too dirty.  

The bundles of garlic are then put on these racks to dry.

Another view of the way they dry the garlic.  

This is Fedrico and Igenia's grandson. He was visiting and
helping on Grandpa's farm.