Lining up with the local agriculture students, we entered one of the many pineapple plantations in Apartado. Under a blistering heat we learn and join the workers. Not an inch of shadow to be found. No birds or insects. Every single step of this growing and harvesting process is planned and controlled by applying pesticides, fertilizers or hormones on a two-weekly basis.
The students dream of earning money for themselves, by working in one of the plantations of the fruit multinationals. First on the field, than in the factory and finally in the offices. Since the region does not offer a lot of diversity in jobs, working on a plantation is one of the few options.
Louis Lammertyn 