January 8, 2024 11:39 PM |
Updated: January 8, 2024 23:53
Kompasiana is a blogging platform. This content is the responsibility of the blogger and does not represent the views of Kompas editorial staff.
photo-info">
Picking cloves using a bamboo ladder. Source: doc. personal
After more than ten years of not picking cloves, finally the opportunity came back into my life. Armed with the fact that the clove tree next to the house in the village had shown that it was ready to be picked and no one would pick it, I had the opportunity to pick cloves.
On Sunday afternoon, around three o’clock, after the light rain stopped, I immediately prepared the clove picking equipment. I chose one of the four stairs that were ready in the yard. A ladder made of bamboo with 30 rungs is my choice. The ladder I chose was made of bamboo which was quite old. It’s a little heavy but it will give me a sense of security later.
I attached a rope 40 meters long to the ladder. I looped this rope around the 24th step from the ground. This position of the rope will allow the ladder to stand firmly and not sway when hit by strong winds. I attached an additional 10 meter rope to the 6th step from the ground. The function of this rope is to strengthen the position of the ladder so that it does not run backwards when the 40 meter rope is pulled from both sides. The safety of the clove picking ladder is in the rope which we popularly call repeat garonto’ (stem rope).
photo-info">Clove climbing ladder model in Toraja. Source: doc. personal
Once the ladder was ready, I made a support for the ladder so it would be easy for me to stand it up. The location of the clove tree next to the farm road and the relatively flat terrain made it difficult to stand up the ladder. My energy is also not the same as when I was 27 years old. Even the stairs with a height of around 15 meters were difficult for me to stand on. I failed to stand up twice, lucky I didn’t get crushed by the stairs. On the third attempt, it was successful.
The clove fruit that is starting to turn red at the top of the tree can be clearly seen from below. I immediately went up the stairs until I arrived at the steps in the direction of the top of the clove tree. Because it had been a long time since I had climbed the ladder to pick cloves, I felt a little anxious. Moreover, his body weight has reached 76 kg. This is very different from the body weight of a 27 year old when he was still 55 kg.
The sensation of picking cloves at the top of the tree made me forget about my body weight for a moment. My left foot rested on the step while my right foot curled around the ladder bar supporting my body to start picking cloves comfortably. The occasional strong gust of wind didn’t bother me. The yellowish green and red colors of the clove fruit seem to be struggling to be held.
Just one step on the stairs where I stood, it took almost an hour. There was no intention of going down yet, even though the storage container was almost full and starting to get heavy when I tried to lift it. Because the ladder is firmly attached, I don’t worry that the container I hang on the ladder right in front of my stomach will have problems.
photo-info">Clove fruit picked by yourself. Source: doc. personal
My experience of picking cloves at a height like this was the happiest moment when picking cloves. The most abundant and most convenient fruit to pick is at the top of the tree. Often half a day is spent just collecting the fruit at the top of the tree.
Next page
2024-01-08 16:39:26
#Sensation #Picking #Cloves #Kompasiana.com
