APPLY
  • Program
  • Admissions
  • Speakers
  • Alumni
  • About Us
APPLY
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Apprenticeships
  • South Africa
  • FAQs
  • Admissions
  • Tuition & Aid
  • Eligibility Quiz
  • Request Info
  • Alumni Stories
  • Community Hub
  • Fellowship
  • Academy
  • Our Story
  • Our Impact
  • Our Team
  • News & Press
  • For Educators
  • Donate

My first machete

I awoke to my first morning at the Jumandi Caverns to roosters. Lots of roosters. If I was surprised then, I should have saved it for when I walked out the door. My family was gathering to go to a minga, or a communal meeting for work, and I was going, too. In order to set out and be ready for the work, we all donned a pair of rubber boots, and then, the part that surprised me: machetes. Everyone in my family had one, even my younger sisters, who are 14, 10, and 7. “Okay,” I thought, “let’s do this!”

We set to work cutting down mala hierba (weeds) in what was pretty much the jungle. After a short time my family, the other community members, and I had cut down a good chunk of the weeds. A little bit later, after thwacking and slashing at the mala herba, I felt a stinging in my hand. It looked as if the plants had gotten a little revenge of their own, in the form of blisters. I didn’t want to stop working of course, and simply switched to my other hand. Again, after a short while, I had blisters. Thankfully, my supervisor noticed something was wrong. After looking at my hands, she told me it was because I didn’t have manos duras (tough hands) and that I wasn’t accustomed to using a machete. Unfortunately, my family had noticed and they shared a laugh, all in good faith of course. It was also at this time I saw that I was able to see one of the miraculous trees of the Amazon. I’m not sure what it was called, but when my supervisor took me to a tree and cut it with her machete, red sap started to flow out. I was of course, curious, and oblivious as to what she was doing this for. She then grabbed a leaf, collected the sap, and poured it onto my blisters. Everything made sense at once. The sap acted as a coagulant and sealed all the broken skin on my hand.

Once I was taken care of, I was made to sit, and watch everyone else work. Although it was terribly embarrassing, I learned a lot from watching and working with my community. They are extremely tough, and everyone shares a part of the work, and its benefits (the land was going to be split up into blocks for farming). Also, of course, I realized I need to develop my manos duras.

Trevor Porter

About Trevor Porter


Trevor has a passion for poetry, conservation, and the culinary arts – especially baking. His love for animals took him last year to South Africa, where he worked with penguins and other sea birds with the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds. Trevor enjoys the creative process in its many forms, whether crafting a poem or concocting a dessert.

gcy logo
Take Action Lab
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Apprenticeships
  • South Africa
  • Take Action Lab FAQs
Academy
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Speakers
  • Academy Stories
  • Academy FAQs
Fellowship
  • Why Join
  • Experience
  • Destinations
  • Fellowship Stories
  • Fellowship FAQs
Admissions
  • Admissions
  • Tuition & Aid
  • Gap Year Resources
About Us
  • Our Story
  • Our Impact
  • Our Team
  • News & Press
  • For Educators
  • Community Hub
  • Instructor Hub
  • Careers

1625 Clay Street, Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94612
info@globalcitizenyear.org
415-963-9293

Have Admissions Questions?
Check out our FAQs or email our team at admissions@globalcitizenyear.org

Press Inquiries: Please contact Molly Weissman:
media@globalcitizenyear.org

Privacy Policy

© 2023 - Global Citizen Year