{"id":19081,"date":"2023-04-12T23:32:56","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T23:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web-dev.clac-comerciojusto.org\/?page_id=19081"},"modified":"2023-04-13T00:27:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T00:27:19","slug":"life-story-mireya-sepulveda","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web-dev.clac-comerciojusto.org\/en\/life-story-mireya-sepulveda\/","title":{"rendered":"LIFE STORY: Mireya Sep\u00falveda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LIVES IN BALANCE<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Rural a.  <\/em><\/strong>In, of or like the countryside<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balance <\/em><\/strong>u. n. A state where things are of equal weight or force<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valle del Maule (Chile)<\/strong>.<\/em><\/em> \u201cIt\u2019s what I am, I\u2019m the third generation to be here. My grandparents got here first, then my dad, and I\u2019m still here<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong> Mireya is proud of both being a \u201cguasa\u201d [1]<\/sup><\/strong><\/a><\/sup><\/strong> and of her lifestyle. Even if, as a child, it wasn\u2019t easy: \u201cIt was hard to get over the peasant complex<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She lives in the Name<\/em> district, a 4.72-hectare farm located at the foot of the hill that bears the same name, far from any neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>
\n

She was the youngest of four siblings and the only one who chose to take on the family tradition of farming and rural life. While her father would make and sell coal from the house she now lives in, her mother used to manage a large abode house that stood in the shade of a big fig tree.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When she was 7, she headed to the city to live with her siblings as it was the only way for her to go to primary school. But she only wanted to go back to Name <\/em>\u201cmy problems would get here and end (\u2026) Name was my refuge<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When her father passed away, her mother headed to the city leaving her in charge. Things weren\u2019t easy for Mireya, who, despite her young age, was already a mother of two. Yet, she had to carry on living and support her mother (Chile has small pensions) and \u201cfinancially, we can\u2019t survive only on what we make with farming\u201d<\/em>.<\/strong> Her husband, Patricio, has another job. She describes the loneliness and hardship of having to work the vines when he\u2019s not there \u201ccarrying more than 30-pound loads on your back.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her father was a visionary, one of the first to bring those century-old vines to the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The first memory she has of wine dates back to when she was 6 years old, \u201ceating that white grape, eating that big grape\u201d, \u201csinging during harvest\u201d<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em> The grape she\u2019s referring to is the White Ovoid Grape\u2014a rare historic grape. A grape that is getting rarer with time due to large plantations that, driven by market demand, favor the \u201cVi\u00f1as Finas\u201d [<\/sup><\/strong><\/a>2<\/a><\/sup><\/strong>]<\/sup><\/strong><\/a><\/sup><\/strong> (Fine Vines). But at the Loncomilla Cooperative they\u2019ve chosen to preserve the local produce due to its quality and history. Mireya smiles as she says \u201cour success is that a bottle contains the fruit of your work, it\u2019s the reward for the farmer\u2019s tough labor.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\n<\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Life in the fields isn\u2019t easy. It isn\u2019t just about how hard it is to work the land. Natural disasters also need to be taken into account. Disasters such as the 2010 earthquake that destroyed Mireya\u2019s family home and the 2017 bush fires that threatened her livelihood and way of life. \u201ctwo days without sleep, day and night (\u2026) I was shocked by all that was burnt, so much fire, so many flames (\u2026) it just wouldn\u2019t stop<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong> But with her family, they stayed put and resisted, managing to save both their home as well as their neighbors\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\n

But Mireya, being the committed \u201cguasa\u201d that she is, embodies a harmonious life. Nothing her home produces is lost: the grapes, the tomatoes, the raspberries\u2026 Mireya\u2019s feet connect her to the land \u201cThis land has given me a lot (\u2026) I can\u2019t see myself anywhere else.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

And Fairtrade is there with her \u201cFairtrade came into my life at a time when I really needed it (\u2026) it allowed me to keep on going (\u2026) helping when we couldn\u2019t make ends meet<\/em>\u201d<\/strong>. Mireya sees this life\u2014an alternative to city life\u2014under threat due to land speculation and aggressive and unsustainable production models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fairtrade is a business model that places human beings and the social, economic and environmental sustainability of societies at its core, thus, dignifying the work of producers and workers. This is why, one of Mireya\u2019s rewards for being part of a Fairtrade-certified organization, is that her balanced life is protected and can continue to be.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

[1] The way people who live and work in the countryside are called in Chile. It can be used in a derogatory way. Chilean Spanish for Countryfolk or peasant.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> In Chile, when winemakers refer to \u201cVi\u00f1as Finas\u201d (Fine Vines) they\u2019re referring to the vines which were imported around the 19th <\/sup>century from France. These vines dominate the market, making it difficult for Criolla or local vines to prevail. They were in by the Spanish during the colonisation that aimed at converting indigenous communities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n