Another near failure day.
Today has been a lazy Sunday. I took the luxury of going down for a 3-hour-long afternoon nap with my daughter. I kept thinking another 5 minutes and I shall get up, another 5 minutes and I shall get up, another 5 minutes… When I opened my eyes resolved to get out of bed, I was smitten to see how many 5 minutes had gone by!
Well, needless to say, I have run out of ammunition for my tribute to Amsterdam. I now realize that I have to plan my day to include some sightseeing and photo shooting in order to be able to have something to write about in the evening.
I could stop right here and call it a day, but one of my precious silent readers has actually spoken and requested to read more about the Boerderij Museum (= farm museum) in Zwaagdijk. How could I refuse?
The farm houses in Zwaagdijk area are one of a kind. The houses were built as a big square and the owners lived together with their animals under the same roof. Even though many people these days live under the same roof with their pets, the idea that people lived together with their cows, sheep, and chicken is somewhat bizarre. When I think about the smell that accompanies such animals, it just makes my stomach churn…
Boerderij Museum is in the back end of one of these houses. The owner has set up the place in his spare time and continues to add to his collection. It is not open to public, but it is a shame that it isn’t: It is an eye-opener that points out the impact of the technological development of the last century. In the last 100 years, the face of life has changed so much, yet the way of life remains unchanged.
A photo on a wall showed a father holding his baby while his wife was pouring tea. There was a wooden plank separating their little table from the cows that snoozed on the other side. The lady of the house, who was showing us around, explained that people stayed in the animal quarters together with their animals in order to benefit from their warmth in the harsh cold. When the summer came, the animals could graze outside and the people this time could benefit from the coolness inside. In the front of the house, there was a living room where no animals were allowed. However, by spending most of the day in the animal quarters, the living room was kept clean at all times.
Farmers tended their land and their animals, made their cheese and baked their bread. Looking at the countless archaic tools and gadgets on the walls, it was difficult for me to fathom how they managed to do it all, yet they did.
Today most of us in the ‘civilized’ world spend our times in front of a screen for a good chunk of our day. We are being spoon-fed by the giant wheels of technology that don’t even make the world go round. Imagine technology being a carpet that we all walk on. What if that carpet was pulled from under our feet? How many of us would survive?
It was recently that I learned how to make pancakes from scratch and they turned out better than the stuff that comes out of the box—and cheaper. Why had I not bothered to learn to make pancakes before? Because I had the ‘illusion’ that it was easier to make them out of a box. That ‘illusion’ had been created by the successful marketing of the giant food technology. I was being spoon-fed by the giant in the form of boxed pancakes. Don’t get me wrong, I love some of the efficiencies created by the giant: the frozen cut onions, the different flavours of icecream at the tip of my fingers, etc. Yet sometimes I can’t help but feel that I am being duped by the giant…
Boerderij Museum showed me how we had given birth to the ‘giant’ (food industry) at the beginning of the last century. Now, the giant is fully grown and has started to feed us. We have put the giant to work and in return it has slowly taken over our resources and our knowledge. We can no longer feed ourselves without the precious hands of the giant (a.k.a. supermarkets).
Even though I wish I knew how to tend the land and milk the cows, the thought of sleeping together with cows and sheep still eeks me out. So for now I shall rest in my bed and let the giant continue to feed me 
