People of the Land

Continuing my account of my days in Latvia - travelling through the country it became obvious that the Latvians have a different attitude to house and land from those living in the west.  In the UK it seems the ownership of land brings with it a certain status and so many crave for a place in the country with some land.  In Latvia it was noticeable that each home had it’s own land.  Even those living in flats were allotted a strip of land that they cultivated for their own benefit.  They grew flowers (which they love) as well as fruit and vegetables.  Even in the bigger towns people had the opportunity to have their own piece of land.  Apart from that, they all have some fruit trees.

A view from the flat where I stayed.  It shows the various
greenhouses belonging to the different strips of land of the
people living in the flats.



Apart from the pieces of land that go with their flats (they have 2 flats), my friends also work a few acres of land that lie about 3 miles from their home.  As out there they have no connection to running water or electricity, work in daylight hours is a necessity but personal ‘hygiene needs’ are adequately catered for.  In the very large greenhouse they seem to grow everything from tomatoes to grapes, celery to melons and from a variety of peppers to pumpkins.  And you really can’t beat the taste of food straight from the garden that has not been forced or covered in chemicals.

Not quite ready for eating!



They are also in the process of building a larger barn to house the tractors and equipment for working on the land.  Outside of the greenhouse, there are fruit trees and other vegetables as well as a good amount of buckwheat.  And of course there is the necessary small forest that is on part of the land and is a good source of wood for their log fires. 



The nearly finished barn on the left of the greenhouse,
Beyond that is the small forest.
In the foreground are some fruit trees just becoming established.





Everyone seems to have also a separate wood shed with a good stock of wood to see them through the winter.  Much of the heating and cooking is done with wood.  Replenishing the forests is not a problem as there is more wood than the country needs to the point that they export some and many trees are mature in only about 25-30 years, unlike those like the oak that can take hundreds of years.

You can just make out the log shed among the trees
at the back of the photo

A few modern houses owned by the wealthy may have lawns but most people would not think of using valuable land to grow grass.  Land means an opportunity to grow food or keep animals, thus freeing up more of their resources for other needs like electricity and petrol that are expensive.  The people are not motivated by greed or have plans on a great scale but are content to have sufficient to feed their family and a little extra to sell at market.  It is refreshing to see people who are not materialistically minded and craving the latest gadget.  I hope they can keep that attitude as democracy and western influence creep in.