Mangoes and Avocadoes

The season of avocadoes, which came after that of mangoes, has almost ended. In this moderate semi-tropical climate, some fruits like papayas and oranges grow all-year-round, but avocadoes and mangoes have their distinct seasons.

Back in April started to appear mangoes. They were literally e-v-e-r-y-where. Regardless of the towns or the countryside, this land is heavily populated by mango trees. Ripen mangoes were dropping from the trees, emitting sweet aroma which later became quite unattractive when they were left out on the ground for a few days.

After mango came avocadoes. During its high season, I ate it almost everyday— with soy sauce and “wasabi” (the seaweed was missing). Dominicans were selling them in buckets in front of their houses, and Haitian women were carrying them on top of their heads, walking around the town.

I also have to add that during the mango season, people were eating mangoes everywhere, and there seemed to be no hungry kids. For this reason, the sales of plantain and yucca chips (like potato chips) produced in the small community factory(i) went through a slow sales phase. Why? Because people buy less food (particularly less snacks) as mangoes fulfill their stomach, and the food sales go down. Indeed, I would ask my neighbors how many mangoes they had that day, and the average answer was 7-8! I explained to the headquarters why the sales dropped and the project a bit sluggish in April-July.

(i) It’s the agro-industry component of the project, that aims to enhance income generation capacity of the community.

Photos
Top right: A boy using a long wood to get avocadoes in his backyard.
Mid right: Selecting ripen avocadoes sold by a Haitian woman in the market.
Bottom: Girls eating mangoes in the countryside.