me in a position to better understand both sides. While I have both a Dutch and a French nationality I do not strongly identify with either countries. In the Dordogne I was never treated like an outsider but never felt entirely French either. I remember during the summer in my childhood, Monsieur Fort, the neighboring farmer, would take my brother Stan and I cutting the hay in the fields in the summer. In the fall, he would take us to the vineyard and help him harvest grapes for his wine. Stan and I would take our shoes off, climb in a large wooden barrel, and trample on the grapes with our feet. I am grateful for Monsieur Fort for introducing us to his knowledge’s of this placeincluding the land, climate, and animals-that has been passed down by many generations of farmers. Looking back, I think it is his love for the valley of the Dordogne that drove him to introduce two foreign boys, my brother and I, to the environment. When I ask about the future of agriculture in my neighborhood the only response is that there is none. The hilly topography combined with the restrictions in size and location of cultivations because of tourism, makes it impossible for farmers to effectively cultivate over very large areas of land. The older generation laments that new farmers learn their skills in schools with strong focus on modern techniques, GMOs, pesticides, and herbicides, but little premium on practical exposure. Monsieur Andre, on the other hand, told me that when he was young he learnt all his skills from his dad on the farm: he saw a tree growing from small to tall. Many think the simplicity of this life superior. Monsieur Fort dreams of going back 200 years to see what farming in the region looked like at that time… to see where the fields were located, what was cultivated, and what the climate was like. He says life is not better than it was 50 years ago. Though we are more efficient, we have hot showers, and bathrooms, the life of the Dordogne farmer has become more stressful, individualistic, and filed with administrative work. “Your generation,” he says, “is born with the cellphones and computers; you do things faster he says. A house that doesn’t have a 33
dishwasher is a weird house, but the quality of life has really gone down.” *** Monsieur Pemendrant’s 80-year-old grandfather discovered the cave of Bernival in 1898. In the winter, as he was walking in the woods, a landslide had opened a small hole in the ground through which water vapor raised out. Inside the cave he found a history treasure: over 100 paintings and carvings dating from 12, 000 to 14, 000 BC, including some the very rare image of a human face. The farmer accompanied me and a few other tourists to this cave that is now recognize as part of the French heritage. During the visit Monsieur Pemendrant explained that he found the place so special that he wants to share the experience with anybody interested. The experience was like nothing else. This is the only cave I visited that had not been severely redesigned to facilitate tourist access. He lighted the calcareous walls with a hold lamp powered by a battery he carried around in a worn out leather bag. The five of us had to bend and squeeze, and did not come out of the cave as clean as we came in. Maybe because of it, my understanding of the meaning of the art was exceptionally profound. Sometimes you have a moment of deep realization of something very simple, but it suddenly appears as extremely profound. Humans were here 15,000 years ago. 15,000 years ago! Drawing and leaving behind what is for me the most inspiring artwork. Likewise, the retired cohort of native farmers has left on my understanding of the identity of the valley of the Dordogne an indelible mark. With the end of this farming generation their particular way of living and interacting with the local environment comes to a close as the region’s attributes are molded to satisfy an expanding tourist market. This serves as more of an observation than a critique. However I do hope that my generation – native or foreign – will be able to integrate into our lives some of the values honored by the women and men who carved the fields of this valley with their bodies and souls. 34