By Megan Lane BBC News Magazine |
For
a year, five experts ditched theory for practice, running a Welsh farm
using 17th Century methods. What lessons for modern living did they
learn?
The BBC series Tales from the Green Valley follows historians and
archaeologists as they recreate farm life from the age of the Stuarts.
They wear the clothes, eat the food and use the tools, skills and
technology of the 1620s.
It was a time when daily life was a hard grind, intimately connected
with the physical environment where routines were dictated by the weather
and the seasons. A far cry from today's experience of the countryside,
which for many involves a bracing walk ahead of a pub lunch.
While few would choose to live a 17th Century lifestyle, the
participants found they picked up some valuable tips for modern life.
1. Know thy neighbors. Today it's possible to live alone,
without knowing anyone within a 20-mile radius (the same goes for
townies). That was simply not possible in the past - not only did the
neighbors provide social contact, people shared labor, specialist skills
and produce. "And women were judged on good neighborliness," says
historian Ruth Goodman. "If you were willing to help others - particularly
during and after childbirth - then others would be more prepared to help
you in times of need."
2. Share the load. It was nigh on impossible to run a 1620s farm
single-handedly, and the family - either blood relatives, or a farmer, his
wife and hired help - had to be multi-skilled. Labor, too, was often
divided along gender lines, but at busy periods, such as harvest time, it
was all hands on deck.
3.
Fewer creature comforts have some benefits. No electricity meant once
daylight faded, work stopped in favor of conversation, music-making and
knitting. And no carpets meant fewer dust mites, which are linked to
asthma and allergies. "They scattered herbs on the floor which released
scent when trodden on - this drove out flies and other insects," says Ms
Goodman.
4. Eat seasonally. Today it's because of "food miles" and the
inferior quality of forced products. In the 1620s, it was because foods
were only available at certain times of year - and not just fruit and veg.
Mutton, for instance, was in abundance in spring, soon after shearing
time. This was because a sheep's wool quality plunges after eight years -
thus animals of that age were killed after their final fleece was removed.
5. Tasty food comes in small batches. Today farmers' markets are
a tourist attraction and many delight in regional specialties. For these
producers play to the strengths of their ingredients, unlike, for
instance, the makers of mass-produced cheese. This has to taste the same
year-round, despite seasonal variations in milk quality. "So high-quality
milk in the spring is downgraded so the finished product is consistent
throughout the year," says Ms Goodman.
6. Reuse and recycle. Today we throw away vast mountains of
packaging, food, garden waste and other materials. In 1620s, there was a
use for everything, with tattered bed linens made into fire-lighters and
animal fat into soap. Even human waste had uses. Feces was a fertilizer,
and urine was stored to make ammonia to remove laundry stains.
7.
Dress for practicalities. Today fashion and social convention dictate
our wardrobes. While polar fleeces and high-performance tramping boots may
be all the rage when going rural, the wardrobe of 400 years ago proved
more comfortable. "While the crew shivered in their modern garb, we never
felt the cold in just two layers - a linen shirt and woolen doublet," says
archaeologist Alex Langlands. Breeches meant no wet and muddy trouser
legs, and staying covered up - rather than stripping off in the heat -
prevented bites, stings, sunburn and scratches.
8. Corsets, not bras. "By that I don't mean Victorian
corseting," says Ms Goodman. "Corsets support your back as well as your
chest, and don't leave red welts on your skin like bra elastic does. They
made it hard to breath walking up hills, but I get short of breath doing
that anyway. And most people feel sexy in a corset."
9.
Biodiversity protects against unforeseen calamity. While the developed
world no longer counts the cost of crop failure in starvation and mass
migration - the result of Ireland's Great Potato Famine in 1845 - the 2001
foot-and-mouth crisis decimated farms up and down the country as animals,
the farmers' livelihoods, were put to death. The 1620s farm had grains,
fruit and vegetables, and a range of animals - if one failed, alternatives
were available.
9. Reliance on any one thing leaves you vulnerable. Hence the
country ground to a halt during the petrol blockades of 2000, and a
shortage of coal during 1978-9's Winter of Discontent caused electricity
shortages. On the 1620s farm, when oxen used to plough fields fell ill,
the implements were reshaped and horses did the job instead.
10. No pesticides means a richer variety of birds, butterflies
and other insects, many of which feast on pests - a result as desirable
for the gardener as the farmer. And the hedgerow and fields of wild
flowers of the past are today making a comeback, as these provide habitats
for these creatures and allow edible plants to flourish.