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My Father was a farmer — he had these cans — big milk cans — and from the age of 6 or 7 I would take them around the farm. We would sometimes make butter, but we usually sold our milk. The milk truck would come from the condensed milk company. We drank condensed milk mainly because otherwise it wouldn’t keep fresh in the heat.

Our family was big — we did the work in the morning and then we’d go to school. After school was over, we came back at about 4pm and did chores. We looked after the animals, tethered them and fed them.

The eldest sister did the cooking while I lived at home. Then I went to work on the farm. We worked on a farm then so we looked after ourselves, all our food was grown there.

Whilst we were working in the fields we would take our meals out there. We’d put all our ingredients in the pot: bread fruit, yams, banana, 1lb of meat. It would perhaps be mutton or pork, whatever the butcher man had killed that week.

It was all put in a big pot over open wood fire in the field. We’d put 3 big stones around the fire and put the pot on them to cook for about an hour. Someone was chosen to watch the pot — when it was cooked he called us.

We’d take a great big banana leaf or two — put them on the ground and put the food on them. We shared the meat first then everyone helped themselves to vegetables — and we’d eat outside in the fields.

After work was done we’d go home for supper and change out of our work clothes.

William Clark and Headley Small told these stories about life in Jamaica to Jenni Waugh, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Outreach Officer, during the Back to Backs events in May. They accept the site's terms and conditions.

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