The Gleaners and I : the philosophy and the film

The Gleaners by Jean Francois Millet 1814-1875

I ran into one of my most charming neighbors today, a retiree who said he was going off soon to go help his cousin bring in the olives.

Yes, it is olive gathering season here in the south of France, there are hundreds falling on my terrace as you read.

 He described how he and his cousiin would collect the bounty with a forked stick, gather the uncured olives with big nets under the trees and put all them in sacks only to have to empty them out and spread them in a dry place while they waited for their date at the mill.  Finally they would take them to Italy where the mills were kept spotlessly clean and have them pressed into oil for salads and cooking.

He is one of just many people I know, who are very keen on collecting everything they can from the land when it comes ready and ripe for the gathering.

 I have had gifts of orange liquor and marmalade made from the bitter oranges so often found down here. I have been offered delicious lemon "tarte" made from our huge local lemons.   I have been given  leaves of "Verveine" and "Tilleul"  to make herbal tea (called tisane) as well as wild sage and thyme which grows in abundance in the hills.  With my french companions on a hike I have eaten figs and grapes and berries from wild trees and vines. And I have a jar of collected mushrooms that I am hesitating to try. It is considered a great shame here to waste any of nature's offerings.

For that matter, I have never seen a French person leave anything uneaten on his plate either.

 This philosophy puts me in mind of the great documentary by french film-maker Agnes Varda called The Gleaners and I.  In it she follows people who appreciate the available bruised fruit after a market day or potatoes left by the farmer after the "recolte".  Some of the participants in this great free- for- all are poor and have no choice but others have taken a conscious choice not to waste anything.   And they get a big kick out of getting it for nothing.  It is a fascinating documentary.

It was much the same for my father who lived during the depression in America.  All my life he could not stand to see the waste of things being thrown away that could be repaired.  And just to prove his point he would collect  "tossed " items from the free box at garage sales and go home and fix them.  He had about 8 toasters just ready for an owner.

 Unfortunately though, most Americans want a new shiny one.

  In France however, especially among the people who were born during or just after the last war with all its appalling shortages, this would not be acceptable.  The mentality is changing as wealth increases today but this wanting of store bought does not apply to the spoils of the land.

Anything you can glean from the land is a sacred bonus and duty to accept as a gift from the gods.