HIS OUTFIT, TOOLS, AND TYPES OF EQUIPMENT
On the way to the farm, Geswani was seen in his “uniform.” The attire was a trademark top-and-down outfit, brown or light green, made of all-cotton khaki. The top was a jumper-style short-sleeve shirt, with buttons from the neck down to the chest level and a breast pocket on the left side. Like the top, the pair of shorts was large. A belt of the same material, sown without a buckle, was inserted into the waistline folder and tied firmly in front. The shorts had two pockets plastered on them. He wore easy-wear or cross sandals made of used vehicle tires to match.
These were the basic tools he employed: a standard-size cutlass, a large cutlass, a hoe, a digging chisel, and a knife. All were metallic, usually of iron, and hand-held wooden parts. While the standard-size cutlass was for land clearing, the large cutlass was used for harvesting oil palm bunches, felling trees, and cutting stumps. The hoe served a dual purpose of weeding and stirring the soil. The function of the chisel, as usual, was for digging holes, uprooting oil palm plants, removing stumps and roots, and harvesting tubers. He used the knife for tapping palm wine, harvesting okra and leafy vegetables, and working in the kitchen.
Farmer Geswani also used certain equipment for his daily work. These were baskets, water receptors, and stones or rock fragments for sharpening his tools. The baskets were woven with oil palm fronds and served as containers for carrying items on the head to the farm. With time, the water receptors graduated from clay pots through gourds to metallic buckets. The sharpening stones were found both at home and on the farm, but most items moved from home to the farm daily.
Each working day, Geswani appeared wearing his working gear, carrying water, a hoe, and food ingredients in the basket to and from the farm. The cutlass became a weapon of defense in the hand.
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