GONE WEST
Before everything was closed due to the virus...
I left my photography studio in Berlin to plant trees in southern Portugal.
I ended up living in community. Some of them changed the course of my life. It goes deep. You understand your fears, those of others, you become compassionate, you feel empathy, anger, joy, and you become a little more human. It is an honest job, strength and honor.
"Be brave, have courage, waterproof jacket, good boots, take care of your hands, eat well, be patient, take care of the other planters, you are as strong as your team. This is the wisdom you gather from the work on the land."
• • •
Maybe tree planting is the job of the future.
A hands-on solution for the social and environmental challenges we are facing.
"If you sweat together for weeks hand by hand trying to make something out of it, sometimes with pure brutality and anger, stuff happens between people, right?."
Gone West began with one planter. We all could make a change because after all, trees are worth much more than their weight in wood.
I had the privilege of capturing this moment that has generated a great change in me. The answer is to return to nature, to take care of it.
Published
https://www.dodho.com/gone-west-by-camila-berrio/
https://revistaexclama.com/gone-west-portugal/
Published in Greenpeace Magazine, Germany.
