Stories of Paraná - How to plant a city

Stories of Paraná - How to plant a city

How to plant a city
Marcelo Oikawa

Tomotada Ikeda sailed from the port of Kobe in Japan for 19 years. Already on the trip realized that things were not going to be easy.
Had to do the cleaning of the third class, make time to study the Portuguese language and to find a way to
used to the weird western clothes: hat, shirt, pants.
But it would be worth it if I could just get rich and return home.
Santos arrived in the month of June 1927 and thought that the fires of June festivals were hailing the arrival of immigrants.
Was fulfilling a contract for a year and half as settler coffee in Ribeirão Preto. There, the boss was called king and never responded to greetings.
Came black car with driver, never looked at the sides.
After he moved to
Lins, where he discovered that the hard life of the settlement never save enough to buy land and always owes to the pa-Iran.
Also learned that camping in riverside caught up malady.
Lucky because survived.
Years later, joining all the savings, bought 30 acres in lkistos.
Later discovered that lerra was not good and lost all the money.
The year was 1931. I was almost giving up everything when he heard that a settler had 18,000 bushels in a place of Paraná, where no one had putted feet.
Tomotada thought that his last chance was there.
Decided to live a new adventure.
The first attempt to reach the place, stopped near Itajai, and had to return because of the Revolution 32. Lost a .38, confiscated. Do not give up, and months later returned to take possession of 32 acres.
Traveled by train, at the end of two days stopped in the woods.
Warned that it was Jatai.
Then traveled for two more hours and colonizing one passenger.
Was left in the middle of a bush closed.
Stood by its 32 acres. Not deterred by the smell because the land had was good.
He was 24 years old when he began to deforest their area.
Alone.
With the bitter experience of the malady, escaped the edge of the river and chose the top of a spike to live.
He built a hut with palm trunks and leaves.
Worked six months with a shotgun and a .38 on luggage.
Deforested five bushels.
Five thousand feet planted coffee. In the third year reaped their first harvest: 500 bags. The year was 1935.
I did not know, but there was beginning a city.
Tomotada Assaí founded and was one of the leaders in agricultural 60s earned the minimum price of cotton.
If he is alive, is 86 years old.

Marcelo Oikawa, Londrina is a journalist


Source: Stories of Paraná, Brasil.