Green gold the avocado

1000 litres of water for one kilo
Thats the price it costs to grow these fruit
Many come from Chile Valparaiso region
Petorca hot and dry which doesnt suit
The locals there who grew the fruit
For their own use
Fruits like plums and apricots as well
Medlars lemons for small holding families
But now the water shortages are hell

Big business has now taken over
Wide stretches of land
They have diverted rivers
Most now understand
Mono culture avocados growing everywhere
Are soaking up the water
Leading to despair

Buying Chilean Avocado’s
Is damaging the land
The River La Ligua is now bone dry
Rubbish on the sand
The life force has been stolen
By the rich and all we see
Is desert and poor locals
Who cannot even be

Living just a simple life
Laundry Every four weeks
They irrigate with bath water
And are considered freaks
For speaking out about these groves
Of Avocados where
All the water goes to them
And ofcourse it isnt fair

Most small farmers have lost everything
No water thats the end
Animals and fruits alike
Need it, it does send
People into poverty
Whilst the rich export it all
Pump water from a 100 metres down
They have the call

The eco systems finished
The community is gone
Politicians are corrupt
Everyone is conned
By this lack of true resource
Exporting it abroad
In special air conditioned containers
That again they cant afford
Then they must be ripened
In warehouses so they
Can be bought by us here
Ready to eat each day

To be able to eat the green gold
As and when we feel
The chilean farmers are suffering
Its unfair trade for real
They truthfully are suffering
And no one seems to care
Infact they are being hounded
And threatened everywhere

So we can have our gourmet avocados
Instagram
Avocado burgers toasties sandwiches
We cram
Many in our baskets
And eat them when we can
Not knowing chilean farmers
Lives are going down the pan

Its really terribly serious
And consumers ought to know
We look out for fair trade
And some of us do show
Regard for the poorer farmers
To ensure its not as hard
But here now in Petorca
The people do feel scarred

They are living in a nightmare
Their animals have died
Their crops they all have perished
Yet the exporters have denied
There even is a problem
Of course they do not care
As the poor get poorer
And are left alas with prayer