Food Parade

Orphan farm.  Just the phrase sounds devoid of warmth, suggesting a dark institution where unloved and unwanted children are dumped.  That might be true on other islands, but Galtern is a place that knows the value of its humans.
The ocean farms surrounding Galtern provide food for the island's inhabitants, as well as trade resources.  The innumerable different tasks required to run a farm mean that anyone can contribute to productive farming, regardless of age, skill level, and physical and mental ability.  The farms always have room for children whose families are gone, or otherwise do not have the ability to care for them.  But being raised in an orphan farm is no stigma.  Far from it--every Galternene knows they owe their daily meals to the farms.
Several times a year, Galtern's food parades out from the farms into the towns and cities, escorted by the farms' younger residents.  This is their education in economics, as the farms' dealers negotiate trades with the nearby communities.  The children are encouraged to contribute to the process, choosing the things they want to trade for.  While not every whim can be entertained, no one goes back to the farm without something they have been looking forward to.
It's a day of celebration for the local children, too. Many farm orphans come from these towns, after all, and for some it is a reunion with old friends, and for others an opportunity to make new ones. When the trading is done, all children are freed from their daily obligations, and spend the rest of the day racing, playing games, swapping stories--more or less anything they want to do. Besides an opportunity to have limitless fun, the food parade days are when kids build the social connections that will be important in their adult lives.

Primary Related Location

Galtern

Related Ethnicities

• Galternene