That’s why many women want to go back to the stove

Aromat and Maggi have no place in the kitchen of a good farmer’s wife. Maizena Express is also taboo in the school kitchen of the Agricultural Center in Salez SG. That’s why the twelve schoolgirls learn the “wet enema” today. A name that makes people laugh. The teacher explains: What is meant is to make sauces and creams with cornflour, which has been pre-dissolved in cold liquid.

Cooking classes are one of the nine compulsory modules in the farmer’s school. There are 16 of these training centers in Switzerland. You are more popular than ever. In Salez in the Rhine Valley of St. Gallen, for the first time in a long time, two classes are being held for a year because so many women are enrolled. Some even had to be postponed until next year, says training manager Seline Heim (58).

Schools for farmers in other regions are also reporting increasing demand. And this at a time when an average of nearly ten farms close each week and the high suicide rate among farmers is making headlines. How is that possible

Learning for life

Marina Ulrich (32) is one of the women who wants to become a farmer with a federal degree. Although it has nothing to do with agriculture. Unlike most of her classmates, Oberegg AI’s mother of three does not come from a farming family and is not married to a farmer. The only thing that connects her to farming is the farm where she lives with her husband and three children. There are also four sheep, three goats, a cat and a dog.

“I don’t even know what I want to do with the training,” says Ulrich. The trained asphalt paver has been in sales for the same company for 12 years, currently with a 30 percent workload. Looking for something new, she came across the farmer’s school. “I said to myself, why not? I’m learning something for life here.”

Men are scarce

For a life that is still based on a very traditional role concept. Peasant woman – this is not the female equivalent of the peasant, but a separate profession. In addition to the basics of business administration and law, the women mainly learn how to clean, cook, do the household and plant and process vegetables. What a woman, apparently still the prevailing thought, should bring to life together with a farmer. Those who obtain the diploma are reimbursed half of the training costs by the federal government.

While more and more women are training to become farmers, men in farming schools are still the absolute exception. The job title of rural household manager was invented for them. However, women continue to farm.

“I love this role model”

The training is controversial because of its focus on the household. Some criticize her for reinforcing an image of women that people are actually trying to get away from. But Marina Ulrich has no problem with that. “I love this role model,” she says.

During the cooking class, it becomes clear that many of her classmates feel the same way. In Salez, after the exercise to bind the sauce, it is time to cook lunch. Each student prepares a different dish. On the menu are chabis salad, boiled meat broth, juice patties, fennel and sweet cider cream. “We tend to learn more solid things because our men need energy for their work,” said one young woman. It becomes clear that the aspiring farmers see their task mainly in supporting the man.

Corona as a driver

The boom in peasant schools is also a sign of the emancipation of peasant women. “Many want to graduate because then they are entitled to direct payments,” says Jeanette Zürcher-Egloff (58) of the Swiss Farmers and Rural Women’s Association SBLV. The professional certificate gives the women security in case something happens to their husband or their relationship. Or it enables the next generation to take over the family business.

The desire for greater security also contributes to the popularity of the degree in another way. The schools cite the corona crisis as a popularity engine, and the looming energy crisis is likely to have the same effect. “You think back to your roots”, says program manager Heim. She gets a lot of questions about food storage.

Criticism of the timetable

The training also gives Marina Ulrich certainty: “Maybe I’ll be happy if I know how to create a garden.” On the other hand, she hardly ever cooks the lunch she has prepared at home. Ulrich was responsible for the vegetarian dish: lentil stew with tomatoes, peppers and cinnamon. “The recipe probably came from a pregnant woman,” the young mother says of the exotic combination of ingredients.

The stew is now in the oven and the stock is simmering on one of the stoves. While some of the schoolgirls are still making dessert, Irene Rupf (37) waits until her fennel is cooked.

The farmer’s wife now prefers to sit at the desk than in the kitchen. Rupf is also here because she wants to support her husband even more on the farm – but a “wet enema” doesn’t really get the trained businesswoman any further. She wants to get by better with all the paperwork that has to be done as a farmer, she says. However, Accounting and Law each consist of just 40 and 48 lessons respectively – the Cleaning Technique and Textile Care module alone has 64. “The ratio just doesn’t add up,” criticizes Rupf. In addition, she would like to learn more “real” farming, for example farming.

The federal government sees a need for action

Wishes with which the farmer’s wife is not alone. The Federal Bureau of Agriculture (FOAG) has also recognized the need for action. The training must be further developed, BLW boss Christian Hofer (49) announced. Women farmers should learn more what farmers learn – and vice versa. The job titles should also give something to talk about.

In the meantime, things probably won’t change anytime soon: Aromat, Maggi and Maizena Express remain taboo in the school kitchen. For women as for men. It is about the principle.