Chacra (vegetable farm), is usually land rented in small sections by
the poor people from the rich landowners. After the servants have been
allotted their portion of land in the poorest soil of the hacienda,
other portions are rented, usually for a stipulated rental of two
thousand kilos of beans for each quadra (four acres). At the harvest
time the landowner must be paid his rent, either in the proportion
of the products stipulated, or the cash market value of same. This
settlement must be made before the “chacrero” is permitted to remove
any of the crops. The lessee’s family live in the chacra in huts made
of the branches of trees. The hacendado knows the productive capacity
of his land, and gauges the rental value accordingly. If the renter
manages to save a few sacks of beans, after living and paying his rent,
he is fortunate. As a rule this class of tillers of the soil receive
nothing more than a meager living for their labor.