Tales from the field...

The most beautiful meeting...

Kaja and Claire: hitching a ride with the milk truck

Travel by 'magic'

One of the highlights of travelling is often the actual method of travel... rickshaw, tuk-tuk, cyclo, horseback, camelback... and Nepal is no exception. Here we have safa tempos, tata sumos, microbuses, macrobuses, motorbikes, milk trucks and yes even magic. So now you're thinking 'really? magic?'. Maybe not quite as romantic as it sounds but a fun ride nonetheless. Tata magics are 10 (officially if you don't count the people hanging out the windows and sitting on the roof) seater diesel trucks which are used for public transport in and around Hetauda and Makawanpur District. And hey- it's just fun to say 'let's go by magic':)!

Many cups of tea...

In the spirit of Greg Mortnensen's controversial book 'Three cups of tea' a colleague and I recently agreed that we would call our memoirs 'Many cups of tea'. Yes- many, many, many...
During recent trips to Hetauda and surrounding villages in Makawanpur District we indulged in many cups while visiting and meeting with local dairy unions, cooperatives and farmers to assess the animal health situation (Claire and Pierre's role) and the gender equity and social inclusion situation (my role). Kaja was even able to join us for a few days during her December school holidays to take in the 'thrill' of travelling by sumo, magic and milk truck and experience small town, village and rural life in Nepal. Offering delicious sweet, milky Nepali tea is a standard courtesy in offices and homes and I'm not complaining as it is often a welcome 'pick me up' and all part of the relationship building process.

The 'many cups of tea' continued in late February during a field visit to beautiful Dolakha District where I met with women's savings and credit cooperatives, local NGOs and community forest groups (CFUGs) together with my colleague Ganesh. I'm more than happy to continue with this approach to relationship building and establishing partnerships- as long as my bladder holds out and my body can handle the occasional caffeine induced sleep challenges!

In the shadow of the Himalaya: the most beautiful meeting in the world

I've been fortunate to have opportunities to travel and work in many places around the world but last month I think I had the most 'beautiful' meeting ever with a community forest users group and women's savings and credit group in Dolakha. Ganesh and I took a half hour dusty local bus ride from Charikot, the district centre, then got off and walked uphill for about forty minutes to a community 'open space' meeting place. Stunning snow capped himalayas and green terraced hillsides dotted with farming villages provided the backdrop to our meeting. Most of the (mainly women) participants had walked one or two hours down the hillside and were enthusiastic about sharing their achievements and challenges and plans and... it was a very inspiring exchange which kept me from getting too distracted by the scenery. However... having these 'open space' community meeting places may seem idyllic to a naive foreigner like me but one of the challenges the women described was (of course!) the rainy season. I was lucky enough to be there during the dry season but during the rain soaked summer months it's difficult to find a suitable dry meeting space and often carefully handwritten documents and accounts are lost to the challenges of the elements. The women were animated and enthusiastic as they described their plans for a community meeting building- just a simple structure on the hillside where the local people can meet and keep themselves and their paperwork dry and healthy. As they recounted their stories, experiences, hopes and plans I relied on Ganesh for translating the words but the faces of these women- the eyes, the lines, the smiles- told a million stories without words.