Michelle writes:
After great volunteer experiences in Guatemala, I was excited to connect with the Nepali people on more of a community level. To some degree, this had been the case on the trek, staying at tea houses and having a guide provide cultural education. On the trek, we had a daily agenda: hit the trail around 7 after a healthy breakfast of Dal bhatt, lentil soup, rice, sautéed veggies, and " pickle" (a zippy relish). No shortage of food here: 2-3 helpings of any of these tasties was to fill you with the needed level of carbohydrates to power you up the mountainside.
At the farm, there were not many expectations from the hosts, as they receive some renumeration in addition to our labor. We had come prepared to pitch in. I was excited to be at a permaculture site and hoped to garner some new gems of wisdom.
Another rustic location: hard cotton mattress, equally hard pillow, the room did have electricity and big windows. Bathroom outside in a tin topped shack, a single holer Turkish squatter with no receptacle for TP (who uses that?). Scoop and rinse water provided in a bucket you refilled out back from a black plastic drum. Shower down a path of shifting bricks. Once again a scoop and water bucket you'd fill out back. Glad I had my shower sandals! To wash my hair, I used the spigot with fresh spring water at the community faucet. This water we also drank, unsure at first, but no ramifications. Sure was nice to be able to put a toothbrush under the tap!
After great volunteer experiences in Guatemala, I was excited to connect with the Nepali people on more of a community level. To some degree, this had been the case on the trek, staying at tea houses and having a guide provide cultural education. On the trek, we had a daily agenda: hit the trail around 7 after a healthy breakfast of Dal bhatt, lentil soup, rice, sautéed veggies, and " pickle" (a zippy relish). No shortage of food here: 2-3 helpings of any of these tasties was to fill you with the needed level of carbohydrates to power you up the mountainside.
At the farm, there were not many expectations from the hosts, as they receive some renumeration in addition to our labor. We had come prepared to pitch in. I was excited to be at a permaculture site and hoped to garner some new gems of wisdom.
Another rustic location: hard cotton mattress, equally hard pillow, the room did have electricity and big windows. Bathroom outside in a tin topped shack, a single holer Turkish squatter with no receptacle for TP (who uses that?). Scoop and rinse water provided in a bucket you refilled out back from a black plastic drum. Shower down a path of shifting bricks. Once again a scoop and water bucket you'd fill out back. Glad I had my shower sandals! To wash my hair, I used the spigot with fresh spring water at the community faucet. This water we also drank, unsure at first, but no ramifications. Sure was nice to be able to put a toothbrush under the tap!
The first day, we picked plums, lots of plums. Like any any fruit, it typically ripens at the same time as does the neighbors. So hearing that they only get around .25 USD for a kilo, I thought I'd employ my farm girl approach--drying, canning, preserving mentality. Then the realities of a Nepali kitchen manifested themselves.
Hygiene here is a much different concept! This rural kitchen had all the best! Brown washed floors, stove, sink area--that is, brown washed as in dung/soil mix freshly painted on all surfaces on a weekly or more frequent basis. This keeps the insects down, as they are not attracted to the dung mix. Strange, most cowpies I've witnessed were covered with flies, I guess that is if it was fresh! Not this mix though, only a dozen or so flies were visible at any given time. Needless to say you don't use the counter top directly for food prep. Big, flat woven baskets serve as the work surface for food prep.
Plums! Large metal bowls with water to wash, as there is no sink basin per se. Then put them whole in to a kettle. Vishnu promptly lit the stove--think wood stove, middle of the day, small vent to outdoors, hot and humid tropical climate, windows that didn't open for cross ventilation--got the picture? So we got one pot going. Then with another bowl of washed fruit, we started pit removal. Chicago cutlery it is not! A gal, Moran from Israel, had brought a knife with her, a coveted item in this kitchen during her stay, since it actually had a sharp blade.
Hygiene here is a much different concept! This rural kitchen had all the best! Brown washed floors, stove, sink area--that is, brown washed as in dung/soil mix freshly painted on all surfaces on a weekly or more frequent basis. This keeps the insects down, as they are not attracted to the dung mix. Strange, most cowpies I've witnessed were covered with flies, I guess that is if it was fresh! Not this mix though, only a dozen or so flies were visible at any given time. Needless to say you don't use the counter top directly for food prep. Big, flat woven baskets serve as the work surface for food prep.
Plums! Large metal bowls with water to wash, as there is no sink basin per se. Then put them whole in to a kettle. Vishnu promptly lit the stove--think wood stove, middle of the day, small vent to outdoors, hot and humid tropical climate, windows that didn't open for cross ventilation--got the picture? So we got one pot going. Then with another bowl of washed fruit, we started pit removal. Chicago cutlery it is not! A gal, Moran from Israel, had brought a knife with her, a coveted item in this kitchen during her stay, since it actually had a sharp blade.
A boiling cauldron of sticky plums scented the kitchen. The others wondered what my intentions were. I had thought of fruit leather, since they dry everything here in the sun.
I'm including this picture for you of drying wild spinach and fiddlehead fern fronds on the rooftop or sidewalk. It works until it starts to rain. Spinach processing: pick in the wild, carry back in large baskets suspended by strap from crown of head, boil, pound the stem with a rock, then pull the stems apart to break down its tough, stringy nature, place on plastic sheeting, rooftops or other surface safe from dogs, chickens, wandering ponies, goats and cows. I couldn't think of a surface appropriate for pulpy fruit leather, so placed the plum pulp in a plastic grid basket, squished it through removing pits and peel. Made chutney with some by adding fresh red chili pepper that had been crushed with mortar and pestle. It was great-- fruity with a kick, a nice addition to beans and rice. For another batch, I added sugar and made a jam for chapatis. The volunteers were more interested in eating these than the hosts; it was not part of their diet.
I made a cobbler with the pitted plums. The white flour crust was more like dough drops of heavy glue. My oven idea hadn't worked so well. I tried to simulate Dutch oven cooking from my many river trips. We placed a metal plate on the kettle and filled it with glowing wood coals from the fire to create heat on top. An hour later, the dumpling like topping was not fluffy or thoroughly cooked, but it was edible and we enjoyed it nonetheless.
Momo making, no simple task: rollout the dough, spoon on vegetable mixture, then pinch shut, steam. A fun group activity! Notice the bamboo basket with dough disks, and Vishnu enjoying the spotlight.
No other activities were planned for the volunteers, so the following day we hiked up the road to Namo Buddha.
The only planned activity each day was yoga with Andres from Columbia - Spain - most recently India. Life is pretty casual here. Not much of an agenda, at least by western standards!
No other activities were planned for the volunteers, so the following day we hiked up the road to Namo Buddha.
The only planned activity each day was yoga with Andres from Columbia - Spain - most recently India. Life is pretty casual here. Not much of an agenda, at least by western standards!
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