With an additional day added to our village departure date, I found myself with too much free time on my hands and an unexpected availability of wi-fi. (If you received an online message from me at 3 AM, my apologies.) I was finally able to get to a task that's been on my list for a while, though:
Have you ever wondered how to really get that hair off your buck hide? I know - me, too! I've also been trying to figure out how to make homestead-style soap from wood ash. Both activities benefit from the formulation of a toxic base, lye. Of all the videos I watched, the one from this particularly talented backwoods soap maker taught me the best techniques and advice for how to make the perfect lye: "Just get yer bucket...when it's done, you can stick yer finger in it and if it melts off, it's ready (or when the tater is almost submerged)." Though the heavy twang is a little distracting and amusing, the guy has a reputable Youtube sportsmans' library and a number of loyal fans. (If you're at all considering a Halloween costume or improv with a heavy West Virginian accent, do check this out! Or, if you have hunting or outdoor skill improvement needs, refer to Bland County Survivorman.) His lessons sure would have come in handy during an infamous Memorial Day weekend a few years ago...("What the...c'mon...when they rub two sticks together in the *movies,* it starts a fire! Why isn't this working?!..Guess I'll just huddle under this bush for the next 16 hours and try not to freeze.") I digress.
Lye is brutal stuff. But when mixed with a nice, preferably soft animal lard, we get the chemical reaction that makes the efficient surfactant that beautifully removes stuff...like poop from dirty hands. And that's what this is all about! We're hoping we can try making soap and teach the villagers how to do this as an enterprise, though everything will be determined by what they want and decide they need or can use.
Here's a very well-illustrated video produced for the London School of Tropical Hygiene & Medicine that we'll be showing for discussion.
October 29th:
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| ENPHO in Kathmandu |
We are leaving for the first leg out of Kathmandu tomorrow morning and today will gather additional medicine and pharmaceutical supplies to give to the villages.
I am thankful that yesterday's meeting with the local Environmental and Public Health Organization (ENPHO) was productive. They graciously loaned me culturally-relevant WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) materials and activities to use in the villages. I also got to meet the Canadian technical officer from the Center for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST), who happened to be in the country at this time.
I took this opportunity to pose in a few cheesy photos, because I don't know about you, but I get pretty excited about this! Cheese on:
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| A pertinent poster depicting pathways of exposure for cross-contamination |
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| Thumbs' down to flies enjoying our poo and then carrying it into our food. Just say "No!" |
October 30th:
Today was a taste of our adventure to come: fun, humbling, and almost surreal as we became part of history in a small Nepali town. Our team was welcomed as part of a local ceremony to honor the scholarship that Jyamu Bhotia and some of her fellow classmates started for the secondary school there, where she and Karma graduated many years ago.
After our first photo as a group this morning, we departed from our Kathmandu hotel and
caught a 45-minute flight to Tumlingtar, with stellar views over the valleys and mountains. We then took a 20-minute winding, uphill jeep ride to the secondary school in the little town of Khandbari.
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| From left: Karma, Celeste, Gina, Kathleen, me, Jyamu |
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From Kathmandu, we flew to Tumlin. From there, we
took a jeep to Khandbari to attend the scholarship award
ceremony at the secondary school. After staying here tonight,
we will take a ~5-hour jeep ride tomorrow north to Goondande, just
past Num. After camping, we will continue trekking north to
Chyamtang, just south of Tibet. We will stop and camp in
villages en route.
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Jyamu was the guest of honor and gave a speech, inviting us up on stage with her for support. The event lasted most of the day, and we were there for a few hours at the end of it. As guests, we were also honored with khadas and tikas. (The former is a Buddhist prayer scarf and the latter is a Hindu blessing.) |
Jyamu awarding the best student with the
scholarship
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It was an incredible experience for each of us to be part of this special day for both Jyamu and this community, bringing tears to our eyes. We are all so excited about our journey ahead! I couldn't have asked for a team of more wonderful, inspiring people. We are feeling very grateful for this experience.
Tomorrow we will pick up a few more supplies at a large morning market and start the trip up past Num. After tomorrow, we probably won't have internet access for a weeks (hopefully!). I'm looking forward to sharing about our time with the villagers! Namaste!
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| Gina reflecting in the school building |