Nepal 27, The Plan and Raksi

Up early, I actually slept pretty well considering the snoring in the cell next door and the hawking sounds in the middle of the night. The men hawk noisily all the time, spitting everywhere. Ive learned to tune out!
I braced myself for the bathroom. That done I went back to my room and drew back the curtains. OMG the veiw! There were bars on the windows so I couldnt open them, in the corridor outside was a iron door with huge bolt on it which made such a screaming sound when i tried to draw it back, it must have woken the whole neighbourhood. Durga came out and helped me pull it back, Whoa! Something of a sheer drop on the other side! Both of us stepped back!
When I looked up it was spectacular! The same mountain range you can see from Pokhara, just a different angle.

We didn’t get breakfast because the screeching bolt was not enough to wake the owner it seems! So Durga, the jeep driver and I had a few biscuits and set off for his grand nephews house for pepper tea.
I’m really sorry about not having names, they just don’t stick with me at all. Often they are similar with the second name being different but attached. I get so confused. The Nepalis refer to each other as brother, sister, nephew and so on so that’s no help to me either! I suppose it means they don’t have to remember either!
Anyway after tea Durgas nephew joins us and we go to look at land.
So Durgas plan is to start a sustainable farm, this is also to provide a home for him and his wife. The bigger picture is to use smart practices and Permaculture principles that will benefit the whole community. He is very cognisant of the local ways, unwritten rules of this community and he is taking it very slowly.
We looked at three plots of land near to the river. they were all approximately the same size, similar aspect and all bar one were rice paddy fields.
My questions were; does it flood (other than controlled flooding for crops)? Ive done my homework! Can the river water be channeled for a potential fish farm and where would that go?
Durga did soil tests and I looked at the weeds, which gives a good indication of what is going on.
I liked the lower plot and Durga like the top plot, it had better veiws I think. Anyway he will make his choice.

Mostly what is grown here is rice, millet and wheat. The are small gardens with what I call traditional vegetables and everyone grows the same. The temperature rarely goes below zero in the winter so they have a long growing season.

We went back to his Grand Nephew for lunch and what a lunch! His young wife had prepared a millet dough with curry and vegetables. The idea is you break off the hot dough and dip it into the currys. This is a very traditional dish. Well, I discovered early on I’m a messy eater when eating with my fingers. There is some knack to this, I just don’t have!
At this meal I was introduced to Raksi, Durga told me it was wine, it’s not……its nail varnish remover! God its strong and raw. “Durga this is a spirit” and “No No Didi, its wine”. Then a bit later I’m shown a milk churn converted into a still. “Durga that’s a still and this is a spirit!” Durga just gives me a cheeky smile. I’m blaming him for the momento’s of that delicious meal that I ended up wearing the rest of the day!

Raksi is a spirit made from millet or rice, sometimes it’s heated and ghee added before serving. It’s usually home made.

During the day I was able to look at the bee hives and discuss what happened with the bees. My Nepali is not really sufficient for the questions I had but, with sign language and bit of to-ing and fro-ing, and pinching of noses (to denote acrid smell), I think I know what happened. Foulbrood, highly contagious whichever version you get. Because there is no testing here we will never know. He will have to destroy the hives before introducing any more I think.
He was clearly really sad about them.
It was then I had a thought which really took hold later that day.

Next….a visit to a school.