Tihar!

Tihar started yesterday which is a festival celebrating sisters and brothers.  Ezina explained that sisters give their brothers gifts, and brothers give their sisters money. During this time they worship the god Lackshmi, the god of money, but start with dogs, then crows, then cows, then sister/brother then finish with Lackshmi. 

So far there’s been a whole lotta singin’ and dancin’ in the streets. But the police are also out in full force, leaving this solo traveller a little wary of wandering around too much after dark tonight! 

Mama Birat, Aunty Sita and her two kids.

Ezina invited me out to a party after some meeting she has tonight but I bailed, and my next door neighbour at the guesthouse who is from Peterborough invited me out for pizza but I couldn’t find the place, so all in all I am taking it easy tonight.  I might do a 5am sunrise tour with Peterborough tomorrow morning so it’s better off I head to bed anyway.

The other day I mentioned being thankful for friends of friends who have hooked me up, well today, the friend of a friend’s mother invited myself and Ezina (her granddaughter) over for lunch.  It was really nice!  Then Mama Birat called on what I think of as her ‘inner city farmer’ friends to do some interviews with us.

These ladies had recently organized into a women’s group to help them support each other in learning and problem solving for various ‘household issues’ as they put it.  They also formed a savings group to help create small loans for those in the group who need it, and they farm in the city. 

We met in the yard of one lady who legit had two cows in a shed and her 1 ruponi (1/20^th of a hectare? Not quite sure yet) of mixed seasonal vegetables, all in the middle of the suburban Pokhara.  A couple of the women were in it for ‘lifestlye’, so they could eat what they grow and not depend on the market for their food, but the other ladies were really trying to make things at least break even from the little land they have.

Mama and her farming friends.

Because they are in the city, it seemed that these women were more well-connected.  They had already self organized and as such, the government ag offices were willing to deal with them, as they were making demands not just on their own behalf but on that of the group. 

The women in the hills yesterday were far less organized.  One woman asked how they could get help in their area if we didn’t give it to them, and my response was that they need to organize into a group so that when they demand things, their collective voice is heard. This idea was so foreign to her and I felt bad because that kind of consciousness raising takes time, and perhaps takes seeing it in action.  Again, I feel like the long history of ‘giving’ solutions rather than working with people in their own capacities to create their own opportunities has really done some damage to communities that now don’t know where to start, especially when they are isolated, and especially when they know times have changed and they have been left behind.

It would be interesting to bring the women down from the hills to meet with other ladies who are more organized in the city to have them all learn from each other…  

I am finding that taking photos is really different for the people here, they really don't smile for the camera at all.  I brought a polaroid camera to give photos to the participants and not one person has smiled in those photos either!  Anyway, I had sets of these photos printed off for the ladies and they should be ready by tomorrow night.  I haven’t yet gotten a picture of the dogs with their nice flower garlands and red bindi dots but hopefully I find one tomorrow when I’m not on a scooter!