Early morning in the village

Namaste.

6am. Rural life in Nepal starts early in the morning, just after it gets light.  In the house where I have been staying, whilst working for a few days in a nearby school, everyone is busy at this hour! By 6am all the family are up and about.  There are many jobs to do; water to fetch, animals to feed and water, washing to do, sweeping and cleaning, cooking and a multitude of other tasks.

6am - The terrace has been swept and mats and cushions
put out for sitting.

Firstly, the lady of the house sweeps the surrounding terraces, and puts down the straw mats and cushions so that the terrace can be used for sitting and as a communal area where visitors are received. Each morning she presented her residential guests with a cup of tea, before continuing with her work. The family's clothes are hand washed in a large bowl and hung up to dry. 

She also takes responsibility for producing the morning meal. The family eats daal bhat before leaving the house for school or work. Rice, with a daal sauce, takari (vegetable curry) and aachar (a spicy pickle) need to be made, ready to be eaten before 9am. The takari is made from fresh produce, picked that morning from the ground near the house. During the few days staying at this house we ate different takari each meal, using potatoes, onions, pumpkin, beans and bitter gourd.

The teenage son has settled at the table to do several hours of homework. He did not need to be told to do his work, because he knows how important it is for him to do well at school. I hear him chanting facts he needs to remember for his social studies lesson; about the advantages of sustainable agriculture. He works for a couple of hours doing homework each morning as he doesn't leave for school until 9am. In Nepal most homework seems to be done in the morning, probably because the electricity supply for lighting at night is not reliable, and besides, few rural houses have many lights.

Grandmother, hajuraama, is busy picking vegetables that she then peels and chops ready for the morning meal of daal bhat. Whilst sitting crossed-legged on the floor, she uses her traditional long curved knife, a kukri, which she holds with her foot, leaving both hands free to slice the vegetables onto it. She takes the peelings to feed to the buffalo. When she walks her back is stiff and bent, probably from the strain of many years carrying heavy loads in a dokko (basket) suspended from her forehead. She has a beautiful smile, and though we can hardly communicate, I often find her watching me and her face lights up and she beams when I catch her eye. We feel have a special bond as we are both grandmothers, and she was interested to see photos of my grandchildren.

Grandfather, hajurbaa, returns from the nearby fields, wet from the overnight rain that has dripped on him from the tall maize plants he has walked through. On his back he carries a huge load of cut grass and leaves, food for the buffalo, which lives tied in the shed beside the house. Before he went to the fields, I saw him polishing his grandson's black shoes, ready for school today. (Sadly no individual picture of him)

The buffalo waiting for her food

Father, a local teacher, takes responsibility for the water. Drinking water is stored in large metal containers beside the house and water for washing in a large black plastic tank, perched on the roof of the toilet and bathroom. This family has the luxury of a separate bathroom, with a shower from the above water tank - much to my delight, as it has been very hot whilst we have been here, and I have been able to have a good wash. (In most of the rural houses where I stay, there is only the outside communal tap to use, so a shower is my first priority when I get back to my flat.)

How busy everyone is, and it may be difficult for people from a different culture to imagine all this happening before 7am.  

Thank you to the family for looking after us and allowing me to write about their morning routine and include their photos. I look forward to returning to stay at the village again soon.

5.45am The family and my 2 colleagues (in red) before we left to walk to catch the 7 o'clock bus.