The week started with a rise at 6am breakfast and on the bus at 7. But it is Nepal so it arrived at 8am. No matter we drove the one hour to Itahari where we were welcomed with flower garlands and red Tikka.
The colour and sounds were awesome. It was a delightful way to be welcomed to pour house partners community. Next was a safety demonstration and then a walk down to start work on our house. First off we introduced each other and then began the process of building a home for Satani. Satani is old and she has been living on a make shift shelter by the banks of a creek for many many years. Her family does not come to visit for the shame of where she lives and she wishes to have a home for the dignity and to be a welcome place to host her children and grandchildren. Everybody deserves a decent home and it is great that we can help this gentle lady have a safe home so that she can be above the flooding waters, safe under a tin roof and have a lovely home to sleep, have her family visit and have some dignity.
The first day was getting everyone working together and making some progress on the house. Splitting bamboo and removing the bumps is the first job to then weave the bamboo through the frames of the house. It is all very hard work and blisters, sweat and aching muscles are the order of the day. Work went on for two days on this activity interrupted with a beautiful Nepali lunch and conversations with the local people including our beautiful house partner. Splitting bamboo is tough. You do it with the Nepali knife called a Kukri and use a hammer or a Bamboo mallet to make the bamboo lengths as pliable as possible so you can bend and weave it through the frame. Once split and cleaned the bamboo is cut to length and then weaved. Weaving is hot, hard work as well. Bending, pushing, shoving and persuading the bamboo to make a line on the frame. 100’s if not 1000’s of bamboo lengths are used on the house which becomes the base for the render to stick to.
At 4:30 we usually pack up and get on the bus, but because of one of the houses were a little behind House3, my house, came to the rescue and helped them catch up. Meaning that we didn’t get on the bus till late, hit peak hour Nepali traffic and didn’t get home till 6:30 but we came home to a beautiful dinner – including Saag Paneer – my favourite.
I am exhausted, tired and satisfied that we are making a difference and building a house for a beautiful lady.
Pen Lewin 