Gabby Goes Global; in the field, in a field
For the past 12 days I have been traveling to various farms that are currently utilizing Solar Powered Irrigation Pumps in the southern most parts of Nepal. Before embarking on these field excursions I failed to consider where exactly I was headed. Going to these farms and collecting this information was the most crucial part of my project, so when they said I was going in the field I didn’t give it another thought. After experiencing this for almost 2 weeks, I am able to recognize how unbelievably lucky I am to have had this out-of-the-city, behind-closed-doors experience in some of the most rural parts of Nepal.
In agriculture, going to the field literally means in a field. Most of these farmers are subsistence farmers (they grow most, if not all, of the food they eat) and they reside in some of the smallest and underdeveloped areas I have ever been too. My first day here was a large dose of culture shock. Like I mentioned earlier I did not have any real idea, or expectation about what I was going into. Some homes are made of clay and bamboo, there are buffalo, goats, ox, and dogs everywhere, and the roads make for a very interesting and bumpy ride. All of this was a lot to take in on the first day. However, after my first interview with a farmer, I immediately felt so blessed to have been there and to have this opportunity to see a part of Nepal that few get to see.
The people here are some of the kindest I have ever met. At a first glance, I thought I saw how poverty stricken the area was, but after a closer look, I have noticed how rich these people are in kindness, compassion, and happiness. Raw happiness. At each site we visit, the family is always eager to offer a beverage, some mangos or vegetables picked right then and there, and a place to sit in the shade. It does not matter who you are, or where you are from you are welcomed. We even crashed a wedding, in response they sat us down and served us dal bhat, it did not matter that we were not invited, we were welcomed.
The farmers that I had the pleasure to interview, gave me stories that are truly inspiring. Many depending on their farm as the only source of income or production. The farmers expressed how much Solar Irrigation was helping them to have more successful and reliable yields. In areas as rural as this, water is a very valued commodity and without reliable access to water the future can look very uncertain. Solar Irrigation is alleviating some of the unknown and providing brighter futures for farmers.
Driving around here is kind of like going to Walmart at 2am, you never know what you’re going to see. To me everything that is normal here seems so unbelievable to myself. Not only are the roads out here completely different, bu the towns that we pass through as well. Sometimes you’ll see busses so packed that there are 15 people riding on the roof, and on occasion you’ll see motorcycles balancing tanks of propane, or you’ll be sharing the road with a herd of buffalo and ox. Their reality is so different than what I have been experiencing for the past 18 years of life, I am often left very amused during the time in the car. I give our ICIMOD driver all of the credit in the world, she has taken us up and down mountains, on literal goat paths, through rivers, and every other bumpy excursion we have went on in order to get to the rural sites of the farms.
My time in the field has given me a new perspective about many things. I am grateful that I had this opportunity and I hope that I am able to capture everything I have learned here in the profiles that I will be writing.
Until next time.
