The big break out!

Today is valentines day. I think the stores in Patan take Valentines super serious. Its cool to take frivolous holidays seriously. Its boosts the economy. And really... that's all every one really wants any ways. To be loved and to be part of a vibrant economy.

The Power situation in Nepal has been Crap at best.so thats why the curry diaries stalled for a few weeks. But today we are at the swanky "Bakery Cafe" listening to blaring Rage Against the Machine in this fancy bistro setting.

A few days back we were in the town of Pohkara. Its a 6 hour drive south west of Kathmandu. Its filled with cleanliness/hippies/euro people(euros) and villiage people selling the odd Yak Blanket and Tantric Buddhist medallion. You can find pretty much all of the above in Kathmandu except---Clean air and water!!

Pohkara cured us of our 2 month old hacking coughs and Phlegm problem. The air was clear as was the water. After stepping off the bus I instantly felt 2-5 years younger! We came to Pohkara for 1 main reason and 1 side reason. The main reason we came to Pohkara was to photograph annd interveiew producers at 2 fairtrade NGO's, "Children of Nepal" and "WSDP- Womens Skills Devlopment Project"

Both NGO's were too kind to have us come out to their production sites and document what they do, and how they are helping women, the environemnt and society. It was really a treat to see women making such high quality products, such similar products that we would buy at the Bay, Ten Thousand villages or any up scale retailer back home in Canada.

We have even been lucky enough to see products with the Then thousand Villiage Logo on then, being made slowly by hand. It just blows my mind to think that the same product im watching, being made, will eventually end up on a shelf in Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver.

In Pohkara, we spent the 1st 5 days doing tons of walking in the blazing heat. To and from the main production area, and out to Producers homes to photograph and talk to them in their home/ work setting.
Most weaving is done using a "back strap Loom" the oldest type of loom. women still use this body intensive type of machine to weave patterns used for bags/mats and tightly knit fabrics. Many women collect the materials/ and pattern knowledge from the main centre, then are able to take the materials home and work to produce items at a loom in their own home environment.

One lady that we visited really toched my heart. She was kind enough to invite us into her 2 room house. wich was so neat and tidy. Every thing had place and it was decorated with such care. There were flowers in vases in the kitchen and in the living room. She told us that she was so excited to have her picture taken at her home, while working at the loom. I think in all honesty we were more excited to take pictures and be invited into her home. The loomit self was about 12 ft long and took up the length of both rooms in her home. she was able to weave at lightning speed for us, all the while smiling with a light reflector in her face. It was magical!
She went on to tell us ( with the help of a translator) that she started weaving with WSDP soon after her daughter was born. Her mother(like her) also weaves for a living), but she was very proud to state that she and her husband were able to send their daughter to nursing school. Their daughter would be the 1st women in their family to not weave for a living. She was beaming, and we could tell she was the proudest mum ever.

Getting to see production from this side. the people side, has been really amazing for us. seeing/feeling products that are freshly made by hand, seem to me to have a different feeling. A differnt aura almost. I bought a bag from WSDP, and I feel like its alive some times. Call me crazy, maybe its that mountain air or the second hand pot smoke in Pohkara, but I really like things that are hand made. I just can't help it. Any way...

As well as WSDP we got to Visit Children of Nepal. an NGO that i really liked a tone. I like their goal of taking villiage/street kids and puting them into Government schools. Many street kids/ kids from poor families can't afford to go to school. School fees are about 100-300 cdn per year. And thats a ton of money for a poor family to scrape together for 1 child. So this Org trains women on how to make childrens toys/ children centered merchanidise, that is sold globally. With the revenue the Org then pays the women a wage per item, and funds the school fees and daily after school tution program to put ( and keep ) their chilren in school. The program is very grass roots and community centred. It trys not to just dole out cash to people, but to give them business loans and get the family trained on healthy living and sustainability.

Part 2 of our Pohkara trip was to relax and get some fresh air (LITERALLY!)Kathmandu is so polluted, and you really only notice it after you live there for a few weeks and then leave the valley. You actually can see your self driving out of the yellow brown smog cloud that is Kathmandu valley. it is unreal!.
After finishing our work with WSdp and Children of Nepal we had 2 days to actually relax. we went to this Candian- Nepali restuarant and had reall home made apple crumble and a super delicious (warm brownie) with ice cream. Heavenly would not describe what we experienced.

For the ladies that went to hard Rock Cafe with me In Japan, and paid ridiculous cash for american style desserts. you know what im talking about!!

The food in Pohkara was varied but a little pricer than in Kathmandu. The funny thing is that Nepal is dirt cheap. end of story. Its way cheaper than thailand and you can easily live a luxe life on 20 dollars a day. But the funny thing is When you are "living" in nepal, you have to live sort of like a local if you want you limited funds to last for 3- 5 months. So as cheap as stuff is, we still had to budget. but im glad we splurged on a nice hotel and some good dinners in Pohkara. It made us feel as though we were on vacay.

On the last 2 days we did some hiking, not trekking and I swore for most of the hike (up and down) I will elaborate in a new blog. XOXOXO