Long working day at IDS

Well, day one was a long day starting at 8:30 AM. I went in with Geetika from CECI and met Prabha Pokharel, Prakesh Koirala, Bimala Kharal and Prabesh Devkota. I'll be working mostly with Prabesh and Bimala for the next two weeks. I have a mandate of three websites and training sessions for ALL the CECI partners in Nepal. Yikes. It'll take a lot of work to do all of this. They asked for a training manual as well but...I really don't think it's possible...

The three sites are for IDS (Integrated Development Society Nepal), BGRCNN (Banaspati Gueetha Resource Centre Network Nepal) and Bio-Briquettes Company. IDS is an NGO committed to improving the quality of life of poor and underprivileged people in Nepal. BGRCNN is a network of producers and parties involved in bio-briquettes and the Bio-Briquettes Company is promoting and selling the product - a low cost alternative and sustainable energy source badly needed in rural areas. They take a destructive forest weed (Banmara), char it, mold it with clay and water and then burn it instead of burning wood or kerosene. it's cleaner, mitigates climate change, generates sustainable income in rural areas and supports gender equity through the involvement of women in the production and marketing of the briquettes. Win win all round.

I got lost today...like seriously lost. Every corner, house, path and wall looked the same. Well, there are no corners, there are no street names, no house numbers, and sometimes no lights. I was wandering around for a while trying to find something familiar. Fortunately, earlier in the day, I had noticed a narrow road that had white bricks on one wall and dark concrete on the other wall. I started singing 'ebony and ivory'. Well, I remembered that when I came across this "corner" again so I used it as my marker to find my way back. Genius! Lucky thing I'm so easily distracted...right? Tomorrow, I'll video the walk to IDS to show you that it's not easy getting around here - let alone dodge cars and motorcycles everywhere. If life isn't exciting, it's not worth living.

Oh yeah, I uploaded more videos here.