FROM THE OUTSIDE
Three Visits to Chitepani 1994 – 2007
We first visited Chitepani in 1994 when walking a one day section of the "Royal Trek" (so called because Prince Charles had done it when he visited Nepal). Our guide, Durga, led us up a rough track through woods and terraced fields where we watched local people harvesting rice. His mother and aunt were among the group. We entered the village and Durga asked us if we would like to visit his home.
The house he shared with his mother was a one room, baked mud dwelling about the size of our garage. It had a hard mud floor and one window, which made it seem quite dark until we got used to it. The only furnishing was a simple bed and a wooden chest, a few hooks for hanging clothes and a shelf for pots and pans above an open wood fire. A notched log led up to a loft where rice, corn cobs and lentils were stored. From the veranda the panoramic view was idyllic but we soon learned that life here is hard. Most of the people rely on subsistence farming, growing rice, maize, lentils and a few vegetables. The more fortunate had a buffalo for work in the fields and for milk and an orange or banana tree. In most cases these resources only fed the family for nine months of the year. Other sources of income had to be found. In Durga's case it was guiding tourists. Apart from his own language he spoke excellent English and Japanese. For a day's work he would earn £4.00.
In the centre of the village a rough brick building served as the school. There were no medical facilities in the village and the nearest medical centre was a two hour walk away in Pokhara. Just how hard life was for the people here was brought home to us when we encountered Durga's grandmother, a seventy three year old bent double under a load of firewood which the average European man would find hard to even lift!
Three years later and we were once more welcomed into Durga's home. His mother offered cups of the local char, a sweeter, slightly spiced tea and different from the cuppa we are used to. The house had been enlarged and Durga's married brother had moved in with his wife and small daughter. More mouths to feed but two more adults to do the work.
Ten years later we were back in Chitepani, guided this time by Durga's cousin, Tika. We were delighted to see some positive signs of progress. The school had been rebuilt, and was now an attractive whitewashed building and most importantly, a medical centre had been opened. The villagers were justifiably proud of it.
Tika explained a Biogas project fuelled by buffalo dung that would help to reduce the amount of firewood needed for cooking and improve the health and safety of the people, especially children. He told us about a project to increase the number of buffaloes for milk and breeding, to supplement income and to fuel the biogas systems.
Life in Chitepani is better now but still hard. With the financial help of The Chitepani Trust, the village people are helping themselves towards a better way of life.