I haven't had Internet access for a few days - the connection to the house isn't working, and we haven't had time to call the company to tell them to fix it. I followed the line that comes into the modem to figure out where it comes out of the wall. It actually came in through the window, so I followed it up the stairs, to the roof, where it went over to the roof of the building two houses down. This wasn't a thick cable line either... its basically a telephone line going off who knows where.
On Friday, we went to ICRISAT, a non-profit organization whose motto is "Science with a Human Face". All of the other non-profits we have visted have been small offices above stores and apartments, and we assumed that we were heading to another such place, but when we got off the bus, we found ourselves at the gate of an enormous 4000 acre complex.
The campus had a very international feel. We were told the water was safe to drink, and there was clearly lots of money involved. Four villages had been cleared to make room for the complex, and there were four lakes and and a variety of soils (the reason the location was chosen). After all the small places with shoestring budgets and an activist feel, it felt odd to be in comfortable air conditioned buildings and seeing displays touting collaborations with multinational corporations and the World Bank.
The reason we were there was to meet with Dr. Goad, who is heading a partnership between ICRISAT (which focuses on crops suited for semi-arid conditions) and the WWF. Rice is not one of the crops usually focused on by ICRISAT, but the fact that it is grown in semi-arid climates brought their attention, and the WWF is interested in the water saving aspects. We are trying to find some work we will be able to do with them, in order to get down to Hyderabad occasionally to visit with Dolly's family.
We spoke with Dr. Goad and his team, and joined them for lunch in the cafeteria, where I had lamb briyani - my first red meat since getting on the plane! The director of the whole project is going to be flying in from Geneva next week, so we have postponed our plans to travel to Bilsapur by about ten days in order to meet with him. It is a bit of a letdown to be staying around so long here. We have some unfinished business that we will be able to take care of, but not a week and a half worth. We have discussed with Jacob, our contact at JSS the possibility of some field trips, so we may be out in the rice patties soon anyway!
We went and visited two other non-profits in the afternoon/evening, and drove home in a downpour, getting soaked in the open auto rickshaw. The rains signal the start of the rainy season, and the end of the hottest part of the year, at least in Hyderabad - weather.com says Bilaspur will remain hot for a while longer.
