Saturday is a work day in India, and we went out to the Ganyari clinic again, except this time we did not hang around for long. Instead, we jumped into an ambulance with one of the doctors and some lab staff and headed out to a field clinic, about 30 km away, which is run on a weekly basis. This was a small building, with two main rooms, and a large closet area that serves as a pharmacy. Like yesterday, a number of people waited patiently to be seen by a doctor.
After a few minutes touring the facility, Jacob, Dolly, and I continued on even further to a village where farmers are practicing SRI. About 200 families, around 1000 people live in this village. We stopped in the center, where there is a "people tree" and a small stage-like platform and patio which serves as the meeting area. A number of children, some of the younger ones naked, ran about. They are not naked from neglect or poverty - it is hot and they bathe and cool in the water. Most families own some livestock and cows and goats wandered around.
Jacob quickly found one of the farmers, who was skinny and had difficulty farming due to a handicap in his arms. Soon, another farmer showed up. This one is more successful - his yields are four times the state average. This village is lucky to have good soils, and they are located next to a river, so even though the riverbed was dry, wells a few meters deep provided easy access to groundwater. Even though the rains have not started, they had planted some of their rice fields about 10 days ago because they are able to irrigate.
We walked down the dusty dirt roads for a few hundred meters to the fields. The fields are surrounded by fences made of sticks and thornbushes, and are each around a half acre to an acre in size, subdivied into smaller plots. In the center of this farmer's field was a small hut next to a well which was pumping cool water.
Today was the day when weeding is scheduled, according to SRI principles. Some of the farmers looked very strong and musular, but not this one. He was a bit older, and his body sagged in places, but he was strong and energetic in his movements. He did a few rows of weeding to demonstrate for us - probably more for Jacob, as we advises them on their SRI practice. It looked like hard work, and to do the job properly involves doing every row, both horizontally and vertically between the plants spaced at 25cm. To do a 20mx20m plot involves over 3km of linear weeding. All the fields in this village had too much water according to Jacob, but the farmers assured us they had "improved" the method. This is apparently a common phenomena in the adaptation of SRI practices; a farmer will not feel comfortable giving up their traditional approach - in this case, flooding the fields, and will not adapt the SRI practices completely.
We saw a few more fields before returning to the ambulance where we went back to the clinic and eventually to Ganyari. We attended a brief coconut smashing ceremony (the local equivalent of a ribbon cutting) for a new structure constructed to serve as a covered cooking area for when it rains. A number of people currently cook with small brick stoves out in the open. These people or patients at the hospital, and their families, and they will now have a better place to cook when it rains.
After a few minutes touring the facility, Jacob, Dolly, and I continued on even further to a village where farmers are practicing SRI. About 200 families, around 1000 people live in this village. We stopped in the center, where there is a "people tree" and a small stage-like platform and patio which serves as the meeting area. A number of children, some of the younger ones naked, ran about. They are not naked from neglect or poverty - it is hot and they bathe and cool in the water. Most families own some livestock and cows and goats wandered around.
Jacob quickly found one of the farmers, who was skinny and had difficulty farming due to a handicap in his arms. Soon, another farmer showed up. This one is more successful - his yields are four times the state average. This village is lucky to have good soils, and they are located next to a river, so even though the riverbed was dry, wells a few meters deep provided easy access to groundwater. Even though the rains have not started, they had planted some of their rice fields about 10 days ago because they are able to irrigate.
We walked down the dusty dirt roads for a few hundred meters to the fields. The fields are surrounded by fences made of sticks and thornbushes, and are each around a half acre to an acre in size, subdivied into smaller plots. In the center of this farmer's field was a small hut next to a well which was pumping cool water.
Today was the day when weeding is scheduled, according to SRI principles. Some of the farmers looked very strong and musular, but not this one. He was a bit older, and his body sagged in places, but he was strong and energetic in his movements. He did a few rows of weeding to demonstrate for us - probably more for Jacob, as we advises them on their SRI practice. It looked like hard work, and to do the job properly involves doing every row, both horizontally and vertically between the plants spaced at 25cm. To do a 20mx20m plot involves over 3km of linear weeding. All the fields in this village had too much water according to Jacob, but the farmers assured us they had "improved" the method. This is apparently a common phenomena in the adaptation of SRI practices; a farmer will not feel comfortable giving up their traditional approach - in this case, flooding the fields, and will not adapt the SRI practices completely.
We saw a few more fields before returning to the ambulance where we went back to the clinic and eventually to Ganyari. We attended a brief coconut smashing ceremony (the local equivalent of a ribbon cutting) for a new structure constructed to serve as a covered cooking area for when it rains. A number of people currently cook with small brick stoves out in the open. These people or patients at the hospital, and their families, and they will now have a better place to cook when it rains.
