Just the heart

As we trekked towards Kakwagre village, we saw one bamboo house from a distance. The dogs had sensed the visitors already and came running towards us. The children followed them and stopped at a distance. Then they ran away to call the elders who were working in the field nearby. Within no time they arrived sweating from the hard work, The kids had already arranged some chairs in the porch. 

We sat and listened to the mother father duo as they described their daily routine and the problems they face residing at this remote place. Mostly, it’s the education of their children that bothers them. The little ones walk hours everyday for school. Sensing that we were exhausted from our little trek, they served us whatever they had with them. The mother stated fetching water everyday is a challenge. I simply admire the hospitality one gets in villages. You don’t need a fancy place and resources for that. Just the heart. 

They just knew

As I took a deep satisfying breath after completing the trench we were digging, I looked across to find some men making a mesh like structure of bamboo along the rain-fed channel to check the soil erosion. They used the leaves and other stuff lying around to fill the gaps. "It will trap the good top soil", said a middle aged women sitting at a distance.

This structure resembled a typical boulder check dam which we make on higher grounds. Instead of boulders, they used locally abundant bamboo, These men got this skill from their forefathers. And their forefathers from their forefathers. The essential knowledge was passed if not the reasons behind it. There are so many things which science is backing up today with rationale. But several already exited in the form of traditional knowledge systems. They perhaps cannot explain the logic behind it, and yet somehow, they just knew.