Surya and I did some planting that first morning. One of the crops we planted was some coffee 'starts', small coffee plants, he had grown out from seed. Surya didn't like or drink coffee but he was curious to see if it could be a good cash crop in Nepal. As was discussed at the conference one of the dangers of development to Nepal is the potential loss of it's "indigenous' food sytem, the traditional diets and foods. Coffee is not consumed much in Nepal but Nepal is urged to grow it by the World Bank and the IMF so it can be exported to the developed countries, Europe primarily, to work of the national debt. What happens is that the exportable crops begin to take over the locally consumed crops because of they represent profit. Nepal has already started to import rice from India and Bangladesh. So, what happens down the road, if rice prices jump because of shortages in that part of Asia? Nepal slows down repaying its debt. It's a very fragile, vulnerable system.

Surya had planted a lot of pineapple, a crop that does spectacularly in Nepal. It is so good and like Mangoes, it is always being harvested and, therefore, available throughout the year. There isn't a particular 'season' for these fruits. The upside of that is that a lot of money can be made to the farmer that can provide a steady supply of pineapples and mangoes.

These are Chuiri fruits Surya is growing in his top 'story', 40 feet above the ground. He is also growing an Asian banana which is cold 'hardy' meaning it can endure colder temperatures and survive better than some tropical bananas like those grown in Central America and Africa.

For the first “story”, the one closest to the ground, Surya planted quite a few herbs, ginger in particular, plus a large area of what is called “dry” or upland rice that doesn’t have to be planted in water. He also planted melons, and the coffee and pineapple in the second story. Coffee and pineapple, at maturity, will be five or six feet high. In addition to coffee, he's also experimenting with other crops (Surya is always thinking and planning). In the other stories higher up from the ground he grows oranges along with the mangoes, bananas, and chuiri already mentioned. Chuiri, remember, is the small fruit that has a tantalizing flavor and is being used to make a health drink and being bottled as Nepal’s answer to soft drinks, like Coca Cola, from the West.