Two days after Surya arrived back in the village some of his neighbors came to visit. The day had the feeling of a Sunday back in the US as the group of farmers gathered on Surya’s porch. They wanted to hear about the conference and to meet the “white guy”. I stayed in the background taking pictures and listening to the others talk about what Surya shared from the conference. Surya also stayed in the background (he's crouching in his doorway looking gnomish) and made occasional remarks or answered questions. It was interesting to watch him after seeing him at the conference where he had been active. Now he was primarily listening.
The topic that came up was how one of the young farmers seated with us (not the man in the foreground. He's just listening to the discussion) had packed a new (heavy) plow all the way up to the village from the bus stop in Bagnis. The new plow looked like a traditional Nepali plow but it the "shoe", or the part of the plow that has contact with the soil, was made of cast iron. The plow was made in India and the salesman was from India as well. The initial questions from the man seated in the background was why the farmer decided to take the plow from a foreigner.
The young farmer said he had made a deal with the Indian sales rep that he would try and get three of his neighbors to each buy one of the new plows. If he was able to sell three of the plows he could keep his for free. The question then turned to how much more effective the new plow could be compared to the traditional Nepali plow. The man who was doing most of the talking was doubtful the new plow would make the work any easier or faster.
The conversation continued for a few minutes and became heated at times because this man in the photo, who was still doing most of the talking, felt the young farmer had acted irresponsibly.
Two days after Surya arrived back in the village some of his neighbors came to visit. The day had the feeling of a Sunday back in the US as the group of farmers gathered on Surya’s porch. They wanted to hear about the conference and to meet the “white guy”. I stayed in the background taking pictures and listening to the others talk about what Surya shared from the conference. Surya also stayed in the background (he's crouching in his doorway looking gnomish) and made occasional remarks or answered questions. It was interesting to watch him after seeing him at the conference where he had been active. Now he was primarily listening.
The topic that came up was how one of the young farmers seated with us (not the man in the foreground. He's just listening to the discussion) had packed a new (heavy) plow all the way up to the village from the bus stop in Bagnis. The new plow looked like a traditional Nepali plow but it the "shoe", or the part of the plow that has contact with the soil, was made of cast iron. The plow was made in India and the salesman was from India as well. The initial questions from the man seated in the background was why the farmer decided to take the plow from a foreigner.
The young farmer said he had made a deal with the Indian sales rep that he would try and get three of his neighbors to each buy one of the new plows. If he was able to sell three of the plows he could keep his for free. The question then turned to how much more effective the new plow could be compared to the traditional Nepali plow. The man who was doing most of the talking was doubtful the new plow would make the work any easier or faster.
The conversation continued for a few minutes and became heated at times because this man in the photo, who was still doing most of the talking, felt the young farmer had acted irresponsibly.
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