Life at SEDS

Today has been a slow day, as a general strike has been called in the area, and here that means that we also can’t use the roads. The strike has been called as currently the monsoon session of parliament is happening, this is a big important session where a lot of budget items are decided. Andhra Pradesh state is apparently campaigning for a special status in terms of government development work, in order to get more investment, and this strike is part of the tactics used to try and achieve this outcome.

So instead of heading out to the field for the fist time, we have been stuck at the farm with little to do except household chores this morning. It seems like a great opportunity to explain some of the differences in these chores between here and home!

My room at the SEDS farm

Morning and evening is shower time. We are lucky here because there is running water from the taps, so we don’t need to collect our water from a well like some of the villagers have to. To have a shower, we fill one of these buckets with enough water to have a good wash, and then use the small jug to pour the water over ourselves so we can wash and rinse. This takes me a bit longer than I usually take in the shower at home, but has the added bonus of using less water than a running shower. To save even more water, I use any leftover water to flush the toilet.

Bathroom and my bucket shower

After breakfast (which was extra delicious today – I forgot what it was called but I need to learn how to make it...) I started trying to upload some photos to this blog. The internet was super slow, so while I was waiting I did my laundry. This involves the same bucket as for showering, except I need 2 buckets for laundry. I make up a bucket of water and some liquid detergent, then hand wash each item of clothing in the bucket. I use a bar of handwashing detergent to scrub any stains or areas I think need extra attention (such as armpits etc). Then I squeeze out most of the water and put the item to soak in some soapy water in the second bucket. Once each item is washed, I use the remaining soapy water from the first bucket to scrub the bathroom floor while the laundry is soaking a bit, and then I start my rinse cycle… I wring out all of the laundry and transfer it to a bucket of plain water, and use the leftover soapy water to finish cleaning the floor and to pour into the toilet for a slightly fresher smell… I normally need to rinse a second time, so of course the leftover water is used again to rinse the floor I’ve already scrubbed (UK people: you can pour water freely over the floor as there are drains in the bathroom floors). Then I wring out the washing, and carry it up to the roof to hang on the washing line I’ve put up there.

The bucket shower is also my washing machine...

After this, my photos still weren’t uploaded, so I did the sweeping. Here the sweeping brushes are similar to old-style brooms, made from soft twigs that are bound together to form the broom. The difference is that here they are generally not attached to a broom handle, so it slightly back-breaking work to do much sweeping.

Here at SEDS there is a staffed kitchen where Venkatamma is in charge. The staff and Manil cook mostly Indian food for breakfast and lunch, then a variety of food in the evening, which so far has included spaghetti bolognaise, Hainan chicken and rice, rehashed leftover curry and veg, and other delicious combinations.

The kitchen

Some of the delicious spices

The only thing I am missing at the moment is our fruit filled breakfasts from our time in Bangalore, and the delicious milk tea we were having at Udupas restaurant and with Baba at his shop. I definitely regret not learning from Mudasir how to brew the tea so nicely, and if we do get some time back in Bangalore then I will definitely try to find out!