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We woke to rain and fog, but despite this, the air felt light. Standing outside the wash room on the hill behind the office, I watched fog rise slowly from the crevices between houses and the valley below. Our informal hostess among the CARE Bajura staff was Sarina Piya, a rural development officer. Sarina, aged 27, had studied in India and spoke virtually  | | These are some of the workers carpenter Pyarunath Sunar is now able to employ. |
flawless English. Although she grew up in a comfortable home in Kathmandu, she gave up most modern conveniences to work in Bajura. That day Sarina and Govind Rimal, an agroforester, were to take us to visit project sites and participants in Kolti.
Our first stop was directly across the street at a carpentry shop, where we crowded into the back room. The smell of cut wood and sawdust surrounded us. The proprietor, Pyarunath Sunar, had worked for 14 years on his own. Six weeks earlier, with business and marketing help from CARE, he had been able to open his own shop and hire workers.
 | | Damphu Bishwokarama, 30, belongs to a woman's group formed with the help of CARE. |
As we had been speaking with Pyarunath, a group had assembled in his shop. When we asked whether anyone had any questions, a woman dressed in a deep red, embroidered skirt and blouse and wearing a row of gold nose rings, quickly spoke up. She wanted to know who we were and why we were there. As we explained our visit, this woman's eyes brightened up. She then introduced herself and we learned she was from the local women's group in Kolti.
She explained how CARE had helped them form a women's group two years earlier. In Kolti they were now planning to plant trees in the common area of the village as well as hold village discussions about the free-roaming cattle. Because the cattle graze freely, the village is very dirty.
Next, we started up the steep hill behind the CARE office toward two school buildings where advanced literacy training classes for young adults, including 15 men and one woman, were being offered. Everyone was sitting  | | Pictured are teachers in training for CARE's nonformal education program. |
in a large circle inside the one-room school building. Flipchart paper covered the walls.
We entered and sat quietly in a corner. When the instructor finished talking, he stood and greeted us. Then each participant stood and greeted us, giving us their name and the name of their home village. Janak Rokaya, head of a local organization, was seated in the far corner. He asked that one of the students present a mini-literacy lesson to illustrate their approach. An eager young man quickly volunteered and gave a short, lively lesson on sentence construction.
Continue to Day 5
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