The monsoon has officially arrived. Just between you and me, I was never very convinced by the ‘Dry Season’ here, which seemed like a very damp experience. But it’s all relative, and I can now see that the ‘Dry’ is relative to what is building up, and from time to time dropping down, around me. It is rather romantic indoors with a cup of tea, and rather less so pulling the leeches off in a jungle whilst trying to stop a roll of flip charts from dissolving in your hands. But romantic or not, the monsoon is here and has broadcast its intention to stay until at least September.

However, unless the rains actually wash the roads away (as does happen from time to time) they will not effect our work too drastically and despite the lack of a nice view, the last two weeks have been focused primarily on the remaining field visits, and some planning now that we know rather better where we are to work. The reports below on the final visits show an extraordinary variety of projects, despite the apparent similarity of the needs of these communities. Some are extremely poor, apparently abandoned by local authorities and landowners, with housing consisting of little more than mud walls and plastic sheets. We have met the first seriously malnourished children this week. And yet, on the other hand, some villages have managed to produce an impressive culture of self-help and although not having considerably more money, have used local initiative to produce vibrant small communities.

Unless the rains actually wash the roads away (as does happen from time to time) they will not effect our work too drastically and despite the lack of a nice view, the last two weeks have been focused primarily on the remaining field visits.

On the basis of the reality-check provided by these first visits, we sat down to reassess our approach. Certain communities seem to be doing rather well, whilst others are in a very bad way. We will continue to work in all these twelve and will not turn to the back-up communities, but our next visits are going to focus on finding where the greatest need within each community actually lies. In many cases, this will be in the parts of the village further from the road, where investment and ideas do not so often percolate.

I can also report a useful meeting with the government Labour Officer to finalise our staff employment package, the insurance of the office and its contents, the production of a workplan for the next three months, and a plan for the next quarterly report which we are aiming to produce in the first week of July. There is also a new e-mail connection in town which should make sending attachments considerably easier, and I have been asked to leave my flat to make way for a bank. Two faces of ‘development’.

Sumbuk
The majority of the people living in this village are from the Subba clan who originally inhabited the Eastern part of Nepal. Because of their bravery, they form the bulk of the people recruited in the British and the Indian Gurkha regiments.

The village suffered from a lot of political violence in the past especially during the agitation period of the late ‘80s. It remained cut off from the rest of Darjeeling because the inhabitants had opposed the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland. It was only after the fighting that Sumbuck got its roads and other communications restored. However, it still does not have a telephone.

The people in general are employed in the agricultural sector. Their main agricultural products are oranges, maize, squash, potatoes, and paddy, and there are more pigs and fewer cows than in the villages of other clans. In the centre of the village is an impressive primary school and a dispensary run by Catholic nuns. We will visit the area again to assess the quality of life further out from this support in the centre.

Lower Lingten
One of the most adventurous visits was this small village. The path which joins it to the main roads is very steep and slippery, virtually cutting it off from the rest of the world. For the field team, this village will be a challenging place to work. The villagers too face a lot of difficulty, for example in taking the sick and dying people to the health centre in the nearby town because the only way to reach the main road is by foot.

According to the villagers Lingten is just above a river which has “a lot of” fish, but people depend upon agriculture and animal husbandry for their livelihoods. They primarily work in paddy fields and also sell their milk product to Sombara a small town situated about 4 hours walk away.

Many of the villagers have migrated to the nearby towns and villages of Nepal in order to find work. The youth of this village are talented and they seem to be interested in vocational training for their economic upliftment.

The village is extremely poor, and people were working so hard in the paddy fields that we could meet only a small group for the PRAs. They welcomed us, but advised that we return in July when there would be more time for us all to talk.

Beliefs and practices in the Villages of Darjeeling
A very common traditions in Darjeeling is that the local villagers decorate spring water sources as a shrine. At such springwater sites, oil lamps, incense sticks, milk, and portraits of God and Goddesses are worshipped. These areas remain untouched by human and animal activities because of the villagers’ belief that any contamination or littering of this holy place will anger the God and Goddesses who are present in that area resulting in the drying up of sources and spread of diseases. Many people also believe that the water from the source is provided and controlled by one of the Gods who is worshipped in the form of the snake and is locally known as “Nag Devta”. It is very common to see large leaved trees and shrubs such as wild bananas and bamboos planted by the villagers in these areas, an age-old tradition that helps to keep the water clean and plentiful.

Turzum Tea Estate
This village started with just twelve houses, so people originally called it ‘Dozen’. Over time the name slowly changed to ‘Turzum’ as it is called today. The main source of livelihood for the people here is tea as the area is surrounding by tea gardens. A few people are engaged in the Indian army and a few work in animal husbandry.

The main attraction for the villagers of Turzum is the presence of a large football ground built in the early ‘40s by one of the British managers of the tea estate. The play ground serves as a meeting point for all the villagers. There is also a small health dispensary which provides medicines for minor illness, but for serious sickness, the villagers have to go to nearby towns.

Our first visits suggest that people are fairly aware about health and hygiene. They mostly have pit latrines, but they are not properly built and are often unhygienic. Some who can afford have built latrines with septic tanks. The major problem according to the villagers is the limited supply of safe drinking water. The tea garden management provides water to the village but the amount supplied is insufficient. The only other source for the villagers as an alternative is to collect spring water from the nearby area but the catchment area there is very dirty and not at all fit for drinking.

Bisacre
Situated in Okayti Tea Estate about two hours drive from Darjeeling, the village got its name from a Nepalese word ‘bisacre’ which means twenty acres of land. The tea estate was closed for 10 years and reopened in 1990. During this period the village had to face a lot of economic problems. They started to plant trees which provided fuel and fodder.

Most of the villagers here principally work as labourers in the tea estate. But there are problems of unemployment prevailing in the village mainly amongst the youth. Many of them have migrated to the nearby towns and villages of Nepal including metropolitan cities of India in order to find work. The youth of this village are talented and they seem to be interested in vocational training for their economic upliftment.

There is a newly constructed dispensary which is not yet functional. The Hill Council is responsible for providing medicines and personnel for running the dispensary. Presently, the Hill Council also runs two schools. Bisacre has numerous springs from where the villagers get their water supply. These springs are located in places downstream of tea plantations risk getting contaminated by the run off chemicals used in the factory especially herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers if upstream is a non-organic tea garden.

Plungdung
This is a tribal village, just below the small town of Sukhia Pokhari. Agricultural and animal husbandry are the main activities, and a handful are involved in Government jobs. The chief agricultural products of the area are cardamom and potatoes. Milk and other dairy products are also produced, and ‘Himul’, a cooperative dairy company has a milk collection. Like many other villages in Darjeeling, there is an active youth club which is involved in lot of social, cultural, and sporting events. The unemployed youth of Plungdung seem quite conscious about their future and they are ready to take initiative to help themselves.

I have always believed in the ability of our hill folks to overcome the present problems of poverty, unemployment, low productivity of land etc. if they can be provided with the needed resources.

There is one sub health centre which opens twice a week while doctors visit only once a week. The most commonly observed sicknesses are headache, fever, and diarrhea. This is not surprising, since the villagers said that they do not boil drinking water, and they are unaware of the importance of hand-washing.

The catchment area of the village lies in the forest area which, though marshy during monsoon, dries up during the dry seasons, making scarcity of water a major problem, and the village application centered on a possible water project. The villagers of Plungdung show a very high level of organization and enthusiasm, so Mercy Corps hopes that we together we can build a strong partnership and form an useful series of development initiatives.

In Their own Words: Mercy Corps Staff
I was born and brought up in the laps of the Himalayas, and I consider it to be a privilege to be working for the upliftment of folks here in the hills. Visiting the rural areas as a kid was perhaps the time that the deep sense of belonging to the hills was implanted in my heart. I was completely mesmerized by the picturesque beauty of these places but was always pained to see the suffering of the people living in such areas. I have always believed in the ability of our hill folks to overcome the present problems of poverty, unemployment, low productivity of land etc. if they can be provided with the needed resources.

Perhaps as a skilled and experienced facilitator I myself will be such a resource! As the Field Officer for Community Mobilization, my responsibilities are primarily to lead and manage participation in Mercy Corps’ development program. Together with my other colleagues I am confident that we will be able to bring positive changes in the lives of the people here in the midst of the Himalayas. As they say ‘Mercy Changes Lives’!




Contributed by Colin Spurway, Mercy Corps' Darjeeling Project Director.

To read another Global Envision article about Mercy Corps' CHAI project see A Passage from India: Avoiding Tourists and Mapping Villages.