Picto Diary - 27 December 2015 - Kaziranga (2) Borbil Village
Above Piglets. Borbil Village. Assam, Northeastern India. 27 December 2015. Home of the Mishing People, a tribal group spread through Assam , Tibet and Burma.
The village visit was not originally part of the schedule. TIMDT suggested that the group ought to do something else after a post elephant ride breakfast.
Ranauk came up with the village idea. The experience was very well received by all of us. Excellent experience for the kids.
Following the visit to the village, we stopped at the nearby Hathkuli organic tea plantation.
Above: Bishop and Drums pose with Borbil village kids. Borbil Village, Assam. Northeastern India. 27 December 2015.
Above: Pig. Borbil Village. Assam. Northeastern India. 27 December 2015.
Its a pig's life.... at least for a while.
Above: Village woman winnowing rice in the breeze. Borbil village. Assam. Northeastern India. 27 December 2015.
Above: Fisherwoman. Borbil village. Assam. Northeastern India. 27 December 2015.
Above Drums observes piglets at lunch. Borbil village. Assam. Northeastern India. 27 December 2015.
Above: Landscape, including distant mustard plant field, looking to the eastern hills direction Mianmar. Borbil village. Assam. Northeastern India. 27 December 2015.
Above: Mustard close up. Borbil Village. Assam. Northeastern India. 27 December 2015.
Above: Bumani (naturalist) OBGYN, FeeBee, TIMDT, B1B, and Ranauk (our handler). Borbil village. Assam. Northeastern India. 27 December 2015.
Above: Home construction. Borbil village. Assam, Northeastern India. 27 December 2015.
All village homes are on stilts notwithstanding that authorities have moved the village inland from the banks of the spring flooding Brahmaputra River. The villagers kept the old style of home building.
Above: Village woman spinning cotton thread. The thread will be woven by village girls and women into table cloths, shawls, runners etc. Borbil village. Assam. Northeastern India. 27 December 2015.
Above: Cat poses at Hathkuli Tea Estate, Kaziranga, Assam. Northeast India. 27 December 2015.
Tea bushes are on a fairly flat area with Cotton trees interspersed to diffuse the light. Pepper plants are growing around the tree trunks.
From Amalgamated Plantations web site:
The word Hathikuli is derived from the Assamese words “Hathi” (elephant) and “Kuli” (Frequent) which translates into a place that is frequently visited by elephants. The estate is situated on NH-37, adjoining the Kaziranga National Park which is a world heritage site. It falls in two districts- Golaghat & Karbi-Anglong. The tea garden stretches 15 Kms along the Highway. It produces Organic Green Tea, Orthodox Tea, CTC Tea, Black pepper and inorganic fish spawns.
As the garden is located in the same ecological zone as the Kaziranga National Park, the company decided to convert it into an organic plantation. The transformation initiated in 2007, finally achieved completion in 2011. The organic status of the estate has led to an increase in the number of natural predators that feed on the various pests that blight the tea plants. Turning the plantation into an organic one has naturally improved its soil structure. There are a huge number of earth worms in the estate’s soil compared to that of the conventional gardens. Hathikuli is also host to many wild animals and birds which visit the estate now and then.
Though usually reluctant to consume organic foods (stunted and full of bugs), I purchased a small box of the tea at the plantation's retail outlet to try out at home. I am much more comfortable eating genetically modified foods (no watermelon seeds, for example) and because of the use of insecticides, no bugs.
Above: Pepper. Hathkuli Tea Estates. Kaziranga, Assam. Northeastern India. 27 December 2015.
Addendum:
Absolutely fabulous.
Bronx Girl,
Pelham, NY
Above: Grrr and Z. Salt Lake City. 27 December 2015.
They caught on to this one quickly. They are given a picture and have to create the same picture using the blocks provided. They each have their own profile which keeps track of their achievements and remembers where they left off. When they complete a puzzle, more are unlocked. It's quite fun and this is just the first one. This one will develop their spatial skills.
Portland,
SLC, UT
Above: Grrr. Christmas morning. Salt Lake City, UT. 25 December 2015.
Image by Portland.
Salt Lake City, UT
Above: Grrr, Z and Roy clean out the fridge at home. Salt Lake City, UT. 22 December 2015.
Portland,
Salt Lake City, UT
Steve.. thanks for sharing these memories with me and your family. The pictures are incredible. Happy New Year to all..
Espresso,
Washington, D.C.