fire, machetes and exploring our new land

When all our staff (the Aunts and Uncles) were talking about how there was work that needed to be done at the new property before we could plant corn and our other summer crops, I suggested that we bring the kids and everyone agreed that this would be a fun way to spend the morning.

During satsung we told the kids that the next day we’d all wake up early to go see the new land and do some farming.  Everyone was so excited.  While I was doing the rounds before bedtime, I made the mistake of telling the kids that whoever was the first to wake up should wake everyone else and ring the bell.  Sure enough, the next morning Santosh, Sundar and a few others went running around into everyone’s room at 4:56 in the morning while it was still dark out and rang the bell to wake the entire compound.  

We definitely got the early start we were hoping for.  Just a few of the aunties stayed back with the little ones to prepare lunch and the rest of us packed up some tools and water bottles and headed over.  When the kids got to the new site they oooohed and ahhhhhed and ran immediately for the trees like little monkeys.  Before I even reached the property I could see them all up high in the branches filling their pockets with lemons and unripened mangos and foraging through the jungle scouting out their new territory.  The aunties and uncles and some of the older children snapped right into work mode.  Most of our staff were all born and raised as subsistence farmers and working with the earth is second nature to them.  But when they said there was work to do I had no idea that the work load for the day involved fire and machetes. 

Amrika Auntie

Since our previous owners had grown wheat paddies and there was just dry straw remaining we had to go through and cut what we could and burn each paddy down with fire.  Daju explained that when you burn the old straw it releases carbon which fertilizes the soil and gets it prepped for the next crop.  I looked at the little fires burning with the kids in close proximity and our team cruising through with sickles and machetes.  I stood next to Nurse Emily suddenly relieved to have her on deck.  She was clearly just as on edge as I was and went into a little bit of a panic.  I was thrilled to have Nurse Emily on deck standing right next to me.  “Do you think this is safe?” I asked.  “This can’t be safe.”  Emily shrugged her shoulders and kept careful watch on the kids while we contemplated the fact that we were a world away from any kind of fire department and I hadn’t brought a first aid kit.  Tope was fast to remind us that the kids have all farmed for most of their lives and they knew what was up.  Sure enough I looked over at Sanju and Hansuraj busy bundling the straw into piles and setting them on fire while Karma, Goma and the older girls kept cleared out rocks and stones and anything else that stood in the way. After a few minutes of watching the fire and listening to the snap crackles and pops of the wheat, Emily and I relaxed a little, jumped in with the others and got to work.  In just an hour every single one of our paddies had burnt to the ground and nothing but singed soil and a little smoke remained.

We were left with lots of time chatting with neighbors,  checking out the temple, and exploring the creak behind our property.  We also hiked up a little mountain trail near our land that led us to a monarch butterfly nesting area and some old temple ruins.

We got back home for lunch and naps before the heat of the day set in.  We look forward to getting back there for day 2 again soon!  Here are some pictures from our day.

Kids exploring the backside of our property with LexiKrishna Auntie and GomaNurse EmilyFarm house on our propertySagar and BhaktaVolunteers Carrie and Maria (Fellow West Morris Mendham High Alum! wahoo)Lighting the fields on fireWe found a little water hole with hundreds of monarch butterflies flying around us on our hike and felt like we were entering fairy landhappy goats :)onions and garlic from our property hanging to dry in the storage roomvillage boy drinking water (he helped us when we got lost!)Panka climbing aroundJeff and boysLibby checking out the old ruinsI took soooo many pictures!  I'll post more soon.

passing the time

Goma, Kalpana, and Ganga in front of my room

At around 3 o’clock this afternoon I hit one of my lowest lows of the week.  It may or may not have involved totally losing it, yelling at some undeserving kids and then stomping off to cry alone in my room.  It’s been a difficult week for all of us and it’s especially hard not to give in to sulking around and complaining about how it’s hot and there’s no water, no electricity, and we can’t go anywhere living in a house full of 40 kids who are bored out of their minds.  At one point today I looked around and everything seemed broken and all over the place.  We were trying to solve the mystery of who took the huge bite out of the new nerf football while Krishna Bogati was chasing a big fat mouse out of the kitchen and Shanti spent the afternoon in punishment for stealing again.  There were an absurd amount of flies and mosquitos buzzing around, kids crying and fighting, or strewn in random places throughout the house asleep.  I stepped on a piece of a lego and looked up to see little Madan throwing a Pocahontas dvd off the balcony and Maya cutting at her pants with a pair of scissors. 

I really need to get my act together and focus for the rest of the week on channeling Martha Stewart and Super Nanny to keep the kids busy with some kind of projects or activities (that don’t involve needing water, electricity, or any kind of materials.)  But today I just didn’t have it in me. Our one saving grace has been soccer tryouts up at the clock tower park in town.  A bunch of the girls are trying out for a competitive Surkhet football team and they leave every evening to go to practice. Most of the older boys accompany them and play soccer on the side or sit under the trees and watch.  My goal every day has been to make it to about 4 o’clock when the kids start getting ready for soccer and things calm and cool down.  Then all of the staff, volunteers and little kids head over to the school to play a big game ultimate frisbee for a few hours before dinner and mangos as the sun sets and the breeze starts up.

Tomorrow we’re waking up at sunrise and heading over to our new property for a day of farming with the whole family.  We’re hoping to get our land all set and ready to plant some crops!  The one thing about having so many hands on deck and some spare time this week is that we should be able to get a head start on getting some work done for the summer harvest.

Kimberly, one of our readers wrote today and suggested a scavenger hunt to pass the time... genius!  Any other ideas are welcome too.  We love you all for following our little blog :) 

xoxo from the Kopila Gang!

Bandh

Yugi

We've had to close school yet again due to political strikes and instability in Nepal. We've pretty much been staying put at the house without much water, electricity or internet and passing the time by reading, going to the park to play soccer, and trying to keep the kids from suffering from extreme heat and boredom. We have no big plans for the next few weeks. We are just trying to wait all of this out, keep our spirits up and make the best of each day.

This evening when things cool off we've got a big ultimate frisbee match planned and some chicken soup and rice for dinner.  

photos from around kopila this week

After school on the playground, I caught a high 5 in action!Girls playing on the swings. #Adorable!Nurse Emily's new in-school toothbrushing program in action!!4th grade super star Alisa Poori. Mark my words this little gal is going places!!Awesome lunch cooking staff! Ubji, Amrika and Krishna. Imagine cooking a home made lunch from scratch for 350+ every day?

What my lunch looks like every day! I am a lucky girl.
Sisters!! (Me and Libby, our resident English teacher)

Our male teachers in their new snazzy matching shirts.Learning a song with Lexi and Principal Jeff for music month... "Aint no mountain high enough!"Thank you all for sharing in the excitement over the last couple days announcing our big surprise!  For those of you who were wondering, the strike in Surkhet was temporarily lifted and we've been able to run school all week. It's amazing how much better all of our spirits are when we get to come here to this place every day.

Things have been busy kicking off our first month of school. We're still waiting for a few last minute textbooks and other materials to come in and settling logistics and plans for the new year.  Our teaching staff is off the hook and I'm really looking forward to introducing them. If I've done my math right, we have a total of seven new teachers! We'll also be welcoming some new administrative members to our team starting next week so we've been busy making preparations to welcome them. Nurse Emily and our visiting health expert volunteer John have been very busy bees in the clinic getting profiles, medical assessments and histories on all of our new students.  We've got some big goals for the clinic and our school this year which we'll be sharing with you in the near future!

Love from Kopila Valley Kids and Team!

a big surprise!

I'm sooo excited that I can finally let you all in on our BIG SURPRISE!!!  Keeping this a secret while all the wheeling and dealing and negotiating and legal proceedings were going on was almost unbearable.  But here goes...

The picture you're all looking at is the future and permanent site of Kopila Valley School!!!!

We were able to purchase our DREAM * MAGIC WAND * MOST BEAUTIFUL piece of property in a peaceful village a ways up the road from where we rent now. Our lot overlooks the valley and resides next to a sacred little temple (the first one in Surkhet) with a few huge ancient peepal trees. There's also a forrest in the back with a stream and dozens of fruit trees and a little farm house. The soil is fertile and perfect for us to grow even more of our own food. I also have a feeling our animals (turkeys included) are going to love this spot! Our neighbors are lovely.  The old couple we bought it from was lovely and this is officially where we'll be headed when our lease expires in two years time.  We also have plans of registering and expanding for Kopila Valley High School (9th and 10th grade)  Boy of boy, do we have a lot in store.  

As some of you know I've been on the hunt for YEARS now.  I've had many deals fall apart.  I kept watching the prices of land going up, (post civil war era) and getting incredibly nervous but I kept searching far and wide until finally the most perfectly perfect piece came out of the wood work.  It was one of those moments where I saw it and had to stop to catch my breath a little.  I wanted it so bad.  The actual acquisition and legalities of having it registered and put perminantly in our name took a long time and let me tell you, it was emotionally and mentally exhausting.  One of these days I will sit down and write the entire story.  But really, you should have seen me when I finally handed over the check and we sealed the deal.  My hands were shaking and it all felt surreal passing over the majority of our entire bank account out in one check.

Then something inside of me remembered a very familiar feeling... that I hadn't felt since I spent all that babysitting money 6 years ago.  I knew in my heart to trust my gut, intuition and the wise mentors around me.  I took a deep breath and minutes later, with a big stamp on a piece of paper, the land passed into the hands and name of Kopila Valley, forever.    

We've got a lot of work ahead of us and a lot of big dreams for the future!  I'm amped, stoked, excited, anxious, and of course a little scared.  My goal right now is to put a little fence around it, grow some vegetables, raise the animals there, take a breather for a few months, keep working with our staff and curriculum development, love and hug my kiddos every day, and dream up what's next.  I'd like to thank MedAssets for their generous grant last year that enabled us to do this.  It seems like so long ago that I was standing up on that stage. I'd like to thank Nicholas Kristof, one of my most favorite men in the universe, for telling our story and believing in me! I'd also like to thank all of YOU, for your love, trust, encouragement, and support. I am so excited for Kopila Valley and honored that I get to keep living my dream each day, doing what I love and bearing witness to the children blooming before my very eyes.

More to come!!!! For now, Thank you, thank you, thank you!