Chitwan field trip

This past week I went on a field trip to Chitwan in order document some conservation work that is being done in an area called Madi. Madi Valley is remote in many ways and I was able to see how many Nepalis live in smaller villages, in contrast to the city life of Kathmandu.

Madi doesn't have any electricity or reliable phone connections. The area is surrounded on three sides by Chitwan National Park and on the fourth side by hills that crossover to India.  People are living in a buffer-zone to the park, making it very isolated and it is typical for elephants or rhinos to roam into the villager's land, destroying their crops.

Everyone I met on this project was extremely welcoming and willing to share stories of their experiences. I was invited inside many homes and I was shown around their farms. I saw goats, tomato patches, chilli farming, etc, and I saw people working to collect water or carry hay.

The lady in the last photo showed me her goat, which she said had been attacked by a tiger this week and narrowly escaped. It had an injury on it's right shoulder and she was getting medicine to treat it.

Some people really enjoyed having their photos taken too. The children were especially excited!! They look a bit nervous in the photo below, but the girl in the red shorts insisted that they all come together to pose for the camera.