Cow Dung

We had an amazing Introduction to Cow Dung 101!! Just a couple of blocks from downtown Biratnagar, the second largest city in Nepal, we were immediately immersed in a very rural culture. Blogger won't allow me to attach very many pictures but, trust me, there are more shapes and sizes to cow dung patties used for cooking fuel than you can imagine. Some are formed into bowl shapes, some are flat and stuck on the sides of the walls or roofs to dry. Some are mixed with straw and formed around sticks like logs. The lady in the picture is breaking pieces off the stick type and feeding the chunks to the fire after she got it started with wood branches. Regardless of shape or size, however, they all give off smoke that is toxic to breathe. The women and children are the most vulnerable since they are the cooks. I did get very excited to see a small T shaped stool next to one stove and thought that would at least save the woman's back. Alas, I found it was meant to hold a candle....the women still squat for hours tending the fires and cooking.