The Strength and Vitality of Women: Sirsi, India
Noted on June 9, 2011 by Giustina Pelosi in
Written by Cadi Poile: IE3 Scholarship Recipient and University of Washington student interning with VANASTREE in India.
I struggle to summarize one month on the Subcontinent into a blog post, but will do my best.
Sirsi is a small town of 70,000 in the Western Ghats and has played host to agriculture for more than 10,000 years. Where better to learn about the connection between humans and their environment than a community that prides itself on being vegetarian, preserving Sacred Groves and Trees, and worshiping Animal Deities in the Temples littering the forest, plantations, and roadsides? In just a mater of weeks my co-intern and I explored the dry plains of the Deccan Plateau, home to the ancient ruins of Vijayanagar (Hampi), the cold and wet Nilgiri mountains, and our home base in the Western Ghats. We stayed with a family in the seed collective, shared the Easter tradition of egg coloring and hunting with the worker’s kids, and built a composting toilet!
Work in the office is really picking up, as are the pre-monsoon rains. Our garden is flourishing with the bonus water so that we enjoy traditional south Indian meals with fresh vegetables and spices. Every morning we get a fresh jug of milk and I can just hear my father’s voice as he used to describe the “real” milk of his childhood with the cream on top. Fresh milk also means fresh curd, ghee, butter, and buttermilk! The oncoming monsoon season means harvest time and soon I will be picking, sorting, packing, drying, and processing Jackfruit, Kokam, Brinjal, Curry, and other plants I’ve never eaten, seen, or knew existed.
Far and away what impacts me most is the strength and vitality of women. They bear the brunt of responsibility for their families and homes and do it with such grace, beauty and life. I have been speechless on more than one occasion witnessing the emotional, physical, and mental intelligence of these women.
India is not without it’s rough spots and I have surely had my share of ups and downs, frustrations, and confusion. But through this all I have learned an amazing amount of patience, positivity, and calm. I have learned to view every experience as an opportunity. My arriving in Sirsi coincided with the local New Year’s Day and our neighbor across the paddy shared a traditional dish with us made with Jaggery from Sugarcane and a souring agent. My co-worker explained to me how this part of the meal represents life. We must accept all things in life: the sweet and the bitter.