Out and about

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Roundabouts are like the Keystone cops, only a little slower, but apart from the horn blasting it all seems very good tempered. Not all the roads have a central white line, but the drivers don't seem to use them as lane demarcation anyway. Few of the motorbike riders wear helmets, and will have five on board, sometimes with the woman riding side saddle as well. It all seems a bit scary as overtaking is done whether there seems to be enough room or not, and the sides of the road deteriorate into scrub and potholes. Frank said, 'The rules of the road are, that there are no rules of the road,’ it's quite nerve wracking sitting in the front seat of the vans, but there don't seem to be many accidents.

Through all of India the administrative language is English as there are 15 different languages in the 29 states. In Tamil Nadu however English is not so widely spoken. Charles says the south is discriminated against by the north.
People in the south are much darker skinned than those in the north, and have broader features. They all seem friendly and smile and wave at us.
The main city is Chennai.
There isn't much meat eaten here, some chicken and goat, and quite a lot of fish. Mulligatawny soup originates from here, and it's translation is 'pepper water’.
There is a church behind our accommodation and there is a call to prayer several times a day. Those who are Christian seem to attend church as much as the Muslims and Hindus.
The banyon tree is very common here, it develops new roots that hang down from the branches and root themselves. It has cultural significance as


When I came to India before (2007, Round the world trip) I didn't ‘get’ India. I thought I'd have to give it another try because so many people told me they'd loved it. I think it was because we didn't have a guide. We'd had one in Iran and Pakistan, which in spite of the restrictions and the poverty, enabled me to see the best of those countries. But India seemed a mess of bureaucracy, chaos and litter, but this time… I'd heard that the south is nicer than the north anyway, and we have a guide. But I love it, and I'd like to come again.
Wednesday morning we had a three hour drive to a village school in Keela Vilathikulam, snother area that SCAD supports. This school they do not fund, but have renovated. The village children, 35 or so, lined up to give us a flower each, and the ubiquitous orange paste and red powder on the forehead, then we all filed into the school while the deputy of SCAD told us detail after detail until Toni said the children must be bored, can we sing. So she and I sang ‘Everybody do this’ll and ‘Heads and shoulders, knees and toes’. They loved it and then sang a rain song or two to us. (Steven later showed me the video he'd take of us; with Toni and I bending down touching our toes in front of the camera, it was a 'Full moon tonight’ and when she told up Toni's skirt was stuck up the crack in her bum).
The water project that SCAD had built here is fairly dry at the moment as the last monsoon failed, but there is some water in the borehole. Men as well as women collect and carry water, inlike in Africa where it is women's work only. We looked at the local temple of one of the minor gods; apparently each village had its own minor god to worship, in the same way that our churches are often named after a saint.
We meet the village women's cooperatives, three in all, named after flowers. I took some photos of the little children which charmed them all, and bought a bright yellow macrame’d elephant's head. I think it might be like a crinoline ladies loo roll holder, but I wanted to buy something and as i love elephants and bright colours, maybe I will put it somewhere, though it is outrageously yellow. We had a picnic cooked for us by the farmer's wife, and then looked round the farm. The farm land is rented and farmed by a progressive farmer, who irrigates and uses microbes and compost, and is president of a local confeferation of farmers, offering help and advice under SCAD’s umbrella.
Thursday we went to the salt pans in Tuticorin, 75 kms away, where salt water is pumped from under the ground into big squares. Over three weeks the water evaporates and the salt is raked by men and carried by women to large, glistening piles and then covered by tarpaulins. SCAD first started working with saltpan workers in 1986 as they were the lowest paid and of the lowest caste. When it rains they cannot work for three weeks as the pans become too dilute, and in the monsoon they can't work for at least three months. During this time the workers borrow from money lenders at 36% interest as they did not have enough collateral to borrow from the banks (at 12% interest). SCAD has helped over the years by enlisting governmemt help to increase the daily rate to 280 rupees (for women, and 290 for men) and by setting up a loan scheme within the women’s cooperatives so by saving one rupee a day they have no need of moneylenders and can bank their savings and earn their own interest. This scheme is now sustainable and self financing. The are health problems associated with the salt pans; cataracts, ulcers on feet and legs, neck and back problems. Charles distributed some sunglasses to the women who posed for photos, then we visited a kindergarten in the salt pans workers village. Toni and I gave them some of the equipment we had bought, but actually they already had equipment and the children looked happy and well cared for. We tried some of the nutritious powder they make for pregnancy and lactating mothers, and babies. The whole programme is geared towards health and education.
We then went to KVK (Farm Science Centre) which is the main farmers’ education and distribution centre, as well as nutrition training centre. This will supply the centre we have built, and enable farmers who live too far away from the KVK centre to access this programme. The farmers can have their soil tested and get advice on what fruit and vegetable are best suited to their soil type.
We have all found these last two days too long and are agreed on thinking we'd rather work in the morning and have a free afternoon instead.




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