Rethinking High Tech - Advanced home climate control

In our town, the majority of houses are made out of concrete, and almost every building has a corrugated galvanized steel roof. If you've ever visited the tropics, that sentence should have made you start sweating. When the sun comes out, our house is like an oven - the roof soaking up the heat and radiating it down into the concrete box. When it rains, forget conversation. The drumming of the drops on the roof is deafening. And the concrete fosters mildew as it limits airflow. But there's another option!

A thatched outbuilding, recently remodeled. Note dead tire put to a useful function holding the cap of leaves in place.

The roof that used to be on the same building.

Dreadlocks in Nepal

How are dreadlocks seen in Nepal? Should I cut my dreads before going to Nepal? Read on for my suggestions based on my experience with dreadlocks in Nepal.

Isaac at Vishnu school in southern Nepal. (C) Kirstie Bickford.

Nepal Quiz Time Answers

Sorry for the wait! We've been enjoying our holiday season with family, and we've also been enjoying not working. But it's the new year and we're back on track to finish out our LEAD duties!

Here are the answer's to Nepal's Quiz Time:

1. What exactly is an ox? (Yes, this is totally relevant to Nepal's Spotlight.)

An ox is a bovine (cattle, buffalo, yaks, and things like that) that is bred and trained to work. They're usually male, castrated, and specific breeds (just like we use Holstein specifically for milk production). In Nepal, we saw oxen used for plowing fields, pulling carts, and even riding with a saddle!

A cow at a temple. We assume that means it's holy or someone would be using it for work - different cattle are valuable for different reasons in Nepal. (C) Isaac and Kirstie Bickford

Spotlight on Nepal

We spent November 5-17 in Nepal, staying in Kathmandu, Biratnagar and surrounding villages, and a teeny little community called Samitar.

Isaac and Kirstie in the basmati rice fields in southeast Nepal. (C) Isaac and Kirstie Bickford

This post has a LOT of pictures, so please click to read more and be patient as things load!