Pigs and rain

Rain seems to be very topical at the moment. I know you guys in the UK have been having your fair share. We are at the start of our rainy season and its been non-stop rain for three days. We rely on rain here for cooking, showering and cleaning and it all collects in a tank called a mandi. Normally a mandi is the size of a normal bath but ours is the size of a mini swimming pool. It holds 18,000 litres. We were advised as part of our cultural briefing not to get into your mandi!

A few weeks ago before the rainy season the mandi was nearly empty and we were desperate for rain. Staff were bathing in the local spring, the washing was being done in the local river and water was heavily rationed. I’ve learnt I can get washed in half a bucket of water.

We’ve put in some gutters to collect the rain but also improvise in whatever way we can.

We all got soaked but it was fun and now our mandi is nearly full.

Something else very common to Nias is the pigs. This is in total contrast to our programme in Aceh where the largely Muslim population find pigs disgusting.
We often see pigs being taken to market by their owners except its more like the pigs taking their owner for a walk. ….

Work and play

Ive been out and about recently. Went over to our Aceh programme to do some training on how to set up a business. Now this was all new stuff to me so I had to do a bit of research and some creative thinking. We are promoting sand filters - a simple way to make dirty water clean and drinkable. The entrpreneurs make the filter from concrete, fill it with sand and then sell it for a profit so they can make some more. Simple!? I came up with sandfilter Monopoly where instead of buying properties you go round buying materials for your filter, doing community activities and trying to avoid landing in hospitial (instead of jail). Had lots of fun and by the end of it I think people had a better idea of how to plan their finances.


Also got the job of team hairdresser.


Me and Chris got our second holiday together; this time in Java. Stayed in Yogjakarta, where Hindism, meets Buddism meets Islam. There is a heady mix of religion, culture and arts all jumbled together in a big student town and overshadowed by "the most active volcano in the world".















Visited temples like this one -




Climbed the Mount Merapi volcano but it was decidedly dormant and shrouded in cloud so this is a picture of Chris in the bamboo forest.

Took the preferred drug of Javanese - coffee























and I made a ring.