Day 3 in Gaunsahar: Deconstruction of the Old House and Levelling the Ground

The view from our house

We woke this morning to our first day of clear skies in Gaunsahar. The snowy mountains were lit up by the rising sun and glowed white. As the sun moved higher in the sky, more and more of the panoramic snowy mountains that surround this beautiful little village came into view.

Project manager/demolition expert

Before breakfast we took some time to plan and begin demolition of the old shop that Shamser, his wife and son had been sleeping in. Chris took the role of project manager and did a very fine job. With snowy mountains as our backdrop, it wasn't a bad environment for working. We had omelette and chapatti for breakfast as well as some delicious sweet tea.

Views over the rice paddies

There was no school today so after breakfast we were back into the hard work. We deconstructed the old shop to a point at which we could remove six windows and their frame, which included a corner piece, without disassembling anything. As much fun as demolition was proving, there was more menial labour that needed doing.

Dal baht

Hard at it

Shamser went into Besishar and left us volunteers in charge of carrying the rest of the dirt out of the way of where the new restaurant would be built. It took us until almost 3pm, stopping only briefly for lunch, to level the ground. Chris' blisters burst, our backs ached, we sweated endlessly and Nepali women and children sat around as our audience and watched, offering advice in Nepali whenever they saw fit. Meanwhile, Timmy wired the new house with some dodgy, temporary electric work and Pujan (Shamser's son) continued slow deconstruction of the old shop.

Views from Gaunshahar

After we had all showered we watched as Shamser used a mallet to break up a huge concrete platform. As the sun went down we assisted in using the blades for small saws (minus the saw part) to cut through thick metal wire which would be used for reinforcing concrete. Then, we were taken on a tour down to where the traditional round houses will be built. We saw the vegetable gardens which included radish, mustard and the occasional wild marijuana plant.

We had another dal baht for dinner and then enjoyed more rakshi (wine) around a campfire under the stars, overlooking Besishar.

Volunteers around the fire