Manual labour in Nepal

@JudyEv (381745)
Rockingham, Australia
February 13, 2020 12:46am CST
We’ve just spent three weeks in Nepal and the people work really hard, especially those doing manual labour. We saw a building going up between two small shops. Women were loading cane baskets with rubble. They wore a cloth band round their forehead which went back round the baskets to help them carry their load to another area. I snapped the single person from the bus window on the way to Pokhara. In the other top photo, the men carrying the big bales have bands round their heads too. One can only guess at the damage being done to their necks and backs. We saw pushbikes/bicycles without chains which were used simply as a load-carrying apparatus. Some, like the one in the photo, had a cart affair which might be laden with gas bottles or whatever. We saw a rickshaw carrying three quite large tourists and a teenage boy struggling to pedal his load on the uneven road. The bicycle was fixed-wheel (no gears). The other photo shows a rubbish truck being stacked with bags of rubbish. These were tossed up by hand from a person on the ground to the man on top of the truck. By the time our bus left the load was much higher. The streets in our area were quite clean from time to time. There were always people sweeping their shops and front steps, then throwing buckets of water out in front of their shops, I guess to settle the dust. There seemed to be no shortage of water.
11 people like this
11 responses
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
13 Feb 20
That reminds me when I was a kid in Italy. There were many workers who did everything manually and the city was clean and a lot better than it is now, full of "robots" looking at their smartphones.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
13 Feb 20
@JudyEv That is the difference, they work and the use the phone "if necessary". I have the feeling that young people here think that watching their phone is the only important thing in life.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
13 Feb 20
@kepweng No, I only have Italian citizenship.
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@JudyEv (381745)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Feb 20
Even the poor people in Nepal seemed to have mobile phones but they weren't on them all the time.
1 person likes this
• Agra, India
13 Feb 20
Here people don't realise the importance of wate.r
2 people like this
@JudyEv (381745)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Feb 20
I don't know where all the water comes from but there seems to be plenty of it.
1 person likes this
• Agra, India
15 Feb 20
@JudyEv yes ...t But they should realise the value of money
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@rebelann (117196)
• El Paso, Texas
14 Feb 20
I wonder if they built up strength over the years to make it easier to carry loads like that, I wouldn't dare try to do that. it's amazing what the human body can be adapted to do if it has to.
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@JudyEv (381745)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Feb 20
Maybe they do although I've heard that the African women who carry large loads on their heads end up with back and neck problems.
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@rebelann (117196)
• El Paso, Texas
14 Feb 20
Makes sense @JudyEv I just wonder how the cope with those kinds of injuries.
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@JudyEv (381745)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Feb 20
@rebelann You'd have to wonder. I'm sure many just get old before their time.
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@Janet357 (75638)
13 Feb 20
those baskets must be backbreaking.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (381745)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Feb 20
They would be. No wonder people become old before their time.
13 Feb 20
Thanks for sharing your great experience on visiting a foreign country most especially appreciating the people there that live a more simpler yet hard working life. Have a great day!
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@JudyEv (381745)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Feb 20
Thanks for the kind words. They work so hard yet mostly are cheerful and seem happy.
1 person likes this
13 Feb 20
@JudyEv I like those kind of people who are really enjoying their simple life and away from all of the technicality. Sometimes, we need a more simpler and labor intensive approach to things in order to appreciate the small things. Thank you for your response and you're welcome!
1 person likes this
@Wana1234 (1518)
• Zambia
13 Feb 20
Thank you for sharing your experiences in Nepal, I can see that people really works hard there.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (381745)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Feb 20
Those working in construction and on the streets and roads do work really hard.
@allen0187 (59648)
• Philippines
22 Feb 20
Nepalese are hard-working. How much did you pay for your trip? And why'd you choose Nepal to visit? Just curious.
• China
13 Feb 20
How hard they are working ! They seem to go short of labour-saving devices.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381745)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Feb 20
It is a poor country and some are battling to make ends meet.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
13 Feb 20
And they are better for it. Nothing wrong with a bit of hard work. Some people could do with that around my way.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381745)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Feb 20
True but some of their methods are going to result in health problems in later life.
@marlina (154103)
• Canada
13 Feb 20
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences in Nepal. The people in the photos certainly are working very hard. Is there any "modernity" anywhere?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381745)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Feb 20
There are modern hotels with all the conveniences but you pay for them. Ours was cheap and clean but pretty basic. I'll write about it one day.
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Feb 20
They have to work hard in order to survive.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381745)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Feb 20
They do indeed. They would be so 'old' by 60.
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