25 Sep #Nepal Diary of Mission by Giovanni
Read below the diary of mission by Giovanni Bombieri, forestry expert who left in June to Nepal for the project Langtang National Park, Environmental Preservation. Giovanni left as trainer and representative of the Forest Association of Trentino (project partner) together with Fabrizio Calovi, of the Trentino Beekepers Association (other partner).
Premise
What an unexpected experience! I was not ready for the humid heat and the swarming of humanity, I left for this journey with the idea of finding some peace (as I had in 2019 in Mongolia) and instead I dived into this incredible experience and it took me a while to get used to it.
First, the chaos and the constant bargaining for the prices of anything and second, the ubiquitous spices in the food that kept me away from Indian food in Italy for a while!
However, the field experience was extremely formative.
The Trip, Kathmandu
Once arrived, the impact with Katmandu is astonishing, it spares you nothing, it upsets you, but if you let it cross you it becomes familiar. An Asian city that has developed, changed and adapted over thousands of years, without being redesigned by foreign powers.
The image that I still have in mind is of an “anthill” city (in a positive sense): the buildings are built on top of each other in an almost natural way, without the architectural provisions and dictates I am used to. The squares, historical-architectural emblems of the dynasties here succeeded during the centuries, are small and set like jewels in the urban fabric, which is dense and messy, but organic.
The population moves frantically along the winding streets without ever colliding, the same in the great arteries: cars, trucks and motorcycles roam seemingly without rules, but no accidents are seen, it is all self-regulated. The constant is the sound of the horn that permeates the air.
My travel companion Fabrizio, professional beekeeper and longtime traveler, was a strong support in understanding the dynamics and immersion in the capital, but after the first day we separated for the following 3 days of camp, because we had different missions to carry out in separate places.
The Trip, Duche village
After an interlude of a day in the hotel, I reached the village of Duche in the Langtang National Park, famous for the Snow Leopard and the Lesser Panda. During the crossing, first of the chaotic capital and then of the mountains by respectable off-road vehicles (spartan but congenial), I realized that, yes, I was in the mountains, but in the tropical forest.
I can’t describe the wonder I felt when I saw the rice and corn crops on terraces, which gave the landscape that touch of rural Asia imagined but never lived or seen before, with that order and simplicity that leave you stunned.
As the journey continued and we pushed further into the inland valleys, gaining a bit of altitude, the charm of the mountain roads and isolated villages caught my eye. At the same time, nature is still indomitable, and influences daily life by regulating it.
The inhabitants of those places conveyed me a bit of resignation, always intent on fixing yet another landslide due to the monsoon season or building yet another rock gabion to reinforce the road (made unusable by some gigantic boulder fallen from who knows where) or intent on harnessing the stream born from the recent downpours.
The arrival in Duche and the preparations for the GIS course
Duche develops on a mountainous side. The main road is made of concrete, the others, which connect all the inhabited areas and the fields, are instead all dirt roads. The temple of the Buddha stands out in all its beauty and power. It houses a statue of the divinity of gigantic proportions and surrounded by banners and the classic and colorful Nepalese flags. The flags act as mantras and prayers whenever they are moved by the wind. There are plenty of them on the roofs of the buildings.
My room was overlooking the valley, in the distance I could see the Langtang park with its snow-capped peaks, while the village seemed to stand out, with its banners, as the last outpost or frontier in front of something immense that could come from the west, or simply before the power of nature.
The manager of the inn for travelers and locals reminded me of Charlie Chaplin in Charlot, he was at the complete disposal of all the needs of the patrons.
In the evening I met Bhim Acharya (agronomist) and Sunil Khanal (civil engineer), very friendly and kind staff members of the project. We discussed the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) course that I was supposed to hold the next day.
After dinner, based on chicken tikka masala, rice and spiced vegetables, we set up the class room and tested the projector. The following morning all the students began to arrive in dribs and drabs: young and spirited men of my age, enthusiastic and cheerful. They were all graduates in scientific disciplines, some were forestry doctors, some engineers, some naturalists… They carried out both duties as officials for the National Parks of origin, and as park rangers.
The GIS Course
After the ceremonious introductions with the President of Langtang Park, we finally got to the heart of the course. One thing I understood right away was that I had to limit the pure theory parts to a few minutes, and devote myself more thoroughly to the practical part, which, by the way, is more congenial to me.
With practice, showing the functioning of the software, I learned that two people had already used Arcgis (paid software that also in Italy is the prerogative of universities or public bodies) while did not know Quantum GIS at all. So I was able to start from the basics and lean on these two people who kindly shared the files they already used for work (digital terrain models, orthophotos, maps), thanks to which we were able to carry out the exercises precisely on the territories with which they were most familiar.
I breathed a strong enthusiasm and desire to learn, so much that we started at 8.00 am, the lunch break lasted half an hour and then down to the classroom to practice until 6.00 pm. As they learned, the trainees wondered about further applications of what they had just learned.
The best thing happened to me on the second day of the course. At some point, while we were practicing, and I – as it is in my way of teaching – was trying to juggle one request and another sitting next to each student, the most prankster of them – that until that moment he had taken a serious attitude – suddenly called me by an ironic but affectionate “Dear Sir”, instead of the usual “Sir”. From that moment I knew I was transmitting them something!
The conclusion of the course and the return to Kathmandu
During the excursion to the Langtang Park waterfalls, we tried to use GPS and the Qfield app for Android smartphones, which allows you to upload an entire QGIS project to your mobile phone and view your position with respect to the elements entered manually.
I realized that they were appreciating the practical usefulness of what I had taught them and that we had studied together. They also pestered me with questions about my country of origin, which was a way to get to know each other better in a relaxed climate of hiking in nature.
The only regret is that we didn’t investigate too much the naturalistic and forest aspects of the Park.
Finally, during the delivery of the diplomas, I congratulated them for the seriousness and commitment with which they approached the course, aware of having taught them everything I use for my profession and that they could use and improve it exponentially for their purposes.
Instead, they left me something that will always remain in my heart, that is a great gratitude and a strong affection. They said that no teacher had previously sat next to any student who had a request to try to fulfill it, and no teacher had ever shown a lot of energy and enthusiasm in encouraging them to learn.
Therefore, I am sure that I will come back, because I have found friends and there are so many projects to start and carry out. I can’t wait!!