Marpha, Mustang
Marpha is situated in
Nepal's Kali Gandaki Valley, the deepest valley in the world. One
of the most beautiful stops on the Annapurna Circuit trek, Marpha
is known as the "capital of apples". Surrounded by apple
orchards and fields where mainly buckwheat, potatoes and maize are
grown, the Thakali people of Marpha make a living from animal husbandry,
trade and tourism. |
Apple rings are one of the various products of Marpha. They are exported by Thakali traders to cities like Pokhara and Kathmandu . Traditionally, fruits are dried in baskets on the flat rooftops of the stone houses, whereas nowadays the use of mechanical solar apple dryers shows the villagers' effort to modernise the place. With cable TV in almost every household, Marpha is getting more and more westernised. Recently, some of the hotels have started using washing machines thus reducing the workload of women. |
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A young Thakali woman presenting us with a golden delicious apple. Born in Pokhara, she is married to a man from Marpha, the hometown of the Mawatan Thakali. Like most Thakali women she is not only a housewife but she runs a small teashop and helps with the fieldwork. Every winter she and her husband spend two or three months in Pokhara or Kathmandu where they meet and stay with relatives enjoying the milder climate of the middle hills. |
Married for one year only, Sasi Hirachan, 23, spends a couple of days in her parents' hotel helping them out. Pregnant with her first child, she is planning to fly to Kathmandu with her husband in a short while to make use of the capital's better medical facilities. In Marpha itself there is nothing but a small healthpost, and the hospital in near Jomosom is only frequented by people who cannot afford going to the cities for medical treatment. |
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Iccha Lalchan, 15, and Laxmi Thakali, 17, are close friends. They are still in school and will take their school leaving exams soon. Both are dreaming of joining college in Pokhara. Laxmi would like to be a nurse and Iccha wants to become a doctor. As unemployment is high in Nepal, both say they would like to work abroad in countries like Japan, Hongkong, Korea or America! |
Sakundala Lalchan, 29, studied commerce and now runs a small shop in the center of Marpha. She gets help from her husband Raju who owns a dance club. Though she grew up in Dumre and Pokhara, Sakundala likes living in Marpha. She got a small son and a baby daughter which she will probably send to boarding school in Pokhara in a few years. Like other Thakali people, she has not got a very high opinion of the village's Government school. |
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Gyanumaya is a Magar girl whose family originates from neighbouring Myagdi district. She is 16 years old and has already left school. She has no plans for the future, though she dreams of working abroad as her parents are poor. Presently, she is helping her mother with the house- and fieldwork and is looking after her smaller sisters and brothers. |
At the age of 30, Mankumari BK is still single and living with her parents. As a child she broke her leg which never healed properly, so now it is hard for her to find a husband. Mankumari makes her own money by weaving carpets which she sells to tourists passing through the village. As the daughter of a blacksmith, she also makes metal pots and other utensils. |
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Rubina BK,18, was born in Lete which is a few hours down the valley. The daughter of a poor family, she worked in Kathmandu washing dishes when she was still a child. Few years ago she got married and moved to Marpha, against her parents will who disagree of her husband. She works in rich people's fields as her husband's income as a tractor driver in neighbouring Jomosom is not high enough for the young family. Rubina would prefer to live in a city, she hopes to move to Pokhara soon with her daughter and her husband. |
Visiting her sisters and brothers, Sunita BK, 18, spends the afternoon in Marpha. She lives in Syang, half an hour from Marpha, with her Indian husband. Right now she is a housewife only, but as soon as her child is old enough she wants to start working as a teacher in Dumba, a village closeby. In the long run, Sunita and her husband want to make enough money to move to a city or even to Korea. |
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Every day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Punmaya BK, 18, works in the village phone house. Although many villagers have cordless phones at home, the public phone is busy all day long, especially as the connection almost never fails. As one of the few young people with a safe and well-paid job, Punmaya can regard herself as lucky, though she would prefer to go to college - if only her parents could afford it. |
Mankumari Nepali, 27, takes a break from the fieldwork. Sometimes she works in the fields of her in-laws, sometimes she earns money in rich people's fields. Born in Lete, the mother of three enjoys living in Marpha. Though she feels that her family is very poor, she cannot imagine leaving the village for labour migration. Unlike other people, she even stays here in winter. Only once in her life - last year - she had gone to Pokhara when one of her childen was sick. |
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Being a very ambitious
woman, Mitu Rana, 26, hopes her stay in Marpha will not be for too
long. Originally from Palpa district where she did her first training
as a nurse, she has worked in many places all around Nepal since.
She is not satisfied with her qualifications yet, so she is planning
to take further exams in two years time. |
Pabitra and Raja both come from poor families from the hill regions. They are working in a hotel in Marpha. Sadly, there are still plenty of child workers in Nepal, most of them not as lucky as these two girls. Though there is a lot of work to do for everybody in the hotel, the hotel owner is sending them to school. |
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