- Playing
- Wood Cutting Trip
- From
- Laura Spero
In rural Nepal, many people have acquired gas stoves. But with oil both scarce and expensive, most Nepalis still light fires to cook and stay warm...and all that firewood's gotta come from somewhere.
Reporter Laura Spero has spent the last seven years traveling to the village of Kaskikot and living with a local family there. She accompanied her adopted family, a crowd of neighbors, and a few surprise guests (thanks to the advances of technology) to gather wood in the forest.
More from Laura Spero
Frying Cel Roti in Pokhara, Nepal
(04:57)
From: Laura Spero
Learning to cook a traditional fried bread in Nepal.
Mahane Yehuda
(01:05)
From: Laura Spero
The elbow-throwing, shekel-shouting, watermelon and halva and bread-selling chaos of Jerusalem's largest outdoor market on a Friday afternoon just before Shabbat.
Churning Milk in Nepal
(04:42)
From: Laura Spero
Let's talk about locally produced food--you've never had milk like this. In the village of Kaskikot, Nepal, Aamaa shows reporter Laura Spero how to churn buffalo milk to ...
Tibetan Refugees Do Crafty Business in Nepal
(03:29)
From: Laura Spero
Tibetan refugees have been living in Nepal for over fifty years, and refugee camps are well-established collections of concrete homes. But Tibetans still have very few ...
Pearl Harbor Patriots
(06:39)
From: Laura Spero
As Barack Obama accepted the nomination for President of the United States, he said that "Change...cannot happen without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. ...
Mission: Garage
(05:28)
From: Laura Spero
Kevin Filici has spent four years building a garage that is now more valuable than his house.
My Dad the World Champion
(05:09)
From: Laura Spero
Just before the opening of the 2008 Bejing Olympics, Don Spero tells his daughter, for the billionth time, of the epic rivalry he once had with great Russian sculler ...
Hairdressers of New York City
(03:07)
From: Laura Spero
Hairdressers in New York City describe how things look from behind the chair
The Third Essay at NYU Stern School of Business
(05:12)
From: Laura Spero
At NYU, business school applicants represent themselves creatively through an unusual essay question.
Patriots
(26:44)
From: Laura Spero
In May 2002, seniors compare the post 9/11 world to Pearl Harbor and World War II.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
In rural Nepal, many people have acquired gas stoves. But with oil both scarce and expensive, most Nepalis still light fires to cook and stay warm...and all that firewood's gotta come from somewhere.
Reporter Laura Spero has spent the last seven years traveling to the village of Kaskikot and living with a local family there. She accompanied her adopted family, a crowd of neighbors, and a few surprise guests (thanks to the advances of technology) to gather wood in the forest.
Broadcast History
World Vision Report, 4/10/2010
Transcript
TRACK 1: I did have to convince that Aamaa I wouldn’t fall or chop off my hand. But she finally relented and let me come along with everyone to cut firewood.
AMBI 1: [loud sudden chop]
So here I am with my sickle, standing with our next-door neighbor Saraswoti and six other women.
Me: Saraswoti? Saraswoti: Hajur.
—on a treacherous slope that is thick with underbrush and thorny things trying to stab my sandaled feet.
Sarasoti: EEEHHH BUTUUUU!!
A few dozen more neighbors are scattered among the trees.
Butu: LAURA! [Sarasoti, Manju yelling from different distances]
The nepali name for a lush forest like this is “the ban.” But you can’t just go and start hacking down trees in the ban any time you want to—there’s a village committee that schedules community wood-chopping trips, in an assigned area. This system helps prevent widespread deforestation.
[men and women mixed, cho...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:In the village of Kaskikot [Kaas-kee-KOT], Nepal, many people have aquired gas stoves in recent years. But with oil both scarce and expensive, fire is still the best way to cook and stay warm. Reporter Laura Spero has spent the last seven years traveling to Kaskikot, living with a woman she calls Aamaa. It’s Aamaa who lights the fire each morning and makes sure that the rice cooks over it twice a day. That’s a lot of firewood, and someone’s got to bring it from somewhere. Laura recently accompanied Aamaa and a crowd of neighbors to gather wood in the forest.
OUTRO:
