"For how many days are we going to mourn our losses? You got to earn a living to survive and move on" said Ashman Biswo Karma, one of earthquake victims, who lost his home and presently lives in a tent.Biswo Karma, who earns a living making metal wares in the village, was seen particularly busy on Saturday morning. Although the earthquake destroyed his home, his tools were not damaged. He spends most of his time in making sickles and spades for the villagers in his make-shift workshop, set up within his tent. "Many villagers lost their tools. If I don't make them in my workshop then it will be difficult for them to work in their fields," said Bishwo Karma, while elaborating how he cannot avoid his social responsibilities. Heading a family of nine members, including two wives, he was forced to take shelter in the tent built in others property after the land he owned was found to be under threat of a landslide.
Shukra Bahadur Ghale, a local shop owner, has started running his from a tent in the alley of a farm. Villagers and students from nearby school, all throng to his shop to buy supplies. His whole family is busy running the shop that they've set up in another villager's farm after their own land was left with cracks and fissures by the quake. "In the beginning, we were paying a monthly rent of 500 to the owners. But then later they returned us the money and let us stay for free," said Ghale's wife Sita. "It was kind of the land owners." Their shop sells sugar, tea leaves, biscuits, chocolates, salt and oil, among other general products.
"Someone has to sell these. And since we were into this business from the start, we are continuing it from the tent itself," Sita said. "You can't sit idle. You got to earn to eat." Although it poses the family with a huge inconvenience, Sita doesn't mind running the shop from the tent they live in. "It's not only us but others too are facing the same hardship. We are taking that as a consolation for the situation," she said.
Like the Biswo Karma and the Ghale family, Barpak families who lost most of their assets and family members to the quake, are giving their best to get back to a normal life, like the one they had before the earthquake. Schools have already reopened. Barpak's Buddha Himal Academy School's teacher Pradip Kumar Gurung says "Everyday teaching activities have resumed like they used to be earlier," adding that students that came to the school from far off villages are facing trouble coming to school due to fear of landslide on the way to school. Students, who have relatives nearby the school, have taken shelter with them. However, those without any relatives nearby the school have been remained home due to fear of landslides on the way to school.
Villagers are returning to the fields to tend their crops. But crops have not grown like they used to before and they believe that it's because of the earthquake. "Because of the land movement during earthquake, the soil has become dry" said Manos Gurung of Barpak Home Stay Management Committee. "That's why the harvest is not good this year. And maize mainly has failed to grow."
Along with getting into traditional income generation activities, villagers are embracing newer means of income generation. With funds and resources from various donor organizations, some of the villagers have started cardamom plantation. "If we are able to grow cardamom, than it will be a sustainable source of income for us. Considering its long term benefits, I bought the plant," Lal Bahadur Gurung said. He had walked three hours to get the plant. "I've heard that plantation helps in prevention of landslides. That's another reason why I came to buy them."
Suk Bahadur Biswo Karma, coordinator of Barpak Relief Distribution Committee, claimed every Barkpak family has received relief material which consisted of at least one quintal rice, 10 kg lentils, five packets salt, three blankets and two tents along with the 15, 000 rupees as financial aid from the government. "It only because of the cracked lands which in some places huge fissures that the families have not been able to fully return to normal life yet," he said. "It's because they cannot stay in their own lands that they have become displaced. Most of them are staying in other villager's farm."
Chet Prasad Amagai, secretary at the Barpak Village Development Committee also expressed similar analysis. "Although living under tent is hard and people don't feel at home. Still people are now working towards returning to a normal life. Some of them are now working towards making permanent shelters," he said adding that people who don't have their own farm are yet to make any approach towards making permanent structure. "Most of the problems otherwise have been solved."
Fear in Commuting
Commuting around Barpak has become a problem after the main road is risked with landslides. The villagers have minimized their movements and travel through only until under dire circumstances. It's especially dangerous during the monsoon season. Although the motorway was opened immediately after the quake, vehicles have stopped traveling through following the onset of monsoon season. As the boulders and debris continue to fall, even walking through the road has become risky.
Khemraj Ghale, chairperson of the Barpak Tourism Development Committee, said "right now the landslides are posing serious treats. Locals avoid walking through the road without serious need for it." The 13 km motorway that connects Barpak village to Simjung-9, Baluwa is severely cracked and remains in a deplorable condition. Along with vehicles, and locals, the mules also have stopped commuting through it. Due to this, local business community is also facing problems in transporting necessary commodities.
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