Japanese Encephalitis

Today we got our second to last set of shots, the Japanese Encephalitis shot. It is a $261 (plus another $261) shot that I would say is well worth it! Though many may think is too costly, I know I certainly do, Japanese Encephalitis is something I rather not get while I am in India.
Japanese Encephalitis is a serious infection caused by a virus which is spread by the bite of an infected mosquitoes.

Bylakuppe is a very humid place, especially during the summer, during the monsoon. It is a rural community where mosquitoes are highly populated. Although it can be avoided to some extent by repellents, long clothing, and staying in screened areas it is hard to avoid for nearly 4 months.

A person who is infected by Japanese Encephalitis can have no symptoms while others will have raging fever, headache or severe encephalitis (brain infection). Symptoms of encephalitis are fever, neck stiffness, changes in consciousness, or coma. Approximately 1 in 4 people who are infected with encephalitis dies and of those that don't die, half suffer permanent brain damage. The shot is recommended to any travelers to Asia who spend at least a month in areas where Japanese Encephalitis occurs, those who are going to be engaging in outdoor activities or where there have been outbreaks. Considering that I will be working on rural farms in Bylakuppe (Southern India) where Japanese Encephalitis risk is high I found it worth the cost.

My sister-in-law's father suffered from encephalitis. I don't know much other than he wasn't really there in the head. One day last November he was taking a walk and crossed the street at an undesignated spot. A 20 year old girl hit him and killed him instantly. I don't want to be that crazy person that crossed the street at the wrong spot because I didn't know any better and even more importantly I don't want to cause a 20 year old girl, or anyone for that matter, to have to suffer the image or what happened like with my sister-in-law's father.

Mundgod Tibetan Settlement

McKown, Colleen. “Mundgod’s Tibetan Farmers on Organic Methods and the Monsoon Pattern”. The Tibet Post International. 29 Sept 2011.

This article discusses concerns with farming and organic farming, the monsoon, and having the future generation continue the farming tradition. In Mundgod, a Tibetan settlement about seven hours south of Bylakuppe, there are nine camps six of which are fully organic. The Dalai Lama expresses the importance of producing organically, just like they did in Tibet, in order for good, healthy food. Lobsang Chodack from camp eight emphasizes his concerns with organic farming stating that it requires more paid help to take care of the farm and much less product is produced. In order to maintain his organic farm teak trees must surround his farm in order to keep the cows out; the soil must be a mixture of 5kg cow dung, 1kg cow urine, and 1 kg jiggery to detract pests and still pests attack his crops somehow. The Central Tibetan Administration is beginning to advise farmers to grow cash crops such as alphonso mango, coconut, cashews, and amla to boost farmers gain. There is a roaming fear that the younger generation will not keep the family tradition. The younger generations are leaving the farm to the parents care and Lobsang believes the only way to keep them involved is to gravitate towards modern technology. Lastly the monsoons of the last few years have been unpredictable so it is impossible to know how to protect the crops. My questions are if they could predict the weather how would it change farming techniques? Would location be different? Does the future generation plan on eventually continuing the farm? If so, will they continue organic farming?

PBS: India's Story on Agriculture

While researching how  India’s monsoon rains affect farming I ran into an agricultural explanation by PBS. While I thought the amount of rain would make it more difficult to farm it is in reality much needed, if anything, it is the wind that can destroy the crops. Over the years irrigation systems have been developed that lessen the impact of fluctuations in the monsoon season but it has not eliminated the effects of the wind. Over the last few decades it has been necessary to monitor monsoon progression, developing contingency plans, and building seed reserves of alternative crops to protect India’s agricultural industry which eploys approximately 2/3 of the population. In 2008 India was ranked first in tea, jute, sugar cane, and cashew production. Approximately 43% of India’s land is used for farming and nearly a third is for rice cultivation. Some of the first information written for agriculture in India is found in the Rig- Veda. It describes plowing, fruit and vegetable cultivation, fallowing, and irrigation.

While this explains a lot of India’s history I would like to see how much this applies to the Tibetan communities. I would like to see what different corps the Tibetans grow in contrast to Indians. What percentage of Tibetans work on the farm? Although I won’t be able to find exact statistics I would like to observe the different percentages maybe on a per family basis. Do more girls or boys work on the farms? What is the communication like between the sexes on the farms?