This Achhami woman has a similar routine to most rural women in Nepal. She wakes around 5 am to make tea and daal bhat (lentils and rice) for the family, tends to livestock, cleans the house, then sets out by 7 am to hike into the forest and collect firewood and leaves. It generally takes five hours for her to walk into the forest, gather her collection, and then walk back home with a full doko basket suspended on her forehead. The woven bamboo baskets can weigh up to 80 pounds when full. Many women come to Balaypata Hospital with back and neck pain. With consistent and heavy labor, the lifestyle of an Achhami woman presents many opportunities for illness and injury.
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Lindsey Youngquist is a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar studying Community Health in Nepal. She recently volunteered at Bayalpata Hospital in Achham.
