Bimala went home to her parent's herb farm. It is high in the mountain district. She thought the visit would be worth capturing by photo, as she loves the land and in particular the trees.
She left at 3:30 am and within two hours was well out from the Kathmandu valley. She continued until there was no further bitumen, which marked the three hour limit. Her journey would take six hours.
From the bitumen onward, it was dirt roads and bumps, rocks, gully's and broken down vehicles.
But the scenery was astounding and as Bimala got closer to her village the better the views got.
Finally, this was it. The vehicle we had traveled in had got us within three kilometers of her village. But now a 4WD had to be called in. Our earlier vehicle had to return to the nearest town and wait.
We had gotten over a mountain range. Below is Bimala's village where her father owns a medium sized herb farm.
Herbs are tricky to grow because monkeys eat them before they ripen. And you have to also look out for snakes and tigers. So you must be watchful.
Below is the view of the valley from the farm.
Her father has chosen to grow aniseed, and here it can be seen below, flooded.
Here below is a soap nut tree sapling. Its nuts hold a kind of soap. They are used naturally, organically, to wash clothes.
Below is a view across part of the farm. It is much bigger than just seen here.
The village is a Buddhist community, and they adhere to what they are taught, and some learned in monasteries in Kathmandu, and one even learned under the Dali Lama. The more learned pass on their knowledge to others.
Notice that insects are balanced with predators, and here is a spider. It has a bad bite. So be careful. There are no chemicals used here. It is all natural, good and bad.
The rest of the day is just family events, but the author will say that the nettle-leaf-broth, and the corn bread that Bimala's mother made on the log-wood clay stove, was delightful. This is the same nettle-leaf found in our Super Superfoods. It is high in niacin compounds and other vitamins.
It is also worth mentioning that many herbs are jungle harvested. We hope this can give you some understanding of what it is like.