Orientation trip day 3

We started out visiting a paper making trip. The photos show some of the process. For cotton paper they start by cutting t shirt type material into small strips. This is then boiled for 6 hours and disintegrates a bit in the water. It is drained into vats where women stir it vigorously and then begin using screens to pull out one layer at a time. They build up a number of layers with a muslin cloth separating each one, and eventually take it to a hydrolic compressor which was developed some time ago by an MCC service worker. After this, the sheets are placed on large metal frames with hot fire burning underneath. The end products are very nice (they sell to Oxfam and 10,000 Villages so you may have seen them).

We later went to an agricultural project where they are doing research and helping subsistence farmers with things such as increasing the number of female offspring of talipia fish with genetic modification (I got a long technical explanation of this, but since I'm hoping I got that brief summary right, I won't expound), rearing rabbits and introducing them into peoles diets, and raising goats in small pens with suplemented food so they don't eat everything in site and gain weight much more quickly increasing the profit. We visited another MCC couple who is also doing this kind of work and had a wonderful meal of 2 types of greens, dal, pumpkin, chicken....and of course, rice followed by the standard sweet milky tea. I gues I should mention each of these stops involved an elaborate tea presentation, so we certainly have not been going hungry. Apparrantly guests must always be fed, and you won't hear me complaining!

We stopped briefly at the Catholic mission where the father, originally from the US, has been working for around 55 years. They do a lot of work advocating for the indiginous people who have been in danger of having their land and culture completely taken over as well as operating an orphanage and adoption, and working with MCC on the agricultural projects.

After words, it was on to what is to be my home for the next 3 years. My anticipation was growing as we neared Sirajganj, and coming over the large bridge crossing the Jamuna river as sun was setting, things were looking good!