Through readings and discussions prior to the field trip to Thecho and Bungamati, we learned the many political, social, and technical factors that contributed to the post-earthquake reconstruction of Techo and other communities throughout Nepal. An afternoon stroll through the communities proved to be both intimate and eye-opening, with memories and artifacts of the disaster still evident in the daily lives of local residents.
The composition of the community consists of new, old, half-finished, half-abandoned buildings; ponds, public-sitting space, courtyards, narrow alleyways, religious relics, small fields of flowers, and a small green open space are also found. In the open space and areas visible to the public eye, children roamed around freely and cheerfully, women wove beautiful textiles, men played cards and forged metal items. Raw materials scattered in various corners within the community, sometimes occupying the entire first floor of an abandoned building, sometimes tucked away in the narrow alleyways; the careless display of them seemingly indicate a project stalled, or discarded. This makes me wonder whether reconstruction efforts, or cleaning-up might be picked up again? Could residents from the community be intrinsically inspired and take ownership of their community even more so?
Another interesting thing that I observed: most of the newly painted houses all seem to have pastel-colors for their exterior walls: light blue, mint green, pink, and light yellow. I wondered if the colors are used to create a more uplifting spirit, or perhaps, because of the warm climate, the pastel colors may create a more cooling effect, a concept similar to the colorful houses in Cuba.
Walking down to the riverbanks and strolling through rice fields and tin “houses”, I found the agriculturally oriented settings here a stark contrast from that of houses in the higher land. Yet, this isn’t all too far away from the urbanized neighborhoods of Kathmandu, where I recently stumbled upon a new, very fancy-looking and grand venue that was hosting Henny’s 2nd Birthday, with balloons decorating the venue entrance and catering services in its spacious courtyard.
Tin houses along the riverbanks
Henny’s birthday venue