July 20th - Soakage Pit in Bandla

Authors: Jayendra, Rohan, Rahul 

Today was one of the most beautiful days we've had so far. The clouds enclosing the Dhauladhars made for a majestic view.

We went to the village of Bandla with Sushma and Seema didi to make a soakage pit.

The home we went to was that of a veteran who served around India for 24 years. While waiting for chai, a few of us enjoyed shenanigan-ing with the first tamed dog (and a quiet, purring cat) we've encountered so far. The purpose of the soakage pit was to purify their waste water. Sushma didi broke the ground to begin construction, and we quickly followed suit.

After almost 40 minutes we had struck a layer of rock. Not knowing what to do, we struggled to break through. That's when Seema didi called in the heavy infantry. A local boy went SOY BEAN on the rock, obliterating it in seconds.

He finished the hole, but our task was only half done. Then we had to fill it up with filter material. The homeowner had piled a few large stones by the side of the pit, but it was insufficient.

The rock hunt began.  We looked far and wide, for the answer to this very question, but none was to be found. The same village boy jumping selflessly into the closely stream and he tossed us a few rocks and we bore the rocks through back to the pit and tossed the rocks into the pit.

Finally, we took a chai break, resting our sore backs and arms and waiting for the rain to end. Finishing our insightful discussion with the rain, we got up to complete our labors, filling the pit with sand, and covering it with a jute sack.

We were finally ready for our peaceful ride back to CORD, but this was not to be ours. The bus broke down halfway, and we had to switch vehicles, but we thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful mountain landscapes.

What an eventful 8 hours!