Stick-Paul Back from Nepal

Good Day,

Stick-Paul has done it again! As you, his adoring and unworthy fans, may have been able to glean from some of the recent posts, Stick-Paul has been in Nepal (that little country tucked cozily into the Himalayas), where he has been helping the local populace with agricultural problems.

He chose to go to Nepal because of the following letter. In it, or rather, in the translation of it, the locals offered an entire herd of yak. Such an offer intrigued Stick-Paul. "The fact that I may have a chance to see a yak is reason enough to go. There aren’t any two-dimensional yaks you know…”

Stick-Paul always has had a soft spot for lower life forms. I think that’s why he wanted to start this site for you. In any case, here’s the letter from a man we will call Mr. Hungry in the Himalayas:

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Dear Magnificent Stick-Paul,

Many blessings be upon you and your family, for the same blessings have been withheld from ours, and we need your aid!

The crops about our village don’t produce enough food for the people. The climate and the soil here do not allow the plants to grow. We haven’t been able to reap a sufficient harvest in four seasons!

The village purchased some fertilizer in a desperate attempt to fix the problem by enriching the soil, but I’m afraid that the fertilizer will leak into the water supply. What can we do?

Hopefully soon to be much in your debt,
[Mr. Hungry in the Himalayas]

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Here is Stick-Paul being given a ride across a swollen river
near an Indian village on his way to Nepal.

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Stick-Paul visited some of the agricultural areas in the region on his way to Mr. Hungry’s village. Once there, he found the village to be situated partway up the side of a valley, which was facing south-southwest. The soil was practically devoid of nutrients, save for a half-centimeter layer of fertilizer just under the surface. A river ran down the center of the valley and emptied out into a larger river a dozen or so kilometers south. There were no crops of any note.

Our intrepid hero set to work quickly, requesting that all the villagers, women and children included (I will tell you about Stick-Paul’s reasons for this if an when he asks me to post something about his version of egalitarian theory.), be called for a town meeting. He outlined the village’s options and worked with them to determine a sustainable solution for their village.

The village opted to follow Stick-Paul's advice, and engineer a system of waste management, crop rotation, and irrigation under a series of inverted, stretched, parabolic structures. These structures would be entirely enclosed so as to protect the crops from the elements and the local ecology from the change in soil and water composition. Preparation has begun on the test site already. Stick-Paul said that the villagers, especially Mr. Hungry, were eager to get started on the project. He promised to go back after the completion of the test site in order to modify the design as needed.

Stick-Paul did get to see a yak! Yes, the foul-smelling beasts were apparently as interested in Stick-Paul as he was in them. The villagers sent him back with about 40L of milk and some other yak product that was unidentifiable to me... maybe it was a kind of cheese.

Stick-Paul is now busy in his study performing his normal post-adventure routine. He has already entered the details into his log and is now doing research on elements that may be helpful to have knowledge about when he goes back; the need for which he could not have foreseen before his trip.

Stick-Paul wanted me to tell you all that you, his adoring and unworthy fans, can ask questions about his latest adventure in the form of e-mails. Make sure you entitle your e-mail "Question: Nepal trip 01" (that means the value of the "subject" of your e-mail should be "Question: Nepal trip 01"). This will make it much easier for the e-mails to be read and answered quickly.

Please don't ask stupid questions! If you want to know what Mr. Hungry's real name is, or the name of his village, we won't tell you... so don't bother. If, however, you want to know what is meant by "waste management", I'm sure Stick-Paul will gladly reply.

Make sure to register a vote in the "Where should Stick-Paul travel next?" poll on the sidebar. For some reason he values your opinions.

Aloofly,
Stick-Paul's manager.