1. In Our Village: Life in a Nepalese Jungle village
through the eyes of its children
A project of Junkiri school, Debniya Basti, Jhapa District, Nepal
Edited by Einat Metzl and Amir Rosenmann

2. The Village of
Debniya Basti,
sometimes also
referred to as
Butta Bari (a
bigger, close-by
village on the
main road), is
located in the
south east
Jhapa District of
Nepal.

3. Nepal is a country neighbouring India and China. We have beautiful mountains
that are known all over the world, including Mount Everest – the highest
mountain in the world. But our village is in a different part, a flat area called the
Terai where the Jungle is.

4. In our village, about 4000 people
live happily and peacefully. Our
village is close to 6 villages, that are
all part of our community. In Nepali
we call village – Gouw.

5. Welcome to our village! We mostly greet people with “Namaste” or “Namaskar”,
and put our hands together when we meet or pass by, like in the picture. It
means Hello and Goodbye, and also means peace. It is a way we show respect
to other people, especially elders. We also use Namaste for prayers.

6. In the morning you can also say Suba Bihani – good morning, or Suba Ratri –
good night.
When we greet new visitors to our village or say goodbye to them as they leave
our village, we make flower lays and put the red Tikka on their forehead to wish
them a good journey.

7. Our families are very important to us. We help our parents with farming the
fields, getting water from the hand pumps next to the house for cleaning and
cooking, we help with laundry and with taking care of our brothers and sisters.

8. Family Vocabulary:
Family – Par-ee-war
Child – batcha
Older sister – didi
Younger sister – bahini
Older brother – dhai
Younger brouther - bahi
Mother – Ama
Father – Bua
Grandma – Hajur-ama
Grandpa – Hajur-bua
Many times we live with our parents, brothers and sisters, as well as with grandparents
and other relatives. If we feel close to someone we often call him or her auntie / uncle, or
brother/sister even when they are not our relatives. Above are some words in Nepali and
English for Family, and some pictures we took or drew about our families.

9. Taking pictures
and drawing our
family

10. In Nepali we call house – Gar. We live in houses built by different materials:
some build their houses with tin roofs and others with straw roofs. Some have
walls from wood, some bamboo reed, and others build with cement or bricks. We
build our homes high (on stairs or stilts) because of snakes (Serpa in Nepali).

11. Everyone has a water pump next to the house, and that is how we get our
water for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and anything else. We have a toilet shed
outside and a separate kitchen hut where we cook on clay stove. Some homes
have electricity, televisions, or cell phones but most people don’t.