Clean Himalaya, The Workers & The Monsoon

There is always stacks to do at Clean Himalaya - after all, the rubbish doesn't ever go away and always needs collecting and sorting... However, there are extra items on the agenda at the moment.

A representative from the World Bank, the organisation that awarded Clean Himalaya funding last year and gave the whole project a real shot in the arm, is coming to see how their funds are being used in the first week of July. There are several projects that it would be good to get in place before the World Bank show up - new bins in the public areas, publicity banners across the main roads. The new vermicomposting shed is ready ahead of schedule and only awaiting the training from the expert from Dehli before all the organic waste can start to be turned into compost and cash. All this is all in addition to the regular daily collections. It really is 'all hands on deck' time for everyone involved with Clean Himalaya.

So what happened this week? The workers went on strike!

They want more money... That is OK, there is some funds available, but in return the Clean Himalaya management want to go ahead and implement the new workers package - that means yes to a pay rise, yes to bonuses available for good attendance etc, but also system of small penalties for non attendance, sloppy work etc. The workers just want the money and are not interested in the overall package so there is an impasse. And the rubbish is piling up. There is nothing for it but the management and volunteers to don their rubber gloves and get out there on the collection runs!!

Jitendra, the driver Sohan, and another friend to Clean Himalaya who happens to be in Rishikesh at the moment, Amit, take the van and start the collections on the Tapovan side of the river. Marc and I set off on foot for the Laksman Jhula side. Jitendra has also secured the temporary services of 2 young men from the recycling unit in Rishikesh where the Clean Himalaya junk is processed. One of these boys joins each team, meant to do the worst of the carrying, and we are ready to start.

Oh, I don't think I mentioned - it is the most filthy day. The monsoon has hit hard. The sky is dark and the heavens have opened. The downpour is continuous and torrential.

Much to my eternal regret, we have no pictures for this day. The camera's battery had just about run out and it was also far too wet to risk using it. But picture us, wearing light-weight green rain protectors (effectively like a bin liner, but with sleeves and a hood), armed with dirty, dripping sacks, picking our way through the mud and ankle-deep puddles marching out to do battle with the rubbish and the elements!

Collecting rubbish is a horrible job, even under good conditions, and it is immediately obvious that our temporary helper from the recycling centre is not very enthusiastic about it. Apart from the abhorrent nature of having to stick your hands into bins full of someonelse's rubbish, today there is double the amount to collect, as no collections were made the day before. Although we are meant to be collecting dry waste (paper, plastics etc) as soon as it is added to the ever growing junk in the sacks, the new rubbish is sodden and double the weight.

We must have been a sight! The green protective clothing was not much use against the rain, which ran in down the sleeves and neck. I gave up with the hood as it was too big and I couldn't see where I was going. The whole thing was too light-weight and would tear every time you hoisted a sack over your shoulders... We were completely and thoroughly soaked, not to mention comprehensively covered in unmentionable filth from the 30 or so collection sites....

It was too much for our temporary 'help'. Marc and I were collecting from a hotel and needed a new sack that we had left at the entrance with the boy. Marc went to get the sack and witnessed our 'help' creeping away down the road into the continuing downpour!

By the end of the round, the sacks were so heavy that Marc, let alone I, was unable to carry them back to the pick up point. The slightly lighter sack we carried back between us the other, heavier one we were forced to abandon to wait for stronger and hardier souls to come and collect between them.

Exhausted, dripping and filthy, we trudged back to our room to get clean and warm.

While we are still recovering, Jitendra phones us - he needs help, there is more stuff to be collected - but we will have better help this time. He says that Pushpa, the only female Clean Himalaya worker and who is not included in the strike action, will come with us. There are only a few places to collect from.... So off we go again - fully expecting to do the lifting and shifting ourselves.

How wrong can you be? Very wrong in this case.. Pushpa was amazing! We collected sodden mass after another sodden mass of rubbish in sacks we could barely move, let alone carry anywhere. With a bit of help, Pushpa was balancing these sacks on her head and then walking back to the workshop, carrying weight that 2 of us could not manage. What a girl!

Not suprisingly, there is always a variety of insects, mainly ants and cockroaches to be found amongst the rubbish. This was also the day Marc found our first snake, albeit a very small one! And in the same pile of sacks, he found a spider as big as his hand!!! Thankfully both animals disappeared swiftly back into the jungle - but it is a good reminder than broken glass is not the only danger lurking in the dustbins!