Cow Pies
Imadol, Nepal
December 2017
My neighbor sits outside all day and makes cow pies. She mixes the dung with straw and then molds them in to a flat, circular slab, around two inches thick. She dries them on the side of her house and when they are rip and hardened, she uses them for fuel to warm her house or cook her food. The dung pile smells and attracts flies. And I wonder how her hands must smell. Does that stench ever leave her finger tips? Does this essence of cow dung permeate all of her clothing. Is she exempted from any cooking responsibilities because her hands have been so soiled? Has she helped to prepare anything I ate? Is this a desirable job because she gets to sit all day? Or is this the lowly of the lowest jobs?
I found the task to be too repulsive and so I didn't go seeking answers to my questions.
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