No One is Poor

I’ve recently had the pleasure of working with a new arrival here in Togo from Nepal. Shantiram is here through a “South-South” (ie developing country to developing country) knowledge exchange program to share his expertise in making improved wood-burning stoves for rural people. These stoves use about half the firewood of a regular stove (saving time/money) and expose users to dramatically les pollution in terms of particulate matter. Shantiram has spent the last 10 years working in rural Nepal to perfect and disseminate the rustic technology. When he arrived in my village I came out to the field to assist with and document the construction of the new stoves, as well as translate when necessary (he speaks thickly accented English while his local apprentice Akebe speaks in French).  So we’re ankle deep in a muddy mixture, toes churning dirt, dried rice pods, and water into what will soon be bricks, when Akebe laments that “Tsiko is such a poor village.” Shantiram’s feet become still and he smiles. “No one is poor” he says, “that is all in your mind.”