Last week I visited Saburai, another Red Cross project village in Bobonaro district, together with Mariano and Juvenal (on the picture) from the National RC Society. As Saburai is very close to the Indonesian border (West-Timor), it's just a short walking distance to Indonesia!
My room in the guesthouse... as there were no mosquito nets available I decided to arrange my Mosquito Dorm on the bed which was not a bad decision... I had a good sleep at least until the roosters woke me up at around 4 am! In the morning I had the possibility to some sightseeing in Maliana, capital of Bobonaro District, while Mariano and Juvenal were busy with some meetings:
Maliana mercado in the early morning hours:
The ladies are selling fresh bread, donuts and some other fried stuff - similar to the Austrian "gebackene Mäus'"!
One of the stylish public transport cars:
The road to Saburai - it's good to have a 4WD - not only for crossing one of the "rivers":
Finally we arrived in Saburai after an one-hour-drive from Maliana. The children in the village were of course excited about the visit and especially about my camera ;-)!
First we had lunch with a local family and the team had the possibility to talk about the news:
In the afternoon we could finally visit the projects - starting with some tap stands and a spontaneous hand washing presentation by Juvenal and me:
Within a few seconds we were surrounded by a crowd of children who apparently got motivated and had o lot of fun!
Final pic with clean hands ;-)
One of the village's eldest with his family:
This bamboo tube was a present from the lady... it's used to store home-made sago-starck:
Timorese people (mainly adults) love chewing strange things that make their mouth and teeth red-coloured. It's even more famous in rural areas. I soon figured out that it's apparently Betel Nut mixed with some other stuff. Finally, I found a nice lady who could explain it to me how it really works. Apparently it is a mixture of 3 things: dried betel nuts, some leaves and white powder (probably calcium carbonate, made out of crushed rocks). People like it not only because it has the effect of an appetite surpressant but also because it apparently makes them high. It also colors lips and teeth incredible red, so it's kind of a biological lipstick! Another side-effect is that it damages the teeth seriously.
The mountainous landscape surrounding Saburai... at the moment there is a traditional week taking place. A group of community members, who are selected by the village's eldest, have to do some rituals like burning the fields and hunting animals. The traditional week ends with a big celebration on the weekend. It's a pity we have to go back to Dili already on Thursday!
On our way back to Dili we passed some very traditional and small-scale salt-producing industries next to the beach.
Lunch at one of the local Drive-in-Restaurants with my vegetarian choice of Catupa and boiled Corn and some grilled fish/chicken for the guys...
Fruit stands along the main road:
My room in the guesthouse... as there were no mosquito nets available I decided to arrange my Mosquito Dorm on the bed which was not a bad decision... I had a good sleep at least until the roosters woke me up at around 4 am! In the morning I had the possibility to some sightseeing in Maliana, capital of Bobonaro District, while Mariano and Juvenal were busy with some meetings:
Maliana mercado in the early morning hours:
The ladies are selling fresh bread, donuts and some other fried stuff - similar to the Austrian "gebackene Mäus'"!
One of the stylish public transport cars:
The road to Saburai - it's good to have a 4WD - not only for crossing one of the "rivers":
Finally we arrived in Saburai after an one-hour-drive from Maliana. The children in the village were of course excited about the visit and especially about my camera ;-)!
First we had lunch with a local family and the team had the possibility to talk about the news:
In the afternoon we could finally visit the projects - starting with some tap stands and a spontaneous hand washing presentation by Juvenal and me:
Within a few seconds we were surrounded by a crowd of children who apparently got motivated and had o lot of fun!
Final pic with clean hands ;-)
One of the village's eldest with his family:
This bamboo tube was a present from the lady... it's used to store home-made sago-starck:
Timorese people (mainly adults) love chewing strange things that make their mouth and teeth red-coloured. It's even more famous in rural areas. I soon figured out that it's apparently Betel Nut mixed with some other stuff. Finally, I found a nice lady who could explain it to me how it really works. Apparently it is a mixture of 3 things: dried betel nuts, some leaves and white powder (probably calcium carbonate, made out of crushed rocks). People like it not only because it has the effect of an appetite surpressant but also because it apparently makes them high. It also colors lips and teeth incredible red, so it's kind of a biological lipstick! Another side-effect is that it damages the teeth seriously.
The mountainous landscape surrounding Saburai... at the moment there is a traditional week taking place. A group of community members, who are selected by the village's eldest, have to do some rituals like burning the fields and hunting animals. The traditional week ends with a big celebration on the weekend. It's a pity we have to go back to Dili already on Thursday!
On our way back to Dili we passed some very traditional and small-scale salt-producing industries next to the beach.
Lunch at one of the local Drive-in-Restaurants with my vegetarian choice of Catupa and boiled Corn and some grilled fish/chicken for the guys...
Fruit stands along the main road:
