Making a place for strawberries

Today we did some gardening. Pallav sir told us to move the strawberries to the balcony in the first floor so that our animals couldn’t eat them. The scientific name of strawberries is Fragaira x Ananassa.

We had the strawberries in the garden where they could grow better in the ground but the rabbits and chickens were eating the strawberry patch. Even though we put a small barrier around the patch, the bunnies could still squeeze through it. We went through a lot of trouble so now we have moved the plants to the balcony where they can grow properly. Abin and I did the plucking and put them in a pot and Nitya and Bidhan sir helped us carry the pots to the first floor.

First, we collected the tools we needed to dig the strawberries. They were two digging tools (kuto) and a plucking tool. I took the plucking tool and Abin took a kuto and we poked them into the ground many times. Then we plucked the plants from their roots and put them in our pots along with the soil. We also got some earthworms, which were difficult to pick up because they kept on wriggling, and put them in the pot. After we were done, we put the pots in the balcony where the Sun's rays could reach them. Bidhan sir took some pictures of me and the strawberry plants.

by Utkrishta Mulmi

Dr. Jonathan Reisman's visit

We had been preparing for a man named Jonathan Reisman to arrive at Spiny Babbler. He came from New Jersey, USA. He is a doctor with MDs in pediatrics and internal medicine. He was a very relaxed person. His wife’s name is Anna. He came to Nepal to treat people in Manang in a clinic. All the people in Manang go mountaineering and get injured so he went to Manang to help them. 

Pallav sir, Kusma, Vidheha and I went to pick Jonathan up near Patan Dhoka. While pallav sir was waiting for Jonathan me, Kusma and Vidheha went to the book shop and read some books. After Pallav sir spotted Jonathan he called us and we went to school. Pallav sir thought that Jonathan was going to be an old guy but he was about 30 years old.

When we got back to school everything was ready. We sat down and he introduced himself and he told us lots of things. He told us he was here 8 years ago for a week and he wanted to come to Nepal again to see the mountains and help people there. He said that he was an unemployed doctor so he was free and could go wherever he wanted. After he told us about himself we introduced ourselves and gave him the cards we had made for him. The cards showed the different activities we do at our school. He said they were very good, and we also showed him the sparrow skeleton that pallav sir found while walking on the road. After that we made mo:mos. Everyone from Spiny Babbler knew how to make mo:mos and we also taught Jonathan how to make them. We also played flutes and danced.

 

September 15, 2016

Jam Making

Today we made a plan to make plum jam without preservatives or chemicals. Last year, we had made litchi, plum and apricot jam. It was delicious and since we made such a huge quantity, what we made lasted for more than six months and we had jam with bread and roti regularly. 

We started by learning videos on how to make jam from youtube and other resources. I, Utkrishta and Ronij watched and did some research while my other friends others took the plums and the apricot, rinsed them, removed the top and checked each and every fruit for damage, rot, or insect holes.

After everything was ready, we all went outside to the dining table. We collected the plum we had bought. Shaswat had brought apricots and probably sat on them because many of them had gone squishy. We set the fruits to boil. This time the plan was just fruit and sugar. No gelatin or peptin was used as plum and apricot are jelly like due to their citric nature. 

 

After plum and apricot boiled we took it out carefully and removed the seeds. We also made sugar syrup. We made sure we used the fruit skin as well. We went in the kitchen and we put the fruit in the hot sugar syrup very cautiously with the help of Sabita didi and our instructors. I also helped to stir the mix.

My instructor was in a hurry and spilled some of the mix on his hand. He was in pain. Pallav sir said it was a first degree burn and should be okay. He warned us that we should be careful and only do this when instructors was around. After the jam was ready, we tasted and it was yummy! It was delicious jam we prepared. I would love to do this again and it was a very nice experience. We made jam of 10 kgs (20 pounds) worth of fruit at least and we are looking forward to make more jam and have more fun this year.

by Nitya Poudel

17 June 2016