Livelihood Strategies and Hardship
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My name is Bano Begum. I was born in Shimshal and am 68 years old. During the old times we have experi-enced a lot of pain. We used to carry soil in Wurgesht [baskets made of willow sticks] to the livestock sheds [soil was layered everyday under livestock to make natural fertilizer ] than carried the fertilizers to the agriculture fields. Land tilling and crop thrashings were all done with bulls and cows. We made bread roti of barley and wheat separately for which we needed [each year] three bags of wheat flour and three bags of barley per family that lasted from October to next July. In the past we were very poor and due to the hard work, our legs are not working now anymore. We also brought fire wood from the mountains [for cooking and heating] whereas now we have [planted] forests here and no one is going anywhere [to fetch wood]. Due to the blessing of Allah, times are good now.
Indeed, in the old days we have seen a lot of pain. Our fathers, husbands, and brothers have worked very hard to build the road [from Shimshal to Passu]. That is why our children now live a comfortable life and are traveling on this road comfortably.
Like fertilizer, we [Women] also fetched and carried water from long distance without a trolley or other help. We [women] had to take good care of our cattle so they could be used properly in agriculture work during the [agriculture] season.
Nowadays, nobody does such work anymore, it is an exciting time of ease. Nobody can imagine how painful the old times were. However, we did all work together: when someone went to cut grass, we all went along, if someone had to clean wheat, we all helped by cleaning it together. Now the Imam-e-Zaman has changed every-thing. Instead of being painful, life is so peaceful and there is a lot of emphasis on education for everybody.
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2.1.7.1
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