Mornings in Lalmatia

Every morning I wake up to the sounds of street vendors walking and biking by my apartment. The vendors may be riding a flatbed riskshaw, known as a van, loaded with vegetables, carrying armfuls of chickens or ducks, walking with a large metal pot on their head filled with fish or even playing a musical instrument with extras for sale. However, it is their distinct cries of torkari! (vegatables), mach: pabna mach, rui mach! (fish: pabna fish, rui fish), payaj! (onion), or whatever they might be selling that awakens me to the hot humid Lalmatia mornings. In fact, they are so unique and loud, that the vendors’ cries have been heard all over Bangladesh and even in some U.S. cities, as their unique voices are carried over cell phone and skype calls. These vendors are actually one of my favorite characteristics of living in Lalmatia, for the distinct calls do not seem to be as present in most other parts of the city. Though once in a while I will run downstairs to purchase something, most of the time, they act as my alarm clock, and I sleepily translate torkari  to, “Good Morning, welcome to another day in Lalmatia!”

Vegetables

Bananas

Spices

Picking up paper and cardboard

Leafy greens

Rice

1 string musical instrument

Blog Post on the Fulbright U.S. Student Blog

Fulbright actually has an official blog where current and past Fulbrighters share about their experience, research and also give tips for applicants and future Fulbrighters. Earlier this month I wrote a post about my time so far in Bangladesh. Below is my entry, and also check out the Fulbright blog, especially if you think you might want to apply for a grant!

Learning About Solar Energy with an Economic Lens in Bangladesh, By Holly Battelle, 2010-2011, Bangladesh

Posted by Holly B. | Posted on 23-09-2011

Category : Alumni Articles, Bangladesh, Field of Study, Fulbright Application, Fulbright Projects, Getting Started, Language Evaluation, South and Central Asia, Study/Research Grant, Tips

Tags: Adaptability, Application Tips, Community Engagement, Conducting fieldwork, Critical Languages, Developing World, Feasibility, Field Interviews, Finding Mentors, Fulbright Testimonials, Fulbrighters in the Sciences, Language Requirements, Persistence,Promoting Mutual Understanding, Starting the Application Process, Sustainable Energy and the Environment, Taking Risks

My Fulbright research has taken me to all corners of Dhaka and to some of the most remote places in Bangladesh. Solar technology was first used here in rural areas not connected to the national electric grid. Most of these off-grid homes use kerosene hurricanes for light, which can be expensive, low quality and have negative health impacts. As an alternative to kerosene, some organizations in Bangladesh provide small loans to households for solar home systems (SHS). The systems can provide an average of six hours of electricity for a household to power light bulbs, small fans or TVs in some cases.

My most memorable and rewarding days in Bangladesh have been spent in the countryside biking on narrow dirt paths flanked by never-ending rice paddies, hiking through beautiful green scenery, or sharing a water taxi with locals to talk about SHS. The rural villagers I’ve spent time with and the families with SHS are some of the kindest people I’ve met. I am often the first American they have ever seen, and it’s been an amazing experience to talk about solar or local culture over a cup of tea or cha.  For every question I ask locals, I respond to a question about myself, my family, research and country.

When not in the countryside, I’ve spent my time learning about the budding urban solar industry in Dhaka. Solar is becoming more popular in Dhaka due to new policies and because of frequent power outages. When the power goes out, homes and businesses will usually run a diesel generator. Many residences, however, are turning to solar to supplement their generators.

Based on my economics background, the Fulbright Program has allowed me to explore solar – a completely new interest and area of study for me. In addition to learning about the solar industry in Bangladesh, I have been doing both urban and rural solar cost estimates to determine how soon homes and apartment buildings can break even by investing in solar compared to kerosene and generator alternatives. I strongly encourage all applicants and future grantees to take advantage of their academic and professional backgrounds to discover new interests during their Fulbright year.  

My general advice for study or research applicants:

• Spend time thinking about who or which organization you’d like your host affiliation to be and what your expectations will be when you arrive. Because it often takes many emails and phone calls to get in touch with a potential host, you should start early in thinking about your Fulbright application. Having a host that is excited about your research and who is willing to support you can really make a huge difference, especially in the beginning. For countries like Bangladesh, try getting in touch with previous Fulbrighters. Ask them if they know anything about your potential host or if they can give you suggestions. When communicating with your potential host, try to be as clear as possible about your expectations and whether or not they will be able to meet them.
• Be flexible and open to modifying, expanding, focusing and perhaps changing your Fulbright project. This is one of the best parts of having a Fulbright grant. Technology, policies and cities constantly change, and a great deal can change from the time when you apply for your Fulbright to the time when you arrive. Roll with the changes and take advantage of having the flexibility to modify your research as needed.
• Try hard to learn local languages. Since so much of Bangladeshi culture is intertwined with the language, some of the most rewarding moments during my Fulbright grant have been when I’ve been speaking Bangla. Even though I often struggle to explain myself in Bangla, the effort is always appreciated and can never be fully translated by someone else.

Top photo: Holly Battelle, 2010-2011, Bangladesh, sharing a water taxi with locals en route to a village with solar home systems (SHS)

Bottom photo: Holly Battelle, 2010-2011, Bangladesh, on top of her apartment building in Dhaka which has 1 KW of solar panels

CBO

I am still so proud to have worked at the Congressional Budget Office. It has been nearly 9 months since I arrived in Bangladesh and 9 months since I left the CBO, and halfway around the world, I am still reminded of CBO's importance and need in Washington DC. Yesterday, NPR had an interesting piece about super-hero Doug Elmendorf, one of my former supervisors and the current director, keeping the super-committee (committee on deficit reduction) in line and on task. 

Below is the article, or click here to see it on NPR's website. 

Urban Solar

My solar research in Bangladesh can be lumped into two main categories: rural and urban solar. While I am not out tromping through rice paddies, I am trying to understand the market for implementing solar technology in urban Bangladesh, specifically Dhaka. In my last post I discussed the various reasons and lack of infrastructure for why solar home systems make sense for rural areas.  However, it is also possible to make a convincing case for solar in Dhaka. At least, that is what I am attempting to do.

Me on my apartment building's rooftop in Dhaka as 20 solar panels (1kw) are being installed. 

Solar Home Systems

In addition to traveling, playing and exploring in Bangladesh, I am actually here to do some research on solar technology in Bangladesh. My host organization is Grameen Shakti, a non-profit that primarily works on SHSs for rural electrification, but also has biogas and improved cooking stove projects. I have gone on a few field visits now to learn about how solar home systems work, who uses and benefits from SHSs and to familiarize  myself with Grameen Shakti's business practices.

A SHS is made up of essentially three different inputs: the solar panel (generally 10 - 100 Watts), a charge controller and a rechargeable battery. The diagram below shows essentially the basics of how SHSs work. During the day, the sun's light strikes the photovoltaic and a certain portion of this light energy (photons) is absorbed and passed on to electrons. These "excited" electrons then separate from the atom and flow in a single direction creating a current. The current will first travel through the charge controller to the battery, where the electricity is stored. Once the sun goes down, the stored energy from the battery will pass back through the charge controller and electricity will power a combination of lights, small fans, mobile phone charger and in some cases a TV. The purpose of the charge controller is to protect the battery from becoming overcharged (if it is very sunny) or over-discharged (to prevent people from sing too much electricity from the system).

diagram and some more info from: http://www.ashdenawards.org/solar

In Bangladesh, the primary users of SHSs are rural villagers who do not have access to grid electricity. As a result, before purchasing a SHS, villagers will rely on candles and kerosene lanterns as their primary light source at night. In addition to being inadequate sources of light, kerosene emits fumes and both kerosene and candles are fire hazards. As a result, SHSs greatly improve the quality of life for their users, allowing businesses to stay open later, and give opportunities to residential users for reading, studying, working (to earn additional income) and recreation.

Solar home system in Rangamati.

Mango pie

Christy, another Fulbrighter, and I made mango pie the other day. I have not even thought about pie in the last six months, but as it is fruit season (and rainy season), there is an abundance of mangoes. The recipe Christy has is actually from a cookbook that some Peace Corps volunteers in Guinea made to pass along recipes using local ingredients. The pie came out delicious, and tastes a bit like apple pie, but a little juicier, tangier and sweeter - America meets Guinea meets Bangladesh! Next time you have some extra mangoes, try out this recipe!

Savar Shipyard

Last Friday I went out to Savar, about a 30 minute bus ride from Dhaka, to visit two French friends who work at a boat yard on various floating solutions for Bangladesh. Some of the innovative projects currently going on in Savar include refurbishing a floating hospital to reach remote island chars, building fiber glass fishing and transport boats, and preserving traditional Bengali wooden boat designs and craftsmanship (Friendship). I had the pleasure of going out to the yard to hang out with friends, explore the floating hospital, climb aboard some of the large wooden tourist boats and sail around the Vagolpur river.

Floating hospital undergoing renovations (background) and a
fiberglass transport boat (foreground).

Sailing the newest wooden sailboat.

Personalized Rickshaw A

For Zach's birthday, I had the famous rickshaw artist Ahmed paint a seat cover with us in a classic bollywood scene.  I am in the center dancing on a floating lotus flower, with a tiger on the left about to pounce and Zach to the right ready to attack with his 3 barreled gun. Overall, it came out perfectly, slightly absurd and over the top!

Fresh Air

Dhaka is a great city for exploring, and I still have lots more on my list to check out, but after being cooped up in Dhaka for a few months for language school, I have really been enjoying the flexibility of my new schedule, which allows me to travel around the beautiful country of Bangladesh. To make my recent travels even more enjoyable, I had my first visitor in Bangladesh, Zach! Zach and I left Dhaka for a 10 day trip down to Cox's Bazaar, Bandarban and Rangamati. 

We arrived at Cox's Bazaar with the rain and spent two days there dodging rain drops and exploring the world's longest natural unbroken beach. There are a few qualifiers in that last statement, but when you include them all, it is true; Bangladesh is home to a 120km long beach that is entirely natural (as opposed to man-made). Since it is the low season and there was a storm coming, Cox's Bazaar was nearly vacant, and Zach and I barely had to share the entire 120km stretch with anyone! Zach played in the waves as I watched from the shore (I did not want to brave the water in my Salwar Kameez since an actual bathing suit would be wildly inappropriate) and we explored all the little shops selling dried fish, sea shells and even tourist T-shirts! On our second day we went to town and explored a Buddhist monastary, where Zach managed to impress the locals with his cricket skills. Then, as the storm left Cox's Bazaar, we boarded the bus to visit the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Zach playing in the waves at Cox's Bazaar. 

Art in Motion

Rickshaws are one of the most common modes of transportation in Bangladesh. They are one speed bikes with a seat on the back holding 1 - 2 people comfortably, but are often tested to hold 4 or 5 people. Bangladeshis use rickshaws everyday to travel short distances (maybe 2 – 5 km) within cities and towns. The average rickshaw ride can be anywhere from 10 – 50 Taka, and the price usually depends on distance, number of people, traffic and most importantly, how well you bargain.

One of the most unique things about rickshaws though, is that they are moving pieces of artwork. Art and rickshaws seem to have always existed together, as one rickshaw art supplier told me “when the rickshaws came, the art came.” Every rickshaw is painted and decorated with a variety of brightly colored brush strokes, fabric, tassels and ornaments, transforming otherwise normal bikes into beautiful art that streaks by you on the roaring Dhaka streets.

Class Shesh (finished)

Thursday was my last day of Bangla classes. It's amazing to think that just three months ago I did not even know the Bangla alphabet and now I can read, write and speak enough Bangla to get around. I still have a long ways to go, but I feel like I now have a solid foundation to build on.

Letter to a friend that I wrote in Bangla.

Mehndi

Last week my friend Shamima and I spent the afternoon watching the India vs. Pakistan cricket match (one of the most anticipated matches of the world cup series in Bangladesh). As we watched, we snacked on jhal muri (puffed rice, peanuts, crunchy bits and spicy spices), sipped tea and Shamima delicately dribbled mehndi (henna) into beautiful patterns on the palms of my hand. Mehndi is often applied to women's hands for weddings or other celebrations, but sometimes women will just have it done for fun. The latter was the case for me. The mehndi comes as a thick, wet paste, and after applying it to your body you let it dry. Once dry, the mehndi will start to crack off, leaving behind beautiful art for you to look at all week long!

David Bornstein: "Grameen Bank and the Public Good"

David Bornstein's blog, Fixes, on the New York Times website looks at solutions to social problems and why they work. Recently, he wrote a few posts on the current issues revolving around Professor Yunus and more generally, microfinance. Here is a link to one post I found particularly thought provoking. It is a great starting point to get an idea of the current discussion and also provides a few links to other papers, books and blogs for further reading. Enjoy!

Food Part 1: Lunch

I am currently renting a room in an apartment owned by my language school and classes are held in the apartment above. In addition to living in a pretty posh apartment in Dhaka, I also have a wonderful cook named Golap (a fairly common male name, which means rose). Everyday I finish language class at 1pm and come downstairs to my apartment where an amazing Bangladeshi feast awaits me. No matter what, it’s not lunch without dal-bhat (lentils and rice). This seems to be the most common food country-wide however dal can vary quite a bit, but after two months, I have yet to find any dal that beats Golap’s. In addition to dal-bhat, we usually also have some kind of sobji (vegetable curry), ruti (flat bread), and alu (potatoes). Sometimes we will have pollau, which is rice cooked in spices and oil with vegatables and traditionally meat. However, my all time favorite lunch dish is dim buna (a boiled egg in a spicy curry sauce).

Clockwise: vegetables, potatoe, ruti, dal and rice.

Come Visit Bangladesh!

If I am not enough to bring you to Bangladesh in 2011, I have discovered two more unbiased reasons to visit. First, this country is filled with immense natural beauty and an amazing unique culture. If my pictures have not fully convinced you, check out this video:

Second, Bangladesh is one of the cheapest tourist destinations in the world! With 1 US$ (70 Taka to the dollar), you can buy 14 cups of tea, a CNG ride across town, 3 and a half coconuts or a set of bangles. In fact, earlier this year, a Lonely Planet Article named Bangladesh 2011's best value destination. The article reads:

“ This subcontinental treat might just be the cheapest place on earth to travel. Bangladesh offers marvellous meals for under $1, a mid-range hotel room for less than 10 times that. This means that anyone who isn’t a masochist goes up a price bracket or two. You’ll pay a little more to get around the Sunderbans National Park on a tiger-spotting tour – US$150 or thereabouts – but it’s still peanuts, even compared to what you pay next door in India.

Bangladesh is almost disgracefully under-visited. Here, paddleboat is one of the main forms of transport and you can trek, canoe and even surf to your heart’s content with some of the world’s friendliest people for company. The Rocket is Bangladesh’s most famous ferry, running daily between the capital of Dhaka and Khulna. First-class river cruising for 27 hours will cost US$15.”

So, come discover Bangladesh's beauty while I am here and before the country is fully discovered (or under water)!

International Mother Language Day

In 1999, UNESCO formally announced February 21st as International Mother Language Day. It is observed every year worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity. In Bangladesh, today celebrates Bangla language and culture, while at the same time mourns those who sacrificed their lives to keep Bangla the national language.

On the 21st of March, 1948 - when Bangladesh was part of Pakistan, known as East Pakistan - the Pakistani government declared that Urdu would be the official language for both West and East Pakistan. The people of East Pakistan, whose primary language is Bangla, were deeply upset by this ruling, and as a result, the Bangla language movement was born. On the 21st of February, 1952, students of Dhaka University and other activists protested the ruling. In response, the Pakistani police open fired, killing several protesters.

The language movement spread throughout East Pakistan and the entire province came to a standstill. Afterwards, the Pakistani government relented and allowed East Pakistan to keep Bangla as their national language.

You can steal flowers and books

The first Bangla proverb I learned is "You can steal flowers and books." It was explained that it's okay to steal flowers because they are natural and from the earth, and you can steal books because books give you wisdom.  I really like this proverb, and I think it has even more meaning because I am in a city where nature is hard to find and education is not available for all.

In the last week or so I have stolen both with my camera. The other day, my roommates and I woke up early and headed down to Shabagh flower market. Shabagh flower market is the largest bulk flower market in Bangladesh and from early in the morning until 11am you can find mountains of gada flowers (marigolds), bouquets of roses, baskets of petals, and strands of exotic flowers for hanging and decorating. The market materializes every morning under a footbridge right on the street and by seven it was a slurry of people and flowers. The sun was rising and the air had a wonderful (and unusual for Dhaka) sweet fragrance, and for just about an hour we talked, played and photographed the flowers, each other and the vendors, and almost forgot we were in Dhaka.

Mountains of gada flowers.

Dhaka Zoo and Korail

Some how it has been another week. Time is really going by quickly and I think I am starting to get into the groove of living in Dhaka, or at least as close to a groove as is possible given that it is Dhaka. First off, thanks to everyone for the comments and emails for my blog. I really appreciate all of the feedback and have been trying to incorporate. Also, please email me or comment if you have any questions about Dhaka, Bangladesh, Me, Bangla school or if you have anything you would like me to blog about.

As for my weekend, it started off like any other weekend, not too different from those spent in DC. My language partner and I decided to practice my animal vocab and go check out the zoo (I had heard they had a Bengal tiger which I was interested in seeing). The zoo is all the way in the northwest part of town and a little bit of a trek from where we live so we hopped on a city bus that would get us most of the way there. Everything was going pretty smoothly and we actually got lucky by getting on a bus that was a sitting bus only, meaning the bus would only take enough people as there are seats for.

Living vs. travelling

It is interesting moving to Dhaka to live here, verses coming for a visit. Usually, I go to foreign countries for vacation and try to cram as much as possible into what little time I have (because I am always running out of time!). This has not been the case so far for Dhaka. Instead of running from one site to the next, I have been enjoying time hanging out with friends (yes, I have friends!) and slowly getting to know my new city.

This past Wednesday was my first real site-seeing day. BLI (Bangla Language Insitute) organized a field trip to Purano Dhaka or Old Dhaka. Purano Dhaka is made up of narrow winding streets, interesting architecture and some good tourist attractions. So at 9am, the only other BLI student this semester (also a Fulbrighter) and I loaded into the van with our entourage, which included a driver, an administrative assistant, and two teachers. Needless to say, we had a wealth of knowledge to tap into, which was definitely nice when we got into a major traffic jam shortly after leaving. It took us about 2 hrs to travel less than 8 miles to our destination, but luckily traffic is still entertaining to me. 

Traffic guard. Old Dhaka.

The two major sites we saw were Ahsan Manzil and Lalbagh fort. Ahsan Manzil, also known as the pink palace, was originally a government and trading center but was later sold to the Dhaka Nawab family in the mid-19^th century and converted into their residence. When the last Nawab died, Ahsan Manzil fell into direspear, but in the mid 80’s, it was restored and turned into a museum. 

Ahsan Manzil, Old Dhaka.

Me at Ahsan Manzil, Old Dhaka.

Lalbagh fort contains three buildings, a mosque, the govenor’s residence and a tomb, all surrounded by the fort. Construction of the fort began in 1878, but was never finished.

Lalbagh, Old Dhaka.

Mosque at Lalbagh, Old Dhaka.

 That ends my formal touring of Dhaka for now. This weekend, however, I did quite a bit more exploring. I found Old Dhaka really interesting and wanted to go back down there to see a bit more, so three friends (including my language partner) and I headed back down on Friday. Friday is actually a great day traveling around Dhaka because traffic is really light. This is because Friday is sort of like our Sunday. Generally, people stay home on Friday with their family and only in the middle of the day do you have to be careful of traffic because that is when men will head to the mosque for prayer.


So, without much trouble the four of us got down to old Dhaka. This time, though, we decided to go to Sadarghat, a large boat terminal, and take a boat down the Buriganga river. Here are some photos of what we saw from the river:

The Sadarghat boat terminal.

Ahsan Manzil from the Buriganga river.

Man washing himself on one the dredging boats used to collect sand for construction.

My language partner and I on the boat.

Our destination was a char (pronounced chore), which is a specific type of island. Chars are very vulnerable to flooding, causing the islands to shift and change a lot. Usually, extremely impoverished people live on chars and because the chars are always changing, inhabitants have to resettle fairly often. Because they are not connected to the mainland, chars get very few foreign visitors. So, as we walked around, a crowd slowly grew around us. The people were very friendly and curious as to why we were there and where we came from. Things got really fun, though, when we decided to stop for cha at a little shop. Lots of kids came over to us and asked us why our hair was blonde (three of us have varying shades of blonde hair) and were extremely excited to have their picture taken (as long as we showed them their photo after). The kids were so great and interested in our cameras, that we asked them if they wanted to try taking their own pictures. At first they were a little shy and said no, but after we asked them if they were sure, they turned into excellent photographers.

Curious women on the Char.

Sitting down for cha and drawing lots of attention.

Teaching the kids how to take a picture.

A natural.

A photo of me taken by one of the kids.

Goodbye!

After saying our goodbyes, we headed back to old Dhaka and made our way up to Baridhara. The last thing I will share for this post was the incredible block printing shops I found (well actually was shown) in New Market. Yes, I went back down to New Market on Saturday morning. Not that I actually needed to buy anything, but more so because it is so big and there is so much going on there that you could go 100 times and still not have seen everything. 

This time, I saw the block printers. On the third or fourth floor, in an open air building, there is a whole side devoted to block printing. There are tons of blocks, paints, colors, sparkles and fabrics and the printers create the most gorgeous designs I have seen so far in Dhaka. There is just one straight walkway flanked with shop after shop of block printers creating gorgeous artwork. The air smells of paint and the block printers show off their work with hanging salwar kameez, saris, and shawls for passerbys to envy. This was truly an awesome place to see and is another reason why I am happy to be living in Dhaka.

Block Printing, New Market, Dhaka.

Block Printing, New Market, Dhaka.

The never ending aisle of block printers in New Market.

Block Printing, New Market, Dhaka.

First Week

I have now officially been in Dhaka for one week. What a week it has been. In fact, I feel like I have done and learned so much in this last week that I should have updated my blog earlier. I will blame my lack of communication on the intermittent internet at my apartment, even though in truth it was just me taking it all in and not being used to writing a blog.

I am slowly adjusting to life in Dhaka. The city itself is absolutely nuts. Walking down the streets the first few days my body was on sensory overload. There are so many people, cars, rickshaws, buildings, shops, street vendors, beggars, dangling power lines and the occasional hole in the sidewalk to avoid that I found myself fatigued after being out for more than a couple hours. I am assuming this is also the reason why I lost my cell phone literally the first time I was out on my own. I am still not quite sure if the phone just slipped out of my pocket or if a hand slipped into it, but somehow I managed to lose my phone in record time. The good news is, I was able to buy a new one for 1,200 Taka, or about $18. 

Noda Bazaar, right outside Baridhara, Dhaka

Made it to Dhaka

After applying for a Fulbright grant to Bangladesh a year and a half ago, I have finally made it to Dhaka. The last month has been a bit of a blur trying to fit in doctor appointments, visa appointments, leaving CBO, learning the Bangla alphabet and of course, most importantly, spending time with friends and family.

I arrived in Dhaka at 8PM last night, and already have a few observations. The first actually occurred prior to landing in Dhaka, and that was how dark the capital city looked from the plane. I am not saying that there were no lights, but considering the size of the city, it felt like I was landing in Waterville, Maine (where I attended Colby). This felt somewhat astonishing considering that Dhaka is a city of nearly 7 million. The one positive outcome of this realization: my research project is relevant and needed.

My New Blog

Welcome to my Blog! I'd first like to say that I am new to this so please bear with me as I get the hang of blogging. 

I will be living in Dhaka, Bangladesh for the next 11 months as a Fulbright Student Fellow. During my first two months here, I will be studying at the Bangla Language Institute. After mastering Bangla (or learning as much as I can in 2 months), I will begin my research project.

My host organization, Grameen Shakti, is an arm of Grameen Bank, the pioneer of microfinance. Grameen Shakti (energy) provides small loans for solar panels and other forms of renewable energy in rural villages throughout Bangladesh (nearly all rural villages in Bangladesh have no form of electricity). More to come on my research as it begins to unfold, so keep stopping by my blog. 

Thanks for your interest and please stay in touch!