TRAVEL THE WORLD - NILE RIVER, EGYPT

Here in 2004 is a young shepherd with his sheep photographed as he walks along beside the train. We can imagine his life, lived close to the land in a tight-knit rural community. Although lacking in many of the benefits of modern technology, people here have been able to escape the grinding poverty of Cairo.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - VILLAGE IN RAJATHAN, INDIA

There is great diversity within India, but it can nevertheless be characterized as a country of farmers. Although Rajasthan is one of India's more prosperous states, you can see from the photo that life in rural areas is relatively primitive. Even with many government initiatives to combat it, rural poverty - along with indebtedness and suicide - remains a problem.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - SOMEWHERE IN GUJARAT, INDIA

Bullock carts like the one in the photo are seen all over India, particularly in rural areas, but also on fast-travelled congested highways. These animals have been used as beasts of burden for many centuries in India. This one was photographed in 2007 in Gujarat.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - VILLAGE ON THE NILE, EGYPT

These photos, taken in 2004 from the train or the boat, portray life in rural agricultural villages along the Nile River in Egypt.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - VILLAGE NEAR UDAIPUR, INDIA

These photos, taken in 2007, show the primitive but effective way this farmer is irrigating his fields. You can see the stream which is the source of water just below the water wheel. Because of its dry climate, Rajasthan agriculture must depend on irrigation.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - VILLAGE NEAR UDAIPUR, INDIA

These 2007 photos were taken from the car on the way from Udaipur to the 14th Century fortress of Kumbhalgarh. It was a very cold December morning with near freezing temperatures. The photos are a fairly good indication of the poverty of small farmers in India.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - VILLAGE IN RAJASTHAN, INDIA

Here is another photo taken from the car on the way to Kumbhalgarh. It is an example of how primitive life is for millions of people in rural India. Most small farmers become indebted to local money lenders, and, as their debts are inherited by their offspring, the hopelessness of the situation contributes to the thousands of farmer suicides that occur every year.The Government of India is currently making available an allocation of $15 billion to forgive the debt of small farmers.

TRAVEL THE WORLD - NEAR MAHESHWAR, MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA

This young girl, photographed from the train in India in 2007, would likely be typical of many rural children raised in poverty in that country. The 2001 census reported a rural population of 740 million out of a total population of 1.17 billion. Although fertilizers and irrigation have improved the productivity of the soil, most of India's rural population remain poor, and many are deeply in debt to the extent that suicide is a major problem. Because the debt passes from father to son, their situation appears hopeless. Experts estimated, for example, that there were approximately 17,500 farmer suicides each year between 2002 and 2006. Recently, the government has initiated a program of debt relief for farmers. Though it will no doubt help, it is unlikely to solve such a huge problem.

LIFE OF MY FATHER - 9

EARLY LIFE

When my grandfather returned from the War in 1919, the family moved to a homestead at Kinuso on Lesser Slave Lake, where my grandfather's older sister, Maria Jeanne, and her husband, Emile Vanderaegen, had a general store. A homestead was a large piece of government land that was made available to pioneers who were willing to work hard to establish a farm. In Alberta, the main homesteading years were from 1870 to and 1930. By 1919, it is likely that most of the best land had already been taken.

There is very rich farmland west of Kinuso in the Peace River District. As I was curious about how far east this good land extended, I made an Internet search and found Statistics Canada information from the 2006 Agricultural Census. In the Big Lakes Area which includes Kinuso on its eastern boundary, small amounts of rapeseed, oats, and barley are grown. By far the biggest crops, however, are used as fodder for cattle and pigs. Annual gross farm receipts in Alberta that year were $470.90 per acre, whereas in the Big Lakes Area, they were only $174.00. Agricultural capability of the land seems to be limited largely to stock raising.

I don't know if the family had livestock. If they had cattle, they wouldn't likely have had to eat so much fish. I can remember my father telling us about the family's efforts to grow timothy. He said the whole family sat around the kitchen table, placed the timothy on the table, and pounded at it with their hands trying to remove the seeds from the chaff. When I searched timothy on the Internet, I discovered it is a type of hay or alphalfa used for cattle feed. I don't know what the seeds would have been used for, but the attempt was not successful. I can only say that I admire their determination.

Pictured in the photos are my Dad and his brother, Albert, in a dugout canoe; my grandfather Albert Darimont with horses; my Dad flying a kite; and my Dad's sister Jacqueline aged 18.

INDIA VACATION 2007

VILLAGE WOMEN IN RAJASTHAN

Although Rajasthan is one of India's more prosperous states, life in rural areas is still relatively primitive. India is basically a country of farmers, and even with many public initiatives, rural poverty remains a major problem.

As depicted in the first photo above, village women in Rajasthan wear the nose ring after they marry. It is considered an adornment that increases a woman's attractiveness. Despite their relative poverty, rural women possess a remarkable a dignity.

INDIA VACATION 2007

SACRED COWS OF INDIA

Cows are sacred in India. The origins of this belief are lost in history, but, even today, it is forbidden to harm them. Drivers will make dangerous moves to avoid hitting a cow on the street or highway.

Cows are to be seen everywhere: sleeping on the street, feeding in a rubbish pile, or taking a leisurely stroll through a railway station. It is thought that veneration of the cow has its roots in the animal's historic role as an essential support for human life and in being the most valuable possession of most people. The cow provided milk, the bullock provided transport, and dung was the major source of fuel.

Cows continue to play a key role today, especially in rural India. While the animals are able to fulfill these functions, people care for and feed them. Tragically, when they have aged, they are abandoned and forced to forage for their food. Hence, the common sight of the cow on the rubbish heap.