Page 59 - GOTIL (ENG) Sample

Village Life in Bangladesh 27

Many people eat from leaf plates and clay cups, which
are used once then thrown away and naturally become
reabsorbed into the ecosystem. Cooking pots and reusable
plates are washed with earth and grass or coconut husk.
Using earth or sand is a simple, natural, effective, and
costless way to remove grease and stains, and to shine
metal utensils. There is no need of a massive industry
to make washing liquids and pollute the environment.
Water comes not from taps but directly from rivers, lakes,
ponds, or wells. Eating by hand obviates the need for
knives and forks.

Villagers use practically no factory-produced items. They
know how to utilize nature’s resources to produce all
requirements for simple living. For instance, they use
every part of the coconut tree. Brushes are made from the
stiff stems of coconut leaves; string from coconut husks
and from jute; and half-coconut shells with a wooden
handle attached to them can be used as ladles. Coconut
flesh is a most nutritious food that adds unique flavor and
nourishment to innumerable sweet and salty preparations.
Oil extracted from coconut pulp is rubbed onto the head
to add sheen to hair and cool the scalp.

Several dozen varieties of banana are cultivated in
Bangladesh. Most are sweet and shorter than those
familiar in the West, some growing no more than three
centimeters long; but some are sour, or being full of seeds
are not very pleasant to eat. Others are best cut before
they ripen, to be cooked as a vegetable, excellent for the
stomach and liver. Apart from the fruit, banana trees also