Today an early start, a two hour ride that began a bit before the 8am shift at the local henna factory. There are three thousand employees from the surrounding area and most don’t have transportation so:
Not long after, Umesh stopped at another random home and we invited ourselves in for tea. Soon, we are mobbed by the extended family, numbering around 30.
The weather was cool and windless and perfect; we rode traffic-free roads like this:
Then back to our place:
Then a visit to the world’s largest henna factory, currently undergoing a substantial expansion. They explicitly choose to use less machine automation so that they employ more people. For instance the dried, cleaned, crushed henna is sifted, and the sifting is done by hand. Much of it is piecework and they are working with staggering speed. The factory operations manager gave us a tour and described it as “social work”, “to give local people a better life”. We thought this might be hokey but in fact it was great, plus heartwarming, really. One of the owners was there and of course we were invited for lunch but were already late for checkout.
These handprints around the factory provide good luck.
Making salt by drilling wells, pumping the salty water to these pools, and drying it.
