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Material World: Bhutan

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  • Nalim and Namgay's family of Bhutan, with all of their possessions. From pages 72-73, Material World. The family of subsistence farmers lives in a 3-story rammed-earth house in the hillside village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. Namgay, who has a hunched back and a clubfoot, grinds grain for neighbors with a small mill his family purchased from the government. They are paying for the mill as they can (often the payment is made in grain and mustard oil). Namgay is also a reader of sacred texts and conducts house cleansing and healing ceremonies for their 14-house village.
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  • Nalim and Namgay family portrait outside their home in Shingkhey, Bhutan. The family of subsistence farmers lives in a 3-story rammed-earth house in the hillside village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. Namgay, who has a hunched back and a clubfoot, grinds grain for neighbors with a small mill his family purchased from the government. They are paying for the mill as they can (often the payment is made in grain and mustard oil). Namgay is also a reader of sacred texts and conducts house cleansing and healing ceremonies for their 14-house village. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all their possessions.
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  • Sangay Khandu uses bulls to plow the family's fields, readying them for rice planting which the women in the family will do. He moves gingerly around the notoriously bad-tempered beasts. The Namgay household farms land that they own and rented land as well to feed their large family. The land is scattered in terraced strips through the hillsides near their home, each plot devoted to one crop: wheat, rice, chilies, or potatoes. Shingkhey, Bhutan. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, pages 74-75. The family of subsistence farmers lives in a 3-story rammed-earth house in the hillside village of Shingkhey, Bhutan.
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  • Villagers farm terraced land on the hillsides near their homes, growing wheat, rice, chilies, and potatoes, depending on the season. The wheat harvest, now ending, is assigned to the women. But the men do other jobs. A neighbor gathers the chaff to burn it while Nalim and Namgay's son-in-law Sangay Khandu plows the fields below with bulls. Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World: A Global Family Portrait.
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  • Sangay sits in the terraced rice and wheat fields near her village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. She and her mother Nalim take turns caring for the younger children at home and working on planting and harvesting their crops. The family farms both land that they own and land that they rent. It is scattered in terraced strips through the hillsides near their home, each plot devoted to one crop: wheat, rice, chilies, or potatoes. Shingkhey, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all their possessions.
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  • Namgay and Nalim's family in Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. Nalim picks beans as her grandchild looks on. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all their possessions.
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  • The wheat harvest in the small village of Shingkhey, Bhutan, now in full swing, is assigned to the women. They take two long, dowel-like sticks, pinch a fistful of wheat heads between them, and then pull up, snapping off the heads. For long-term storage, they cut the stalks down, bind them into sheaves, and store them in the attic. It is threshed little by little, as the family needs it. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, page 75.
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  • Women harvest wheat in terraced strips through the hillsides near their home in the village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. Each strip is devoted to a different crop, and dependent on the season: wheat, rice, chilies, or potatoes. The wheat harvest, now in full swing, is assigned to the women. They take two long, dowel-like sticks, pinch a fistful of wheat heads between them, and then pull up, snapping off the heads. For long-term storage, they cut the whole stalk, bind it into sheaves, and store the result in the attic, from where it is threshed little by little, as the family needs it. The family of subsistence farmers lives in a 3-story rammed-earth house in the hillside village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all their possessions.
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  • Wheat on the third floor storage area of Namgay and Nalim's house, Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. The family of subsistence farmers lives in a 3-story rammed-earth house in the hillside village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. Nalim and her daughter Sangay work as partners; they take turns caring for the children and working in their mustard, rice, and wheat fields. Namgay, who has a hunched back and a clubfoot, grinds grain for neighbors with a small mill his family purchased from the government. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all their possessions.
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  • Wheat and dried chili peppers on the third floor storage area of Namgay and Nalim's house, Shingkhey, Bhutan. The Namgay household owns and rents land scattered in terraced strips through the hillsides near their home, each strip being devoted to one crop: wheat, rice, chilies, or potatoes.  Nalim and her daughter Sangay care for the children and work in their mustard, rice, and wheat fields. Namgay, who has a hunched back and a clubfoot, grinds grain for neighbors with a small mill his family purchased from the government. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Sangay cooks at the wood-burning hearth and earthen stove in the kitchen of the rammed earth home she and her husband and children share with Sangay's parents, and brothers and sisters. Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. Nalim and her daughter Sangay care for the children and work in their mustard, rice, and wheat fields. Namgay, who has a hunched back and a clubfoot, grinds grain for neighbors with a small mill his family purchased from the government. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Butter churning, cooking, and child care in Namgay and Nalim's home in Shingkhey, Bhutan. Nalim and her daughter Sangay care for the children and work in their mustard, rice, and wheat fields. Namgay, who has a hunched back and a clubfoot, grinds grain for neighbors with a small mill his family purchased from the government. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Nalim holds her two-year-old daughter Zekom in a traditional hand-fashioned back sling as she works at the butter churn.  Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, page 77. Nalim and her daughter Sangay care for the children and work in their mustard, rice, and wheat fields. Namgay, who has a hunched back and a clubfoot, grinds grain for neighbors with a small mill his family purchased from the government. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • One of Sangay's morning duties is milking the cows. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, page 75. Sangay and her children and husband live in her parent's house; a traditional 3-story rammed-earth house in the hillside village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. Sangay and her mother Nalim care for the children and work in their mustard, rice, and wheat fields. Namgay, who has a hunched back and a clubfoot, grinds grain for neighbors with a small mill his family purchased from the government.
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  • Especially fond of the children, Uncle Kinley Dorji (seated at right) has given up marriage to help with childcare in his sister Nalim's house. A typical task: feeding a weekend breakfast of sweet, thick rice soup to Tandin Geltshin, one of the two-year-olds. His namesake and nephew, Kinley (standing at left) observes the jumble of children from the lofty distance of his 17 years. A student at a boarding school an hour's walk away, he is home only for weekends. Namgay and Nalim's family lives in Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, pages76-77.
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  • Sangay, her children, and young sister Zekom (second from right) eat a snack of toasted grain. Shingkhey, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Typical meal in Bhutan: red rice, chilies with potatoes, eggs, cheese. The Namgay household owns and rents land scattered in terraced strips through the hillsides near their home, each strip being devoted to one crop: wheat, rice, chilies, or potatoes. Shingkhey, Bhutan. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, Meals of the World page 177. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Sangay chews betel nut and lime wrapped in a leaf, which, from long-term use, has discolored her teeth and gums. Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. Nalim and her daughter Sangay care for the children and work in their mustard, rice, and wheat fields. Namgay, who has a hunched back and a clubfoot, grinds grain for neighbors with a small mill his family purchased from the government. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Namgay and Nalim's family in Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. (Some of their children, from left to right): Their grandson Chato Geltshin, and daughter Bangam (holding her younger sister Zekom). From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Nalim and Namgay's grandson looks out from a window in the traditional 3-story rammed earth house he shares with his large extended family. Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Family matriarch Nalim with her youngest daughter Zekom. Nalim's teeth are damaged by the use of betel nut (a mildly narcotic tree fruit). Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Namgay with his holy texts in the prayer room of his rammed earth house, Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. Namgay, who has a hunched back and a clubfoot, grinds grain for neighbors with a small mill his family purchased from the government.  Namgay is also a reader of sacred texts and conducts house cleansing and healing ceremonies for their 14-house village. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • A visiting monk reads Buddhist scripts during a house blessing of Namgay and Nalim's house. Shingkhey, Bhutan. The family of subsistence farmers lives in a 3-story rammed-earth house in the hillside village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Three-year-old Chato Geltshin holds a branch full of berries brought by Uncle Kinley Dorji after a firewood-cutting expedition outside their hillside village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, page 76.
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  • Chato Namgay, 7 years old, is Nalim and Namgay's grandson and the second son of Sangay and Sangay Kandu. Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Uncle Kinley Dorji, part of Namgay and Nalim's family in Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. Uncle Kinley is especially fond of children. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Nalim and Namgay's grandchildren look out from a hand carved window in their traditional 3-story rammed earth house. Shingkhey, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Namgay family pit toilet in Shingkhey, Bhutan, was part of a program mandated by the country's king to force the Bhutanese to use a specific location for toileting. This program has not been a success. Most families still use the surrounding bushes and fields. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, Toilets of the World page 225.
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  • Sangay washes her feet with water from a gourd before attending a religious festival at the local temple in Shingkhey village. This is part of the two-day ceremony--or pujo--that is held every year to bless the village. To a continuous background of chanting, the monks fill the valley with long, slow, deep notes from their horns. Shingkhey, Bhutan. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, page 79.
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  • Bath time for Zekom on the ledge of her mother Nalim's home. Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. Nalim carries her grandson Tandin Geltshin in a sling on her back. The two children are the same age. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Nalim and Namgay's family sleeping arrangements in their home in Shingkhey, Bhutan. The family of subsistence farmers lives in a 3-story rammed-earth house in the hillside village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Zekom sleeps, covered with houseflies that congregate in her parent's home during certain seasons of the year. Because the animals live on the ground floor of the house insects that breed in the animals' manure are constant nuisances. Shingkhey, Bhutan. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait page 76.
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  • English lesson in classroom at the school in Gaselo, Bhutan. Nalim's daughter Bangam is in attendance (though out of frame). Children in Bangam's class range from 6 to 17 in age, some of who travel several hours to attend. The school is an hour walk from their home in Shingkhey, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • English lesson in classroom at the school in Gaselo, Bhutan. Nalim's daughter Bangam is in attendance (although out of frame). Children in Bangam's class range from 6 to 17 in age. The school is an hour's walk from Shingkhey Village. Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Bhutanese language writing class at the school in Gaselo, Bhutan. The school is an hour's walk from Shingkhey Village. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Bhutanese language writing class at the school in Gaselo, Bhutan. The school is an hour's walk from Shingkhey Village. Nalim and Namgay's daughter Bangam attends this school. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • A woman and her children dressed in traditional Bhutanese clothes, (Woman and girl in a kira, and boy at right in a gho) which have been mandated by the country's king to be worn by all adult citizens. Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Monk with prayer beads, Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Namgay family toilet in Shingkhey, Bhutan, was part of a program mandated by the country's king to force the Bhutanese to use a specific location for toileting. This program has not been a success. Most families still use the surrounding bushes and fields (1994). Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • As happens in every Bhutanese village each year, a two-day ceremony is held to bless the village of Shingkhey. To a continuous background of chanting, the monks fill the valley with long, slow, deep notes from their horns. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • New house blessing in the village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. Monks perform a ceremony that includes music and chanting. The whole village is treated to a special meal inside afterward. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Outside the Shingkhey Buddhist Temple, a two-day ceremony is held to bless the village. To a continuous background of chanting, the monks fill the valley with long, slow, deep notes from their horns. Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • At the Shingkhey village temple in Bhutan, a two-day ceremony is held every year to bless the village. To a continuous background of chanting, the monks fill the valley with long, slow, deep notes from their horns. The drum in the center of the room beats with a deep, resonant, almost ringing sound. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, page 78.
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  • Inside the Shingkhey Buddhist Temple, a two-day ceremony is held to bless the village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. To a continuous background of chanting, the monks fill the valley with long, slow, deep notes from their horns. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Inside a makeshift tent outside the Shingkhey Buddhist Temple, a two-day ceremony is held to bless the village. To a continuous background of chanting, the monks fill the valley with long, slow, deep notes from their horns. Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Dancing outside the Shingkhey Temple. As happens in every Bhutanese village each year, a two-day ceremony is held to bless the village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Two women with signs of betel nut damage to their teeth and gums in Shingkhey Village, Bhutan snort finely ground tobacco powder. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • A drunken Bhutanese man "sleeping it off" on the path at Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Man who has been drinking to excess, Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • A monk with severe betel nut damage to his teeth and gums, caused by chewing the mildly narcotic vegetation, in Shingkhey Village, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • A neighboring family of Nalim and Namgay was photographed in the village of Shingkhey, Bhutan, for the Material World Project. They are shown outside their rammed earth house with all their possessions. Shingkhey Village, Bhutan.
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  • A young Bhutanese girl sits on a sack of rice in Gaselo, Bhutan. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, page 6.
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  • Little girl plays jump rope in front of her rammed earth home in the village of Gaselo, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Shingkhey villagers (Uncle Kinley Dorji at center) look at images of other countries from the Material World Project. Bhutan. The family of subsistence farmers lives in a 3-story rammed-earth house in the hillside village of Shingkhey, Bhutan.
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  • Bhutanese man with baby in a village not far from Thimphu. The man's lips are stained red from chewing betel nut. Bhutan.
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  • Grain and sundries shop in the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu. There are no western-style supermarkets in the country. This store is about as big as they come, and most all of the packaged goods come in overland from India. Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Flooded rice paddies in the Paro Valley, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Paro Valley, Bhutan with the Paro Dzong in the foreground and rammed earth houses and rice fields behind. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Terraced rice fields and prayer flags in the upper Paro Valley, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Planting rice in the terraced paddies in the Punakha Valley, Bhutan. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Plowing a rice paddy in the terraced paddies in the Punakha Valley, Bhutan From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Public works road project in Bhutan. This is a major highway through mountainous Bhutan. The work crews are made up of guest workers from neighboring Nepal and India. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project.
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  • Photographer Peter Menzel poses with Buddhist Monks in Shingkhey, Bhutan, while on assignment shooting for the Material World Project. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, back cover, inside flap.
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