Since I loath green peppers, watching me eat the tainted jello was a great source of amusement for them and, in my view, an unpardonable act. I warned them before I left on this trip that, as I visited each country, I would seek the perfect opportunity to exercise my Law of Tenfold Retribution. India finally provided that chance. Being overcrowded and fairly impoverished, she has trouble providing adequate resources for her population. Nowhere is this more evident than in the kitchen where keeping the cookfires burning often requires great ingenuity.
Dung fuel is a prime example.
The local herbivores, cows, camels and buffalo, consume large quantities of rotting vegetation when the cardboard and other trash in the street gets scarce. This produces waste which is combustible if prepared properly. The process is simple. The kids follow the animals around and scoop up the fresh droppings. Once several basketfulls have been accumulated, their mother finds a comfortable place in the sun and goes into production.