THE YAKHA: CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN ...

' K3' project maps we saw, Tamaphok was conspicuous by i ts presence as a
pancayat with apparently nothing happening in it. Thus, while Tamaphok
had appeared ideal for the 'pure' aspects of my research, as a random
choice for 'applied' research, by contrast, Tamaphok lacked much
connection with the activities of the 'K3' project based in Dhankuta.
There were various practical reasons for this: one was the nature of
the Koshi Hills region itself, which was large and difficult to
traverse, particularly the northernmost district of Sankhuwasabha,,'.
Staff at the project headquarters in Dhankuta had therefore tended,
quite wisely, to concentrate their efforts in the more southerly
districts of Dhankuta, Bhojpur and Terhathum, These were both more
accessible from Dhankuta and had greater average population densities
than Sankhuwasabha (and hence more pressure on such things as forest
resources).
Once we met the expatriate staff of the 'K3' project in Dhankuta in
person and appeared less threatening to them than they might have
imagined, as had been the case in Kathmandu, attitudes towards us
appeared to change quite markedly. We were shown around, introduced to
people, offered maps and other assistance. Everyone was very helpful,
but, while I was still interested in the possibility of collaboration,
we felt it was better to wait and see how things worked out first in
terms of our relationships with the 'K3' staff and with people in
Tamaphok.
Perhaps because nothing was formalised, as time progressed
collaboration with staff at the KHCFP slipped further out of my research
agenda, As we became more involved in life in Tamaphok, the questions
we as social anthropologists had about the things we were seeing -