Website owner:  James Miller

Rural life in third world countries

   What is rural life like in third world countries?  In most places 
   the following conditions probably obtain:

   - a rudimentary one or two room house with no indoor plumbing or 
      electricity.  It may be constructed of bamboo, sun-dried brick, 
      unpainted wood or some other substance.

   - no central heating

   - no air conditioning

   - no indoor toilet

   - no bath or shower  

   - no sink with running water

   - no modern kitchen

   - no refrigerator

   - no oven 

   - no dishwasher

   - no washing machine

   - no electric lights

   - no cars


   What are the implications of all this in regard to daily routine?  
   Because they have no refrigerator they can't store leftover food 
   for more than a day or two and so that means that each day they 
   make a trip to the local market to buy food for the day -- fresh 
   vegetables, fruit, etc..  Then they prepare the food from scratch.  
   There are few or no packaged foods or canned foods.  Because of 
   the importance of the food market they probably live in or near 
   villages -- or, at least, within walking distance of a market.  
   And because they have no oven they buy fresh-baked bread each day 
   at the market.  Because they have no washing machine they wash 
   their clothes by hand, perhaps down in a nearby river -- or else 
   they pay some washerwoman to wash them for them.  Because they 
   have no cars they walk, ride bicycle, or depend on buses.  Because 
   no one owns motor vehicles the roads are dirt roads, perhaps just 
   footpaths, which turn to quagmires during the rainy season. 


   Sept 1999