9 neighbours have shared what matters to them — in their own words.
“My name is Kanagavalli, I am a housewife. There is a lot of sun exposure in our town. So we have problems. Young children are falling ill. Prickly heat boils are occurring frequently. We are reducing body heat by drinking water, coconut water, and eating watermelon. You also eat a lot of fruits.”
“என் பெயர் கனகவள்ளி இல்லத்தரசியாக உள்ளேன். எங்கள் ஊரில் அதிக வெயில் தாக்கம் இருக்கிறது. அதனால் எங்களுக்கு பிரச்சனையாக இருக்குது. சின்ன பிள்ளைகளுக்கு உடல்நிலை சரியில்லாம போகுது. வேர்க்கூறு கொப்பளம் அதிகமாக வருது. தண்ணீர், இளநீர், தற்பூசணி சாப்பிட்டு உடல் சூட்டை தனிச்சிக்கிறோம். நீங்களும் நிறைய பழவகைகள் சாப்பிடுங்க.”
translated from Tamil
In your area, citizens are grappling with significant challenges, primarily revolving around the impact of extreme weather and economic pressures. There's widespread concern about intense heat exposure leading to health issues like prickly heat, particularly affecting children, and making daily tasks like operating looms difficult. Farmers report low crop yields and disease impacting mango cultivation 🥭, alongside broader struggles. A critical and pervasive problem is the unavailability and increased price of cooking gas cylinders ⛽, forcing many to rely on expensive and inconvenient firewood, which is especially problematic during the rainy season. Furthermore, a general cash shortage is compounding the economic hardship for residents. Despite these difficulties, local communities demonstrate resilience by actively combating the heat through accessible solutions like consuming hydrating foods and drinks such as water, coconut water, watermelon, and various local fruits. The abundance and variety of local produce, like different mango types, are highlighted as a positive local resource 💡.
“Hello, regarding the summer, the sun is very strong. But since we are in the countryside, we don't feel it much because we work in the village. It's a little, a little more. But because we are farmers, we don't feel it. But I don't know how you people in town are coping, poor things. The sun is indeed very strong this year. I don't know if it will stay like this or how it will be. But we ourselves are drinking a lot of water in the countryside. But even if we farm like that, our farming is not yielding much. The yield is very low. Half of the harvest is wasted due to yellow disease. I don't know how we are going to cope.”
“My name is Kolanjaswamy. I am driving a goods vehicle. Due to cash shortage, if I book, it takes about two months. I can't manage anything. Even if I use a firewood stove, the price of firewood has also gone up. I don't know how to survive, everything is very difficult.”
“My name is Vinitha. I am a housewife. In our Salem, many types of mangoes were available. Since they were on trees within the village itself, many were available. Its varieties include Bangalore Manga, Malgova, Banganapalli, Arisi Manga. Since many varieties like these were available, they gave them for free. So we ate a lot. Because we ate it, its taste and all was good. Since it was nearby, it was like we could quickly buy and eat it.”
“My name is Thanapalu. The cylinder is not easily available. They are making us wait for 45 to 50 days. Since the cylinder is not readily available, we are cooking on other stoves. They are not even providing the cylinder properly. The price has also gone up. It's a bit difficult. Other stoves are also not easily available. We are unable to cook food in any other way. And it's raining like this. It's a bit difficult. I don't know what to do. It would be fine if we got cash easily. All the prices have gone up. Even with increased prices, they are not giving it properly, they are not delivering. Anyway, they are making us wait for 50 to 60 days. It's a bit difficult.”
“If it's cultivation, it includes handloom weaving. But still, we do farming. In our village, mango cultivation is the main occupation. Now, what is being cultivated is that. There are many types of mangoes, but we send them to Salem. We cultivate Bangalore mango, Sendhoora mango, Kilimooku mango, Katti mango, Manjalmatti mango, Kottagachi mango, and so on. But among these mangoes, Sendhoora mango has the highest price. We send them to Salem district, to the market.”
“My name is Senbagam. We do loom work. It's a thatched house, being inside it in the sun is a bit difficult. Because the sun was intense, we drank a lot of water. Then cool drinks, tender coconut, watermelon, we ate many such varieties, only then the heat would be a bit less. As there was no rain, the sun was a bit more intense. To reduce that, if we eat these water-based foods, it will be a bit good and refreshing for the body. We can also stop for a while and operate the loom in the afternoon. Otherwise, operating the loom is a bit difficult.”
“My name is Palanisamy. I am a weaver. This year, the impact of the sun was very high. So we, being from a rural area, ate a lot of palm fruit (nungu). We drank tender coconut water. Besides that, we consumed naturally grown palm candy. We ate these things. We consumed water-rich foods like watermelon, sugarcane juice. We ate these kinds of things to keep our body cool. However, because the heat this year was very intense, we consumed water-rich foods.”
“I am Lakshmanarayanan. I am a weaver. Now, due to the gas shortage, cooking is very difficult. Now, we have to buy firewood from nearby to cook. They have also increased the price of firewood due to the shortage. So, it's very difficult now. Now, it's the rainy season. During the rainy season, from 5-6 PM, strong winds blow. It rains. So, cooking with firewood is a bit difficult. If there wasn't this gas shortage, we could manage a bit. Our weaving business is already going through some difficulties. Now, with this situation, life is becoming a bit harder.”
