02/24/2006

Electric poles stand tall in Dhelaphir, but there are no wires and of course no electricity either. Still, residents told RI it is better than their previous living situation. “Despite its limitations, we do recommend this for others,” they say. “We have formed our own cooperative,” a body that makes decisions and joins in helping to maintain the community. The new residents have signed papers indicating their ownership of their new homes; however, RI was told that all of those documents have been retained to protect the owners, all quite poor, and as security for future loans.