At a meeting of the “Prabal Yatra Manch”, a mutual support platform of older persons in a village of Rajsamand district in Rajasthan, block supervisor Inder had asked everyone to bring along the plastic bottles they had at home. Once everyone was at the meeting, he handed each a roll of slim rope to tie around the bottle. They looked at him and each other in confusion. He then showed them his own bottle wrapped in rope, with the water remaining cold even after being in the heat for several hours. Wrapping the rope had kept the water cold. He then demonstrated how to tie rope around the bottle, so that it stays in place. The assembled older persons slowly started wrapping their bottles, realising they should have brought bigger bottles to wrap the rope on!
Inder then brought out a needle and thread, to tighten the ends. Once the rope is wet, it doesn’t dry out for many hours, keeping the water cool. This is especially useful in a place where most people don’t own a refrigerator and have to work outside for long hours, be it for farming, wage labour or tending to cattle. It also pushes them to concentrate and use their fine motor skills thereby preserving neuromuscular function, as they age.
For more information on ARTH’s work on healthy ageing, please contact: ssinha@ccr.arth.in