Ramechhap, May 24 With the start of farming season, villagers in Ramechhap who had gone to work in brick kilns in Bhaktapur have returned home. Every year, residents from over a dozen drought-hit villages, including Pakarbas, Bhatauli, Manthali, Ramechhap, RamBrick kiln workerspur, Chisapani, Rakathum, Bhaluwajor VDCs of the district leave their homes to work in Bhaktapur-based brick kilns once they have gathered their winter harvest. They start returning home from mid-May to take up their farming again. Dilli Bahadur Dhobi of Pakarbas said he earned Rs 390,000 this year after working in a brick kiln. “As I earned some amount to spend for the rest of the year, I decided to return and cultivate my field,” said Dhobi, who had gone to work in Bhaktapur with three members of his family. “I will get by with this amount this year. For next year’s farming, we’ll again go to work at the brick kilns in November,” he added. Lahari Majhi of then Bhaluwajor VDC has returned home with a saving of Rs 200,000. “As our village does not yield enough crops to suffice round-the-year, we have to work at brick kilns with our entire family to earn our livelihood,” he said. Meanwhile, the erstwhile deserted villages have sprung to life with the families and kids returning home.