Female-only village

There are 600-odd residents in this town. They join each other to tend to their fields and farms. Every chore is performed only by them.

Naturally in a town everyone has to do the work entitled to them to bring prosperity to themselves as well as their town.

Noiva do Cordeiro, a picturesque Brazilian town in the hills near Belo Vale, is no better. Only significant difference from other towns is that it is an all-female settlement comprising women between the ages of 20 and 35. They all live by a strict set of rules that allows only women to dominate society - but now they've extended an invitation to potential male suitors.

Although it is an open invitation it doesn't mean that the men they choose are welcome to live with them. All men - including husbands and sons above the age of 18 - are banished from Noiva do Corderio. They have to work away from home and can only visit during the weekends. Females rule in this rural community, and they are in charge of every aspect of life including farming, town planning and religion.

It's an interesting way of life, but the residents of Noiva do Cordeiro believe that it's the best way to live. "There are lots of things that women do better than men." said resident Rosalee Fernandes, 49. "Our town is prettier, more organised, and far more harmonious than if men were in charge."

"We share everything, even the land we work on," she said. "Nobody competes with anyone here.

It's all for one, and one for all. When problems or disputes arise, we resolve them in a woman's way, trying to find consensus rather than conflict. And there's always time to stop and gossip, try on each other's clothes and do each other's hair and nails."

Noiva do Cordeiro was founded in the late 19th century, when a woman named Maria Senhorinha de Lima left the man she was forced to marry, for the man she loved.

She was branded an adulterer in her hometown in Minas Gerais state, and was chased out of town after the Catholic church excommunicated her and the next five generations of her family.

So in 1891, she went to live away from the local population, and was soon joined by several other single women and single mothers. The entire group was vilified by the locals as loose women and prostitutes. That's when they decided to isolate themselves from the outside world, and founded the town of Noiva do Cordeiro. In 1940, an evangelical pastor named Anisio Pereira married one of the women in the community. He then founded a church in the town and imposed strict puritanical rules on the women, banning them from drinking alcohol, listening to music, cutting their hair, or using contraceptives. When he died in 1995, the women of the town decided never again to let any man dictate how they should live.

So they completely dismantled the male-based organised religion he had set up, and since then, they've been making their own rules.

"We have God in our hearts. But we don't think we need to go to church, get married in front of a priest or baptise our children," said Rosalee. "These are rules made up by men."

Well, Noiva do Cordeiro sounds like a really great place to live in as a woman, except for one glaring problem - there are no men! Although the women of the town are strikingly beautiful, they just find it too hard to meet a potential partner or spouse. "Here, the only men we single girls meet are either married or related to us, everyone is a cousin," admitted Nelma Fernandes, 23. "I haven't kissed a man for a long time," she said, ruefully. "We all dream of falling in love and getting married. But we like living here and don't want to have to leave the town to find a husband."

So to solve the problem, the town's leaders came up with a proposition - eligible bachelors are welcome to come to the town to meet its women, but only if they're willing to adapt to living in a woman's world. "We'd like to get to know men who would leave their own lives and come to be a part of ours," explained Nelma. "But first they need to agree to do what we say and live according to our rules."

Loyal dog guards his master's grave without food

When he didn't return home for several days they thought he had found a new home.

But it was not so. In fact, he had been guarding his master's grave for 15 days without food.

This is the story of Tommy, the sweet old canine who refused to leave the graveside of his master, the Indian teenager Bhasker Shri, who died after a grave auto accident.While guarding Bhaskar's grave for two long weeks Tommy reportedly went without food the entire period of 15 hot days and freezing nights.Bhaskar was a construction worker who loved dogs dearly - he had adopted Tommy five years ago and the pair of them quickly became inseparable. When Bhaskar became victim to a terrible road collision, Tommy was heartbroken. The dog simply refused to part with his master and mourned by his graveside for 15 days.

Emaciated and dejected Tommy was finally rescued a fortnight later by Dawn Williams, an animal rescue officer at the non-profit Blue Cross of India. "I first spotted the brown dog sitting on a fresh grave one evening as I happened to walk past in the first week of August, but at the time I didn't think anything of it," she said.

"But on August 13 I was in the area again while on a different rescue mission and saw him again. He was sitting in the same spot in the same position. It looked like he hadn't moved for weeks."

"I could see that he was in a disturbed condition," Dawn explained. "He was famished and I'm certain he had tears in his eyes. I gave him water and biscuits but he refused to move.

Then, with my team-mates, I walked around the area and asked locals if they knew the dog."The locals said Tommy's condition - that he was guarding his master's grave and that nobody could make him budge from the spot. Finally, Dawn managed to track down Bhaskar's mother, Shrimati Sundari, also a construction worker."When Tommy saw her, he jumped on her and was licking her before he rested his face on her feet.

It was obvious he knew her," said Dawn. According to Sundari, Bhaskar and Tommy shared a very special bond.

But ever since his death on August 2, the dog went missing. They searched for Tommy and when they couldn't locate him, they simply assumed that he had found a new home.

When she learned the truth, however, Sundari was overjoyed. "She was really happy he was back," said Dawn.

"She called him a loyal friend and she would keep him as a reminder of her son."

Dawn also said that it was quite sad to see them walk off together and was also glad they were reunited. "I'm sure Tommy will help Shrimati with her grief, dogs are amazing in times of emotion," she said.