No matter where we go, what’s left to us is putting one foot in front of the other.
Leaving behind us the steady trail.
Often our steps’ direction is already predictable, able to be foreseen.
We always seem to follow up on something, call it a purpose, something we are pursuing with eager feet.
Stepping out of that circle, always brings a new dimension of possibilities with it.
Here in India, I never know where one of my many steps I take a day step is gonna lead me.
And sometime, suddenly there is a new door just opening in front of you with a new spectrum of ways you can go.
One of these steps took me to Ganeshpuri, a little village in northern Maharashtra.
It should be my first taste of rural India. Having spent some time in Mumbai, I welcomed that experience, one, that should open my eyes to a new understanding of the meaning of rural Indian life.
I came to Ganeshpuri to volunteer with an NGO, the Saha Astiva foundation.
They just recently set up a project for sustainable development in rural areas within India, mainly working together with tribal people.
The indigenous tribe in this particular area, the project was located in is called Adevasi.
There are nowadays, like in many other countries, very few of the traditional tribes remaining.
During the British occupation, most of the Adevasi people were used as workforce for building the railway tracks.
Today, most of them have to face a life in poverty, and the lack of options leads especially many young males into alcoholism.
For a living, Adevasi people often take on tough scheduled jobs in one of the many factories that are located in the vast urban outskirts of Mumbai, or, like most of the women and children, they work in the brick mills.
The project being located around brick mills, I had the chance to experience this rigid and extremely challenging manufacturing.
Hardest physical labor combined with a 10- 12 hour day, 7 days a week, that’s the daily grind.
Everything is done by hand.
A brick is sold for 1 rupee.
And what else is there to do if there are just so many mouths to be fed…
Other employment is hard to get, as there is lack of even basic education, a high illiteracy rate.
Getting to know these peoples’ life, and becoming a part of it, left behind a very strong impression.
What does it mean to be a human, and how can we attribute a value to someone’s life…?...
Yet again I discovered a warmhearted spirit, and a generosity that really touched me.
The idea of the project I have been working at , was creating more options in working together with the people and developing new methods for sustainable settlements for a future, that is valuable both for the people and for the planet.
Hereby, the focus lay on organic farming.
Teaching sustainable farming methods to Adevasi people, raising the awareness on conscious foods and health.
The concept is to develop a network of organic farmers, first, simply to spread the idea of it, to inspire people to grow organic food as well as to consume it, then to make organic food production profitable for farmers, on small and large production scales.
So a first step has been taken by creating the network MOFCA, Mumbai organic farmers association, that will soon run a weekly farmers market in Mumbai.
The project was all just in the beginning of evolvement, leaving much space for ideas from us volunteers.
When I came to volunteer, it has been running for about 9 months, so the main focus still lay in experimenting with crops and setting up a permaculture based farming.
I helped where help was needed, setting up a compost system, planting trees, growing….
I had a great time, working on the land, living out in rural India, being able to experience authentic Indian culture, and as well the natural beauty of the landscape.
Living was very basic, in a little strawhouse, with no plumbing nor electricity.
After a while my body clock just worked like the sun, and the amounts of sunrises and sunsets I have seen during these two weeks is hard to beat.
I learned a lot through the experience at Saha Astiva. Volunteering for an international NGO also offers a lot of networking experience. And this, especially in a foreign country and a new culture, is a very enriching experience, meeting local people with beautiful projects in how to make a change, and obviously connecting to other NGO working in similar areas.
I found it very inspiring.
And the great opportunity to be off the tourist track, to get involved, meet great people with lots of enthusiasm…
Rural India ?
Nothing is hidden, there is everything is in front of your face.
The lack of waste management, the lack of any care facility, the lack of options, the inequality ….
Personally I really liked that experience, as too often as a traveler I feel just like moving on the surface on things.
Its good to get involved and its always great to be surrounded by people who work hard for their ideals…
