Here at the farm I am learning all about the working dynamics of the place and how things are done. Dr. Vandana Shiva came to visit a couple of days ago and she met with us, the volunteers, and basically made herself available for questions and to talk with us. She gave us a project to do with the schools in the area. We must visit 10 schools and explain to them the Declaration of Mother Earth that she, along with 3 others, will present to the UN to be adopted along side the Delcaration of Human Rights. She hopes that we can explain the declaration to the children, have them write, in their language what the earth means to them, and then have them endorse the Declaration so that she can present to the UN that a certain number "x" of people already endorse and support the Declaration. We have had some interesting discussions around this project.
At first we weren´t sure about the objective and aim of the project...we thought perhaps it was to make connections with the children and schools and get them thinking about the earth, more like an educational or awareness raising project, but have now agreed that the main aim of the project would just to endorse the Declaration. So there were some reservations about this since the children will have a very limited understanding of the Declaration, but anyway, thats the idea.
This is to be done, the visits to schools, from the 9th of August until the 15th which is Independence Day. I will be working on this, maybe re-writing the Declaration and planning activities to make it accessible to children.
I am also attempting to bring some coordination and organization to the farm. There is a general lack of coordination and comunication amongst the volunteers and with the staff. I have been focusing on this mainly, and of course my paper for Hegoa. Hannah and I are also considering writing an article to be submitted for publication in the Alternatives magazine out of Waterloo, but that deadline is tomorrow, so not sure if we will get that done or not.

Hannah had an allergic reaction to the detergent we use to wash our clothes, and had hives break out all over her body. So i´m rinsing my clothes extra well. We made pizza as a group the other day too! and attempted to make an apple crumble, but it didnt bake well. We have sauce left over so might make gnocci in the next couple of days. Tomorrow Hannah, Maxi and I might head into town and visit a coffee shop that is air conditioned and has a book store attached. That will be a nice break away for a bit.

I´ve had the opportunity to speak with some of the farm labourers in depth about the conditions, wages, etc. with the help of Sarayu, a volunteer from the south of India, and that has led to some interesting questions about the administration, politics, etc of the organization. I have an increasing amount of questions about the gender equality aspect of Navdanya given that it is a self-proclaimed womens movement, and does preach eco-feminism, but there are some incongruencies that I have seen, and more that I hope to explore.
The staff seems to be very open and helpful though with every idea that I have suggested. Negui and Dr. Bhatt especially have been helpful and supportive. I will meet with Dr. Bhatt on Tuesday to work on the website and making the job posting for the coordinator more prominent. I will also have to write up some instructions on how to apply and see if we can put them up as well. Other specific jobs for interns weill also go up if I have them ready for Tuesday.

Sheela, a woman farm labourer invited me to Krishnas birthday on August 2. He is a god, not sure which one, but there is a temple near her house and she says there is dancing, etc. So a couple of others heard this and wanted to come too so I think there will be a group of us going. I like spending time in the field with her, she is very friendly and fun.

Another volunteer here will be going to a school for poorer children and teach them art, so Hannah and I have talked about going perhaps in August to teach music and English. Just for a week or two.

I spoke with Negui too about the different jobs and timing for the jobs around the farm and also about the opportunity to accompany him on one of his trips to the villages for the farmer´s training. I hope to go to one where the women tend to come. Apparently in some areas the women do not attend, and in others, almost 80% are women, so I would like to experience one with women, and be able to talk to them about what kind of farming they do, and how it works into their lives.

Getting work done

Here at the farm I am learning all about the working dynamics of the place and how things are done. Dr. Vandana Shiva came to visit a couple of days ago and she met with us, the volunteers, and basically made herself available for questions and to talk with us. She gave us a project to do with the schools in the area. We must visit 10 schools and explain to them the Declaration of Mother Earth that she, along with 3 others, will present to the UN to be adopted along side the Delcaration of Human Rights. She hopes that we can explain the declaration to the children, have them write, in their language what the earth means to them, and then have them endorse the Declaration so that she can present to the UN that a certain number "x" of people already endorse and support the Declaration. We have had some interesting discussions around this project.
At first we weren´t sure about the objective and aim of the project...we thought perhaps it was to make connections with the children and schools and get them thinking about the earth, more like an educational or awareness raising project, but have now agreed that the main aim of the project would just to endorse the Declaration. So there were some reservations about this since the children will have a very limited understanding of the Declaration so to say then that "x" number of people endorse it seems almost a bit coercive, but anyway, thats the idea.
This is to be done, the visits to schools, from the 9th of August until the 15th which is Independence Day. I will be working on this, maybe re-writing the Declaration and planning activities to make it accessible to children.
I am also attempting to bring some coordination and organization to the farm. There is a general lack of coordination and comunication amongst the volunteers and with the staff. I have been focusing on this mainly, and of course my paper for Hegoa. Hannah and I are also considering writing an article to be submitted for publication in the Alternatives magazine out of Waterloo, but that deadline is tomorrow, so not sure if we will get that done or not.
Hannah had an allergic reaction to the detergent we use to wash our clothes, and had hives break out all over her body. So i´m rinsing my clothes extra well. We made pizza as a group the other day too! and attempted to make an apple crumble, but it didnt bake well. We have sauce left over so might make gnocci in the next couple of days.
I´ve had the opportunity to speak with one of the farm labourers in depth about the conditions, wages, etc. with the help of Sarayu, a volunteer from the south of India, and that has led to some interesting questions about the administration, politics, etc of the organization. I have an increasing amount of questions about the gender equality aspect of Navdanya given that it is a self-proclaimed womens movement, and does preach eco-feminism, but there are some incongruencies that I have seen, and more that I hope to explore.

Rishikesh

On Friday we left the farm for Rishikesh and stayed at the Anand Prakash Yoga Ashram. We (Hannah, Emmylou, Lindsey and I) met up with 2 other girls who had been at the farm, Colette and Sarada. The Ashram was very nice, clean, and comfortable. They have a schedule for the day, which includes 3 meals and 2 yoga sessions as well as prayer if you want. We paid 500Rps each, so around 10$ for a night and the meals and yoga. We had hot water and mattresses on the beds! So it was very nice and relaxing after the farm. We attended yoga on Saturday morning, a 6am class. It was hard! The teacher was quite strict and flicked us if our arms or legs werent´in the right position. It felt like a workout for sure! The meals were very wholesome and clean, and all meals were in silence and we ate on the floor. Before every meal we sang a prayer mantra too, kind of like grace.

We didnt go to the second yoga class on Saturday because we were a bit stiff, instead we went exploring in the town. We went shopping, saw the Ganges and the people bathing in it, and saw all the spiritual people and followers all around the town. It is a very spiritual place. The entire town in vegetarian and no alcohol is served.

Sarada and Colette introduced us to a really nice restaurant that is run by an American lady and the Indian family that she lives with. She served banana and chocolate pancakes and tomato soup and grilled cheese! It was delicious and we frequented her place on almost every meal that we didnt eat at the Ashram (for a change of taste).
On Sunday, again we had a relaxing day, but in the evening we went to the Ganga Arti, which is a ceremony of wishing and praying and singing down at the Ganges river. There were hundreds of people there and the music was really neat. Lots of people were bathing and some drinking the
water, and there were bowls of flowers with candles in them that you light and make a wish and send down the river.






We met a family from Vancouver that was back visiting family and they insisted that we make a wish because the woman, 25 years earlier, had made a wish and it came true, so she had returned to thank Lord Krishna.

So Emmylou and I each bought the flower bundle and sent our wishes off down the river. We stayed until quite late listening to the music.

One man sang and played the harmony (i think) and another played it back to him on the tabla. It was fun and really interesting.

Monday we went to the waterfall nearby, where we found crabs! Big ones! I didn´t know there were freshwater crabs, but apparently there are!

It was raining when we left, and we had a wet ride back, but made it safetly and in time for dinner at the farm. There are some new, short term volunteers at the farm, and the corn has grown, but things are the same.
Oh, I forgot to mention Meera, a wonderfully sweet girl who works at the Ashram, and who is a friend of Sarada´s. She just finished her Master in Social Work and her family runs an orphanage for physically disabled children. I spoke with her about it, and her plan is to improve the centre and expand its work. She grew up at the orphanage with all of the children! She invited Hannah and I to visit anytime, so I will definately make a plan for that. I would love to see how it runs, works and talk with her some more.

This is a photo of Piyusha, a young MBA graduate who has started a sewing and handicrafts group in her village. There are 9 young women who make the products and Piyusha sells them at various markets. The materials are all recycled materials. She also has, well her family has, an organic farm and they accept people to stay and volunteer on their farm as well (WOOF). She invited us to visit and learn about the group and the farm. She says she has a difficulty selling her products, so I offered to look into different contacts I might have to see if I can connect her with some fair trade stores either in Spain or in Canada. On one of our trips back to Bija Vidyapeeth I (and Hannah), might try and visit her farm and organization.
So today is supposed to be a holiday for the field workers because we finished (well mostly THEY finished) the rice transplanting yesterday! We had samosas and chai to celebrate in the afternoon. Hannah, Beny and I, with the supervision of Girish, transplanted marigolds all around the perimeter of the plots of rice. They look different than our marigolds but smell the same, and we were sure they would die before we got them in the ground because they were all wilting, but apparently that doesnt matter. Marigolds are a natural pesticide and disease deterant apparently. I have been reading up on some of the methods used on the farm and learning some as I go!
What I have learned so far is that the main principles of organic farming, according to Navdanya are: biodiversity conservation (in seed collection of old and ancient seeds and distribution to farmers but also recollection from those farmers. Bija Vidyapeeth is almost exclusively used for seed conservation, so the crops we grow are basically to harvest the seed, although if there is extra crop we eat it.), seed supply (again, to ensure a un-patented way to access seed is available), soil fertility maintenance (through different compost systems, no chemical use, irrigation systems, etc), pest managemnet (using Neem oil and inter cropping), water consumation (collection of rain water and specific irrigation systems), trade/distribution of organic farm produce (Navdanya has a fair trade network. It buys the produce from farmers it works with and sells it at its retail stores).
Here is Giulia and Sarayu spraying the ocra, corn and another legume with Neem Oil:

So thats a quick overview of the farm. How they carry out each one of these principles is quite interesting and complicated!
Like I said, today is supposed to be a holiday for the workers, so I guess we will see who comes and what we will do. Hannah and I have put up the white board with some ideas of things we and the other interns can do to help organize a bit, and are hoping maybe with the farm work on hold for a day we might make some progress.
Yesterday afternoon I spent my time researching for my paper, which is progressing. A couple of girls want to go to Rishikesh this weekend, a mountain town which is supposed to be beautiful, and I might join them if I get a good chunk of work done. Rishikesh is where a lot of Ashrams are, it is quite touristy we´re told, but very nice. We would hopefully stay in an Ashram and learn some yoga.



When we went into town on Monday, it made me realize how nice it is to be living at the farm! It is so crazy in town! I dont know how big Dehradun is, but there were cars, people, animals, trash, everywhere! I didnt feel insecure, but somewhat uncomfortable. This is why it will be necessary to find a place in Delhi near to the green areas, and we have been told to pay the extra bit to live in a colony, which are like gated apartment buildings. So I´m not sure what we will do, but we will have to look!

The birds are really awake and chirping this morning! It is bright and sunny and I think it will get very hot!

Some visual updates!

Here I thought Id just post some photos of the farm, the crops and my living quarters...to give an idea.
We went into town yesterday. It took almost 2 hours! we had to take 2 different vikrams and then we walked and walked and walked. Some of the volunteers were looking for a hooka bar to smoke shisha, and Hannah and I bought markers and I also bought some crackers and cookies.

Last evening we went to the market here nearby. It was only about a 10 or 15 minute walk, it wasn´t very big, but it was nice to leave the farm for a while and see things. We bought some fruit: apples (really small ones!), bananas, and a citrus fruit that they call a grapefruit but that really doesnt taste much like a grapefruit.
Then we came back and Hannah and I had organized a volunteer meeting to discuss some of the organizational issues that we have noticed with the intern program here at Bija Vidyapeeth, and to ask for feedback from the other volunteers, many who have been here for a significant amount of time and have heard many of the same complaints.
We had previously thought that a few simple things like an activity board that could be updated daily would help to direct interns to where and what was being done on the farm that day, and a volunteer manual that is complete with a self guided map and orientation guide to the farm for new interns. We also think that an intern coordinator is necessary on the ground here at the farm, which apparently has been mentioned before, but there isn´t currently which makes it very difficult to organize anything.
The was a girl who was supposedly acting as a coordinator here, but her role and leadership was minimal. the other volunteers gave us some really good feedback and we have decided to take on the organization of the intern program at the farm as a project during our time here. We have sent an email to Dr. Shiva who will have to accept and support such a project, but we hope it will be a go as we think both the interns and volunteers as well as Navdanya as an organization would really benefit from some more structure and organization.
There is an amazing amount of knowledge and skills here that are not being taken advantage of and used because there is a lack of direction and confusion. So in order to help channel some of this talent, we have drafted a job description for an Internship Coordinator and sent it to Dr. Shiva.
I am really excited to perhaps have my first project, and one that I really think would be beneficial to all. I didn´t work in the fields today, instead we set up the lecture hall for a group of visitors that came for a presentation. Then we shelled peanuts, LOTS of peanuts. They cook the morning rice with peanuts.
Because we had visitors, lunch was delicious!!! We had chickpeas in a sauce, a flour or bean (I couldn´t tell) in a spicy kurd sauce, and a squash/pumpkin dish that was a bit sweet and a bit spicy. Of course rice, and a sweet dish to finish.
I spent some time researching for my paper today too, and this evening, after dinner, will hopefully get to do more of that, granted the power doesn´t go out.
Again, because of visitors and the fact that they needed power, they had the extra generator going, so there was a constant supply of power and therefore perfect condition for work ont he computer today.
We have finished transplanting now! Now the work in the field has moved onto weeding the peanut/corn fields. I don´t know what will be next!
I think tomorrow is the mango festival, but no one has said anything.
The cat was in our room today! I scared it out, and then I felt that it must be lonely so I talked to it for a minute. It talked back. I didn´t approach it though, can´t have it getting too friendly.

Friday today. Dehradun has a Friday market Hannah and I were thinking of going to, to buy fabric to take to the tailor to get suits made for us. The loose pants and long shirts would be really condusive to working in this heat. I think in the end we might wait until Delhi to do that though.
My clothes are getting super dirty from the work in the fields, and my novice hand washing ability doesnt help! I´ve washed some of my clothes twice already in the past week and they still smell funny!
So today a few of us woke up at 5am and Geet, the gardener in charge of general upkeep and the herbal gardens took us on a nature walk to the nearby forest of Salve that is behind the fields. We saw some peacocks, males, and really pretty flowers, and an amazing sunrise! The sun was a bright orange behind the trees.
I am now waiting for breakfast, then we will head into the fields, and continue transplanting the rice and millet. I have so far only been involved in pulling the plant out, and another group is planting it in another field. It is really amazing the different varieties they have, of grains, pulses, rices and everything. We have mentioned that we would like to see this reflected in our food. I´m not sure why, but we seem to get the same rice every meal. The pulses vary, as do the vegetables, but the rice doesnt and i´m not sure why.
Navdanya has a network of fair trade markets where farmers in their network can sell to and recieve 10% more than the normal market, and I believe we buy from this market, so perhaps the rice is from that.
Yesterday, after the work in the field, I came in and cleaned our room. I swept and wiped surfaces. Then I had a shower and did some yoga. There are many people here who know a lot of yoga, and there are Ashrams close by that I think I will try to go to for a week or so to learn some more.
A yoga and meditation instructor was here with a friend of his who is studying international business in Manchester and they are looking into creating a similar, organic farm as Navdanya, but with a spiritual side to it. That sounds neat.
Then in the afternoon I spent time researching for my paper and also reading up on Organic farming. Matt Dil, a good friend of mine, has sent me some information about the work on Biochar that he is doing and I would like to see if that would be something we could implement here as a fertilizer or fertilizer agent.
Hannah and I then sat down and discussed some things that were on our minds with the organization of the place. There is a lack of organization with the volunteers, and there is no volunteer coordinator on the farm, which makes it difficult for volunteers and staff to relate, and the work potential of the volunteers is wasted in my view.
So Hannah and I thought up some recommendations and sent them to Matt, the intern coordinator from Delhi to see who we should address these issues with. Hopefully we will get some little things accomplished that would make the process smoother.

Side note: the cat came INTO our room last night and freaked both Kayla and I out!! It meows so strangely! We quickly scared it out with our yelps.

Today I had my tour of the farm! We have over 500 varieties of rice! They are in need of transplanting now, so that is our task when the rain slows in the afternoons. Today I didn´t get around to helping, but plan to tomorrow. We also have: corn, amarynth, but, and at least 5 other things are planted in the same field as multi-crop fields. A girl from Italy, Giulia, has fields of ocra as part of an experiment, and there are some others doing some field experiments too. I have to learn more about all the varieties and crops.
We have a closed composting system too that uses cow manure and kitchen waste and with bio-gas turns it into methane that they use to cook with, again, I have to learn exactly how that works, but soemthing along those lines. The farm is partially solar powered as well. There are other composting systems for farm waste, one of them is the open pit layer system and one is something to do with worms that eat nitrogen or soemthing and then the fertilizer is an equalizer?
Today for breakfast we had a biulger type porridge and chai. After my tour I helped clean the rice. We had a big bag of rice we had to sift through and remove little stones and imperfections of the rice. Even small or broken rice was discarded and will be fed to the cows.
Lunch was a fruit, curried, with rice and lentils, but the fruit tasted and looked a lot like artichoke, so I dont know if it was or not.
The power has just gone out. so I will have to finish this later, my computer isnt charged.

I´ve made it to the farm! Bija Vandepeeth...I´ll have to check on that spelling.
It´s so peaceful and nice hear!
The people around are so far really nice as well. I dont know what I will be doing yet, perhaps just helping out weeding, etc.
Tomorrow I plan to figure out some sort of structure.
I didn´t miss the mango festival! It´s next weekend I think!

Another 4am morning...I have the tv working though, so I watched Friends and CSI:NY before 7am when the restaurant opened for breakfast. I ate breakfast with a family (I think) and a few buddhist monks (I think). I don't know what all the colours mean, some were in blue, a light blue, robes, and one was in yellow and some were in a kind o burgundy. There were women as well dressed in Western clothing, and children. So I need to investigate a bit more to find out what all of those mean.
I didnt find a plug converter yesterday, but succesfully reserved my train ticket, and was able to pick it up this morning. The travel agent that booked it was quite helpful. He gave me an eticket with a window seat in an Air conditioned coach! He explained the layout of the terminal, and I will have to catch an auto rickshaw at around 5.30am from here. Shouldnt be a problem waking up in time, but I might try and find a watch with an alarm on it today.
I hadn't noticed before, but from one end of my hotel, I can see a river (not the Ganges) and there are a few homes along it and on the other side I think there must be fields, because I saw some work animals I think.
So far the bugs haven't been a problem...haven't even seen a mosquito! The large, constant ceiling fan probably helps with keeping them out!

it is hot.
i have safely landed in Delhi and spent the night at my hotel, in the New Tibetan Colony in north Delhi. I got in after dark, almost 11pm so didnt see much other than traffic and some animals (wild boar and a bull and many many wild dogs). This morning I woke up with the sun at 5.15am and showered and read a bit. i went down to see if i could get breakfast at around 6.30 but no luck...didnt open until 9. the internet was open at 7.30 though so that is where i am!
I will try to book my train ticket up the Dehradun, in an air conditioned coach. Hopefully I can go on Monday. I have to figure out how far I am from the centre. I think I am quite a ways, so I dont know if I'll venture there to see some sites before Monday or not.