The Revolution

The protests in Israel are beautiful. I haven’t been following them in the news, so I am unsure how they are being portrayed in the US but they are very peaceful so I can’t imagine the news is giving them the coverage they deserve.  I have visited four tent sites so far, Rothschild in Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Kiryat Shmona and Rosh Pina (both in the Hula valley in the north). They are all so different, but all share an overwhelming feeling of community. That is what these protest are saying and doing in one way or another. They are bringing all types of people together to share knowledge, experiences, support and ideas that otherwise may have never even interacted.

The first, and largest protest is on Rothschild Street in Tel Aviv. The idea of protesting by camping out in a tent originated by one girl on facebook. She held a  decent job and yet was being evicted by her landlord because he was raising the rent. She posted on facebook that she was going to set up a tent on the street and about 20 friends decided to join her, today it is said that there are over 80 tent communities throughout Israel. The protests have escalated from the unaffordablity of housing in Israel to all aspects of social welfare. There is a group on Rothschild for almost any cause you can think of; single fathers, parents, military, art therapists, doctors, teachers, students and much more. As you walk down the street each block is filled with people at all hours of the day offering different atmospheres. At 1am I passed a group of religious Nachman followers jamming with some hippies, followed by an intimate circle of educators discussion their ideas for solutions, followed by a large discussion with a projector and power point talking facts and figures of the ‘welfare state’ of Israel.  Earlier that evening I attended a free cabaret show by a popular performing group of Israel which was located just a block down from environmentalist building mud tents. There is a kitchen serving free meals all day run by volunteers and a constant flow of guest speakers, politicians, free performances, music, art, dance—everything and anything. But it is far from a giant festival. The people are not just sleeping in tents on a busy street to hang out with friends. All day different conversations are being held, reports are being written and action is being taken to defend the people of Israel and the cause of the protests. Unfortunately my participation has been minimal due to the language barrier. But people are constantly working together for change.

The smaller cities such as Kiryat Shmona and Rosh Pina have a more intimate vibe where I have started to recognize many familiar faces and make friends the more I visit. For the first time in Kiryat Shmona the students of the University of Tel-Hai are interacting with the families of Kiryat Shoman. Just last night I arrived to catch the tail end of a group discussion involving almost everyone at the site, followed by an amazing performance of talented artists traveling to all the tent sites they can in two weeks. They are joined by one of the girls who first started the protest in hopes to better connect the different tent protests together. After the performance, which focused on the protest and theme of community, there was another conversation with at 50 people that went on well past my bedtime at 1 am and then transformed into a jam session until 3 am. Each tent site has a schedule with a discussion and activity planned for each night. Professionals, from therapists to magicians volunteer their time and knowledge to share with the communities. Educational movies are watched, music is played and friendships are being made all over the country…peacefully.

In a country that is constantly at war, the people are tired of fighting and violence. Not only are they coming together over a common cause of social welfare, but they are doing it peacefully as an united community. And this is a country that things often, and can easily turn violent. An Israeli friend of mine said it is the first time in her life she is proud to be an from Israel.  Though as beautiful it is to see community coming together, it is still a struggle. Many people are working very very hard to keep the momentum forward and the protests realistic. The solutions are far from simple. From the eyes of an ‘outsider’ the people have already accomplished so much even if their demands are not being met. There is much more to the protests then can be seen from the news; it is truly a revolution of the people and the structure of society.  I hope that it can help the people of the entire world shift to a new way of thinking that focuses on community, local and small scale production that better fits the reality of our current globe.

It is a very interesting time to be in Israel  between the tent protests, the recent attacks in Gaza, Eliat and Egypt and the upcoming UN vote about the creation of a Palestinian state on September 20^th. It is truly unbelievable to be a part of a revolution that is world history in the making. I am curious how my remaining two and half months in Israel will unfold….

Bike protest

Early morning on Rothschild 

Rothschild Tel Aviv

Show in Kiray Shmona

African music/comedy show: Interacting with the local kids of  Kiryat Shmona

Dudi? A famous Israeli musician at the tents in Kiryat Shmona

New news

I can’t believe it is already mid-July! Since my last post we took things into our own hands and helped re-develop the program. We were clear with what wasn’t working, why and what we wanted it. And I think we finally got it. This past week the program began to step in regards to fulfilling our expectations and needs and I have high hopes for the remainder of the program.

We totally revamped the schedule, which is still a work in progress but within the next two weeks a completed schedule and syllabus for the reminder of the program will be completed. Marianne and I decided to take one step back on the compost project and first improve the recycling at Ein Zivan. Before starting a new, and more radical, project we wanted to make sure what they already had was working at full potential. Personally, coming from a green family and after living in Burlington VT, I need to remind myself I am working with a different culture. For example, in my head the Kibbutz is tiny so no matter where you live the recycling center is close, especially with a car, but most residents don’t share this feeling. The group also decided to scratch Gan Kipod, and instead of waiting for the community to clear out the empty space of the old bunker so we can build there, we are just going to start building our ideas near the new children’s playground. This way it is more accessible to the community and we can start right away.

And lastly, I have found a personal project! I finally found ‘that thing’ that I combines my interests together. It started out as a research idea for a Fulbright grant, but has turned quickly into a passion that I plan to go with whether I am accepted as a Fulbright scholar or not. I am interested in exploring current small scale organic agriculture practices, specifically bio-intensive methods, in India and their potential for providing rural poor communities with the tools to become more self-sufficient. My vision is to help provide the means for communities to improve their overall long term well being through  growing their own organic vegetables. This has the potential to improve their economic, social, health and environmental situation while empowering and creating independence for communities and individuals. My idea is to spend my time in Israel, and when I return to the states studying bio-intensive farming. Bio-intensive farming focuses on gaining the maximum yields with the minimal amount of land and effort. Bio-intensive takes a holistic approach to farming and focuses not just on growing nutritious food, but growing soil and community. The idea is to create a closed loop system that is sustainable in the long run.

Once I get to India I would like to explore what is happening with current small scale organic farming and take what I have learned and apply it with the B’nei Ephriam community I spent two weeks with  in Andra Pradesh. I am interested in giving the community the knowledge and tools to create a sustainable long term practice that they can then teach others. My goal is to create a model that can then be applied in different communities all over the world.

I am thrilled that I have found something that combines my academic interests of environment, economics and poverty with my personal interests of healthy food, community development and working in developing countries. I am especially excited about returning to India, and the having the opportunity to help the B’nei Ephraim community that I grew to love so much. This project has really given me something to get excited about and I am looking forward to digging deeper into my project development.

Leadearth: Back in Israel

Though we are almost half way through the program, it feels like it is just beginning since the Israel part is totally different than our time in India. It has gotten off to what feels like a slow start, but there has also been a lack of communication between the directors and participants of LeadEarth. We have not been on exactly the same page when it comes to the expectations and values of the program. It has certainly been a good learning process. LeadEarth is a radical form of education that is hard for me to understand even though I am participating the program. The founders believe in a different form of education, unlike most the formal education I was raised with they don’t want to spoon feed us information. Instead of telling us how to do something then seeing if we can do it, they want to teach us how to teach ourselves everything.  “Everything is a project” and “Everything is part of the program” are frequent phrases when discussing the intentions of LeadEarth, including cementing the walls and getting authority to be let in the Kibbutz gate when we get back at 3am. I love the idea of learning by doing, but at a certain point when you’re paying to be in a program it can feel like just doing everything with not enough learning.

We have a weekly schedule, that we follow roughly. Sundays starting at noon are for greening our apartment which usually including a discussion on permaculture with our new madrica (leader) Amit. Our first Sunday we constructed a compost with materials we scavenged for our the Kibbutz, and a protected area to start sprouting seeds. Then we have a group dinner (which we do every night anyways) and some sort of presentation or activity by someone in the group. The first Sunday Amit shared pictures about her experience in the Arava mud building, the following Sunday I shared pictures and stories about my time in Ladakh and Kashmir, and last Sunday Maya held a vegan/no processed sugar chocolate making workshop. Mondays are for our work on the Kibbutz in Gan Kipod. Gan Kipod is an old Syrian bunker and space of land that has been abandoned. The Kibbutz wants to turn it into a nice community space for people of all ages. We are going to work with them to create a space they want, yet has an ecological feel. We have yet to get stated but hope to build some mud benches, picnic tables and playhouses, a taboon and solar oven, an area for BBQ and bon fires, a hand/dish washing station, a community garden, an area with instruments made out of recycled materials, environmental education station and games and even more. It will be interesting to what we actually get done, and what the community actually wants. It’s tricky to work within a community we aren’t really part of, we want to construct something they love and will use and we want them to be part of the process, yet we are ready to get to work and their still trying to organize and find the time. Tuesday’s we head back to An’iam, the permaculture farm we lived for our first ten days. From 8-12 we will be working on building a mud house or various projects for Sophie such as creating an insulating wall around the farm made out of plastic bottles, mud, straw, water and a little cement. From 1-3:30ish we will have different permaculture workshops with Sophie such as working with herbs to make oils, soaps and popari. Wednesdays are our regional projects. Maya and Jobie are working to ‘green’ the regional council building while Marianne and I are going to try to start a composting program in Ein Zivan that can then be applied to any kibbutzim in the Golan. Thursdays are our personal project days. We will have the opportunity to meet with the directors Yarden and Uri and have a group session related to project development and a personal session related to our own projects. I have yet to decided what my project will be, even though I have had the last three months to think about it, but there are so many things I want to do and so little I feel like I actually have the knowledge to do.

 I think that a main aim of LeadEarth is to show us that we do actually have most the tools we need to do most anything. And the more I see examples of projects the more I realized this. Sophie’s farm is too hot in the summer and too cool in the winter so even though she has never built with plastic bottles and mud before she is going to go ahead and try it out. The founders of Sadhana had a vision and went for it, Jody saw something that horrified her (trash in the beautiful Indian mountains) and wanted to try to help. At first with our regional council project I felt like LeadEarth didn’t supply us with the knowledge need to create a community wide compost project since I know very little about composting. I wanted them to hire an expert composter and show me what to do. But instead they gave us a few simple workshops on composting and a playground to try whatever we want. We’re not getting paid so it doesn’t matter if doesn’t come out perfect the first try. And when we do have questions and need help, which I am sure we will, they are a resource we can turn to that can help out how ever needed.

In theory I’m starting to understand the idea behind LeadEarth, though it’s hard to tell how it is working in reality. Though I am having an amazing experience and doing a lot of cool stuff, I haven’t felt so challenged yet. The first few weeks have been really fun, though it barely feels like the program has started. We are going through a hard time matching the expectations of the participants and directs, but like everything else it is a project and a good learning experience. That’s what life is, a lot of little opportunities to learn from every day to grow internally.

Return to Israel

It was hard to believe that I was actually leaving India. It was a bittersweet departure, but I knew I’d be back someday (hopefully sooner than later). I was sad that the India portion had finished, but I was excited since I was going to a new country to explore for the next five months. And of course I missed my group which had become like family during the past three months in India.

I flew back on June 5^th, which happen to Naksa Day. Naksa day is the annual day of commemoration for Palestinians of the displacement of the 1967 Six Day War. This year, following the May 15 Nakba Day demonstrations (resulting in 15 Palestinian deaths), Palestinian demonstrators again rushed the Syrian border in the Golan Heights. I’m unclear on what actually happened but according to some sources 23 activists were killed and 350 wounded.  It was a little ironic for me returning  from Kashmir to my new home for the next five months to hear gun shots that probably weren’t a drill. Before going to Kashmir we had been warned that it was not a safe time to visit given the situation with Bin Laden, which I must admit made me a little nervous. But I barley even noticed the military in Kashmir compared to Israel. The 2011 Naksa demonstrations were the first actual conflict in the Golan since the ‘67 war, but it a day doesn’t go by that I don’t hear drills of shooting and bombing, sometimes even close enough to shake my apartment. It’s a constant reminder that the country is not at peace.

For those that don’t know about the Golan Heights, two thirds of the plateau was captured from Syria in the 1967 six day war. Israel returned about 5%  control after the 1973 Yom Kippur War which became a demilitarized zone that is now under military control of UN peace keeping forces. This is about 3 km from my apartment and is parallel to one of my favorite biking and running routes. The Golan Heights  is not international recognized as part of Israeli and is considered by the UN Security Council an occupied territory.  It’s a beautiful environment, despite the many UN vehicles and military trucks everywhere,  with a perfect temperature unlike other areas of Israel that are extremely hot and humid during the summers. There are many hikes and streams I’m excited to visit in my time here, but its important to stick to the marked trails as many many areas are off limits due to mines. Old Syrian buildings and tanks are scattered throughout the Golan adding an interesting contrast to landscape.

To the west is the Galilee, another beautiful area that is much hotter since it is in the Hula Valley. Maya used to live there, and thankfully has a car so we have taken quite a few drips to the valley where there are several stunning rivers that I am already in love with. Growing up I was much more of a lake and ocean girl, for some reason the Kennebec River just didn’t do it for me, so the change is nice. And these rivers are so peaceful (except on weekend with a million rafters  constantly going by) and so refreshing on a hot afternoon.

Another amazing thing I love about Israel are the orchards. They’re everywhere, including a big one part of my Kibbutz just 3km down the road where we are allowed to go for free and eat as much as we want. There are also lemon and grapefruit trees, rosemary and tea herbs all around. Its cherry season for the next few weeks, then peaches and nectarines and best for last, apples. It addition to an orchard, my kibbutz, Ein Zivan has a chocolate factory, a horse barn, a pool, and a four wheeling tour business. The businesses are all privately owned because Ein Zivan was one of the first Kibbutz to become privatized so it’s nothing like the traditional idea of a Kibbutz. Though I enjoy living here, it’s basically more of a small gated community. We have one tiny market and a second hand store that is randomly ope . It is quiet, very quiet. At first I felt like there was nothing to do, yet sometimes no matter where you are there is nothing to do, or everything to do. It is the perfect place to do all those things I wanted to do but ‘never had the time’; yoga, learn Hebrew, write a blog, make cool stuff out of garbage, swim, bike (though our bike has no brakes or gears), run, play the guitar (just need to find one), read, write, pick fruit, cook, explore and of course learn. There are fourteen workers  who mostly just finished up the army are working in the orchard and living in Ein Zivan for their month during the cherry season, so at least there are a few people to hang out with for the month of June and then again in mid-August. And when I need to get out I can always hitch a ride or go with Maya to the valley or some hikes or streams in the Golan.

Weekends (Fridays and Saturdays) are mostly free unless we have a field trip planned. My first weekend here I two friends from high school who happened to be traveling Israel for the month came to visit. It was perfect since I hadn’t yet explored the area so together we went to the Bustan (orchard) and Ein Mokesh (swimming hole like thing). The second weekend I went on a road trip with Maya and Marianne south. We headed to Jerusalem Thursday afternoon, stopping for a quick float in the Dead Sea. Marianne and I stayed the night with my childhood friend Sadie, checking out the light show in the Old City at night and stopping by the Shuk in the morning before headed to Tel Aviv.

It was perfect timing that I had a ride to Tel Aviv since not only did I get to see my cousin Lanschu who lives there, but five relatives from the states and Canada happened to be in Israel for ten days. That night happened to be somebody’s 90^th birthday so we all went out to buffet dinner at the Hilton to celebrate. It was really special to get to spend time with family again, though for a minute I forgot I was in Israel because it felt like the winter trips to Miami I would take to visit family. I am really thankful I have family here, and that I have the opportunity while being in Israel to spend time with them and even meet new family.

Last weekend I headed down toward Tel Aviv again, splitting my time between my Lanschu (first cousin once removed?) who is a grandmother to me, and Shelly (my great grandparents are siblings with his grandparents?) and his four sons whom I had never met before. It’s important for me to get to know my family, no matter how we are related, and especially special to spend time with Shelly who is close with my dad and all his boys who are around my age (21, 23, 25, and 27). Apparently I witnessed a very rare occasion of all four being home for the same weekend! 

Kashmir

We had planned a shared jeep leaving Leh at 5pm and arriving in Srinigar at about 9am.  We arrived in Srinagar at around 2 the following afternoon after getting kicked out our taxi and put in another, vomiting and a 2 hour stop due to “road construction”.  It was an unforgettable experience, that I can now say I would do again but probably wouldn’t have at the time. Holly’s friend from Ladakh who was studying in Sringar met us at the Taxi stand then we all headed to Dal Lake to meet Sean, Josh and Ronik from Bhagsu and a friend of Josh’s from home. It worked out perfect that all eight of us could all share a lovely (and cheap) houseboat for our stay in Sringiar. Though we all were coming from different places we quickly became one big loving happy family. Our time together was far too short, but we truly shared something special together. In addition to just playing guitar, eating and hanging out in Srinigar we took at two night camping adventure in Pahalgam.

Once arriving, and telling the crowd of Kashmiri’s several times that we do not need a nice cheap guest house, we attempted to shop for what we made need for 8 people and two days of camping then headed up the mountain. We camped on the edge of a beautiful open field in a valley of snowy peaks. On one of the field were several chai shops to care for the needs of the hundreds of Indian tourists that took pony tours in the area, and the other end were several gypsy huts. We had a lovely dinner over the fire and then tried to sleep 8 people in one tent with 2 ½ sleeping bags (one was mummy style and couldn’t unzip) and no mats. We didn’t get much sleep, to say the very least. Though I was up with the sun, or possibly never slept it’s hard to tell, we still didn’t manage to leave the camp site until after 10 am for our hike to the glacier lake.

Even though none of us slept, it was the most amazing hike I have ever done. First off, I was surrounded by an eclectic group of people whom I love so much even though only Holly I had known for over a month. Secondly, it was unbelievably gorgeous. We hiked through tall forests, passing gypsy huts, wild horses, wild flowers until we reached paradise, a picture perfect valley. I was overcome with peace and love in my body as I laid down on the green grass by the river which flowed rapidly with cold glacier water. I was about to take a nap until Golzar announced that we were not actually at our destination, but the glacier lake was just a 20 minutes hike up. I really didn’t want to keep hiking, my boots were already off and everything, but I figured I could squeeze another 20 minutes out of me. So after about two hours and 20 minutes of hiking up the snow I found myself yet again in paradise. And this time I really had to work for it. Though it was defiantly a very challenging hike, I can’t really complain because it least I had hiking boots. Sean and Josh on the other hand were barefoot. It wasn’t anything new, they are usually barefoot for most hikes, but then again we usually aren’t hiking glaciers. Golzar mentioned it would probably be a good idea to wear shoes, but he didn’t mention why. They ended taking the ‘road less traveled’ and hiked/climbed on their hands and knees along the edge of the glacier, running across the snow only when necessary. I couldn’t believe we all made it, and I know it is a moment none of us will ever forget. Going down the glacier was much easier and quiet entertaining, I can still picture Josh running/slidding down the snow full force with a stick in each hand. Thalassa and I gave up our socks in hopes to give Sean and Josh at least a little bit of protection.

We got back to our lunch spot at about 5 pm, and back to our campsite at about 8pm, just as it started thunder storming. We most certainly did not have a waterproof tent, or enough food for dinner (or any way to cook it) so we decided to grab the rest of our stuff and the tent and head for the village. After getting some much needed food we all snuggled up in a cheap hotel for some rest.

We had two more lovely nights together back on our houseboat on Dal Lake before Holly, Thalassa and I headed to Delhi for our departure from India. On our final evening together we all snuggled in the living space together, playing guitar and talking until we couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore.

Chanting the call to prayer

Dal Lake

Ladkah!

Going to Ladkah was not part of my original trip to India, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. One of my best friends from UVM, Holly Borday, had worked in Phey for three semesters as a teacher and facilitator for Vermont Intercultural Semesters (VIS). She finished work on May 10^th, almost the same time that I finished up work in Dharamshala. I hadn’t seen her since August and between her travels and mine had no clue when I would have another opportunity to see her again. Since she first visited Ladkah in 2009 I had heard incredible tales of the beautiful mountains and culture of the high altitude dessert of Ladkah. I was never able to understand this region that means so much to Holly until I was able to see it for myself. And now I see why she is always wanting to come back.

VIS was located at the SECMOL (Student  Educational Movement of Ladakh) campus. SECMOL was founded in 1988 by a group of young Ladakhis with the aim to reform the educational system of Ladakh with a focus on Ladakhi culture and sustainability. Today the activities are extremely varied and numerous. They organize activities for Ladakhi youth, run a campus for students going to school or college en Leh, develop solar energy projects and much more.

Originally Holly, two of her friends from SECMOL and I were planning to do 10 days of the Zanskar Trek. They decided a few days before I arrived that this probably wasn’t the best idea due to high amounts of snow. We would end up in Padum and be unable to leave since all the roads were still closed. I wasn’t disappointed in the least, and am so thankful I got to spend more time at SECMOL volunteering with English conversation class and getting to know the SECMOLpaws (students).

Dance party outside of the SECMOL campus

My first day I tried to take it easy and adjust to living at 3800 meters, but there was a dance party that evening that I couldn’t help but join. Throughout May the SECMOL students were hosting two camps for younger students from different villages in Ladkah, so in addition to the few staff and about 40 foundation students there were about  30 other students. Every day during camp there would be two or three hour long English conversation classes with the students. We were provided with conversation topics and sat with groups of 2-4 rotating every 5 minutes. It was a really good opportunity to learn more about Ladakhi culture and how these students lived, as well as share with them about my culture. Something I learned (a little too late) was that you never ever step over a table (they are much lower to the ground than in the US) or step between someone and their food. It is quiet offensive and shocking for Ladakhi’s when they see this, which I quickly realized as I gently stepped over the table followed by gasps of the students. Though no one held this against me since they have had many foreign volunteers it was still quiet embarrassing.

Though we didn’t do the 10 day Zanskar Trek, we did go on an unforgettable four day adventure. We attempted to start at 8am by walking through the Indus River , which turned into 8:30-9, which turned into not at all because we discovered the river was not safely crossable. Undiscouraged we walked, hitched, and took a taxi to Stok Village. There we stayed with a lovely family Holly had met 2 years ago when she first came to Ladkah. They happily took all four of us in, and we happily ate their delicious food, played with the baby and went for a full moon walk to practice English/Ladakhi with the 14 year old daughter.I also explored the village in the afternoon, visiting a monastery during the afternoon prayers, which happen to include a meal and butter tea. Side note: butter tea is exactly what it sounds like, it is very popular in Ladkah. It is an acquired taste to say the least, personally I  hate it. But it is nearly impossible to say no to tea so I ended up having a good amount of it during my stay in Ladkah.

From Stok Village we trekked over Stok La Pass (4900m) to the next village of Rumbak. The trek was difficult given the altitude and terrain, but so beautiful. Ladakh is a whole new world, a high altitude desert with only layers and layers of snow capped mountains in view. From the peaks the world seems like only and endless range of mountains. In Rumbak Holly and I stayed with a family she had met two years ago, and Thalassa and Kate stayed with an equally charming women next door. There is a homestay system in the villages since they get a lot of tourists, especially Rumbak because it is the snow leopard capital of the world. There is a fixed price that includes accommodation, dinner, breakfast and lunch and part of the profits go to the snow leopard association. In the villages they have a system to rotate the tourist to different families to share the wealth.

The four of us girls and the two families all had dinner together followed by a spontaneous dance party. I’m pretty sure it was Holly’s idea, and since it was just women in the house it turned into quiet the party. After many circles of (attempted) traditional Ladakhi dancing we finally had to put an end to the giggles and collapse in our beds. Though our host mom followed us to bed for a quick snuggle we slept soundly after an incredible day. The following morning, after an incredible breakfast of Ladakhi pancakes, we pushed on over Grand La pass (4950m) to the village of  only nine families. We drank tea and helped with dinner then had another dance party! We were exhausted but our host mom, and her three daughters loved it. They also picked out all of our Ladakhi husbands (Thalassas actually walked half way with us the following day!).  The following morning our plans changed yet again, we were informed that the trail we were planning on taking was wiped out by the flood and would probably take 11 hours, if we didn’t get lost. So we decided to take the easy route through the valley then along the road, which actually turned out to be quiet the adventure. 

Towards the afternoon we had to cross the Zanskar River on a trolley bridge. For some reason we didn’t think too much before Thalassa and Kate hoped in and thanks to gravity started cruising across the river, until the middle. There they stopped. Holly and I, still on the land had no idea what the trouble was but were occupied trying to untangle the rope we had neglected to straighten out and tie to the side before they started across. Thalassa and Kate were stuck and had no idea what to do so they stood up and start to pull themselves along by the wire. Thankfully there was a small shop across the river for the workers who were going to build a real bridge and a Nepali and Ladakhi women came to our rescue. Not without reprimanding us in Nepali first, but that didn’t really bother us since we had no idea what she was saying. Together they pulled them safetly to the other side then Ama Leh (grandmother) jumped in and pulled herself with ease to rescue Holly and I and fix the mess of ropes we had created. Then of course we joined them for tea and a had a good laugh together.

Though we were on a road walking towards the village of Chilling there certainly weren’t any cars. Once we got to Chilling we had to call a taxi to bring us to the nearest village that had buses, people, cars etc. From there Holly and I continued on to Saspol and stayed at the parents house of a friend of Holly’s. In the morning we checked out the meditation caves and then went to see the old monastery in Alchi and then back to SECMOL. After a few more nights at SECMOL and an evening in Leh Holly, Thalassa and I headed to Kashmir.

Holly in Rumbak

In Saspol meditation caves

Holly and I over looking Phey with the Katuk she put up in honor of Ryan

Spituk village

an entire village

traditional Ladakhi harvest

Mountain Cleaners

 As our third and final volunteer project approached, yet again we had no idea what we were really getting into, but yet again it turned out to be absolutely amazing. After our “personal vacation” in Rishikesh we hopped on a train to Chekibank, and so did hundreds of other Indians as a holiday celebrating the harvesting of the wheat was just finishing up in Hardiwar and they were all headed home. It was a packed, yet an interesting 10 hour train ride; I got harassed by some beggar children, made some friends, got some free food, witnessed some bribing and still managed to get a little sleep. We arrived at around 3 am and the five of us shared a 3 and a half hour taxi with a couple from Mumbai, and a couple from Mexico and Israel. As we started our accent up the mountains to Dharamshala, the foothills of the Dhauladhar range, it began to get light and the snow capped peaks were illuminated like an angel in the distance. Lush green trees covered the hill sides, leading to perfect snow capped peaks. I hadn’t seen snow since my week home in March, and didn’t expect to see any until next winter. Though I was exhausted from an almost sleepless night, I was able to keep my eyes open most of the time fixed on the paradise I would get to call my home for the next month.

We were staying in Bhagsu, one of the three areas of upper Dharamshala. Our project in Bhagsu is volunteering with an organization called Mountain Cleaners (MC). MC was started in 2008 by a wonderful women from the UK Jodie Underhill. It is in the process of becoming a NGO and is run by volunteers from all over the world and three paid workers, two Indians (Manu and Lockman) and one Tibetan (Thrinli). Work quickly turned more into an opportunity to have fun with great people while doing good things. Though Jodie made it clear that we should always do what we wanted to and if we didn’t feel like volunteering one day that was totally OK, most of the time I wanted to be volunteering since it always involved amusing times hanging out with an awesome crew.

MCs aim is to clean up India, little by little through a combination of direct action, liaison and awareness raising. There are three volunteer treks that MC runs to clean the surrounding mountains. The Triund trek, which has been running for over a year now, is a two day trek running every Monday. The treks are encouraged for all types of hikers and quiet laid back. We slowly make our way up the mountain picking up waste and getting to know other volunteers on the way up, with of course stops at all the chai shops on the way. It took me a little bit to get used to seeing little shops in what to me seemed like the middle of nowhere on a mountain side, but given the popularity of such a beautiful hike I quickly understood why. MCs provide the four chai shops on the trail, and three shops at the top with bags for non-recyclable and recyclable waste that each week the volunteers sort and then the mules taken them down the mountain where the recyclables are sold to local rag-pickers and the non-recyclables are taken to the landfill in Dharmashala.  After about a four hour hike we reach the three upper chai shops, campsite and Forest Service guest house where we stay and enjoy lunch surrounded by the snow capped peaks and over looking all of lower and upper Dharmashala. Even though this is a weekly trek after lunch there is usually plenty more waste collection to due around the campsite followed by more segregation. One of the biggest issues is food waste being thrown into the bags, creating a more difficult jobs for volunteers when the food waste can just be given to the many hungry crows, mules or dogs. In the evening the crew enjoys Thali’s around a campfire and in my case I was lucky enough to always have fellow volunteers that brought up beautiful voices and guitars.

My first week up Triund, even though it was cloudy and filled with rain showers, I still continued up the following morning with a smaller group to the snow line. As we walked upwards into the snow peaks and clouds little bits of snow became more and more frequent. We finally rounded a corner to find the Snowline Café (small chai shop) barely poking out under loads of snow. I couldn’t believe someone lived there all year round buried in the snow truly in the middle of nowhere. It was like we entered a whole new world, still in the clouds, no sign of civilization except this small shop and snow everywhere! I quickly ran up the hill and discovered that our waste bags made great sleds. We all explored the area, Sophie practiced snow headstands, Michael made a snow angel, Trinli sent massive snowballs flying down the hill to create a snowman, as I perched on top a rock in the mist under prayer flags fluttering in the wind attempting to pick out ski lines thinking of my friends back home. After spending the first half of the winter following behind my best friends in the powder of Wyoming snow will forever remind me of their love and passion for the sport and my love for them. As my thoughts drifted to Ryan, as the usually do, I took a look around and couldn’t help but smile through my tears. I longed to share all my experiences with Ryan, tell him how amazing my trip had been, how beautiful India and Indians are and how I wanted him to see it. Though I couldn’t send him an e-mail or call him up, I knew he was there with me (picking out much harder skiing lines). I could picture his genuine enthusiasm and support for everything I had done, and how happy he would be for me following my dreams that we had spent many summer nights discussing. Though he can no longer pursue his dreams, he will always be there to support and encourage me to live my life to the fullest, to make friends everywhere I go and spread his love and happiness all over the world.

And Bhagsu is certainly a place of happiness. My first week there I was almost overwhelmed with the amount of things to do in addition to volunteering; music lessons, yoga, cooking classes, mediation, art classes, sewing classes, jewelry making and much much more. I wanted to do it all, but ended up learning the most just by sitting with friends and travelers over tea and talking or listening to amazing musicians jam around town. Given the beautiful environment and people, amount of activities offered and perfect weather its defiantly a place I could stay for a long time. Unfortunately I only had less than a month there and there was nothing I could do about that except enjoy every minute of it. 
There is endless work that can be done for MC to keep us busy and everyday it seemed Jodie could think of another amazing idea to be implemented one if they ever have the money and volunteers for it.

It was amazing to work with someone so dedicated and positive on what can easily seem to be an over whelming and impossible task.  For those who have never been to India it is dirty. First off there is almost no infrastructure for waste management. Secondly, throwing waste on the ground, dumping and burning is part of the culture. Before plastic made it to India everything was given on leaves, clay or biodegradable material so generation after generation threw their waste on the ground and that was perfectly fine. As plastics took over India education about waste and pollution didn’t.  In India throwing waste out the bus or train window is a second nature as throwing waste into a bin for me back home. For Jodie to take on this task is huge and never ending. It was truly inspirational to feel her passion and enthusiasm for such a daunting task. As each week on treks we picked up more waste that seemed to return the following week and witness burning almost daily it was easy to feel like maybe this was a waste of time. But MC is much more than just picking up waste. Though it is important to keep the trails clean, what is more important is implementing education through action. Each week the chai shops get better at segregating their own waste, each week new trekkers (Indians and foreigners) see what we are doing and read our signs about waste management.  Jodie is slowly reaching out to all the businesses and restaurants in the area to educate about waste management and environmental issues. She has created a Green Guide to Dharamasla for tourists to teach them about MC, volunteer opportunities, environmental issues, what is recyclable and how to take care of waste, and which local businesses offer filter water bottle refill stations and have their own waste management systems. The Green Guide offers incentive for business to be green to have their name in the brochure. During our time with MC their first waste collector, Lockman, was hired to collect recyclable and not-recyclables from businesses in Bhagsu providing even more incentive not to burn or dump waste. Jodie hopes to offer more jobs with good pay and working conditions for more local workers in the future.

In addition to the Triund hike I went on several other hikes, including a four day trip to Kearii Village. I was sick when the group of 12 MC volunteers went  so I ended up going with another volunteer Josh (Australia) to meet Sean (England) who stayed behind when everyone else headed back to Bhagsu. The Karri campsite and village can only be reached on foot right now, but a road is in the process of being build to the village. The campsite sits on a crystal clear river in a beautiful valley, and is the first of three campsites leading to Karri Lake  (which is supposed to be amazing, though I never made the 13km journey). Over 5,000 people visit the campsite between May and September and obviously there is no waste management system. Jody feared that with the road coming in that number will explored the pristine environment will quickly become filled with trash. Our job was to educate the groups that came to the campsite while we were there are about waste and to clean up the area. The area was surprisingly really clean, and the groups that came were all well off families or private school groups that had environmental education. They enjoyed our speech on the importance of keeping the environment clean and recycling. They especially enjoyed Sean’s performance of “From Little Things Big Things Grow”, an environmental song he wrote for our Earth Day activities.

 The campsite was run by a trekking organization so people paid and had tents, meals and outhouses. We quickly made friends with the trekking organization worker and had three delicious free meals a day and another guitar player. Though we did hike in our own food and Josh did some amazing cooking over the fire it was a four star camping experience. I think it was on the edge of that river, or laying in the tent for hours with Sean and Josh that I learned how to relax, and how important that is.

Throughout university, and during our projects in India I was always wanted to be getting stuff done, doing things, being productive. Which is good, but I now know so is sitting by the side of river and enjoying life and doing nothing. I used to always want to be doing something productive, I couldn’t even sit down and watch TV without doing some other productive task. With the help of two wonderful friends I met along the way, Sean and Josh, I finally saw the beauty and importance of doing nothing. They taught me how to slow down, stop and enjoy. And that is one of the most important things I learned while in India. 

Segregation

Snow Line Cafe

Trinle

www.mountaincleaners.org....check it out!

MC wall!

Kids working on Earth Day posters

Segregation Page

Campsite onto of Triund

Josh with some friends at Kareri campsite

Talking to the kids at Kareri about recycling and keeping the environment clean