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

Rishikesh

Since we had a long ride to Himachal Pradesh we decided it would be nice to break it up a little and spend a few days in Rishikesh for a personal vacation. It was an amazing five days spent in the valley along the holy Ganges River. It was a different experience to be in a place with no responsibilities, but came at the perfect time since for the two weeks in Bene Ephriam we didn't have the chance to leave the house too much.

The beautiful spirit of Rishikesh and the Ganges is powerful, defiantly on my list of places to return some day. In addition to just enjoying chai, company of fellow travelers and the views from the many cafes on the river side we went for a waterfall hike, white water river rafting, watched the daily puja (prayers) and bathed in the Ganges.

Bene Ephriam

Though I loved Sadhana Forest, it was part of an international community and never felt like ‘real India’ to me. For our second project we headed northeast to the state of Andra Pradesh and the district of Guntur. There we lived for two weeks in a Madiga village. The village was made up of the Dalit class, which is the lowest class of India, also known as the Untouchables. It was most certainly real India.Within the Madiga community we were part of the Bene Ephriam, a Jewish community. We stayed with the Yacobi family at their home/synagogue/community center. 

Local women on their way home from working in the fields all day

When I first arrived I had mix feelings about our project. Our aim was to design and implement a community survey to try to understand the community to help create a future project they want and need. This bothered me for several reasons, first off who were we to show up for a few weeks and decided what project they should do. Secondly a survey isn’t doing anything active to actually help the community while we are there, it is just getting their hopes up for something that may or may not happen in the future.  But in the end I think it was a valuable exercise and we actually learned a lot about the community, their needs and hopes for the future. Not to mention the amazing friendships that were created between two different cultures.  

LeadEarth team and Yachobi family

We were also asked by another NGO, Kulanu, to check up on previous projects they had funded in the community. They had given $1500 the support 10 families to purchase chickens. They hadn’t visited the community since the money had been sent and were interested in hearing how it went. We visited almost all the houses who bought chickens and attempted to help them determine if the project was actually cost effective. It is difficult to determine this for several reasons, first off the chickens were only purchased a few months ago so they haven’t really started producing many chicks, especially ones old enough to sell. Secondly they don’t keep track of how much they spend on food and other expenses. But mostly because every time we would ask the same question, but get different answers. One day a chicken cost 200 rupees to buy, and the same chicken the next day might be 300 rupees. But all in all we were able to gather the information Kulanu requested. It’s still difficult to determine if the project is cost effective, in our opinion it’s not the best project for long term growth and financial independence of the community. But it was a valuable experience to see what kind of projects are being funded by NGOs in attempt to help lessen inequaities in third world countries and the steps and process that is affiliated with donations. Kulanu also sponsored several buffalos for the community as well as a good amount of bicycles for students to get to school with. They also gave us a grant to install solar panels during our visit.

The solar panel grant idea was established by our facilitator before we left for India. We spent quite a few hours discussing if we wanted to go through with the idea. The synagogue/Yacobi home/community center had power already and solar panels are expensive. We thought that given the situation the money could be of more use towards another project. In the end we decided to go through with it since we already had the grant approved and use it as a tool for environmental education, teaching the whole community about solar energy and why it’s important. We also wanted to leave something with the community when we left, to feel like we made some sort of contribution in addition to the surveys. And we thought that since the Yachobi’s supply power for the community center it could help with electric costs. The lights weren’t exactly as we imagined, we were told they would easily light a 20 by 20 foot room, but they turned out to be more like emergency lights. It was quiet exciting when we were making chapattis on one of our last nights and experienced a power cut but were able to quickly switch on the solar lights and finish cooking dinner! It’s hard to tell if they will be used instead of their regular lights but will certain come in handy during any of the many power cuts.

Installing the solar panels

Teaching about solar power

As requested (and funded) by Kulanu we also helped set up internet at the home. This was in hopes that Kulano and the Yacobis could be in touch more easily via e-mail and skype to discuss the projects they are funding. Kulanu is really interested in teach them skills to tract and monitor the projects themselves and determine if they are working or not. Hopefully they will also use the internet to keep in touch with us!

The most rewarding part of our time in Andra Pradesh was the daily interaction with the Yachobi’s and community. It was an emotion goodbye after two short weeks we already were calling them Ima and Aba (mother and father) and dreaming of the next time we will be able to travel back and visit. For a community that has very little according to western standards, they gave so much. They happily hosted five strangers, feeding us (too much) delicious food. Chapatis (Indian bread) everyday, even though they would usually only cook them once a week. Ima even gave all the girls Shalware Kameez to wear one day and was offended when we wouldn’t keep them (2000 rupees worth of clothes). During our survey we asked about what people would do with extra money if they had any, almost every person responded without hesitation to give it to someone who needed it, and they meant it.

Jobi, Marianne, Maya and in our shalwar kameez

I was able to learn about Indian culture and myself and am so thankful for such a unique experience. I was sad to leave the family, but left inspired to do more to help such wonderful people who taught me so much. 

One big family

New friends

Ryan

It was past 11 pm, I knew I had to get up at 5:30am the next day but I couldn’t tear myself away from the music and dancing. It was march 3^rd, a Wednesday which is open stage night at Sadhana. As the performers finished and volunteers trickled off to bed a small group was left playing the drums, guitar, singing and dancing. I was loving it. I was starting to feel a little more comfortable at Sadhana and really embracing all the happiness and love of the community. Ahuva (our group leader at the time) called me over and told me she got an e-mail from my mom and that she thinks I should call Jill. It seemed like a very strange message and I  immediately assumed something happened to Jills family so I called my mom on skype. It only took a few words to completely change my life.

One of my closest friends, Ryan Hawks, had died three days earlier in a skiing accident. Because I was enjoying my time in a new place I had had no desire to check my e-mail, so I missed the e-mails from friends trying to get in touch with me. All of a sudden I was lost, minutes before I was embracing the love of community and suddenly I felt so alone. It was unbelievable really, impossible to fully comprehend. I was hundreds of miles away, in a whole different world. How could something like that really happen, how could it happen to the most amazing guy I know? I was so thankful to have a few good friends from LeadEarth that were there for me, but it wasn’t the same. They didn’t know Ryan, I couldn’t talk let alone try to explain how special he is. For the next day I was lost, not wanting to believe, not knowing what to do. I tried to keep busy by attempting to work, it didn’t help. I wanted to run and hide, I wanted to go back in time.

Due to the fact that it was already four days after he had passed away, and that had just arrived at Sadhana and the vast distance and costs to get home it I didn’t even think it would be an option to fly home. But when Marianne and Maya asked if I wanted to go home, I said yes of course I just didn’t think it was possible. After a few early morning eastern standard time phone calls home I determined that my parents would pay the costs and that the service was scheduled for Saturday. I was a wreck and couldn’t function properly but Marianne and Maya planned everything for me. Buying my plane ticket, letting me borrow money when I forgot my pin number (which has been the same for the past 4 years),  they even rode the 3 ½ hour bus ride to the Chennai airport at 9pm so I could catch my 2:30am flight to Dubai, then NY then Burlington Vermont. I can’t express how thankful I am for their love and support, I know that I wouldn’t have made it home without them. It was by far the hardest time of my life and even though I only knew them for one month they took care of me like family.

For the next few weeks (and still sometimes now) I felt as though I was in an alternate reality. Going from Sadhana Forest, a sustainable community in India, back to the winter of Vermont to mourn and celebrate the life of someone I love so much was intense to say the least.  But I am forever grateful that I had the opportunity to go back to VT to be with friends and family.

I am not going to go into too many details of my time home other than it was a really important time in my life. It was a life changing opportunity to be able to share the grief and the love of Ryan with friends and his family at such a time. He is an incredible guy, words really don’t do him justice. Though Ryan and I were only close for the past few years, I feel so so lucky that I was able to share such a special relationship with him. I have not lost Ryan, there is no hole in my heart where he once was. He will forever be a part of who I am. Ryan changed my life by showing me love. Though he died far too young, he lived his life to the fullest every single day. His compassion, kindness and unwavering positive attitude radiated through any room in entered.

I will never understand or stop mourning his death, but like Ryan would have done I will see the positive in the worst. After seeing how hundreds of people were affected by the genuine compassion Ryan had it made me realize that to make a positive impact in the world I don’t need to travel around trying to end poverty or stop global warming. Ryan changed the world just by being himself. I can easily say that I am a better person for knowing him. I will take his compassion, kindness, happiness, joy, adventurousness, smile, laugh, heart, curiosity, openness, friendliness, strength, determination, confidence everywhere I go. I don’t want to be Ryan, but I want to be the best me I can just like he would have wanted. His death helped put life in perspective, and though I would do anything to have him back again, all I can do is move forward with his spirit by my side. 

Sadhana Forest

My first project with LeadEarth was volunteering with an ecological community that focuses on reforestation and water conservation in Tamil Nadu, South India. I knew very little about Sadhana Forest going into the project and had no expectations; it turned out to be one of the most wonderful places I have lived. Sadhana Forest is one of the many communities in Auroville, the same city where my brother Aaron had studied abroad (and my family visited) five years ago. It began in December of 2003 with the goal to transform 70 acres of severely eroded, arid land on the outskirts of Auroville, into a vibrant, indigenous Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest and to spread knowledge about sustainable living through human unity. After spending a few days in the bustling city of Mumbai arriving to such a peaceful and beautiful atmosphere was just what I needed.

A few of the many faces of Sadhana

When I first arrived the community was up to around 120 volunteers from all over the world. In the busy season volunteers are requested to stay one month, in the summer and monsoon seasons only two weeks. Since it is run by volunteers the only costs are mainly infrastructure. The buildings are constructed with granite posts (locally mined without dynamite), local bamboo and eucalyptus trees and thatched roofs. They are beautifully constructed and designed to stay surprisingly cool in the southern heat.

Hut and solar panels at Sadhana Forest

At Sadhana there is even balance between work and play. Wake up call, which usually consisted of lovely singing and music, was at 5:30 am so we could try to get most of the hard work done before too much heat. First work was mainly working in the forest unless you had another weekly responsibility such as cooking breakfast or watering the garden. Breakfast was at 9, followed by second work at 10. Second work consists of the little responsibilities needed to keep Sadhana running smoothly.  Jobs such as hygiene, which means stirring the composing  toilets twice a day, emptying them if they are full and cleaning the bathrooms (not always the most popular job, but I did it for a week, and I never realized how heavy pooh was!). Some other jobs are sorting waste and recycling, checking the roofs for bees and termites, gardening, construction of beds and community infrastructure, cooking, cleaning communal buildings and more. Though these probably don't seem like any fun, I never found them too bad since you are almost always working with a great person. 12:45 was lunch and the afternoons were free.

Marianne watering plants for second work

Maya and Jobie cooking 

Each afternoon there would be two to four workshops available to all volunteers. These changed depending on the volunteers at the time. I was amazing at how many talented people came through Sadhana and offered to share with the community. Workshops included many different types of yoga, including a personal yoga practice of Astanga yoga which I have now been following every morning since the end of March. Others were permaculture, various art and spirituality and connectedness workshops, non-violet communication (NVC), how to make stuff awesome stuff out of waste, veganism, capoeira, African dance, vegan chocolate ball making and many more.

The reason I loved Sadhana so much was the experience of community. The visions of Sadhana Forest focus around reforestation, water conservation and educating about sustainability; none of which could happen without the energy and dedication of the volunteers. It was the most open and loving group of people I have been a part of, and I’m truly proud to say I was. There is defiantly something to be said about everyone sleeping together, waking up (very early) together, working together and eating together. That may sound like a little too much for some, but because there were so many of us you were constantly interacting with different people. I especially enjoyed getting to share every meal together (which were all vegan, non-processed and no sugar by the way). Instead of just feeling like volunteers that came and went I really felt like we were a family. If you get sick, there is always someone there to take care of you and be with you in the Healing Hut, or if you just need someone to talk with or escape on motor bikes into Auroville to get some ice cream and chocolate it’s easy to find a companion. After just three days of staying at Sadhana Forest I unexpectedly lost a best friend from University and had to return to Vermont for a week. Leaving my friends and returning to India was really hard, but I know that I was lucky to be able to return to such an environment like Sadhana Forest to help me get through the hardest time in my life.

View over Auroville

Living and working in a sustainable eco-community was extremely educational on many levels. I gained knowledge surrounding sustainability and the environment, but I also gained knowledge about myself. I was inspired by so many of the volunteers and what they had to share with the community and the world. I increased my awareness of my actions, myself and my role in communities and created a new sense of value for the importance of being a part of a collective people.

Motor bikes we rented for the month!

If anyone is interested in learning more please visit www.sadhanaforest.org. There you will also find a place to make donations; the energy at Sadhana is focused on their main goals and visions of sustainability and not fundraisings so every little donation is needed and helps so much!