Come with us for 13 days of adventure and exploration of ancient and current methods of water harvesting, sustainability methods and rural community building, combined with wonderful photo opportunities at every turn.
Organised and facilitated by Shazar Robinson, long-term volunteer in rural India, an inveterate traveller who simply loves to dig into different cultures, find out what others eat, how they tick and who they are right at the grassroots level. Passionate in her quest to support our Mother Earth, Shazar takes interested people into the heart of rural India.
Your contribution to this journey will give water to impoverished Indian farmers – you will change lives as you travel.
Scheduled for January 3rd to 14th 2019 we will begin in Mumbai – bustling huge city of over 22 million people. An introduction to India that will open your eyes, amaze your senses and delight your taste buds. We will meet the incomparable Maya Shahani – and say hello to this land of contrasts and never-ending revelations around every corner.
After Mumbai we will head up into the Western Ghats to the children’s shelter – Shikshangram – where Shazar spent the better part of six years giving support and living with the 130 resident children. Here you will meet these wonderful kids, and their Mother – Yogita – a very special friend of Shazar’s. We will visit the ancient Buddhist caves – carved between 200 BC and 100 AD. Think things in Europe are old? Just wait till you see some of these structures!
They encompass you with the energy of ages.
And then it is time to go South – to the small city of Hubli… where we will be based for some days – here you will dig into the rural areas – enjoy a picnic with the locals on their farm, visit the World Heritage Site of Hampi – go trekking in the jungle near Dandeli, where if you are very very quiet you will see wonderful sights. Visit the ancient weaving craft of Navalgun Dhurries.. cotton colourful floor mats woven on upright looms. Waterfalls, bore well recharge structures, life saving work being done in this area both by Sankalpa Rural Development Society and other non-profit organisations – to bring water to the farmers and the villagers. Sikandar the founder and CEO of SRDS will proudly show you the farmers who he has helped to stay on their land and regroup from a life of drought and disaster.
And oh the food.. ah the buttermilk – cool and refreshing, coconuts drunk by the side of the road, roadside sugar cane juice with a hint of lime, dhabas and curries and dosas and lassis.. chai and subji and chapatti and roti. More chai.. always more chai – and sweet delicacies of all sorts of nuts, dried fruits and ground up peanuts with jaggery – ladoo.
Oh, and did we say anything about the smiles? and the welcome by the village people – and the generosity of their nature even when they are living with just the basic needs?
This journey will transport you to a world far from the whitewashed technological lands of the ‘West’ to the emerging and ancient land rooted in the Spirit and the Heart. At every turn there is a ceremony, a blessing and another Namaste with hands in prayer in front of the heart.
India gets in your blood … come with us and find out why.
