Ragpickers

Staring out.

A hole-ridden dirt road bobs my head.

Tents. Hundreds? Thousands? No.

Millions.  

Black trash bags draped over bamboo poles,

A sea of starless nights.

A stagnant pool of wishes.

Two kids crawl out, boy and a girl.

Siblings?

Torn shorts, no shirts.

Bare and naked, I see

but I don’t. How could I?

Congress says no problem.

“Lower the BPL!”

For if less have less, we have more.

More what? More right to say we fucking took it all?

Might as well just throw them out too,

All 500 million.

The children held hands and

Walked into the dusty dusk,

The weight of the waste of the world slowly filling their burlap sacks.

Andrew Vance

A Local Living Economy

The road which trails through the sparse landscape that enters Navdanya’s Bija Vidyapeeth, or Earth University, reminds me very much of the roads one would pass through in our very own Northern New York back country.  Along with the necessary steeples of development, the cement and brick factories, the local venders selling newspapers and material objects of the like, the hills are largely aligned with small working farms.  Before Navdanya purchased their plot of land in the Himalayan foothills, it was deemed infertile due to an unsustainable eucalyptus plantation.   The local farmers had little choice as to which crops they grew, how they grew them, and to what extent their seeds may support further life and cultivation.  Vandana Shiva, whose efforts help invent the Navdanya community described the farmers’ situation as a paradox, where as “usually, in traditional agriculture in Third World societies, farming is a collective decision” but under pressure from large scale biotechnology and chemical supporters, “the new package converts a farmer from being a member of a community and a producer to being a consumer of purchased inputs like seeds and chemicals.”  Like the plot of land that is now revived and flourishing with life, the community surrounding Navdanya has followed suit in similar impressive and pragmatic fashion. 

During our second day at Navdanya we travelled through these communities and we could see visible signs of Navdanya’s spill over and prowess.  The locals were eager to have us visit their homes and take note of the crops that in essence, reflect their status and quality of life.  For these people, life is not about monetary gains; these pursuits are too far from reach.  Their purpose is to survive and maintain their land and livelihood, to ensure that their children, and children’s children will be provided the same comforts that come with food and land security.  A westerner would be amazed at the degree in which these small farmers can support their families and neighbors with the land they claim.  The organic practices that Navdanya teaches these farmers, allows them to produce more nutrition per acre than any industrialized farming techniques, while also enriching their land to ensure productivity in the future. 

Along with added nutrition, farmers are also saving money; on average a Monsanto seed would cost an Indian farmer nearly 36 rupees.  At Navdanya, the price of ones chosen seeds is merely a percent of the return.  For a small farmer, or local resident, organic farming techniques, and in particular Navdanya diverse seed collection, allows the community to escape the binds of Monsanto’s modified organisms that too, bear the name of ‘seed.’  Without these restraints, the community partakes in both work and leisure as they slowly begin to reflect Navdanya’s ethics of seed and food sovereignty accompanied by sustainable agriculture. 

Along with the freedom we noticed on the nearby farms, we also visited a local potter whose skill and understanding of his profession equaled that of the farmers.  His wheel was crafted from clay to from a round and flat disk roughly five inches thick.  We watched over his shoulder as he squatted by the wheel, grabbed a clay covered wooden stick to his right, and immediately spun the wheel into motion as he found the tip of the stick to the groove on the left side of the wheel.  His lean muscles functioned like clockwork as the heavy wheel caught speed and coasted along after he had dropped the stick on the brown and wet clay soaked floor.  Smoothly in a dire focus,  he leant over and grabbed a large slab of clay that he retrieved under a cloth covering to his right.  Without hesitation he threw the clay on the wheel, dampened his hands and slightly centered the heap on the wheel, a skill that ultimately defines the overall shape and basin of the vessel or plate.  Once prepared properly, he offered all of us a chance to practice on his wheel.  Without much practice our untrained hands quickly jeopardized our products, but with this potters guidance, anything could quickly be mended and crafted into art within seconds of his hands touching clay.   He was a true patron of the saying, practice makes perfect. 

Like the local farmers, whose livelihood is derived from these Himalayan foothills in Northern India, as is the devoted and gifted potter.  All of his clay is retrieved from nearby riverbeds, which in the summer time dry to rocky basins, exposing the muddy banks in which bare the potter’s medium.  When the farmers began to harvest, the potter begins his dig, and both prepare to sustain their trait and well being into the future.  This cycle of regeneration and stewardship with the land is not a product of economic incentives; in fact Navdanya promotes just the opposite.  As Vandan Shiva claimed in our interview, “money does not inspire me…seeing life flourish inspires me.”     

Indian Land Acquisition

As we drove around various parts of the Indian sub-continent we noticed many different construction projects appearing along highways.  Some looked like they were well underway, while others looked as if they had been abandoned with the scorching heat of the summer.  We quickly learned that these were projects implemented by the government, many to help with India’s lack of infrastructure.  Neoliberalism and the increased development brought along with globalization has changed India very rapidly.  The past infrastructure cannot hold what is happening now, and what is ahead in the future for the country.  The government must expand highways and create other building projects to keep up with the market.  In order to do so the government needs land, and to get this land they take it away from the people. 

 During India’s colonial period the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 was established to allow the government to legally acquire land from individual landowners with proper compensation.  In order for them to do this, the land must then be used for a public purpose.  After independence this act was adopted and continued by the new government.  Today India is seeing a whole new wave of land acquisition because of the more liberal markets and the amount of development happening throughout the country. 

Driving through the countryside and in between cities our group saw a lot of this construction.  We talked with Usha Ramanathan about a lot of the problems associated with this governmental control over land.  Land is one of the most precious things a person can own, and to most Indians it is a huge part of their lives.  Today much of this land that is being taken by the government and is used for making highways, dams, ect.  It is causing huge problems, rather than helping the people and communities.  Usha explained that farmers are getting their land taken from them and are not getting compensated enough for it.  They are then left without much of their land, which accounts for their work, money, homes, and livelihood.  The compensation that they are given is not enough to buy land to replace what they have lost and they are left with little to nothing.  Many are forced into jobs outside of the agricultural sector and are soon at the bottom of that field because of the lack of training programs.  On top of the economic problems, migrations happen because jobs are taken away and the development of dams causes mass displacement. 

In addition hurting many individuals and families, it is not just the farmers that are being hurt.  Whole communities are being affected by this acquisition of land by the government.  It is seen that through development and increased infrastructure the country will see growing wealth through a trickle down effect.  This is just not the case because in reality it is the people at the top who see the benefits of neoliberalism.  The money does not trickle down at the rate that it should, and it creates more economic problems by causing a widening gap between the rich and poor.  In the end it is not about the amount of money in a particular country, it is about how that money is being distributed and if the people at the top are the only ones benefitting, it is doing much more harm than good because it creates a growing gap.

Whole communities are being destroyed, along with a deep history and connection to the land.  The governments are doing more harm than good by taking away this land from the people and to not even provide them with the proper compensation is unacceptable.  

Group Word Painting, Rajasthan, June 3, 2011

Excursions Outside Jaipur: Once Drought-Stricken, Now Fertile Village, and Women's Embroidery and Jewelery Cooperatives, June 3, 2011

Heat: 122 degrees Fahrenheit, or so we are told.    Desert, camels, children, women singing a song of welcome from under orange veils.  

 

Chameleons, hospitality, water harvesting, the town spigot, wells, water.  Seed-saving.

 

  Village development council.  Mustaches, purdah, no more water, thorns, water buffalo, water irrigation, barley, irrigation, mustard, oats, spinach.  

optimism, loans, 40,000 rupees in savings, samosas, orange saris, carriage.  embroidery, empowerment. 

Two wheels the same size: balance.  If one wheel is bigger than the other, this cart won’t move.”  Equality, rights: hard-won. 

Translators, pictures, sweat, loans, child marriage, dogs vs. wild boars.  Whirling fans and white turbans  

Water. Optimism.  Peace.

Looking Back

When you go some place that changes you or have an experience that transforms you, it’s hard to comprehend that change. Sometimes it’s an idea, something creeping inside you, deep down, fermenting into some greater purpose. Perhaps it’s a something you saw, a scent up your nose, or a honk in your ear. This spark can foster inside you for days, months, years, who knows when or in what form it will bloom into being. For me, India was one such experience.

Staring outside the back of the bus. A hole-ridden, dirt road bobbed my head. Tents. Hundreds of them. Black trash bags draped over bamboo poles. Two kids crawl out, boy and a girl. Siblings? Torn shorts, no shirts. Chest bones lifting their skin, like the label-stripped ribs of the tin cans at their feet. They held hands. Walked into the dusty dusk. Burlap sack in each hand….Trash pickers?  Notes from the bus ride from Dehli to Agra.

When did we define this notion of progress? This idea of infinite growth. Always pushing forward, further, and on to the future! Can we never sit back, relax, and say, “we’ve made it.” The march of civilization would trample right over that person. But if we don’t slow down how do these people I see out of the window, the sleeping homeless covering miles of sidewalk, the scavengers, the shirtless, the hopeless, the forgotten; how do they catch up? And this progress, for what? Kool-aid and frozen pizza? Why is progress always forward, aren’t there any other trajectories or possible courses of action. Can’t you take a forward step in any direction, it just seems backwards from your old perspective, but don’t we need a new direction?

            I smell. Manure. Fresh. I see. Orange Sari’s draped over the women’s heads. Curious eyes peeking out. Curious children clinging. Bushy mustaches. Chase would be jealous. Come see! Wheat. Oats. Mustard. Loamy soil. Livestock. Laughter. Proud of their plot. Community empowerment. Interdependence. Life in the desert. Oasis among seas of sand. Notes from Rajhastan village meeting.  

            This community lives in the dessert of Rajhastan. It was over 120 degrees the day I went to visit this community, pretty average there. But there, in this sea of sand, the most desolate of landscapes and desperate of situations, these people built an oasis. An oasis of food, or life, or water, but even more, of community. A community that supports each other, thrives off of each other, helps and educates each other. It’s not about singular development, it’s about encompassing development; an entire community lifting itself up together. This place thrives off of a social capital, a trust; something dead in so many parts of the world.

            This is just two small paragraphs from a notebook of experiences, too many to fathom at any one given time. But these encounters, dialogues, interactions, happenings, they all take root. Like a tree growing in reverse, root tips burrowing and searching, joining, entwining, and blossoming into the leaves that change and transform one’s life. This experience will forever live with me, and forever affect my life. As Jeff Johnson said in 180 South, “The best journeys answer questions that in the beginning you didn't even think to ask.”

At Navdanya with Dr. Vandana Shiva

Bija Vidyapeeth -- "School of the Seed"

Warming dew dampened my bare feet as I trotted through the tall grass that blanketed the berm dividing the two cultivated plots to either side. The sun snuck through the tall trees to my east and though its newborn rays barely reached my feet at that point, I felt its emanating warmth tickle my toes. More berms jutted out from either side of the central path I walked upon, dissecting the two larger plots into ten or so smaller plots. During harvest season these small plots grow hundreds of different varieties of seed, to name a few: lentils, eggplants, thyme, rosemary, mint, lemon balm, okra, coriander, chilies, ginger, turnips, mustard, barley, millet, any number of their 500 paddy strains and 80 races of wheat. A collection that makes Navdanya’s farm a true crown jewel of biodiversity, and not just in India.

Navdanya didn’t always boast such diversity, once a barren monoculture, it took five dedicated years to transform the lush, loamy soil. Starting in 1987 as a movement for seed conservation and empowering and protecting the local farmers of India, Navdanya’s influence has grown with it’s soil and seed over the years: slowly enlightening its entire community to the wealth of organics.

The seeds sewn here almost make it through their entire sequence of life: they are planted, given time, sun and water enough for them to germinate, sprout, bare fruit, flower, and just before their seeds fall back into the earth to become the children of next years harvest, they are collected and stored in Navdanya’s Seedbank.

Meandering along the berm path through bigger fields, more smaller seed plots and forest gardens, I eventually came across the seedbank. A group of workers washed mason jars outside and smiled as I entered the building through a door on the left. The small structure was made of the earth: mud, clay and cow dung shaped the walls, with straw used as the fiber to give it congealing strength (like rebar in cement buildings). The thick, earthen walls kept it cool, like an above ground root cellar, and a northern facing window cast light, but not heat into the room. Hundreds of jars filled glass-paned cabinets throughout the room, and flowered grains and chili plants hung from a string on the ceiling as they dried and waited for their seed to be extracted and stored. The cabinets had labels delineating their contents: medicinal plants, ornamental timbers, spices, oil-bearing seeds (like mustard), vegetables, legumes, cereals and millets. The room adjacent to this one had larger vats containing greater quantities of seed. These seeds were given free of charge to farmers hoping to start organic farms, or already practicing and lacking the money for seed. The farmers then grow the plants, harvest the produce, and collect the seed. For each kg of seed borrowed from Navdanya, they must return 1 and a ¼ kg to keep the seed variety alive, and so future farmers can enjoy the fruits of seed sovereignty.

Outside the seedbank my nose followed the distinct scent of cows that led me past the stables, earthen-made as well. The distinct sounds of cow’s off-center chews distracted me as I watched their tails lazily wag flies off their backs. Soon, I noticed a big blue container standing outside. After curiously poking inside and observing the strong scented, yellow liquid within, I stopped and pondered.

“It is what you think it is,” a worker told me as he noticed my query. “It’s cow urine.”

I’d heard of cow urine’s incredible uses for pesticide and plant nutrition, and some farmers had began replacing their synthetic fertilizers with this otherwise wasted byproduct…But Navdanya added a new property to its list of alleviations: a health elixir….for humans.

“1 Tsp. each morning does wonders on human health…I take it myself.” The man told me.

After pondering the taste of cow-urine, I moved my mind onwards to another barn just past the stables. Long, skinny, brick-laid rectangle spanned the barn, only about six inches high, but they guarded thick plots of soil. Reaching a hand and turning the soil could reveal hundreds of skinny, red wrigglers with each handful. The worms ate and digested the soil, turning it into potent, organic fertilizer after only a few weeks. Small amounts of this could be spread over entire acres, saving time, money, and a debt-ridden dependence on commercial fertilizers.

Outside the vermiculture barn stood a large clay container that looked like a tall, skinny barrel. The container was usually piled up with 6 inches of small rocks, 6 inches of pebbles, 6 inches of sand, 6 inches of manure, a thin layer of worms, and some loose hay on top. Above the open-top barrel hung a small bucket with tiny holes punched into its underside that allowed for water to slowly drip into the layers below. After gradually filtering through the system water was collected from the spout below and spread over the crops to suppress diseases, and provide nutrients for plant growth. This “compost tea” is a safe, affective and cheap alternative to synthetic varieties.

I started back towards the path along the grassy berm. I gazed as a slew of radiant butterflies danced in the morning sun, I could hear the hum of honeybees out on morning patrol, buzzing, chirping, and insect gossip all began to fill the air around me; I paused for a moment and allowed my senses time to catch up, and I realized, this place is truly a haven for life of all kinds. Navdanya is a hallmark of biodiversity, seed conservation, and organic farming techniques that save time, money, and empower the farmers who use them. Navdanya’s uses for manure as fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and heating redefine what is waste on the farm. Their efforts in seed conservation have reclaimed hundreds of India’s indigenous seed varieties. Navdanya’s efforts helped pushed their state of Uttarakhand to declare itself a Genetically Modified free state. But their sphere of influence doesn’t stop in their direct communities, but with their half a million famers in India, and their many supporters abroad; which makes Navdanya a true beacon for change in a world becoming vastly dependent on unnecessary resources.



Childhood Malnutrition

Growth and Development Charts 

    

            The NGO COCOEDECON took us on a day trip to the town of Tonk, which is located in the Indian state of Rajasthan, on the eastern border of Pakistan. The approach to the village was a scenic drive, which involved winding dirt roads and a picturesque mountain landscape.   When we actually arrived at the village school, the scene, which greeted us could not have been more different.  We were warned, before we exited the bus, that talking to the swarm of children who encircled our vehicle would be a bad idea because they would expect gifts from us (especially food or money) and if we acknowledged them, then it would encourage the swarm to follow us. The professors singled me out for a specialized reminder because children are my most dangerous weakness.  It was hard to stare straight ahead, when we were ambushed with such innocent and deprived little ones.

            After dodging in between the masses of youngsters, we entered into the one room schoolhouse, where posters covered every square inch of space, some in English and some in Hindi.  The posters reminded children to have healthy eating and hygiene practices, in addition to listing the activities of the day.  The COCOEDECON guides posed our questions in Hindi to the villagers who gathered in the classroom to meet us. They showed us a chart where the teachers tracked the growth rates of the students and introduced us to the locals. At one point in the discussion they told us that they were going to bring in an example of a malnourished person.

            A slight-framed twenty-year old mother slid cautiously into the room, two children attached to her withering form like leeches. We were informed that the younger boy with tears in his eyes and an otherwise expressionless face was malnourished. At two years old he couldn’t walk. His older brother used to be malnourished, but now by the age of five, with the assistance of COCOEDECON, he was doing a lot better. I am constantly around children, whether it be at family gatherings (as the eldest cousin on both sides of the family) or in my constant babysitting. Usually, I can smile or make a face and get at least a glimmer of recognition if not a return smile from a child. The little malnourished boy looked right through me, like a ghost, incapable of emotion or normal human existence by virtue of the fact that he is not given access to proper nutrients, one of the most basic needs for any creature.

            A 1998-1999 World Bank study found that 51% of Rajasthan (the state in which this village was located) battles malnutrition. In 2000, it was found that 47% of Indian children are underweight.  However, despite these dismal findings, a steady positive change is occurring, according to a World Bank study, which drew data first in 1992 and then again in 1998. Over the course of these six years, the amount of children in India suffering from what is deemed as “mild undernourishment” has decreased from 76% to 73%.   The amount of Indian children classified as having “moderate undernourishment” has gone down from 53% to 47%. “Severe undernourishment cases” among Indian children has gone down from 22% to 18%.  While these may seem like small numerical leaps, every little change helps to counter the cycle of poverty and hunger. There is still a long way to go, but organizations like COCOEDECON help to better the overall situation. The threat of Neoliberalism has forced small farmers out of business, thus destroying valuable sources of sustenance for both their families and the surrounding communities. With a lack of food security, children often do not know when their next healthy meal will come and suffer a great multitude of health issues as a result.  By establishing a better system of food production and distribution, a lot of India’s childhood malnutrition problems could be vastly improved.

Source: “India: Malnutrition Report.” The World Bank.http://go.worldbank.org/TUTLNHSPH0  World Bank Group: 2011.

The Sikh Temple

           We finished up our dinner in downtown Delhi and headed home as a very united, satisfied, group. As we strolled along, we took in the night villages, which pop up as the sun falls down. Children ran about scavenging for food or money and were summoned back to their parents for sponge baths in the middle of the square. People were everywhere, scattered about on benches and cardboard cutouts.  Indian women lurched toward us, offering henna tattoos and bangles- “Special price. Only for You”.  A wealthy woman strolled by in her exquisite saree and jumped into a car, seemingly oblivious to this unfolding scene.  We continued on and saw a golden dome looming prophetically above a scarf-selling stall. A random man came over stared at us

and said “Beautiful”, before walking away.

            We pulled out our cameras and instantly captured the moment. Mesmerized, we weaved our way across the crowd following a continuation of the same scene.  Stray dogs fighting. Street vendors pushing. Children washing. Several different entrances with attached parking lots led to this central mecca of the Sikh Religion in Delhi- The Gudwara Bangla Sahib. It was created in honor of Harkrishan Dev, the eighth Sikh guru. He was in this very area, where the temple was constructed in 1664, for many months in order to better the living situation at the time for the ill and the poor.  (136) As we approached the temple, we were overwhelmed by the smells and sights. Food was readily available- both to purchase and to eat for free. We stood for a long time deciding whom to send in as our scouts with the requisite headscarf. However, all of our musings were put to an end when a kind woman pointed over to the shoe minders and explained that they had scarves to lend out. We piously approached the ‘in’ and ‘out’ gated lines and turned in our shoes in exchange for numbered chips. Then we passed through the area where worshippers systematically stepped into a footbath and washed their hands in a communal sink. After that, our group walked up the huge walkway leading up to the entryway where we tried to imitate the bowing movement that the other visitors completed as they entered the building. We were immediately approached by a kind man who sat down with us on the rug and thoroughly explained his beliefs.

             In the Sikh religion, there are five Kakkars or emblems: kesh (not to cut one’s hair for saintliness), kangha (to keep the hair in good condition), kaccha (loose-fitting undergarment, designed to exude modesty), karpan (knife which represents power and dignity) and karra (steel bracelet, which stands for fearlessness). All of these items are to be worn and all of these practices are to be followed at all times. Even when Sikh followers shower, they must keep these objects attached to some part of their body. True followers do not drink alcohol, cut their hair, indulge in a woman other than their spouse, or use their knife except to protect an endangered woman. Sikhs call themselves “Singh” which means “lion”.  Langar is a meal offered in the basement of the temple, which is free to all people no matter what their caste or class or age ranking or religious inclination.   (71)

            Sikhism arose from people who felt that Muslim or Hindu rituals and beliefs were unfulfilling as well as unjust. It holds true to the same principles of rebirth and karma, but deviates from what Sikhists feel are other unfavorable religious restrictions in those religions. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, believed in the equality of all people regardless of caste, which was very forward thinking for his time. His frustration with other religions was spurred on by the fact that only Brahmins were allowed to perform the highest of sacred procedures in other religions at the time. He lived from 1469- 1539. He preached that meditation was critical and could lead to miracles. The Guru Granth Sahib showcases the preaching of the 10 Sikh gurus.

            This experience was not only significant in terms of the facts that we learned. Instead, it had a tremendous impact because it showed us the importance of religious tolerance.

Works Cited: Singh, Sarina. “India”. Lonely Planet. 13^th edition. USA: Sep 2009.

GMOs effecting US milk industry

While staying at Navdanya Institute in Dehra Dun our group was fortunate enough to sit down and have a Q&A session with global food activist, Vandana Shiva. She is an absolute mountain mover and I swear I had an out of body experience while talking with her. Shiva has essentially waged war against seed modifying corporations like Monsanto, for they take away biological diversity and farmer's independence. Here's an article I came across on Public Radio International shedding light on the immense power the private food corporation has in deciding what we add to our bodies.

Monsanto strikes again



Paige

Northern Monuments

Although monuments are not covered under the Melon Grant, as a group we found that visiting many of the world famous landmarks was an important cultural experience while we were in India. We dished out our own rupees so we could see some magnificent forts and one of the man made wonders of the world.

In the center of the bustling area of Old Delhi rickshaws motor by, and street venders yell down the crowded, narrow streets. The alleyways are dimly lit, there is an overwhelming amount of old wires knotted around cement poles, and the smell of street food saturates the air. It is a scene worth experiencing. The towering Red Fort acts as a backdrop to all of this and dominates most of the skyline. A group of us walked through metal detectors and were welcomed through red sandstone arches by armed Indian soldiers.

The fort was built in 1648 by Mughal emperor Shan Jahan as a residence for the royal family of India. At one point the fort housed about 3,000 people. Inside the fort it seems to go on forever. There are areas for fountains, gardens, a photography museum, and a lot of area the public cannot see because it is under military occupation. The next time I’m in Delhi I want to go to the Red Fort at night time to see the light show that is put on every night.

When we got to Agra I expected our only monument that we saw to be the Taj Mahal. Much to my surprise the Agra Fort was my favorite monument of the trip. Similar to the Red Fort, it is partly occupied today by the Indian military. It is 94 acres and beautifully made out of red sandstone. The fort is surrounded by a mote and located on the Yamuna River. Inside there are places where spies used to hide, areas for dancing, and a palace where the emperors used to live. The emperors that had lived there in the past left very distinct evidence of their architectural differences, each having their own area built in very different styles. At the top of the fort there is a nice view of the Taj Mahal set a few kilometers away. Its milky color blended in with the hazy sky. It made many of us very excited to see it up close.

The next morning we all woke up around 5am to walk from our hotel to the Taj Mahal. We were told that seeing it around sunrise was not just the most beautiful and physically cooler times of the day to see it, but also the least crowded. Our great tour guide lead us to the entrance where you are unable to get a good view of it before you come in. After going through security we turned the corner and saw the beautiful ivory colored mausoleum, one of the most recognized structures in the world. The Taj Mahal is known around the world as a symbol of eternal love because the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built it in memory of his third wife, the same emperor to build the Red Fort in Delhi.

The perfectly symmetrical building casts a mirror image of itself in the water that sits in front of it. I wish we could have spent ours there just sitting and looking at it. Inside the beautiful white marble continues and the walls are perfectly dressed with stones and jewels from all over the world. It was spectacular.

We were one of the first groups to get there in the morning and it was totally worth waking up early. Even being there for just over an hour, it was clear that it was getting much hotter out and more crowed. I would highly recommend stopping by Agra to anyone going to India to see these two monuments.

The monuments were one of our very few personal expenses on the trip and I am very happy we visited them. In addition to being just interesting to see, it also provided a historical background on some of the topics we were studying, especially the development of India. They were both beautiful to see as well as being educational at the same time.

The Red Fort

The Agra Fort

The View of the Taj Mahal from the top of the Agra Fort.

The Taj Mahal!

New Delhi

New Delhi, the capital city of India, famous of its monuments, political life, developing each day, dynamic metropolis – it is spectacular but also a shocking place. Spectacular buildings established by Hindu and Muslims – such as Qutub Minar (the highest in the world minaret), the Red Fort, Humayun’s tomb… what is shocking the most – the streets… the streets on which dwell children, elderly, women and men – there are no exceptions. There is only one rule – the rule of streets, and one fate – the fate of poor people. The law of marginalization which makes them invisible to many eyes; invisible because they do not fit to the modern architecture of neo-liberal capitalism, nor they fit the statistics of the positive economical growth. Street dwellers have their own statistics and their own politics – of surviving from day to day. Although they are invisible to the politicians, they can be seen all over Delhi, laying on the lawns, benches, and the bus stops. They fill every empty spot of the city which has officially 12 million people; unofficially: No one knows! Because no one is willing to count people who live inside the cardboards. Poverty is not surprising, what is surprising is the indifference for poverty. The indifference also of those people who stubbornly claim that “everything is all right until we can note the positive economical growth,” moreover who say that “people who live in the poverty are only byproducts of development.” Yet, no one cares that the same people are thrown away from their homes just because ‘someone’ has its plan to build a dam or to establish Special Economic Zone.

 When after three weeks of being in India, I landed at my home-airport in Poznań, I understood that relative social equality – it is a real treasure, of course we are not the best in it, but the Bukowska Street for sure does not look as the streets of Delhi – and here appears our duty, to keep our streets like that, or even improve them, and to bring more equality to those in India, in addition to that we should try to bring more awareness to those streets all over the world where residue corporations and governments, and those who are luckier – who live in villas or in vast apartments, because the awareness is the first and the most important step towards the change. When the world will start the awareness campaign? For now, the colorful magazines talk exclusively about the charming monuments, TVs about the Bollywood stars, and we – we keep saying that “this is not our problem…”

COCOEDECON

COCOEDECON brought into view the core of humanity, where women, men and children fight the daily battles of poverty, water shortage, malnutrition, and patriarchy, and, with the help of the inspiring NGO, come out with community-driven smiles and conviction. Too often in my travels have I seen NGOs powered by individuals with the selfish desire for selfless action. COCOEDCON rids pretense from the equation, not only focusing on the needs of one issue, but on any issue at the forefront of human well-being in Rajasthan.
COCOEDECON spans environmental issues such as climate change, agriculture, and water harvesting, while maintaining the perceptivity to realize these issues are connected to community health, malnutrition and finance. The revolutionary NGO has the boldness to challenge the paradigms of patriarchy while questioning the dominant paradigms of feminism. COCOEDECON’s definition of gender justice, as conveyed by program coordinator, Ritu, in a squeaky, but forceful and resonating tone: “If one wheel is bigger and one is smaller how can you keep the car on the road?” The NGO does not assume that historical patriarchies are the reason for today’s problems, but rather that equality – two wheels the same size – is the answer. Men, as well as women, shined in the organizations programs of social and gender justice.

In terms of structure, COCOEDECON engages an incredibly wide geographical area with a comparatively small staff. Just 150 employees in nine offices across the deserts of Rajasthan engage in hundreds of social and environmental justice projects. This is possible due to a focus on community empowerment instead of institutionalized progress. By listening and understanding the needs of communities, the NGO facilitates problem solving instead of trying to impose or control projects. The idea is independent, sustainable social justice, not falsely enforced justice as so many NGOs and governments weakly attempt.



Going into the details of COCOEDECON’s programs for community health (i.e. family planning, malnourishment, maternity health), would breach the boundaries of this post. But that just goes to show the span and gravity of this admirable organization. When asked about problems the village faces, Kalyan Mal Kissan, head of the Village Development Council, with the rapturous voice of a true leader responded, “We used to have problems. Now there are few.” He attests this progress to the work of COCOEDECON. One problem he did note was that schools in his village only go up to standard 10, so students have to leave the village to get up to standard 12 for the opportunity of higher education. If I were a gambling man, I’d bet on COCOEDECON formulating plan to remedy this issue.
This is by no means the full overview COCOEDEON deserves, but it would take full-scale academic projects to fully explicate its tremendous accomplishments and projects. The only critique I can offer, and the NGO’s workers and administrators agree, is of the corporate funding of the program. PepsiCo and Tata are two major contributors. As Dr. Jayman is quick to point out, the only reason these donations are made is a small condolence to the vast problems of neoliberalism. According to Jayman, the problems being solved are product of, and perpetuated by neoliberal policies and opportunistic multinationals, such as Pepsi and Tata
As an anti-corporate and generally anti-neoliberal mind I tend to agree with such claims. But finding the direct connection between Tata, Pepsi, and these people isn’t exactly clear. These companies have contributed to substantial economic growth, which creates funding for such contributions. Though I would prefer to see these companies regulated by governments and taxed to hell, how can we blame neoliberalism (Dr. Jayman is going to kill me) when multinationals are funding projects as revolutionary and admirable as COEDECONS?
Grassroots, social activism is the answer to the problems of modernity. CECOEDECON, despite being funded by the parasites of globalization, is quite possibly the most genuine and productive organization of its type. If Pepsi and Tata support organizations like COCOEDECON, the corporations may just meet their end, or at least their match; people, not corporations and co-opted governments, will once again be the speakers of justice and sustainability. Maybe, just maybe, neoliberalism, globalization and modernity, will fold upon the will of people empowered by organizations such as COCOEDECON. The NGO fired in me not a Leninist inspiration, but Lennonist one. So Dr. Jayman, you may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.

NGOs and Villages

In the North of India, at the footsteps of Himalaya, but also to the South of Delhi in Jaipur (the capital city of the state Rajasthan) we visited villages and towns which main source of income is agriculture. Surroundings of Jaipur have serious problems with the lack of water what affects crops, but also creates many social issues and accelerates poverty. People who live there are poor, yet they do not give up, and thanks to the aid of humanitarian NGOs (non-governmental organization) which is supported by farmers’ hard work - they try to improve their own fate. Especially extraordinary are women from those villages who want to break the old and patriarchal cycle of oppression, and thanks to the micro-loans they open their small workshops where they manufacture clothes and process food. This is a very good message about the Indian countryside that was till now known  only from its decay caused by the mass suicides of farmers, the displacement of farmers, and the land seizure in favor of industry or dams construction. Thanks to the work of such NGOs as CECOEDECON and Navdanya the future of Indian farmers can be different.

  CECOEDECON (Center for Community Economics and Development Consultants Society) was established as a response to the flood that in 1981 tremendously affected Jaipur’s surroundings and destroyed many villages and towns in Rajasthan. Later, CECOEDECON moved to its mission of educating farmers about the self-organizing and started to provide them with micro-loans, as well as systems of water-harvesting that became a great solution to the daily lack of water in the region (which is half-deserted). Today, they also help street children and promote campaigns against the global warming; each year CECOEDECON participates in the United Nations Climate Change Conferences.

  During our stay there, the volunteers of CECOEDECON who are not afraid of challenges and have great contact with the locals proved that the motto of their organization: “Where actions speak louder than words,” is not taken for granted. We could see those actions in every place we were visiting where each social group, each age, each gender is positively affected and transformed. It is sometimes very hard to believe that this change originate from a micro-loan that for us is an equivalent to a cinema ticket; yet for them means equality, development, and sustainability. It was the first time since long time, where I have seen an organization and people who “believe in the beauty of their dreams,” and who can change their local world, and by this little bit also change the global world.

  In the opposite to CECOEDECON, Navdanya which has its head-quarter at the footsteps of Himalaya takes care of only one – yet very important issue – the preservation of seeds. Navdanya established so called “seed banks” that preserve seeds use in agriculture, and those that for decades have been forgotten and now thanks to Navdanya are restituted to the common use. In 16 chapters of Navdanya that operate all over India, farmers can borrow seeds, grow them, and return back to the bank their surplus after the growing season. Why is this so important? In the last years, all over the world we observe a decrease in biodiversity in agriculture due to our activity - especially due to industrial farming, use of genetically modified food, and food monocultures. If this process will continue, soon we may face a global famine; like one in Ireland in the 19^th century.

   Navdanya was started by one of the most known Indian and global activists – Dr. Vandana Shiva, and is fulfilling its mission by saving seeds, promoting biodiversity, and global activism. They teach farmers how to cultivate their farms ecologically without the need of using non-natural fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals. Education of local farmers, and also people from all over the world that you can meet at Navdanya’s birth place close to Dehradun plays very important role in this organization. Dr. Shiva and Navdanya try to influence also world’s policy makers in order to protect farmers from big corporations and consumers from buying genetically modified food. What is the most important Navdanya gives freedom to farmers, freedom from corporations that try to take out of farmers’ pockets more and more money every year.

  Meeting such organizations as CECOEDECON and Navdanya gave me hope that such literally ‘organic’ work and volunteerism can lead many people to the permanent improvement of their lives; people who used to be marginalized and impoverished. Therefore, I encourage everyone coming to India to escape little bit the tourists’ paths and try to volunteer for a while at one of many India’s NGOs.

Lukasz W. Niparko

Observations From Afar

We in the United States enjoy sitting on our high horse and critiquing other cultures. We give them labels like "developing nations," and make grand statements related purely to economic statistics. There are many countries that lack even the most basic civil rights, largely because our economic corruption has allowed the installation of corporation-friendly government. Yet what we have seen here in India quite simply defies categorization. On the one hand, it is clear that industrialization is still very much in progress, that this country has not had the fifty year head start our own was afforded. Indeed, the U.S. has scored some minor environmental and social victories over the past half-century, yet in many respects we are no more developed than countries like India.

Kerala is obviously the best example of this. While all numbers point towards extreme poverty, on a USD scale, the people on the ground are in many cases more educated and mobilized than that of our own. Almost all sectors of labor are unionized and ready to fight for each other on the socio-political platform. Nearly everyone is educated to a high school level, and everyone understands their role in society and is proud to be from Kerala. The Kerala Model has been proven successful to the extent that it educates and informs the populations, making them valuable members of society. By stressing human development and social justice through a socialist government, Kerala has reduced poverty and leads India in health, education, and crime. This is no small feat from an economic system lambasted for decades by American economists. Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, the Republican party in the state Senate managed to pass a bill outlawing collective bargaining (granted, a judge threw out the bill almost immediately).  Say what you want about economic numbers, but from a social standpoint this has done our country little good. Our poor are getting poorer and our rich are getting richer. We extend tax cuts to the wealthy, give tax breaks to mega-corporations, and destroy local economies because we think that GDP is more important than social well-being.  Have you ever even heard of social capital?

Then there is the environmental movement. The United States is still pumping out 25% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, an astonishing number compared to our 5% of the global population. It is a simple fact that the rest of the world cannot live like us, because then there would be no world left to live on. Yet we continue our abuse of the environment in the name of economics, even turning "green" into a marketing phrase to increase profit. It is easy for us to sit from the top of our global economic mountain and say that we are superior, yet when it comes to the environment we are by far the worst offenders. The most astonishing marks of pollution in India is the rampant littering. Trash literally crowds the streets and the waterways because they don't have the resources to deal with it. Despite the blight on public appearance, it is really no better than dumping waste into landfills. Our elaborate waste management infrastructure allows us to move it all beyond sight, yet it is still sitting there and will be for thousands of years. While there have been limited successes in cleaning up and preserving our environment, rivers like the St. Lawrence are still virtually unusable to local populations that once depended upon them.

What is obvious in India, everywhere that we have been, is how in touch people are with their own personal consumption. It may not be out of a grandiose "environmentalism," as it is in the United States, but rather out of necessity. It is easy at home to blast those who waste more than others, but we all still have neatly manicured lawns and gardens, drive our own personal vehicles to work everyday, and spend the seasons in climate controlled homes. People here are acutely aware of their water, food, and energy use, because there is simply not enough to go around. In hotel rooms, there is a switch that requires the room key in order to turn on any electrical amenities. Every electrical outlet also has a switch turning it on or off. In the U.S., most of our outlets are constantly drawing energy, which not only raises energy costs but also wastes a horrific amount in the pursuit of nothing.

Unfortunately, here in India, global mega-corporations are pushing for more and more influence, using the dollar bill to exert their political will and take power away from the local economies that have developed through thousands of years of civilization. On almost every street their are small storefronts selling local foods, mostly fruits and spices, that we would obtain from a supermarket. There is a noticeable connection between food and place, a connection that has almost completely disappeared in America. If globalisation takes hold here, if industrialized agriculture becomes the standard, then this will evaporate in India just as it has in the States.

In short, the United States is doing almost everything wrong. When we do something right, we hold it up like little kids for the rest of the world to see. Look at us! we say. Look how progressive we are! We follow that up by dumping our waste on countries like India, China, and Mexico and say how "dirty" they are. We have become nothing short of the global bully, posing as a global role model. It is despicable to see the livelihoods of those in India endangered by our ideal of a global economy, when all the global economy does is increase the gaps of wealth between social strata. We view foreign countries through numbers, not on a human scale. The U.S. isn't on the right path either, and should stop resorting to critiquing other nations when we have larger problems building at home. If we can't solve our own issues, as the most powerful nation on the globe, then we are worthless hypocrites, bound to a destiny of pollution that will undoubtedly affect other nations more than it affects our own. And when the globe starts crumbling around us, we will have only ourselves to blame.

Navdanya Food Stall

In anticipation of our upcoming trip to Vandana Shiva’s Navdanya, Shiva’s own organic farm and research center for sustainable agriculture, we visited the Navdanya food stall in Delhi. The stall is located in a food and craft bazaar called Dilli Haat. The bazaar is a clam, clean and eclectic market. It has all the charm of the other markets we have visited, without the shady characters and pushy vendors.
We got to the market just as the sun was setting; all of us longing for a delicious dinner after a hot day of cultural immersion in Delhi. The food stall is nestled away in the back f the bazaar. We walked through the sea of hand made crafts and textiles, only focused on our growling stomachs. As we approached the stand Dr. Sharda Naik (our coordinator for the northern part of our trip, to whom we owe many thanks) greeted us. Sharda informed us that she had ordered us a very special meal. All of the food at the stall is locally grown and completely organic. The food fits with the Navdanya goal of reclaiming the traditional foods of India, using unique local fruits, grains and veggies to prepare a delicious vegetarian feast.
The meal started with two local juices. The first was a spicy mango with cumin and the other was called bheel sharbat, which is a sweet drink made from the local fruit bheel. These two drinks were unlike any I’ve had before; the mango juice was cool and refreshing with a slightly spicy, slightly salty after taste. The bheel sharbat’s gummy texture was thick as it ran down your throat and the drink left a familiar flavor in my mouth that I still can’t identify.
The food was served buffet style on large platters overflowing with an assortment of colorful indigenous foods. There were familiar foods like fried yellow dal and okra and ones that we had yet to encounter like the amaranth and potato cutlets (which get two thumbs up from the entire group). The highlight of the meal for me was the bottle gourd kofta, which consisted of balls of vegetables and paneer in a creamy spicy sauce yellow orange colored sauce. The food truly tasted fresh and each of us had seconds or thirds. Even the roti, which accompanied nearly every meal that we have eaten in India, had a new twist. It was made with nine indigenous grains straight from Navdanya, giving it a rich coco color as opposed to the usual white.
When the meal was over we walked away from the food stall with belts loosened and big smiles on our faces, eager for the chance to see where this delicious food was grown.

A River Runs Through It

Two years ago, the Charles River was officially re-declared safe for swimming. It was a major milestone in the decades long effort to clean up the polluted waterway, marked by a major populist movement within the Boston community that garnered significant support from our state's progressive government. The river used to be the bane of Boston, the "dirty water" we all loved but was truly a result of over-pollution. Yet the restoration of the major waterway, an iconic image of Massachusetts, proves that such clean-ups can indeed be done. It shows that even the most waste filled rivers can be reverted to a point where swimming does not equal hospitalization.

The Yamuna River, that flows through Delhi, is one of these rivers. For decades, sewage and industrial waste have been dumped (and continue to be dumped) into the river with unfortunate enthusiasm. Few living things can survive in the toxic water these days. The proud water used to be the city's provider. It gave fish to eat, water to drink, and a place to bathe. Now it just smells.

If it used to be a symbol of Delhi's beauty and prosperity, the Yamuna has become the symbol of Delhi's growing pollution. Larger than that, it is a symbol of what India has become. A haze lingers over the country, engulfing sunsets. The dank odors of the street soak in the hot sun and overwhelm the nostrils. Delhi contains some of the greatest architecture on the globe, from is Mughal monuments to its Hindu and Sikh temples and mosques. Yet the pollution has the ability to transcend that beauty and take over the senses.

This evening we attended a "discussion" of a book by Sarandha Jain, titled In Search of the Yamuna: Reflections of a River Lost. We sat in an air conditioned room and listened to respected Delhi intellectuals discuss what could be done to solve the problem facing the Yamuna. What struck me most was Sarandha's comment that a restored belief in the community and beauty of nature was the answer. What angered me was the stubborn resistance of these so-called intellectuals to believe it.

"To save nature we need to know it personally," she said.

There is an undeniable truth in this, and in this undeniable truth lies what I believe to be the answer: education. It seemed to me, listening to the stuffy men around the room talk in their loud pessimistic voices, that the problem at heart was not modernity but rather the loss of a once powerful connection. Sarandha used the native tribe's spiritual connection to the river as the answer to save it. Yet I'm not sure spiritualism is necessary to save the Yamuna. It's logic. A river can provide us with everything. In much of our own country, rivers have become a primary source of food, water, and power. Without the Colorado the west coast would not exist. The U.S. treated our own rivers much the same during industrialization, and many of them are still heavily polluted with industrial waste. But, with enough effort and resources, a clean up has been proven possible. Yet, in a country focused more on catching up with the first world, is this ever possible? While it happened in Boston, a perfect representation of what "first world" has come to mean, can it happen in a place without certain post-industrial luxuries?

That is why education is the key. Not just in India, but in the United States and the rest of the world too. Humans have an incredible ability to learn and a curiosity that can never be satisfied. If we stimulate an interest in the environment, in community, if we foster it from a young age, than society will change with the new generation. We need to know nature personally, we need to understand the world that we live in beyond how to use it as a tool. The only way to teach this ideal is to preach it in schools, to show the youngest how vital each component of our biosphere is. Right now this level of education exists nowhere, not even in our own country, and yet it is so simple, so possible that it gives me migraines. I have been lucky enough to grow up surrounded by nature in varying degrees. And yet, whether the jungle be a lush green or concrete, there is beauty everywhere waiting to be discovered. We just have to open our eyes, and be willing to share. Community is a wonderful thing.

Just Before Bed

The river formed, from the Himalayan north,

heads south towards Delhi; the polluted and populated fork

where tribals pull, and others bathe,

but through no pleasure will the rivers be saved.

Where rain fell, cooled and froze,

It's now neglected and pulled in loads.

Its shores have sunk and its quality reduced,

and taken to areas to be introduced.

The answer is personal and completely ours,

not for the government to flex its powers.

Natural ecology is left at bay,

while those who understand have no say.

Is waste the real issue that creates the stink?

Or is it inherent in the way we think.

For the river is alive, sleeps and breathes,

and humans can control when the river leaves.

Will the river exist when our generation passes,

or will future eyes be jaded with toxic gases.

Gases from waste that historically were not so,

instead it was used to make life grow.

From the earth of the garden,

to our plants and our mouths,

organic waste was never blamed for drought.

Thinking of solutions that are biotic in essence,

are as simple as life in its most simple presence.

- Mr. Johnson