November 9, 2011
In my last lengthy post I described the disconnect between the Gandhian principles of living and the practices of the Bija Vidyapeeth staff. Progress is slowly coming to fruition through documents to the higher management (Dr. Vandana Shiva), taking a stand by “mixing” with the farm workers, and by creating documents and folders for later interns to use as a resource. We are still struggling though as many new interns are coming and going almost daily at this point. Keeping everyone on the same page and included in the process also seems to be a reason for a lack of progress. We try to not bring down the spirits of new interns, but feel it is their right, if they ask about our experiences, to explain the situation in case any of them have any outsider input. On the plus side, there are still moments that make me remember the reason for coming here. The amount of opportunity Navdanya provides to the communities it works with is still very much apparent. And while we are struggling to see what our role as international interns are in this organization, we are motivated by daily observations such as the opportunity to play volleyball with a group of farmers visiting for a farmer training.
Farmer trainings at Navdanya provide farmers from communities to come see the “mother-ship” of the Navdanya organization and learn more about organic farming practices and benefits. However, from my observations, the farmers attending these trainings also get much more out of the experience. Not only do they get to travel away from their farms and see this region of the country, the food we eat on a daily basis here at Navdanya also provides them with an opportunity to eat many traditional foods here they are not able to afford to prepare at home. Foods such as halwa (a millet-based desert doused in ghee, sugar, raisins, and more ghee), chapati (a simple bread accompaniment sort of like a tortilla), many different vegetables, and spicy dals are glutinously heaped onto the plates of every visitor here. Not to say that their wives are not good cooks, but the food here is absolutely spectacular. And while they each go up for seconds, thirds, and fourths by cutting in line, they each take a turn to take a picture of us all eating with them, as well.
And while I just spent an entire blog post complaining about the exclusion of workers, one of my most favorite moments here on the farm was the opportunity to play volleyball with the workers here for a training. The joy on their faces as these lanky, grown men rushed into the previously formed circle to each take a turn at hitting the ball will forever be in my mind. The amount of times a ball would bounce off one of their heads, fly so high in the sky (an underestimation of their strength), or be slammed into the ground left a cheek-numbing smile on my face for the entire game before the sunset. These farmers work so hard day in and day out to just provide for their family and make ends meet. However, the trainings such as these also provide them with an opportunity to learn more about their culture, interact with people from all over the world, and even play sports they haven't played since they were kids. And now while I continue to question why I am here and what my purpose is, I continue to remember this moment that makes me so happy and reminds me the contribution this great organization is making to the life of so many farmers across the country.
I have also come to understand, through meeting with the staff, that many of our frustrations with the intern program are a result of a cultural and language barrier. The website and intern coordinator (based in Dehradun, who we've never met, only spoken through email with) were produced by a previous intern years ago without any knowledge being passed to the Bija Vidyapeeth staff. And while they have the space and the staff to host a large number of volunteers there is no one in the staff here to actually take on interns and guide them through a project. We do have meetings once a week with the office coordinator, but it is mostly just for us to explain our projects to him with little response back. The farm is also located in such a rural region that the organization would not be able to afford to bring in a translator or an intern coordinator who would want to live so far away from Dehradun. While this is unfortunate per our expectations through the website, the group of us that are here for the long haul are working to create a system that will help the interns be a lot more self-sufficient (ie. explanation of farm tasks and projects, re-writing the website to outline expectations, and the ultimate paper trail of all the interns starting from now).
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