Auroville/Sadhana Forest

So I'm currently charging my laptop from solar energy in the middle of a forest in a bamboo and thatch hut. This is Sadhana forest, an intentional community focused on reforestation and water conservation. They are 100% OFF THE GRID. I won't be writing a long post because those will come next week when I retype my journal to share with you. I will start from Day 1 in Auroville, which is also an intentional community outside of Pondicherry. I absolutely love it here. Who knows, I might just even end up here!

Here are the websites for more info on all the amazing stuff these organizations are doing

www.sadhanaforest.org and www.auroville.org

Momo's

The Tibetan restaurant in Kodai makes awesome momo's, which is a kind of dumpling that is extremely versatile and can be made to your taste. The other day we made potato cheese momo's in my cooking class.

So what you do is take some flour, water and a bit of salt and mix it all together and knead until it has a smooth consistency. The dough should be sticky but not to sticky that it sticks to your fingers.

For the filling you can really use anything you want; a mix of veggies and spices, or different meats. Whatever your in the mood for works great.

Take some dough and roll it flat into a circular shape a little bigger than you palm, scoop some filling (should be cooked, unless its just cheese) into the middle of the dough. Now bring all the edges of the dough to the top to close it up. The dough should surround the filling completely.

If you have a steamer put the momo's in for ten minutes or so. With some experimentation you will be able to judge what is best.

If you don't have a steamer you can fry them until they turn a golden colour.

Enjoy your momo's!

Blue Gold

Blue Gold is a documentary addressing the worlds current water crisis. It asks questions like "Should water, something we all depend on survival, be privatized and used for profit?" "Are our current water systems sustainable, and able to provide for a growing population?" "Are shrinking ground water resevoirs causing earthquakes and other natural disasters" "Water is so important to our survival, why do we continue to pollute our limited fresh water supplies?"

The Earth is 75% water, of that 97% is salt water, 2% is frozen fresh water, and the last 1% is nearly polluted beyond human use.

The longest amount of time a human has survived without water is seven days, most people don't last past three.

More children die of diarrhea and lack of water than malaria, AIDS and TB combined.

The four main issues affecting our water are excessive ground water extraction, dams, privatization and pollution.

We pump more water out of the ground than it can replenish itself, combined with the non permeable surfaces of cities, less and less water is making its way back to the water table causing a "desertification" of the planet.

Dams disrupt the natural courses of rivers and streams, contribute to soil erosion as well as pollution. "A dam is the choking of the artery of the planet." Vandana Shiva.

Many of the major private water companies are some of the richest in the world. Privatizing water controls the water and in turn controls the population. Many third world countries are forced to privatize their water in exchange for debt relief making it even more expensive for water.

Water is polluted by many things, most notably industrial waste, chemicals, residential waste, sewage and garbage. Chemical fertilizers runoff into local water bodies and can also seep into the groundwater causing further pollution.

What can we do to save our water? Little things can start at home; don't leave the tap running when your brushing your teeth, take a "navy shower" by turning the water off when you're lathering up, try making your property as permeable as possible, you don't really need a full paved driveway. To stop water pollution we can switch to biodegradable detergent, kitchen and bath soaps, DO NOT WASH YOUR CAR ON YOUR DRIVEWAY, it's actually illegal in Toronto to do so. The harmful chemicals from the soap go straight to the storm drains all the way to Lake Ontario untreated.

India is currently facing a water crisis due to man made factors as well as climate change. Due to poor water resource management, over pumping, pollution and a fast growing population are thinning India's water resources. States are fighting over water and who it belongs to. There is a current conflict between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over a river Cauvery that has its source in Karnataka but ends in Tamil Nadu. Each state wants sole ownership over the river to ease their own water shortages. Big companies like Coca Cola and Pepsi are consuming vast amounts of ground water in order to make their drinks and sell it back to the people whose water they are stealing. In recent years monsoon has become less predictable, even this year Kodaikanal is facing a water shortage because of over pumping with the assumption that the reservoir would be replenished by the monsoon. Well monsoon came and went with relatively little rain, many are concerned that the water will run out by March, all they will be able to do is wait for monsoon again next August. This is happening all over India, these water shortages will cause food shortages, internal and international conflict. There are many factors that will need to be addressed to solve India's water crisis including government legislation and tougher rules regarding water conservation. Indians are very proactive in water conservation as it is a part of everyday life. They know how precious water is, they are not to blame for water scarcity but unfortunately they are the ones who are most affected.

We are ALL dependent on water to live, regardless of our age, race, gender, socio-economic status. We are all responsible for saving our water, for our own good. This isn't an issue that can be ignored for long, it needs immediate attention by everyone. Please take the time to read their website, they provide amazing tips on what you can do at home and in your city.

http://www.bluegold-worldwaterwars.com/index.html

Long Weekend In Chennai

This past long weekend I was lucky enough to go to Chennai with my friend Pooja and Dhanishta. Chennai (in Tamil சென்னை), formerly Madras is the capital city of the state of Tamil Nadu, it is India's fourth largest city (population 7.6 million) and is located on the Bay of Bengal.

On Wednesday we made the long journey down the mountain to Chennai, a nine hour car ride filled with chocolate laughs and loud music. on our way we passed a funeral procession which is apparently good luck, we also saw tons of cows, goats, farms, mountains, fruit stands, garbage and some of the craziest driving I have ever seen. When we arrived in Chennai the heat was overwhelming but very welcomed, it was such a nice change from the cool temperature in Kodai. We had an amazing dinner of rice, samba and fish cakes (I learned to eat like an Indian...with my fingers, I did not touch a spoon the entire weekend!). On Thursday we went to get essential oil massages which was so relaxing, we had an amazing Thai food then went to the beach and finished the day off with an amazing fish dinner overlooking the ocean. The moon was low and orangey in colour. Unfortunately I accidentally deleted all the photos off my camera.... Too bad, I had some nice shots of the moon and us at dinner.

We went to Express Avenue Mall on Friday and walked around aimlessly in the a/c and being amused by the massive toy store. Later on in the evening we saw Final Destination 5.

On Saturday we all went down to Puducherry (Pondicherry) for the day to do some sightseeing, shopping and what not. We met a friend down there. We had lunch and then spent a few hours walking around, taking photos and just soaking in Everything around me. I really enjoyed Pondicherry and I'm glad I will be going back down there again this month as well as going to Auroville (an international intentional community) with the school to do some volunteer work.

Green Team

On Saturday the Green team went around the middle school campus Ganga to see all the trees that had been planted in previous years. The trees are still fairly small but are progressing healthily at their own pace. Ganga has a fair amount of undeveloped land so we trekked through the thick trees hunting for passion fruit and pears. We got some unbelievably juicy pears and some nice tart passion fruit. The pears made our fingers sticky but it was so worth it, I even got some to take home; one of which I just finished eating right now. There is just something so peaceful about eating freshly picked fruit under a tree with the sun streaming through the leaves slightly warming your skin. I guess that is one of the reasons why I want to rewild, go back to nature and back to my roots. I want to be responsible for finding my own food (and getting the satisfaction when you do) instead of just being handed food. We are so disconnected from our food in many ways. Most of the time we don`t know where our food has come from, how long it took to get here, how it was grown and with what chemicals, who grew it, how it was shipped... I have so many questions about the efficiency and sustainability of our food system I would rather not be involved in it at all. I want to gather and grow my own food and hopefully be able to supply others with local organic produce. Sure organic local food is a bit more expensive up front but when compared to the long term cost of conventionally grown food, it seems like nothing. Here is a great article published by Time Magazine titled: ``The Real Cost of Cheap Food`` http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1917726,00.html. We need to start making decisions for our planet first and our wallets second, because without our mother earth and her natural resources we will have no economy to supply us with our flow of cash. Also look at where your spending your money because I can almost guarantee that most people spend their money frivolously on unneeded items. Spend more on GOOD food (quality over quantity) and less on material goods your body and spirit will thank you. By nourishing our bodies with healthy food choices (in the words of Michael Pollan ``eat food, not too much, mostly plants``) and declutter our lives of useless material objects we will be lead to happiness, true happiness.

Here in India I have very few possessions with me, only clothes really and surprisingly I don't miss any of my possessions from back home, I am content with having little, coupled with the fact that many of the people in this country have little to nothing. It makes me appreciate what I have but also realize that most of what I have I don't need. On our walk back to the campus we saw a small tent made of plastic, Bryan Plymale (who works with the social experience department) told us that a family of twelve lived in that tent. I was saddened to know that such poverty exists yet most people are not aware of it, nor do they want to be. I mean you have some people that own multiple houses (sometimes using it only a couple weeks of the year), others living in such excess and here is a family of twelve living in a tiny plastic tent, during monsoon and everything.

Unfortunately in the West they have the complete opposite problem of what is evident here. If only we could have enough to meet our needs, to find a balance...

In a previous post I discussed the Palni Hills and what its ecosystem is being subjected to. There are a few organizations out there who are dedicated to restoring the natural environment of the hills. This means planting native trees, but also restoring the native grasslands of the hills. In my Environmental Science and Systems class we visited the Vattakanal Conservation Trust (VTC)and discussed the role of the Palani Hills Conservation Centre (PHCC). In VTC's greenhouse they were nursing dozens of indigenous flowers, cacti and saplings. Many of these were plants I had never heard about or seen in my entire life. Everything looked so exotic and tropical to me, imagine having such beautiful natural flora. Many can appreciate this wonderful gift of natural biodiversity that they are doing everything they can to preserve and promote it.

These NGO's are doing AMAZING things to restore the Palni Hills to its natural glory. For more info please visit www.palnihills.org and www.vattakanalconservationtrust.org

for more photos please visit my photobucket page: http://s1126.photobucket.com/albums/l620/angelica_rayne/Vattakanal%20Conservation%20Trust/

Two Months

I can't believe its been nearly two months since I arrived in India! I've done so much and learned so much in my short time here, not only from the classes I'm taking but also the people I'm meeting. I'm forming "impossible friendships" (friendships that never would have been formed under "normal" circumstances) that I'm sure will last a lifetime. The people I have met here have quickly become my new family, giving me new perspectives, thoughts and they've even changed my behaviour (for the better)! I've come out of my shell and learned to really take risks, to say 'yes' to everything. My new attitude is 'why not'?

I heard before I came here that India has this tendency to claim everything and everyone as "Indian". This land has become my home, and I couldn't have asked for a better place to be. I look forward to what the day brings and what new things I can learn. I have been taking Hindi (yes, I'm learning Hindi, and yes, it's hard!), cooking, baking, environmental science, political science, Hinduism/Buddhism and P.E. I really couldn't narrow it down to a favourite class because I genuinely enjoy them all. It's a different feeling when you take classes out of pure interest, I don't feel rushed or pressured or stressed, I'm there because I want to be.

On the weekends the Social Experience Department organizes wonderful volunteer opportunities, I've already been to the tribal orphanage, the school's local greenhouse and The Mercy Home for the Elderly and the Destitute. I've also had the opportunity to be involved in the "Smokeless Stove Project", something I will be expanding on in later posts. I've also been to Bethania Orphanage (a previous post) which was an amazing two days spent with amazing kids.

In my time here I've also picked up (and re discovered) some hobbies, like drawing, basketball, spanish, writing, reading (a lot), blogging :p. (On the topic of blogging, I never thought I would have been the type to keep a blog, but ever since I've been here I actually really enjoy it. It is a wonderful place to express my thoughts and feelings with words while sharing my story with family and friends.)

Overall this has been a positive experience, and with so many projects and trips planned in the future, I'm excited for what I will be doing in the next couple of months.