Almora, Uttaranchal, north India
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-- Suraikhet Intermediate School pilot project, Dwarahat, Almora district of north India --
 The low HImalayas stretch from north India through south-central Nepal and beyond.
 A participatory video training session at Suraikhet school:
I was impressed with the dedication of teachers and their ability to engage students.
Despite a chronic lack of resources and few immediate career opportunities for graduates,
environmental learning is taken very seriously in the Himalayan communities we visited.
Setting out on the long trail: most "villages" are loose
clusters following the contours of the slopes.  As with much of central Himalaya, the terraced landscapes of the Dwarahat, Almora district are extensively
managed, largely by hand and bullock. Maize and over a dozen species of beans are the mainstay crops. Between the pine monoculture patches, scattered scrub oak and sparse understorey provide a precious but ever-dwindling supply of fuelwood and fodder. Past logging, water scarcity, and changing climatic patterns are only some of the more notable challenges to the sustainabilty of these peaceful agrarian communities.
Student-initiated Interviews probe sustainability issues in and around a Dwarahat farmhouse.
Although "subsistence" in appearance, rural homesteads are highly convivial and cuturally vibrant. I often thought, no televisions? what a blessing!
   Interviewees are always willing to pause in their work and respond thoughtfully to student queries, whether on the front stoop or in the field.  
After-school nature club for younger kids. Incredible enthusiasm! -- Chaughare and Dalchowki field sites, south-central Nepal --  Chaughare school is basic: wall-to-wall students, no electricity, a tiny but cherished library, adobe rubble walls, and packed earth floors. Despite this lack of material assets, the kids and their teachers are highly commited to learning and community improvement. Notice our motorcycles -- the best way to negotiate the ruts of the dirt tracks.    A favorite spot in the schoolyard: the communal fountain, courtesy of an earlier visit by an Australian NGO.  Chaughare's eco-club, freed from regular lessons for a few hours. Students quickly pick up on basic videographic and interview techniques, and are eager to venture into nearby working landscapes to collect stories and insights from elders and field workers.   
Dalchowki school: ECCA colleague Binod Shrestha demonstrating the
camcorder. This site yielded richly participatory footage that has been transcribed from the Nepali, subtitled into Hindi and English, and exchanged with the twinned Suraikhet school in north India. Pre- and post-testing of kids' learning is yielding interesting results that support our approach thus far. more photos along the way . . .
 Almora market: evenings are festive, and merchants' kids watch from second story shop windows as dusk sets in.   Our gracious hosts for a night near Dalchowki school.  The Red Fort: a bastion of quiet and history amidst the chaos and grime of Delhi.  The Monkey Temple, Kathmandu  A common, but to me always intriguing, juxtaposition: bright sari and earthy context.  A goatherd tends stock as his peers learn in the nearby Suraikhet school. Despite local- and state-level efforts, some families still can't afford even the meager costs of schooling. |
The Mountain Project . . .
is
a collaborative initiative situated in the mid-Himalayas of north
India, Nepal and Bhutan.
We are working with select regional and local partners and schools to initiate trans-Himalayan discussion on sustainability and resilience of remote mountain villages and their working landscapes. Our research focus is the use of culturally- appropriate ICTs (info. & communication technologies) to assist intra- and inter-village discourse and learning. Notions of place-based learning communities, adaptive indigenous knowledge, natural capital, and ecosystems-based design and development are being explored. Several rural pilot projects are underway in north India and central Nepal. Recently, our focus has been on the growing impacts of climate change and disrupted monsoonal patterns. Key issues: a web of cause-and-effect regional socio-political: globalization / pan-Himalayan militarization / colonial after-effects / economic and political centralization / legacy of failed aid programs regional bio-physical: climate change / deforestation / declining biodiversity / topsoil erosion / disrupted hydrological cycles / landslides local problems: declining soil fertility and crop yields / fuel and fodder scarcities / compromised childhood nutrition / employment out-migration of fathers and young men / work drudgery for many women / unravelling of village social networks / dwindling indigenous knowledge Active field sites Suraikhet Intermediate School, Uttarakhand state, north India Dalchowki and Chaughare Schools, Nepal American core team Chris Hoadley, Assoc. Professor of Education, New York University; director, dolce lab Sameer Honwad, dolce lab researcher PSU Ph.D. cand. Science Education Ken Tamminga, Professor, PSU Department of Landscape Architecture Funding sources to date Children, Youth & Families Consortium College of Education College of Arts & Architecture Fulbright Scholar Program (Hoadley) Interested in supporting the Mountain Project?
contact: helpme@dolcelab.org
Partners Almora, India: Uttarakhand Seva Nidhi Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan (UEEC) Kathmandu, Nepal: Environmental Camps for Conservation Awareness (ECCA) World Wildlife Fund Nepal Bhutan Sherbutse College, Royal Univesity of Bhutan other partners are under development |
