Revegetation Projects?

haydn · Nov 23rd, 2008, 10:35

Namaste/Salaam Alaikum,
Does anyone know of any organisations involved in Revegetation projects in Rajasthan? I'm especially interested in the areas around Pushkar/Aravalli Ranges. My partner and i are planning to spend 6 mths in that area in 2010.
Thanks

haydn · Dec 1st, 2008, 15:51

Ok, i'm not drowning in replies! no hurry though. planning to spend 6 mths in the area from the end of 2010. but surely there's someone out there who can give me a lead?! or any organisations that do environmental projects in india?
thanks

Manianna · Dec 2nd, 2008, 07:31

Hey Haydn!

This might be a bit of a dissapointing answer since I do not know anything about Rajastan, but if you have not done it yet, you can check pages like http://www.karmayog.org/ or http://www.idealist.org. They are both searchable. Maybe you'll find something there

Good luck!

haydn · Dec 2nd, 2008, 18:01

Thanks Manianna! These are both great resources. Karmayog is a huge site which will reward a long look. Idealist has given me a few leads to pursue.
shantih

Manianna · Dec 2nd, 2008, 18:33

Are you dead set on Rajasthan? There is a place where I really want to go that is called Sadhana Forest down in Auroville, Tamil Nadu. I don't know quite what you are in to, but it seems absolutely wonderful and I have heard nothing but good about it. Google and see!

This might also be of interest to you http://www.spwdindia.org/home.htm

I have spent the last few months vacuuming the web for info on organization in India because I wanted to organize some sort of internship for myself. There are so many, including plenty of volunteer organization to help you with placements for a small or large fee. I find them good for getting a grasp of possibilities, but preferred to organize something myself. I am sure that if you look around and contact some organization that you like, you will find something to suit your tastes that also welcomes you. I did, I hope. Leaving in January to work with with tribal peoples in the Nilgiris

haydn · Dec 4th, 2008, 18:46

well manianna. yes the northern Aravalli range (one of the world's oldest) is where i want to be based. my partner will be working in the area. although i'm particularly wanting to connect with environmental/revegetation works (they need it!), i've also taught (steiner, efl) so hopefully will be able to make myself useful. we'll see.
have a great time in the nilgiris! keep us posted about your experiences...
shantih

Paleface · Feb 28th, 2009, 21:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by haydn

yes the northern Aravalli range (one of the world's oldest) is where i want to be based. my partner will be working in the area. although i'm particularly wanting to connect with environmental/revegetation works (they need it!)

Whereabouts in the N Aravali's, they extend across Raj border to West UP and into Braj, the most famous being Goverdhan. I began and ran an NGO in West UP for more than ten years, envirosocial work - quite wholistic really, just set up a hand made paper making unit, small one at least for starters...

haydn · Mar 1st, 2009, 09:20

i was thinking around Pushkar. love those camels! though Krisna's old haunts sound enticing. for the time being, though, my plans are being balanced on the gods fingers for at least 2 years. would love to hear of your experiences. have you written about it?

Paleface · Mar 1st, 2009, 20:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by haydn

have you written about it?

Do you live near Richard Neville in the Blue Mts. - Blackheath?? Excellent country. Have not really written about NGO enviro social work - but we can discuss it, i.e. how active do you intend to be and realistically what would you ideally like to achieve? - Although achievements and goals are not relevant or necessary, they just give us some personal co ordinates before leaping into the unknown....

haydn · Mar 7th, 2009, 05:37

Hi paleface.
yep, not too far from blackeath. i'm spending quite a bit of time out bush (doing bush-regeneration work along the cox's river. deep valleys, rugged forested hills. even lots of clear water for a change after drought ending rains! beautiful). can't complain!
i'm not thinking of setting up a project, just looking for pitching in for a 4-6 mth stint at this stage. so hoping to find an already up and running. my motivation is wishing to help mitigate the assault on our natural environment by humanns, and to help ensure a healthy environment for people struggling with poverty in a changing world! basically want to work alongside others doing good stuff. when i was in rajasthan i felt the whole place was being stripped bare! too far gone? a bush regeneration principle for helping natural ecosystems to recover from stress is, work from the good bush to the bad. so i figure the forested hills around pushkar (where my partner, eleanor, has clothing business to conduct) was as good a place to start as any. read 'Desert Places' by Robin Davidson, about travelling with semi nomadic herders in rajasthan and gujurat. got a BIT of an idea about the area/society.
as i said , it wont be for a while. staying here while a son finishes high school. just sounding it out now. thanks for your interest.

Paleface · Mar 7th, 2009, 19:57

Right - Well the Colonel in Jaipur, where he owns a guesthouse, also bought a great sand dune and has a tent camp at Pushkar - names elude me presently, but he's the sort of chap who may be helpful with information or 'project experiment', the memory will come up with the names soon enough......

haydn · Mar 8th, 2009, 13:25

thanks...the colonel? i say!, i can already see the walrus moustache!
i met a girl involved with an ngo in delhi called 'the people tree'. we had long raves and she said her friend has some land near jaipur (amer?) and wants to start some sort of environmental/social development/education/activist (?!) community. sounds like all the eggs in one basket...on the back of a rickety bicycle a bit! priyanka was very enthusiastic about it though, and hopefully it will eventuate and be good.
about the project you set up...who was involved?

Paleface · Mar 8th, 2009, 21:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by haydn

about the project you set up...who was involved?

I'll get back to you re: your last post. Alwar was the place I was thinking of after you mentioned Northern Aravali's (Lakshadweep is also Aravali's!) I knew a saddhu ages ago, who was doing good stuff that way - Moreover it is Rajendra Singh I was thinking would be definitely worth you meeting. You might research a bit on the net, start here - http://www.indiatogether.org/environ...s/rajendra.htm

Paleface · Mar 9th, 2009, 00:17

Physical environment, human influences and desertification in Pushkar — Budha Pushkar lake region of Rajasthan, India – at
http://www.springerlink.com/content/781815q533w0418p/

Paleface · Mar 9th, 2009, 00:56

This desert of Rajasthan creeps East by North, foot by foot each year, following the Aravali’s. Afforestation, Revegetation – greening is a tortuous Sisyphus like endeavour – compounded by the dry desert. You got to have people power, at the least to tend for any plantation.

A sapling has so many enemies, goats, cows, monkeys, cars, people picking and snapping, lack of water and so on... There aren’t many folks doing this sort of graft because it requires commitment over a longer period. So we start to see what we are faced with in the greening game – and how to approach getting something done. Saplings are better off protected with tree guards, about Rs 1000 each, then labour to dig holes, grout in the guards, cement etc - watering daily with employed labour. In villages it was easier to donate this tree package, sapling, tree guard, materials – and foster the care of the sapling to the women and children of the family – If the women are also included in deciding what tree should be planted, so it is also harvestable, e.g Neem. On planting, a little puja is performed and a sacred space is created - some call it superstition, but any which way success is much higher than just planting out in public spaces.

Point is, exampling to community – rather than planning. Planting and fostering one tree with a family will lead to another and so on – This one can do with some funds and initiative, it is a plan and 500 fostered guarded trees is a marketable endeavour to raise funds from friends, contacts, arriving in India with some wherewithal to Do – Thus one can begin immediately, and having committed, well dare I say it, things will surely fall into their rightful place.

Nov 23rd, 2008, 10:35	#1
haydn yumm! Join Date: May 2007 Location: blue mountains Posts: 170	Revegetation Projects? Namaste/Salaam Alaikum, Does anyone know of any organisations involved in Revegetation projects in Rajasthan? I'm especially interested in the areas around Pushkar/Aravalli Ranges. My partner and i are planning to spend 6 mths in that area in 2010. Thanks

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Dec 1st, 2008, 15:51	#2
haydn yumm! Join Date: May 2007 Location: blue mountains Posts: 170	Ok, i'm not drowning in replies! no hurry though. planning to spend 6 mths in the area from the end of 2010. but surely there's someone out there who can give me a lead?! or any organisations that do environmental projects in india? thanks

Dec 2nd, 2008, 07:31	#3
Manianna Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sweden Posts: 14	Hey Haydn! This might be a bit of a dissapointing answer since I do not know anything about Rajastan, but if you have not done it yet, you can check pages like http://www.karmayog.org/ or http://www.idealist.org. They are both searchable. Maybe you'll find something there Good luck!

Dec 2nd, 2008, 18:01	#4
haydn yumm! Join Date: May 2007 Location: blue mountains Posts: 170	Thanks Manianna! These are both great resources. Karmayog is a huge site which will reward a long look. Idealist has given me a few leads to pursue. shantih

Dec 2nd, 2008, 18:33	#5
Manianna Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sweden Posts: 14	Are you dead set on Rajasthan? There is a place where I really want to go that is called Sadhana Forest down in Auroville, Tamil Nadu. I don't know quite what you are in to, but it seems absolutely wonderful and I have heard nothing but good about it. Google and see! This might also be of interest to you http://www.spwdindia.org/home.htm I have spent the last few months vacuuming the web for info on organization in India because I wanted to organize some sort of internship for myself. There are so many, including plenty of volunteer organization to help you with placements for a small or large fee. I find them good for getting a grasp of possibilities, but preferred to organize something myself. I am sure that if you look around and contact some organization that you like, you will find something to suit your tastes that also welcomes you. I did, I hope. Leaving in January to work with with tribal peoples in the Nilgiris

Dec 4th, 2008, 18:46	#6
haydn yumm! Join Date: May 2007 Location: blue mountains Posts: 170	well manianna. yes the northern Aravalli range (one of the world's oldest) is where i want to be based. my partner will be working in the area. although i'm particularly wanting to connect with environmental/revegetation works (they need it!), i've also taught (steiner, efl) so hopefully will be able to make myself useful. we'll see. have a great time in the nilgiris! keep us posted about your experiences... shantih

Mar 1st, 2009, 09:20	#8
haydn yumm! Join Date: May 2007 Location: blue mountains Posts: 170	i was thinking around Pushkar. love those camels! though Krisna's old haunts sound enticing. for the time being, though, my plans are being balanced on the gods fingers for at least 2 years. would love to hear of your experiences. have you written about it?

Mar 7th, 2009, 05:37	#10
haydn yumm! Join Date: May 2007 Location: blue mountains Posts: 170	Hi paleface. yep, not too far from blackeath. i'm spending quite a bit of time out bush (doing bush-regeneration work along the cox's river. deep valleys, rugged forested hills. even lots of clear water for a change after drought ending rains! beautiful). can't complain! i'm not thinking of setting up a project, just looking for pitching in for a 4-6 mth stint at this stage. so hoping to find an already up and running. my motivation is wishing to help mitigate the assault on our natural environment by humanns, and to help ensure a healthy environment for people struggling with poverty in a changing world! basically want to work alongside others doing good stuff. when i was in rajasthan i felt the whole place was being stripped bare! too far gone? a bush regeneration principle for helping natural ecosystems to recover from stress is, work from the good bush to the bad. so i figure the forested hills around pushkar (where my partner, eleanor, has clothing business to conduct) was as good a place to start as any. read 'Desert Places' by Robin Davidson, about travelling with semi nomadic herders in rajasthan and gujurat. got a BIT of an idea about the area/society. as i said , it wont be for a while. staying here while a son finishes high school. just sounding it out now. thanks for your interest.

Mar 7th, 2009, 19:57	#11
Paleface Maha Guru Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Garhwal Himalaya Posts: 1,789	Right - Well the Colonel in Jaipur, where he owns a guesthouse, also bought a great sand dune and has a tent camp at Pushkar - names elude me presently, but he's the sort of chap who may be helpful with information or 'project experiment', the memory will come up with the names soon enough......

Mar 8th, 2009, 13:25	#12
haydn yumm! Join Date: May 2007 Location: blue mountains Posts: 170	thanks...the colonel? i say!, i can already see the walrus moustache! i met a girl involved with an ngo in delhi called 'the people tree'. we had long raves and she said her friend has some land near jaipur (amer?) and wants to start some sort of environmental/social development/education/activist (?!) community. sounds like all the eggs in one basket...on the back of a rickety bicycle a bit! priyanka was very enthusiastic about it though, and hopefully it will eventuate and be good. about the project you set up...who was involved?

Mar 9th, 2009, 00:17	#14
Paleface Maha Guru Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Garhwal Himalaya Posts: 1,789	Physical environment, human influences and desertification in Pushkar — Budha Pushkar lake region of Rajasthan, India – at http://www.springerlink.com/content/781815q533w0418p/

Mar 9th, 2009, 00:56	#15
Paleface Maha Guru Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Garhwal Himalaya Posts: 1,789	This desert of Rajasthan creeps East by North, foot by foot each year, following the Aravali’s. Afforestation, Revegetation – greening is a tortuous Sisyphus like endeavour – compounded by the dry desert. You got to have people power, at the least to tend for any plantation. A sapling has so many enemies, goats, cows, monkeys, cars, people picking and snapping, lack of water and so on... There aren’t many folks doing this sort of graft because it requires commitment over a longer period. So we start to see what we are faced with in the greening game – and how to approach getting something done. Saplings are better off protected with tree guards, about Rs 1000 each, then labour to dig holes, grout in the guards, cement etc - watering daily with employed labour. In villages it was easier to donate this tree package, sapling, tree guard, materials – and foster the care of the sapling to the women and children of the family – If the women are also included in deciding what tree should be planted, so it is also harvestable, e.g Neem. On planting, a little puja is performed and a sacred space is created - some call it superstition, but any which way success is much higher than just planting out in public spaces. Point is, exampling to community – rather than planning. Planting and fostering one tree with a family will lead to another and so on – This one can do with some funds and initiative, it is a plan and 500 fostered guarded trees is a marketable endeavour to raise funds from friends, contacts, arriving in India with some wherewithal to Do – Thus one can begin immediately, and having committed, well dare I say it, things will surely fall into their rightful place.