Buddha Smiles – a school project in India
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| Llana with kids
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Almost Sunset
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| Children and
Beans
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A story and an invitation from Elke
Come with me, in your imagination, to where the air is soft,
the sun shines brightly and hot, a warm wind blows from the surrounding
hills. Tight village roads wind around brightly coloured
houses, voices in the courtyards, someone is pumping water at
the village well. A small group of men gathers at the coffee stand,
next to the vegetable stand. The smell of food mixes with the
aroma of the jasmin flowers in my hair.
Women in colorful saris are threshing bean bushes out in the street.
Children run in groups and try a shy "How are you?"
Welcome to Tamil Nadu, South India-
Kaniyambadi to be precise. This is the village Dr Ramu Mannivannan chose for another
Buddha Smiles school project. In late December 2003 a group of
15 or so curious travelers form around the globe gathered here
for the first natural building workshop. In four weeks we dug,
laid stone, made mud bricks, cob and wattle and daub, built arches
and shelves. We worked side by side with the local crew
led by Selvam. They showed us efficiency
and how to work with the local tools like the mumpty
that we all grew to appreciate.
Our days began with Yoga and Meditation, followed by coffee and
tea. Food is always an important part
of every good program. We were served delicious local food and
sometimes had opportunities to help out in the kitchen. After
the midday meal everyone rested in the shade until the bell called
us for talktime- presentations on natural
building topics or discussions and brainstorm sessions requested
by the group. Tea arrived just after the milkman delivered another
jug of fresh milk, and we went back to work on the site until
sunset.
During the month of December and January several holidays take
place, Pongal being the most important harvest festival mid January.
Music from the temples carries through the darkness at 4am
every morning. We watched the women create elaborate kolams
in front of their homes, witnessed the first rice ceremony and
watched the bull races in the village. On days off people visited
nearby temple sites, went for hikes into the hills or spent a
day in Vellore taking care of e-mail
contacts and shopping.
The four weeks of the program went by quickly. We were just beginning
to pick up bits of the Tamil language, were comfortable taking
buses and autorickshaws where we needed to go, had established relationships
with local shopkeepers and learned that you always have time for
a cup of tea. Then it was time to exchange addresses, figure out
train schedules and make plans for the next part of our individual
journeys. I intend to be back in Kaniyambadi
for the next program for Buddha Smiles. Why don't you join in
too? Write to me elke@cobworks.com for more information
on upcoming workshops .
Elke Cole works with Cobworks.com in British Columbia, OUR Ecovillage and Buddha Smiles. She combines 10 years of natural
building experience with her architectural training. She was the
workshop leader at Kaniyambadi.
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