Monday -
Today is a public holiday, so the school was not in session. It was a public holiday as a festival was being held. Ronny Explained to us that there are so many festivals held, that you would need 2 years to accommodate each festival.
Ronny is from Belgium, and will be staying with us, helping coordinate our projects for the first month.
The other person who Debbie and I will be heavily working with is Mani, pronounced very similar to money, which is how she told us to remember haha.
We had a meeting today with all the staff members, where we were formally introduced to all of them as well as them being introduced to us. We also discussed our future roles, which will be including engaging in a mutual learning/teaching experience with the SEDS school and school teachers. Debbie will most likely be in particular working with the woman's empowerment group, including, but not limited to, textile factory and bio-gas. I will hopefully be primarily engaging with both some of the benefited outcomes of SEDS programs, including bio-diversity and local attractions of sorts. However, both Debbie and I will both be engaging in all areas of SEDS projects.
We also observed an case study process of a new girl applying for sponsorship funding for school education.
 |
| The First Part of the Interview Process |
 |
| Dressed Up from Today's Festival |
We enjoyed a delicious lunch, and then set off to one of the watersheds on Sanipalli Hill (Konda). Due to the development of the wind turbines, we had difficulty travelling to the actual watershed. The wind turbines are a relatively recent development, where the land is theoretically no longer public or 'accessible'. The wind turbine development is however noted as a win-win by Ronny, as the company or organisation that own the wind turbines and the land, now have a vested interest in protecting the land and as such, protecting the pre-established watersheds which maintain the large area near Penukonda and SEDS.
 |
| Towering Windmills |
 |
| Sanipalli Hill |
 |
| Hanuman Temple |
 |
| Un-Crossable Valleys |
 |
| Onion Fields |
 |
| Ronny with a Mission |
 |
| Looking Stormy, but Rains Still Wont Come |
 |
| More of the Surrounding Fields |
On the venture to find an entrance, we saw some strikingly beautiful birds (such as the 'bee-eaters' - or as I've been teased for mishearing, 'beavers') lizards (Rock Agama) and grasshopers (Poekilocerus Pictus or Aak Grasshoper).
 |
| One of the Best Images I've been Able to Take of the Small Birds with my 25mm |
 |
| Rock Agama - photo from another day |
 |
| Large Ants |
 |
| Aak Grasshopper // Poekilocerus Pictus |
 |
| Aak Grasshopper // Poekilocerus Pictus |
Once in, we didnt have enough time to visit the watersheds, so instead we had a quick look around the basecamp of the original 'off-site office' or base of operation of SEDS, which later became the site of the eco-camps for SEDS eco-tourism project for both members of their hostel and other organisations interested in 'experiencing' nature.
 |
| Old SEDS Wasteland Development Project |
On our way up, Ronny showed us the trenches dug previously, as well as the eucalyptus trees that were planted and have been harvested. You can tell if the trees have been harvested by if theyve got multiple sprouts coming from near the base, as when theyre cut, theyre like a hydra. They will grow back with two. Except in the case of the eucalyptus trees, when they double in body, they grow back half as thick.
 |
| A Hut Covering Many Lion Ants |
Ronny also mentioned that every square meter of the hill had been touched by SEDS hands in their work with the watersheds and re-aforrestation.
 |
| Who Dat' |
The area around Penukonda had once been a rich bio-diverse area. However, due to farming and the fields created in the surrounding area, the once rich bush had become a barren desert.
Since SEDS development work, it has apparently since become a rich bio-diverse area, with bears, elephants, leopards, boars, tortoises, blackbucks, various snakes and birds and all other forms of animals returning to the area. The area has also been reported to foster some flora species previously thought extinct.
Ronny also said that when the wind turbines originally went up, they were unsure how they would affect the wildlife in the area, but have reportedly not affected wildlife, with even eagles still maintaining their dominance in and around the wind turbines.
Returning home, we were told that the field project had been delayed until 'after lunch' tomorrow. We were also informed that 'after lunch' generally means it will be cancelled. So who knows that tomorrow will hold.
 |
| Homeward Bound |
Comments
Post a Comment