Join our permaculture project and organic kitchen garden in the Himalayan foothills near Uttarakhand, India

Infos

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  Description

  Our place is nestled amongst the Himalayan foothills, high enough to escape the rush and heat of Dehradun and the Doon Valley. That being said, the city is still accessible and is only an hour's drive away. The hills are beautiful, covered in forest and home to plenty of wildlife especially birds. One of the best things is listening to the birdsong at dawn and dusk. There are hiking trails and nature walks, and the historic hill station of Mussoorie sits above the site and only a hike away. There are waterfalls, historic houses, and viewpoints to enjoy there. And down in Dehradun city there are lots of places to eat, and temples and museums to visit. We have a nearby airport (Jolly Grant) so the rest of India is easily accessible, in fact Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga, is only a couple of hours drive from and New Delhi, the capital, is only a 4-hour drive.
  Currently this is a small homestay with 3 rooms so you will also come into contact with the locals who work there, looking after the guests or alongside us in the gardens. It's a small and friendly community.
  
  ‘I am a 63-year-old Indian woman. I have two grown up children, our son is engaged in farming and orchards. Our daughter works with the WWF, India Secretariat. I began working with rural communities in the Himalayan foothills in the year 2000. In 2006, I registered our Foundation. Since then, we have successfully been running a livelihood program across 16 surrounding villages. Over 115 local women are engaged with us in a knitting program. Apart from this, the Foundation also runs an international internship program. Young undergraduate students come to us from US universities, as part of their international Internship Program, to teach English to village children.
  
  For the past few years we have been working to build a horticulture program. The idea is to create a permaculture module, have local villagers follow it, create marketing linkages, and help them sell the produce. It is with this intention that I would like to list us on Workaway. Having young people come, work with us, share ideas and give their own perspectives would be immensely helpful.
  
  Holly is a British national, is currently assisting our program. She has over two years experience working on farming and gardening projects at home and in South America.
  
  This is a privately owned property in the middle of a Reserve Forrest, it is situated at 5000 ft above sea level and about 45 minutes from the city of Dehradun in Northern India. We have cows and have already created a permaculture vegetable patch. To start with, we have allocated one cottage for Workaway volunteers, it has one room with a small private sit out, an attached bathroom, hot and cold running water. Since the same complex also has rooms that are open to local tourists, we have staff in place for cooking.’

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Bénévolat

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage d'entretien

  Projets DIY créatifs

  Aide dans une ferme

  Aide informatique/internet
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  Centres d’intérêt

  

  Dev. durable

  

  Ferme

  

  Culture

  

  Bénévolat

  

  Soin des plantes

  

  Langues

  

  Histoire

  

  Jardinage

  

  Dessin et peinture

  

  Cuisine et alimentation

  

  Livres

  

  Montagne

  

  Yoga / bien-être

  

  Nature

  

  Randonnée

  

  Danse
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  Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre

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  Qu'est-ce que c'est ?
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  You will be living and working with locals from the surrounding villages and hills. Gardening help will be local knowledge and techniques integrated with permaculture principles and organic methods. You will learn about the local area, the history, the land and how that links to the project in terms of the soil, the seasons, and the type of plants that grow well here.
  We want to learn from you as much as possible too! Any insight into permaculture, natural farming, organic growing, marketing, social media etc.
  There are also great opportunities for nature watching, especially birds and butterflies here as well and we'd love for you to get better acquainted with the local species.

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  Aide

  Our aim is to create a regenerative, sustainable kitchen garden that prioritises soil health and uses permaculture principles to produce organic fruit, vegetables, and herbs. This will be used as part of our rural livelihood programme as a model for local villagers, to encourage a move towards more eco-friendly farming and growing techniques and to increase food security for families.
  
  We would love to welcome volunteers of all experiences, backgrounds and skillsets and all we request is enthusiasm and a good work ethic as it is important that the projects are carried out effectively and to a high standard.
  
  We are looking for:
  
  - 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.
  - Various tasks may include - preparing ground for planting, clearing areas such as the star gazing rock and the natural pool, planting fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers, watering, weeding, mulching, composting, and harvesting, landscape design and planning, litter picking.
  - content creation & social media, photography & videography, creative projects i.e., designing posters, maps, information sheets for the sites.
  Skills that would be helpful - gardening experience, permaculture, landscape design, woodworking, building.
  
  CURRENTLY we are also looking to construct a wood fire pizza oven

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Hindi: Courant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  The host family is fluent in English and Hindi.
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  Hébergement

  We have a newly built ensuite room with western toilet and shower and electricity for volunteers. It is a separate building from the guests so offers privacy and is safe and secure with plenty of room for bags and a long desk for working/writing/creating from. There is also wifi in your accommodation and across the site.
  
  We also provide 3 simple but tasty Indian meals a day. Alternatively, a restaurant is also being built onsite for guests where you are welcome to buy any extra food and drink for yourself, once it is ready.
  
  If you like a snack or two during the day please bring your own as there aren't any shops or cafes nearby, only a few roadside snack shacks.

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  Autres infos...

  It is important to note that we are a little bit remote which is up in the foothills above Dehradu. This means your stay with us will offer a hopefully welcome break from the pace of modern-day life and the opportunity to relax and get back in touch with nature. However please don’t expect shops, cafes, and nightlife during your stay. If you do want to go on day trips or weekend trips to visit the local sites we are happy to help you organise taxis down from the site.
  
  And there is plenty to do in the local area:
  - Dehradun is the capital of the state of Uttrakhand. The center of the town is about an hour’s drive, 25 km from us - explore the historic centre and visit museums such as the Forest Research Institute.
  - The mountain resort town of Mussoorie is only 16km away and hikeable from
  - National parks and wildlife reserves such as Rajaji National Park and Tiger Reserve.
  - Water features such as Robbers Cave, natural springs at Sahastradhara, Sikhar falls.
  - Monasteries and temples - Mindrolling monastery, Tapkeshwar temple,
  - Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga and a couple of hours drive
  - New Delhi is only a short flight away.
  - Jolly Grant airport & ISBT Bus Stand Area – Gateway to Hill Stations, from here, you can catch buses to popular hill stations like Mussoorie, Chakrata, Auli, and even distant destinations like Badrinath and Kedarnath.

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  We have Wi-Fi on site and in the volunteer accommodation, we are also ensuring that a desk is being fitted into the room so you can comfortably work from your room without being disturbed. As long as you are able to do your volunteer hours with your work hours digital nomads are more than welcome.

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  Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

  Well behaved pets are welcome

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Plus de 2

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  Mes animaux

Sécurité du site