Program Overview
Participants will visit India for 10 weeks between October-December to participate in core program elements:
  • Basudha- a 2-week work service program in West Bengal at a center of grassroots sustainability and seed saving.
  • Gandhi and Globalization- a course taught by Satish Kumar, peace pilgrim and Ghandian scholar at the Society for Integrated Development of Himalayas.
In addition to the above, participants will opportunity to visit partner organizations and attend events including:
  • Vipassana course- a 10-day silent meditation course in which students will learn Buddha's path to enlightenment. Vipassana centers are located throughout India and students will decide where to attend a course.

2005-2008 At a Glance

In 2008, Erin McNichol and Ashley Walch visited India following in the footsteps of participants from previous years. This was the 4th program year meaning there were lots of excellent people and places to visit! Starting in Mumbai, they visited a local artist friend who uses natural dyes, builds furniture with paper, and is an expert in Ayurvedic medicine. They proceeded to West Bengal to conduct a work service exchange at Basudha. From there, they attended a 10-day silent meditation class at the Bodh-Gaya, the site where the Buddha reached enlightenment 25 centuries ago. They finished off their trip by visiting the cities of Varanasi and Delhi.

In 2007, Liz Fitzgerald and Kasey Butler engaged in the first IKE sustainable agriculture service learning project at Basudha in West Bengal, where they conducted research on indigenous rice varietals and participated in a Harvest Festival with local Villagers. They also participated in a Youth Jam workshop and a Gandhi & Globalization course, as have participants for the previous two years. These events took place at several locations in the foothills of the Himalayas. Kasey then extended her trip and visited the Paunar Brahma Vidya Mandir Ashram.

In 2006, Karly Burch and Rainbow Vogt along with project partner Aditi Ahlawat, expanded program contacts to establish a network of more than 30 organizations involved in the sustainability movement in India. They visited organic farmers throughout India and attended a variety of events such as the India social Forum and the Forum for the Powerless. Issues of particular interest for them were anti-coke/pepsi campaigns, education, and health.

In 2005, Tim Galarneau and Peter Christensen visited India and participated in a water ‘yatra’ (journey) where they met villagers along the site of a dam project. They engaged with students and faculty at universities in Delhi and Varanasi to share the CSSC model of student involvement. They also delivered aid to earthquake victims in Kashmir where they stayed with a saffron farmer.


Travel Experiences of IKE Participants

"Traveling to India as a Knowledge Exchanger was a life-changing experience for me. My longtime interest in Indian culture, philosophy, and indigenous medicine was met by much enthusiasm throughout the trip and I was fortunate to meet many like-minded individuals who graciously welcomed me into their homes and on their journeys. Thank you to my travel partner, Karly Burch, for making it such a fun and memorable journey. My gratitude for the friends, experiences, and knowledge I gained there continues to inspire my daily work and bring me in contact with amazing people and places." -Rainbow Vogt
Visit Rainbow's travel blog

Visit Karly's travel blog
Project Partners Updates

Mukesh Ray, a researcher specializing in indigenous land rights is publishing a newspaper to provide a non corporate-controlled news source. It can be found here though it is published in Hindi, to provide the paper in the language spoken by most people in North India (as opposed to many papers which are published in English and less accessible to the population at large).

Bhakti Nefertiti is currently undergoing the second year of fall planting for reforestation in Himachal Pradesh, India. She is working with government to obtain lands and the community to plant trees at a cost of 600Rs or ~$6 each and is currently soliciting tree parents. More about her work can be found here.

Ram Singh at Shikshanter in Udaipur, Rajasthan has been communicating his methods in dietary sustainability by eliminating tea, sugar, and rice because of their negative humanitarian and ecological impacts. As three staples found on most tables in India, this is a radically different relationship with food. Find out more in our newsletter (contact us to receive it).
Interested in going?

We would love to hear from you! Please contact us for an application. Learn more about what to expect while traveling in India here.
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