All aboard

Yesterday was an exciting day for all the ventures, project managers and field base staff. It was the start of the next stage of our Indian adventure…

By an impressive 9:30am all the projects had deployed and the field base staff were left with an empty nest. The silence that ensued at field base for the rest of the day was quite spooky and not at all what we had been used to!

Above and below: some goodbyes

Luckily we were kept updated by all the project groups who have been calling in with their sitreps (situation reports) on a regular basis. And it sounds like they are all nice and settled in already.

We’ve had an update from Charlie 1 who arrived to find that the villagers had started laying the foundations of the new tribal housing already which means they1 have been able to get stuck in straight away. They are also planning how they can welcome the field base team who will be on the loop trip visiting them on Sunday and so far there are rumours of a pajama party!

Charlie 2 have been made to feel at home with a traditional welcome from the village. They’ve settled in to their accommodation which is a classroom in the local school. They had an early start at work this morning and are getting in to the swing of things.

Charlie 3 arrived at their site to find that electricity had recently been installed so that was a nice surprise for them. Charlie 4 have sorted out their living quarters by installing a deluxe shower (!) and toilet system and are starting to work today with the masons who have already started laying for their eco-sanitation units.

Echo 5 have sorted out their camp too and put up some shelters and their tents which they spent the first night in last night. Echo 6 also were in tents last night which wasn’t to plan but after the arrival of their bamboo they will be putting up their bashers (kind of like a hammock with a tarp over the top) today which will be their beds for the project phase. They have started working on building their first water tank at the bottom of the gravity water feed.

A little about the blog:

When will the blog be updated?
The blog will be updated every Wednesday and Saturday each week.

How do I get messages to the venturers / staff?
Friends and family can post comments which will be passed on to the venturers and staff when a loop trip goes out. Messages will be passed on daily over the phone too. The blog is the main way to communicate to and from home and it's always really exciting to receive messages from home so please do leave comments.

What is a loop trip?
A loop trip is when a car of field base staff go t visit the projects and they take out all blog comments, letters and any equipment which is needed.

Will I hear back if I leave a comment?
You probably will do but it might take a while…we are on Indian time you know! When all the project sites are visited everyone will get a chance to let me know if they want to post a comment on the blog so keep checking back for any messages from India.

If you have any more questions about the blog please leave a comment and I will make sure the question is answered.

Energetic venturers in field base

The whole of 09I got back together last night for their penultimate night at field base before deployment...and what a night it was! Themed as gladrags and bin bags fancy dress everyone got in to the swing of things and had an amazing night. Above: a few bin bags

Above: Will as a banana I'm slightly concerned these are his glad rags

Above: some gorgeous glad rags

Today was the first day since the venturers arrived that we have all been at field base together. After a bit of medical training it was time for a bit of aroo cha cha again....but this time with venturers and not just staff...

Tomorrow morning all the Charlie and Echo groups will deploy and a huge part of today has been announcing the project allocations. They are:

Charlie 1 - Muttilmoola Tribal Housing
Project Managers: Charlie and Rukmini
Venturers: Rohith V, Durga Sekhar, Sultan Mohammed, Khalid O’Briene, Dominique Wood-Whyte, Jamie Orrego, Kath Paton, Venus Ardalan, Venus Ardalan, Olivia Young, Emma Ballentine, Sarah Eastaff, Terry Prince

After their announcement Charlie 1 decided to do a bit of singing in the rain...

Charlie 2 - Netikal Hundi sustainable agriculture
Project Managers: Leti & Katharine
Venturers: Teja, Subash, Suleman Ahmed, Bianca Dixon- Naraine, Nick Woods, Charles Wong, Alex Stewart, Bijal Chandaria, Amina Nabwcenya, Freddie Gillingham, Owain Williams, Anna Read, Marie Rayment

Charlie 3 - Mosarahalla Rain Water Harvesting
Project Managers: Anne, Kate and Kath
Venturers: Abbie Harper, Becky Harper, Harsha, Kezie Evans. Harry Lowles, Vikas, Asoka Jayaweera, Damian Hanna, Jija Sufi, Holly Halden, Sophia Footm Gareth Senior, Rebecca Culverwell

Charlie 4 - MC Tolalu Hundi Eco Sanitation

Project Managers: Lewis & Camilla
Venturers: Thayal , Madhavi, Claire Dannatt, Inigo Casale, Meriel Hubbard, Aimee Tunbridge, Luis Lai, Wahid O'Briene, Mona Al-Haery, Fatmata Kamara, Chris Ashby, Rory Williams Burrell, Natalie Cox

Echo 5 - Gravity water feed supply to Ramaranai village
Project Managers: Gareth & Miriam
Venturers: Remya. S, Atul, Gloria Lau, Will Hatton, Kris James, Akim Millar, Richard Peters, Russell Finlay, Chinedu Okafor, Tarlan Alikhanzadeh, Rebecca Hammond, Laura Morgan, Ciara Hennessy, Birute Klymantaite

Echo 6 - Gravity water feed supply to Ramaranai village
Project Managers: Rich & Lotte
Venturers: Siva Prabhu, Vijay, Rosie Crocker, Emily Hakin, Nicholas Thorpe, Johnny Gustar, Liam McCreesh, William Damerell, Victoria Grincisina, Louise Gregory, Claire Melly, Jackie Mustoe, Alice Frost

For more details of the projects check back to past blog posts.

Pass on any messages now before they’ve deployed by commenting on the blog. We’ll put up a post when they depart field base in the morning.

Good luck everyone!

A flexible way to start the day

News flash: we have had to move yoga outside field base after the participant number trebled over night.

Here’s a little taster of how we start the day in Mysore…


And now on to the serous work for the day. Communications training for the Tiger groups including polishing their skills spelling with the phonetic alphabet…


We’ve heard from all the Elephant groups this morning who are on the second half of their trek at the moment. More on that when they return to field base later.

Tonight is our gladrags and bin bags fancy dress night...lets see if it'll be glamour in saris or trash in black sacks for the venturers and staff.

Trek 1-2

Its day three of venturer training at field base.

The Tiger groups are out trekking at the moment, they left field base yesterday lunch time. The Tigers are Johnny, Richard, Natalie, Alice, Meriel, Anna, Jamie Alejandro, Mona, Amina, Khalid, Gloria, Siva Prabhu, Vijay, William, Asoka, Rory, Sarah, Abigail, Jackie, Suleyman, Sophia, Tija, Fatmata, Damien, Inigo, Tejaswini, Subash, Russel ,Harry, Nicholas, Kezia, Rebecca, Katherine, Nicholas, Bianca Melissa, Aimee, Birute, Zaneb, Harsha and Vikas. Yesterday they trekked to their campsite which was about 4km away from field base.

Above: Tigers group 1 set off on their trek training from field base.

It was their first trek with all their kits, tents, trangias and the three bowl system on their backs!

Above: some of the happy trekkers

When they got there (in a much quicker time than the PMs when they did their training) they tested out some skills like putting up their tents, digging a long drop and cooking on trangias…yummy! Above: the girls made the tents sturdy

Above: Jonny sorts out the long drop

They also had a visit from the snake man…snake Shyam. Shyam is famous in Mysore for his snake catching and he came along to the campsite to talk to the venturers about snakes in India and what to do if you come across one. The venturers got a chance to hold the snakes…
Above: Khalid totally calm!

and Shyam showed them a spectacled cobra… They then got cooking and had a chilled evening by the campfire.
They set off again this morning for the top of Chamundi Hill and are descending the 1000 steps right now.

Meanwhile back at field base the elephants (Freddie, Liam, Emma, Meredith, Ciara, Marie, Dominique, Rosie, Chinedu, Wahid, Luis, Thayal Nithi, Madhavi, Christopher, Kris, Owain, Claire, Rebecca, Laura, Olivia, Victoria, Bijal, Venus, Holly, Sultan, Remya, Atul, Will, Gareth, Rebecca, Louise, Claire, Alex, Terry, Tarlan, Emily, Akiem, Charles, Sekhar and Rohith) have completed their communications training and are getting ready for their trek. They’ll be leaving in a few minutes and following the same route as the Tigers. So the race is on, can they get to the campsite quicker than the Tigers!?

The last arrivals

The rest of the venturers finally arrived in Bangalore. After their flight being delayed by two hours the the last venturers arrived at 6:30 this morning.

A team of field base staff were there to meet the 67 tired, hungry and very excited venturers .

Some of the arrivals at Bangalore
The group gathered together at the airport
We have now have all now arrived safely back in Mysore, everyone has had a welcome from Mark and has had their first curry meal for lunch which went down pretty fast!Above: the first mess tin curry meal!

They've spent the afternoon getting to know each other, playing some name games, unpacking and finding their way around field base.

Over the next few days the venturers will be learning loads of new skills, like how to communicate with field base on expedition, cook on a trangia, put up tents and bashers for sleeping, digging slop pits and long drops as well as learning more about the projects and their time out in India. The venurers have been split in to two groups for the training - the Elephants and the Tigers. Part of the training this week is about trekking and the Tigers will be off out on a short trek tomorrow up Chamundi Hill, they'll be camping out over night to practice their skills.

More on the training tomorrow! Also check back to find out who won the staff cluedo game and who got killed in the male staff toilets with a book of spells...

First arrivals at field base

Today we have our much anticipated first venturer arrivals. Durga, Subash, Tejaswini, Rohith, Vijay, Harsha, Madhavi, Shiva, Thayal, Vikas and Iman all arrived this morning from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The new arrivals have created a real buzz at field base, we’ve started the day with some games to all get to know each other and we’ll all be having lunch together before a team sets off for Bangalore to pick up the rest of the venturers.

Our first venturers arrive and settle in to a game of volley ball with the PMs.The rest of the venturers will be landing in Bangalore in the early hours of tomorrow morning and will be arriving at field base about lunch time. We are all really excited about meeting all the venturers, everyone feels like this is the real beginning of expedition and I’m sure field base is going to be extremely lively over the next week. Bring it on!

In other news yesterday all the PMs and field base staff went out rafting. The group was split in to two groups the elephants and the tigers.

Above: the tigers building their raft.

Above: Pretty in pink our expert raft builder

After excellent demos by our Country Director, Mark, on how to build rafts the race commenced. It was neck and neck for all of about one minute, the elephants stampeded ahead whilst the tigers strumbled at the first hurdle – getting in to the water. Unfortunately for the tigers getting this proved slightly troublesome with them getting stuck in the weeds. After a bit of a heave they were off too and the race was on…apart from the fact that the elephants had already practically finished.

Above: the elephants had already cleared their raft and the tigers weren't even in sight.

So with a few collisions with various greenery and the tigers managing to do a u-turn unintentionally the race finished with the elephants in first position and the tigers coming second (not last!).

Above: the tigers finish - note the absence of Kate who was already on the bank after a quick swim.

The tigers had a spectacular finish with Kate demonstrating how not to throw a throw rope and ending up throwing herself in to the water instead.

After a quick dismantle of the rafts...

It was time for a quick swim before home time.
So now off we go to Bangalore to pick up the troops, there will be a new post on Saturday once they have arrived at field base.

A monsoon in a tea cup

After lots of updates and info about our projects and projects managers I’m sure we’re due for a field base team update…lets not leave them feeling left out!

After two weeks of planning, training, scheduling, blogging, counting and stacking the field base team had a much needed day off whilst the PMs were out visiting their projects.

After a bit of deliberating the field base team (Jess, M-J, Joss, Kath, Ali and Margaret) visited Mysore Zoo. We had a great morning wandering round the zoo, drinking coconut juice and dodging the showers.

Above: a tiger at the zoo.

Yummy coconut juice

After walking all morning round the zoo we had built up a huge appetite and decided to grab an auto and head to the Lalitha Mahal Palace. This is the second palace of Mysore and is now a hotel, apparently it was originally built for the King of Mysore’s mistress is 1921. We had an amazing lunch (obviously of curry) in a room that Joss described as ‘like being inside a wedgewood tea cup’.

The wedgewood tea cup

Margaret, M-J and Joss in the tea cup

We also had a little look at the stuffed tiger and lion...

Can you spot M-J in this pic?

...and then were treated to having a nosey at a bollywood film being made in the hotel, we even saw Amitabh Bachchan who’s really famous in India, in fact only earlier that day Kath had read about him in People magazine! Good celeb spot Kath!

We managed to blag a tour of the hotel and grounds and had a ride in the first ever elevator in Mysore…
And we checked out the views over Mysore…

Amitabh Bachchan wasn’t our only spot for the day we also bumped in to the Ambassador of Senegal on his way in to the hotel, he looked at us a bit strangely but then we weren’t exactly dressed for the occasion!

After a great day off it was back to work for the whole field base team and our first job was to arrange a party for all the PMs to welcome them back from their projects. We decided to have a fancy dress party and the whole field base team came along in Indian dress.

The lovely field base ladies

There were various other outfits from a mummy (Rich)…
to Scream (Gareth) and a fairy (Katharine)…
Since then its been heads down for soft skills training at field base and with the arrival of the venturers advancing at a mega speed on Saturday its all hands to the pump to get ready.

Why did the elephant cross the road??

The project managers have arrived safely back at field base and have been busy putting together their plans for when the venturers arrive on Saturday.

Here's a taster of the projects direct from the PMs...



Echos 5 and 6 (Miriam, Gareth, Rich and Lotte) encountered a bit of a surprise when they approached their project site...

They thought this was near and then...
Mummy elephant separated from baby makes for four scared PMs, thankfully 60/60 made a quick get away! What a start to a project visit!! This picture wasn't even using a zoom!

Once on the project site Echos 5 and 6 met the local villagers who showed them how they were getting on with the gravity water feed system. Miriam had a go at smashing some huge rocks which they are using for the foundations (below).

They also found a little bit of time to play some rugby.

They came back to field base really excited about the difference they are going to make to the settlement and also very excited about their venturers seeing some elephants.



Charlie 1 (Charlie and Ruks) visited their project site in Muttilmoola hamlet.


They met the locals who they will be working with and also checked out the foundations for the housing they will be building for the community.
Charlie and Ruks came back not only really positive and excited about the work Charlie 1 will be doing in the hamlet but also about the experience both the villagers and the venturers will get from spending time in the local area.



Charlie 2 (Leti and Katharine) visited HD Kote Taluk where they will be helping to develop one acre of horticulture plantation.

They had a look at the plot they will working on and they spent some time getting to know the local community. They had a little play with the local children (and cows) in their play area before coming back to field base to plan the ins and outs of the project for the arrival of the venturers.

Charlie 3 (Kate and Anne) visited Mosarahalla Village where they will be constructing rainwater harvesting systems.

Some of the work Raleigh has already done in the village.
Kate taught the girls from the local school patacake it did take her a few attempts to get it right, a bit of practice at field base maybe before deployment is needed!

Charlie 4 (Lewis and Camilla) visited M.C. Tolalu Hundi. When they arrived in the community they had a really warm welcome from the children in the local school.

They had a look at the work that's already been done to get an idea of what they will be doing.


This is one of the toilets that Raleigh built and that Charlie 4 will build.

They spent a lot of time with the people from the village, played with the local children and introduced them to an ipod for the first time!

At the moment all the PMs are having their last two days of training before the venturers arrive. At field base we're all really excited about their arrival and all the PMs can't wait to get stuck in to their projects.

Elephants and visitors

Last night we had some visitors to field base. Two of our project partners came along to talk to the team about the projects for 09I and how project partners work with Raleigh in India.

Echo 5 and 6 will be working with project partners WWF in one of the most densely populated areas for the Asian elephant in India. Boominathan from WWF came along and talked to us about elephants. He was really passionate about the work he does WWF and gave loads of great tips for working on the project sites like…do not wear bright colours, keep quite quiet when you are in elephant territory, observe from a distance of at least 100 metres and keep your ears open for snapping branches and trumpeting at all times.

We also had a talk from Ravi Kumar from MYKAPS. MYKAPS have worked in the local area for 25 years and Raleigh India has been working with them for two years now. Together we’ve had some real successes making a huge impact on lots of communities and villages. Some of the projects undertaken so far with MYKAPS have been eco sanitation units, like the work Charlie 4 for will be doing for 09I. We’ve also worked on sustainable agriculture projects and rainwater harvesting projects. For Raleigh India 09I Charlie 2, 3 and 4 will all be working with MYKAPS as project partners. The talk that Ravi gave about the impact the work we do has on local communities was really inspiring, he talked about not only making a difference in terms of providing new facilities but also talked about how the cultural exchange on projects adds so much value to those who are involved, both in the local communities and the Raleigh participants.

Above: Ravi Kumar talking to our PMs

Vijay, our Host Country Venturer Co-ordinator, gave a talk about our project partner Centre for Tribal and Rural Development Trust (CTRD). CTRD currently work on projects and programmes aimed at promoting and strengthening the livelihood, welfare and development of the poor tribal and rural communities in the Gudalur Block of the Nilgiri Hills. Charlie 1 will be working with CTRD to provide tribal housing in the mountainous Nilgiri district, Tamil Nadu.Vijay talked about the culture of the different tribes and the challenges they face at the moment.

After having a chance to quiz the project partners and a bit of yoga...

...all the PMs left field base this morning to go on their planning visits.

Everyone has arrived safely at their project sites now and we’ve already has a report back from Echo 5 and 6 that they ran in to some elephants on the way in to the project site so hopefully we’ll have some evidence to post up on the blog when they are back on Sunday, watch this space...

Who, what, when, why? All your questions answered!

If you were wondering what Miriam and Lewis were doing in the photos on the last post then wonder no more! That was their reaction to finding out the project allocations.

There are usually two project managers on each project and last night the project managers not only found out who they would be working with but also which project they would be working on.

Here are all the allocations:

Project group: Charlie 1
Project: Muttilmoola tribal housing
Project managers: Charlie and Ruks
Raleigh are working in partnership with the Centre for Tribal and Rural Development Trust in the mountainous Nilgiri district, Tamil Nadu. Charlie 1 will live alongside and work with the 22 inhabitants of the Muttilmoola hamlet, a remote forest community belonging to the Kattunayaka indigenous tribal group to construct a simple home for each of the seven families.
The present living conditions are very basic and their substandard housing is the cause of much hardship and contributes to poor health. Existing dwellings, which are in considerable disrepair, will be replaced with simple mud brick constructions which have been designed in consultation with the community, to facilitate a healthier standard of living whilst enabling them to retain their tribal customs and cultural identity.

‘I’m really looking forward to going on our project visit to investigate what awaits us and our venturers its going to be a huge adventure! I can’t wait to meet the Chief of the local village and the local people and see what they think of Raleigh.’ Charlie.

Project group: Charlie 2
Project: Netikal Hundi sustainable agriculture
Project managers: Leti and Katharine

This project is part of a six year intervention, starting in June 2009. Over the six years 772 families from nine communities will benefit from this project which is based in HD Kote Taluk, Mysore District.

Charlie 2 will help some of the families to develop one acre of horticulture plantation. They will help with digging tree pits and planting species of mango and amla (a kind of sour gooseberry used for pickles, ayurvedic medicines and hair oil). These species will provide high value, high nutrition crops for consumption by the families and for sale in the nearby market towns. The prepared agricultural land will also support seasonal inter-cropping of melons etc.

Around each acre a live fence will be planted using native species including pongamia and high value teak trees which will provide shade for the crops and the root systems will prevent soil erosion and run off during the heavy monsoon rains.

‘We’re both looking forward to exploring the local community and the project site this weekend, its going to be great!’ Leti.

Project group: Charlie 3
Project: Mosarahalla Rainwater Harvesting
Project managers: Kate and Anne

‘This is what Raleigh community projects are all about. This is a fantastic project which will really make a difference. It gives us (project managers and venturers) the opportunity not only to make a difference but to be involved in the local community.’ Kate.

Charlie 3 will work alongside community members and skilled masons in Mosarahalla Village to construct rainwater harvesting systems. The village currently uses a piped water system and ground water polluted by years of heavy pesticide use which is not fit for drinking. The provision of rainwater harvesting systems will ensure a sustainable and safe supply of water for each family which can be stored through the dry season and in periods of electrical pump / electricity supply failure. This village, with ‘Scheduled Tribe’ inhabitants from the Naika community, was the first in Karnataka to have eco-sanitation facilities installed and the project was a resounding success.

Project group: Charlie 4
Project: M.C. Tolalu Hundi Eco-Sanitation
Project managers: Lewis and Camilla

Charlie 4 will work within a rural community, at M.C. Tolalu Hundi, who do not currently have access to full basic hygienic sanitation facilities. They will provide a sustainable and healthy solution for the village by helping families to construct their own eco-sanitation facility – a composting toilet. The project will improve community health through access to safe drinking water in the community by reducing pollution of the local water sources and prevent open defecation in the village. It will also provide compost which can be used to organically fertilize crops. The compost can also be sold in the local market increasing the economy of the village.

‘For us this project is all about integrating with the local community we have an opportunity to really make a difference with this project.’ Lewis.

Project groups: Echo 5 and 6
Project: Gravity water feed supply to Ramaranai village
Project managers: Rich and Lotte (Echo 5) and Miriam and Gareth (Echo 6)

Above: Gareth and Miriam.

‘This project is going to be amazing, it’s such a worthwhile and sustainable project and it’s in such a beautiful area.’ Miriam.

Ramaranai is a remote settlement which is home to 15 families belonging to the Sollega indigenous tribe in the newly established Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu. This area is an important habitat for the Asian elephant and has the highest concentration of them in the world.

The crop growing season is very short and irrigation of the agricultural fields is really important to maximise the yield and to extend the season. Echo 5 and 6 will work together with the community and our project partners in Ramaranai (WWF and the Tamil Nadu Forest Department) to deliver a new gravity water feed supply to the settlement and build water storage tanks on the agricultural plots to supply irrigation water. Echo 5 will be based at the bottom of the feed and Echo 6 at the top.

‘This project is going to give us a huge tangible achievement. We’re just thinking about the moment the water comes rushing down the gravity water feed and how we will feel when we succeed! Not to mention the elephants!’ Rich.
Above: Rich and Lotte

All the project managers will be going to visit their projects over the next few days to find out more about the area and the work they will be doing. They will all take lots of photos for the blog so all the venturers coming out will be able to see what the project sites look like.

Tremendous trekking

So…in the last four days field base has been a very busy place. Ruks, our host country Project Manager, has been working with us all. Ruks is the director for the National Adventure Foundation in Karnataka state in Mysore. The National Adventure Foundation is an organisation running all kinds of different activities all over India. Ruks is an Adventure Sports Instuctor for Karnataka and she has loads of experience running activities like rock climbing, trekking, rafting and parasailing. Ruks works with children and young people from all different communities and backgrounds to teach them about adventure activities and also works with groups on cultural exchange. It’s great to have Ruks on the team, she’s providing us with lots of tips and knowledge about Indian culture and the activities we’ll be doing on the adventure phase.

Above: Jocelyn (our photograher), Margaret (logistics) and Ruks (PM) plotting a trek route.

We’ve been doing loads of training this week to prepare the PMs and field base staff for the arrival of the venturers. We’ve covered loads of really useful stuff that will be passed on to the venturers for when they are out on their projects. On Monday we went through navigation, satellite phones and plotting routes…lucky we did that as Tuesday was the start of trek training.

After plotting out our trek route during training, on Tuesday morning all the staff split up in to Alpha 1 and Alpha 2, and got all their it together for the trek. It’s amazing how much you need for one night! Quite a few of the PMs looked like snails with their huge back packs on!

Above: Alpha 2 trek group just before setting off.


Above: on the way to the camp site.

The troops trotted off on their first trek. Luckily Amanda taught us navigation skills so well that we all managed not to get lost (phew). We even managed to avoid having to use our casivac (casualty evacuation) and medivac (medical evacuation) procedures! What an achievement! We tested our radio skills keeping field base updated regularly and we learnt quickly what to keep at the tops of our bags (Miriam ate lunch out of the packet as her mess tin was buried at the bottom). It was great for us all to get out of field base and see a bit of Mysore. We all managed to arrive at our camp site for the night in one piece complete with all our kit.

Above: the view from the camp site

We all put up our tents, dug our slop pit (where you put all your left over food and tip your water after washing up), set up our cooking area and dug out our short drop (extremely luxury toilet). Once we’d set up Miriam and Anne gave us some more medical training (all our hearts do beat which is a relief!).

Above: digging (or watching) our luxury loo.

We had a great evening making dinner and sitting round the camp fire. M-J even bought the shop out to us so we had crisps and chocolate while doing a fun quiz. Fortunately for us it managed not to rain all evening. Unfortunately it tipped it down all night! We were in our cozy tents though and nice and dry. We woke up to the sound music from the temple on Chamundi Hill (that was if you weren’t already awake listening to the snoring!).

We set off yesterday morning as one big group. By the time we had packed our kit it’s fair to say we were all soaked through. It was definitely monsoon weather! We trekked up to the temple on Chamundi Hill but not via the 1000 steps this time and with 20kg back packs on! It was quite tough going in the driving rain but we were all triumphant when we reached the top.

When we did reach the top there were loads of people queuing to get in the temple, the queue stretched all the way around the top of the hill! It was quite a sight! We buddied up on the way back down the 1000 steps and made it safely to the bottom without any slippages. Speed (or lack of it) is definitely the key!

Above: the top of the hill and the queue!

Above: Rich (PM) at the top of the hill in the crowds!

There was no rest for the wicked when we got back to field base, it was a quick turn around and then out for the swim test for the PMs. We all trundled off in to town and completed the swim test in monsoon drizzle, to be honest it wasn’t like we weren’t all still soaked through from the trek any way!

Then, last night, this happened…

Lewis (PM)

Miriam (PM and medic)

But what is it all about?? Check back later to find out.

Keep the comments coming in, they are all being passed on to the staff. Once the venturers get here the blog will be a great way of their friends and family leaving messages too, these will all get passed on regularly to venturers and staff.

A piece of cake

***Check back for photos soon we are just waiting for training to finish for the day so that Jocelyn, our photographer, can download some photos for us***

We had a lovely high tea yesterday for Katharine’s birthday. It was great for us all to be treated to a lovely bit of cake and of course Katharine was treated to our wonderful singing voices!

Everyone seems much better today in the tiredness department after having a good 12 hours sleep last night. Lucky that happened as today has been absolutely packed!

Now is the time when all the volunteer staff are trained for the expedition. This is vital training which will ensure the expedition runs as smoothly and as fabulously as possible…which of course it will! Today we all learned about communications. During expedition, which will start in a couple of weeks, projects will be using mobile phones and satellite phones to communicate with field base. If you are going to be on a project site you will be in quite rural and remote areas. Every day each project will report back in to field base with a sitrep (situation report). If you are coming on expedition as a venturer the likelihood is that you will have to do this! Why not start learning the phonetic alphabet now and really impress the PMs when you get here!!

We also learned today about casevac (casualty evacuation) and medivac (medical evacuation) situations and how to manage them on project. It’s really important to be prepared for all kinds of situations and today has given all the PMs the confidence and skills to be able to do this.

The training that takes place over the next two weeks for the project managers will be passed on to the venturers. If you are a venturer you will be learning about what language to use to communicate with field base for your sitreps and you will also learn about casevac and medivac situations so that we are all as prepared as possible to be out on the project sites.

We also did quite a few name games and ice breakers today to get us all warmed up! These will be done quite a bit on project sites. Check out the below video of us all taking part in ‘Aroo-cha-cha’ which is a really fun way to all get together and just have a bit of a laugh.

At the moment the project managers are having a briefing on all of the different projects so the next blog post will have some more info about what the actual projects are. Exciting!!!!

Hasivu update: our little friendly silk worm is shrinking!!! Don’t worry though, this is normal! He is preparing himself for the next stage in the cycle which to spin his cocoon. Check back for Hasivu updates
(see earlier postings for when Hasivu came from).

Tonight we are going back to the palace and hopefully this time it won’t rain! It’s been very very sunny the last couple of days so if you are coming out bring a sun hat and sun cream BUT still bring your umbrella and waterproofs!!!

New kids on the blog

We now have even more new editions to our field base team other than just Hasivu. Lotte arrived yesterday after visiting an ashram in south India. She was our first project manager to arrive and has already settled in nicely!

This morning Miriam, Nicky and me (Jess) ventured to Banglaore airport with Sixty to pick up more of the project managers. Camilla and Leti were already at the airport when we arrived…

We then had to wait for two hours for the rest of the PMs to emerge from arrivals, we’re thinking they may be working on Indian time and speed already, it took them two hours to get through!

Once we were all united we started the journey back to field base where there was a fantastic welcome committee waiting for us!

Eddie and M-J waiting for the new arrivals.

The PMs got a warm traditional welcome to field base. Above: Katharine.

All the PMs sat down for a cuppa, to be introduced to each other and to the permanent and advanced teams.

We have now all been fed (obviously with curry). The poor PMs are feeling a little sleepy so they’ve gone off for a rest.

Below is a photo of all our PMs and their names for you all to have a browse.

L-R back row: Leti (PM), Camilla (PM), Anne (PM and Medic), M-J (Administrator), Kath (Finance Manager), Amanda (Operations Manager), Ali (Logistics), Nicky (Deptuty Progamme Manager), Eddie (bespoke group PM), Vijay (Host Country Venturer Co-ordinator).

L-R second to back row: Miriam (Medic), Katharine (PM), Gareth (PM), Rich (PM).

L-R second row to front: Vicky (bespoke group PM), Jocelyn (Photograhper), Lotte (PM), Lewis (PM), Charlie (Coach and PM), Kate (PM), Jess (Communications Officer), Margaret (Logistics).

L-R front row: Deepak (Facilities Manager), Girish, Manju and Sixty-Sixty (our drivers), Mark (Acting Country Directore).

Last but not least today is Katharine’s birthday and from everyone at field base we would like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Katharine doesn’t know we know its her birthday yet and we’ll be surprising her with high tea and cake this afternoon to celebrate…when she's woken up!

Surya and silk worms at field base

After a whole day of rain on Thursday Nicky was suffering withdrawal symptoms from vitamin D. In a desperate attempt to banish the rain clouds and bring out the sun she has printed off a picture of the sun god Surya. She has been praying to Surya (below) ever since…it actually seems to have worked, the sun is shining and we have had no rain! It’s a miracle!

Yesterday, before setting off for Bangalore to pick up the Project Managers all the advanced team had one last outing to the silk production facility in Mysore. We were shown the process of how silk comes about from tiny larvae to chrysalis and then to silk spinning. In just 25 days the silk worms grow to about three inches in length.

The tiny larvae.

The life cycle of silk production.

The silk worms in Mysore are fed on Mulberry leaves and produce 80% of the Mulberry silk in the whole of India.

We were given our own (not so) little silk worm to take back to field base. We named him Hasivu meaning hungry in Kannada, the language spoken in Mysore.

He is being looked after by Kath (above) and will soon be a chrysalis. It’ll then take him three weeks to become a moth and break of his cocoon so the venturers may just get to see him in his cocoon before he emerges.

A cocoon in the silk production factory with the silk being unwound.

We are actually saving this little chap from certain death. In silk production the cocoons are subjected to extremely high temperatures, which kills the silk worm inside. This is done so that the cocoon isn’t damaged when the moth emerges and the silk cocoon can be soaked and the silk extracted. So Hasivu has been saved and will be free!!!

Mysore monsoon messages

Mark Ashby, our Acting Country Director, wanted to send you a little message to say hi...




Yesterday we, the advance staff team, did our swim tests and checked out the pool where all the staff and venturers will do their swimming assessment. The pool is at a hotel called Sandesh The Prince in Mysore city.
L-R Kath (Finance Manager), Miriam (Medic), Jess (Communications Officer), M-J (Administrator) all treading water as part of the test.

We do a swimming assessment with everyone coming out to India so that we know how well each person can swim. If we do any exciting activities involving water, maybe on the adventure phase(!), then we can make sure we are prepared and can support the venturers and PMs so that they feel confident in the water.

After our swim Nicky, Ali and Margaret decided to try a bit of synchronized swimming…I don’t think this is actually where their talents lie! See for yourselves!

L-R: Nicky (Deputy Progamme Manager), Ali (Logistics) and Margaret (Logistics).

Today we’ve been shifting furniture around and cleaning the staff dorms ready for the arrival of the Project Managers on Saturday. At the moment we are an all female advance staff team and we even, very thoughtfully, cleaned the male staff dorm. PMs – you can thank us when you get here on Sat! A nice clean dorm!

So at the same time as India 09I there are also a couple of independent projects going on with groups of young people. If you are on 09I you won’t actually meet these groups. They will be groups of young people from maybe a youth group or a school and they will go straight to their project sites whereas if you are on 09I you will come here to field base! But…the project managers for these groups may be familiar to you if you went on a development session or if you have spoken to any one at head office. Today Vicky and Eddie arrived here at field base. They are two of the PMs for the bespoke expeditions. Eddie runs some of the training for venturers back in the UK and Vicky works in Raleigh Head Office, in London, managing bespoke expeditions that she will be project managing this time.
Eddie looking suprisingly perky from such a long flight!

Vicky’s asleep at the moment after a long day travelling and it would have been a bit mean to take a snap of her asleep but here is Eddie to remind you what he looks like! They will be going through training with all the other project managers and then they’ll go off with their groups to their project sites. You can talk to Raleigh about organising these bespoke expeditions for your youth group or school visit

www.raleighinternational.org.

And finally we are all really looking forward to the project managers arriving on Saturday. Once they are here we’ll put up a post letting you all know who they are!!

Money matters, Mysore market, medical mastermind and some mash

Yesterday the day got off to a great start with Kath running a yoga session (see below pic).

Even Sixty-Sixty (one of our drivers) got in to the yoga spirit and joined us for a bit of saluting to the sun. From yoga guru to money head Kath then whipped us all in to shape with our budgets so that we can get all the kit and food for when the venturers arrive. I think for Kath this was possibly the most exciting part of the day. I have seriously never known any one to get so excited about finance!

Anyway…much more exciting, yesterday was our first trip in to Mysore during daylight! We were all really looking forward to having a hunt around and getting to grips with the traffic, cows and head nodding. Having been tasked by the PMs arriving on Saturday to find a rugby ball, our first stop was a sports shop…Nicky was expecting a Sports Soccer and this is what we got…

Needless to say they didn’t have a rugby ball (sorry guys) one of the PMs might want to pack one! We spent the afternoon chatting to all the suppliers, finding our bearings, eating in an Austrian café at lunch time (mash potato tastes so good even after only four days of curry!), visiting the market and then finishing off with some ice cream (Right M-J our administrator demolishing her cookies and cream).

The market was absolutely amazing, the colours, sounds and smells took your breath away (literally in the meat market you couldn’t breathe!). It was great to get out and about and sample a bit of the local culture.

Above: some amazing veg at Mysore market

And some sweet smelling flowers (much needed after the meat market.

Nicky our Deputy Programme Manager testing out some of the dyes.

Miriam (our medic) even managed to find about 50 clip shut tupperwear boxes for the medical kits, we got a few funny looks buying those. She actually attracted a crowd in the supermarket when she was stacking them up!

Today we’re off for our swimming test in a local pool a lovely escape from the complete dryness of monsoon season!!

It's up and down at field base (but mostly up)

The Maharaja’s Palace


After a hard day’s graft and finally getting over the jet lag, last night the advance team ventured out in to Mysore for the first time. The first stop was the Maharaja’s Palace. Every Sunday night the Palace is lit up between 7 and 8pm by 97,000 light bulbs. We got slightly wet taking photos of the palace, something you will be familiar with in the UK – I heard its raining there too . Then we were treated to dinner at the Park Lane Hotel where we sat in a cave inside (it was a bit like an Indian version of the Rainforest Café) and tasted the lovely local curry. Yum!!

This morning it was an early rise for the advance team and for Sixty-Sixty (one of our drivers) as we tackled Chamundi Hill. You can see Chamundi Hill from outside the front of field base and those of you who are coming out to India will be testing out how quickly you can climb the 1100 steps!! That’s five and a half times more steps than Covent Garden station, where incidentally you are advised not to walk and to take the lift…wimps!

Above: Margaret (left) Miriam (right) Sixty-Sixty and Kath (behind) all look a bit tired!



Once we reached the 800th step we came face to face with a 5 metre high Nandi statue (the bull mount of Shiva). Only 100 steps later Margaret declared ‘900 already well that was easy’…she’d slightly changed her tune from earlier when she wanted to stop at 200 steps!!




Holy cow





We all made it to the top, 1062m high, in about 40 minutes; we’re working on beating the record set by a venturer in the last expedition who managed 13 minutes….quite a way to go then! At the top of Chamundi Hill we visited the Sri Chamundeswari Temple where we met lots of monkeys, cows and a statue of the lady herself.

Above L-R: Jess, Nicky, Miriam, Margaret and Kath at the top!

The rest of the day has been taken up with planning, planning and more planning, a bit of preparation a lot of counting, and a little bit of cricket.

Don’t forget your waterproofs if you are coming out here…we can’t wait for you to get here!

And...don't forget to keep checking the blog for more updates, the project managers will be arriving later this week and we’ve still got lots to do before then!

India Ignites! 09I

The advance team have arrived at field base and we’ve bought the monsoon along with us!
We haven’t let the rain dampen our spirits though…we’re taking to our jobs like ducks to water.

(Left: the front of fieldbase)






Yesterday, all a bit jeg lagged after a bumpy ride from Bangalore airport, we arrived at field base. Not up to much and suffering from losing a night’s sleep we had a quick tour of field base, tasted the mouth watering delights of south Indian food and had a very early night…10 hours sleep all round!

Now we all feel right as rain, we’ve settled in, we’re dusting off the equipment and cracking on with preparing for the exciting arrival of the project managers on 11th July and then the venturers on 25th July!

Who we are…

Left to right: Back - Jess, Communications Officer, Ali and Margaret, Logisitcs Coordinators, Mark, Acting Country Director, Amanda, Logistics Manager, M-J, Administrator, Nicky, Deputy Programme Manager. Middle - Manju (60/60), Manju & Girish, our drivers. Front - Kath, Finance Manager, Vijaya, Host Country Venturer Coordinator, Myriam, Medic.

Nicky, Deputy Programme Manager

(left in right hand photo)
After spending a month lounging about on the Greek Islands Nicky had a pleasant surprise of being upgraded on the way out here…and managed to get the Raleigh staff on the flight with her upgraded too! She’s set herself up for high expectations there…what else cant this lady blag us!? Nicky said, ‘I can’t wait for all the project managers and venturers to get here! We’ve got loads planned for the training and then for the expedition and the adventure phase its going to be awesome!’

M-J, Administrator (right in photo above right)

M-J is a bit of an insider…she is currently taking some time off from her normal job which is to look after Stacey Adams, the Chief Exec of Raleigh. How will Stacey manage without the fabulously organised M-J! M-J said, ‘This is my first Raleigh experience out of the office and it’s great to be out in the field seeing the other side of things. It’s nice to actually be experiencing what I have heard so much about!’.

Margaret and Ali, Logistics Coordinators

Earlier in the day Margaret and Ali starting sorting out the shop (right) where all the staff and venturers can buy goodies and essential supplies. At the moment they are debating what to name the currently nameless shop…Karnatka Kloset or Mysore Mall…what do you think? Or can you think of anything better!? Let us know by posting a comment. Margaret and Ali now battling with a squirrel in the store so are unavailable for comment directly….

Kath, Finance Manager
Kath is currently counting pennies saved for the rainy days of our expedition. Earlier today Mark said he was ready to hand over the spreadsheet and she had a look of delight on her face and declared ‘Yesss…I am so perfect for this job I am actually excited about a spreadsheet!’. Oh dear…she even bought along her own calculator!

Jess, Communications Officer

‘I’m really looking forward to all the venturers getting here and getting to know them. I can’t wait to see all the project sites and the adventure phase sounds amazing. I hope everyone who is coming is really excited as they certainly should be…it’s going to be great!’

Myriam, Medic

(Left: Myriam feeling at home surrounded by medical supplies)
‘This is my second Raleigh expedition, I was in Borneo in 2007 as a Project Manager and Medic which was fantastic. I had such a great time on that expedition and I’ve always wanted to come to India but never quite squeezed it in!'

Tonight will be our first trip in to Mysore to see the Maharaja’s Palace lit up…check back to find out how we got on…

P.S. the rain isn’t that bad it’s nice and refreshing and it’s lovely and warm!

Expedition 09I begins 4th July 2009