Foxtrots fly free on their PPVs

Having landed, met, trained, trek trained and trained some more, the 5 week PMs have headed out to check out the projects which they will be managing.  Allocations are a great occassion here in India and we do our best to spice them up and keep people guessing as they try to work out where on earth they are going and indeed with whom.

Veejay, Jo and myself undertook a highly elaborate and well thought out ceremony inspired by Holi paint (remember how we used that with the venturers) and each PM found themselves ceremonsly 'christened' with a color. The challenge was then to find your matching colour and then work out where you were going.....- perhaps you needed to be there so lets just tell you who is going where and what on earth they shall do there.

Bobin shows off his 3 stripes - as part of FB team he will have the chance to see all 3 projects! What a lucky fellow bob bob bobbing along.

Foxtrot One -Alissa and Annette

These lovely ladies will head out to the small village of  Gandathur situated about 75kms from Mysore.  Here they will work with the local community to install eco-sanitation units.  Sanitation is a massive issue in rural India, with only 15% of the rural population  having access to clean toilets, leading to huge health and social probems.  Foxtrot 1 will help to build 20 units for local families.

Some of the local children who will benefit from new loos

Foxtrot Two - Eva and Ken

Sanitation remains the theme for Foxtrot Two however they will find themselves in a very different environment - a boarding school with 180 young students.  Madapura boarding school was established some years ago to provides middle school education for local children from surrounding villages.  Only basic primary education is available in their local villages, so the children come to live and study on site.  Last expedition we built a much needed classroom at this school and this time we are going back to help sort out their toilets.  The students currently share just 2 toilets!  Despite the obvious logistical and health problem it is also seen as a barrier preventing young women from attending school. 

Foxtrot 3 - Tom and Sats

They said they wanted a challenge and that is certainly what these guys will have when they lead their group

in the environmental project at Thangamalai in the Nilgiri Mountain ranges of Tamil Nadu. The group will work with this tiny community to build an elephant proof fence to protect their crops and livlihood.  Did we mention that it's monsoon and that on top of building the fence these guys will have to build and maintain their own jungle camp.  Did we mention the leeches and the elephants and the mud??  We definetly mentioned how beautiful it is, because this is one truly magical part of the world. 

Back at Fieldbase we are eagerly awaiting the return of Bravo 1 with Pete/Dave, Marie and Jenny - it's time for more dancing!