Phase 1 projects allocated

It was an exciting day here at field base yesterday as the project managers finally found out which project they were going to be working on in Phase 1 and also who their fellow project manager was going to be. It was all done through a cunning game of Mark’s which was a bit too much for some to cope with first thing in the morning but eventually everyone managed to work out where they were heading. So here are the results of who's doing what and also a little bit more about the project managers themselves...

Community projects

Charlie 1 - Biogas & Tribal Housing in Vellary

Who: Stuart and Eeva

Stuart and Eeva

This project is part of a three year initiative to reduce the environmental impact of Tribal Villages in the Nilgiri District.  We'll be working alongside the recipient villagers to install biogas plants and replacement houses in Vellary village to replace those destroyed by monsoon flooding in 2009.

  

Name – Stuart

From – Hertford

Occupation before Raleigh – Pensions consultant

Thoughts about working on Charlie 1 – I’m really looking forward to seeing how biogas actually works and hope to get to milk a cow at some point!

Fact – Stuart is our very own Ray Mears and he has a rather worrying love for tractors as well as salad cream sandwiches.

Name – Eeva

From – Bromley

Occupation before Raleigh – Medical diagnostics

Thoughts about working on Charlie 1 – Really excited to get started and can’t wait to live within the community and be a part of it.

Fact – Eeva is going to have a tough job keeping Stuart off all the tractors in India!

Charlie 2 - Eco-Sanitation in Boredevaramunti

Who – Mona and Kate

Mona and Kate

The village of Boredevaramunti (or BD Munti as it’s referred to) is in the Mysore District.

We will assist 45 of the families in the village to construct their own eco-sanitation facility. The units are vital in ensuring that all the families are provided with basic hygienic sustainable sanitation units whilst promoting health and hygiene awareness.

Name – Mona

From – Luton

Occupation before Raleigh – Business consultant

Thoughts about working on Charlie 2 – Brilliant! I’m really excited about it and looking forward to working with the village and the local NGOs.

Fact – Mona came on Raleigh many years ago as a venturer and has come back once again to see how it works from the other side.

Name – Kate

From – London

Occupation before Raleigh – Head of sourcing for Debenhams

Thoughts about working on Charlie 2 – Fantastic! Really looking forward to working within the community and being part of their daily routine.

Fact – Kate is a proper London lady who knows her fashion and knows exactly where your top came from without even looking at the label, which is worrying when most of your clothes come from Peacocks...

Environmental projects

Echo 3 - Solar Fencing & Elephant Proof Trenches in Huskurhadi

Who – Cat and Dave

Cat and Dave

Huskurhadi village is a hamlet 70kms from Mysore. The first stages of the project will be to protect the villages and lands from elephant encroachment by building solar fences and digging elephant proof trenches. We will then be helping to support the communities in self help initiatives to develop and sustain agricultural livelihoods so that the long term impact of humans on the forests can be reduced.

Name – Cat

From – Kingston

Occupation before Raleigh – MSc student

Thoughts about working on Echo 3 – Really excited about seeing the village and being able to swim in the local reservoir.

Fact – Cat has to be the youngest retired dentist we know but at least we have someone on hand for the toothache we’re probably going to get from eating three packets of biscuits a day.

Name – Dave

From – Dorset

Occupation before Raleigh – Firefighter

Thoughts about working on Echo 3 – Can’t wait to experience the Indian culture by living within the community an contributing to the village to it as much as we can.

Fact – Dave is a true gentleman as well as a joker and he’s also the leader of the dorm snore gang.

Echo 4 - Solar Fencing & Elephant Proof Trenches in Basava Pura

Who - Celine and Dan

Celine and Dan

This is a similar project to the one above as the villagers of Basava Pura heard of the work that Raleigh had done in Huskurhadi and asked for something similar if they were able to provide some funds and villagers to help.

Name – Celine

From – Green Island, Ireland

Occupation before Raleigh – Nursing

Thoughts about working on Echo 4 – Really enthusiastic about the project and looking forward to working with Dan, but think we’ll need to find him a full length mirror from somewhere...

Fact – Celine has a cracking sense of humour and has promised to be wearing full eye make-up come hell or high water. She’s going to have to come up with a good tactic for getting the mirror off Dan then to apply it.

Name – Dan

From – Wolverhampton

Occupation before Raleigh – Just finished a PhD in Physics

Thoughts about working on Echo 4 – I’m very excited and can’t wait to work Celine and the villagers and also to build my own pull up bar when I get there!

Fact – possibly the vainest one in the group, but also very funny so we let him off. He’s also a keen climber which he asked me to mention so he doesn’t sound so geeky.

Adventure projects

Tango 5 - Misappulimala Adventure trek in Kerala

Who – Ros and Naomi

Ros and Naomi

This project is an exciting nineteen day trek in Kerala covering over 200km. It includes climbing up to the second highest peak in southern India (which is just under double the height of the UK's highest peak Ben Nevis!) visiting the highest tea estate in the world as well as some rafting.

Name – Ros

From –  London

Occupation before Raleigh – Architecture education programme manger

Thoughts about working on Tango 5 – Very excited and I’m already looking forward to all the Tango 5 high-fives we can do along the way!

Fact – Ros is an artist who claims she can’t draw but we don’t believe her, yet. Oh and if you find anything around field base then chances are that it belongs to Ros. I’ve finally met someone who loses more things than I do.

Name – Naomi

From – London

Occupation before Raleigh – Nurse in Accident and Emergency at the Royal London hospital.

Thoughts about working on Tango 5 – Really looking forward to being the first team in 2011 to conquer the second highest peak in southern India.

Fact – Naomi is the one you want on your quiz team as well as on the dance floor as she seems to know a lot about a lot and has some very interesting dance moves, my personal favourite being ‘the baby reversing a car’.

Tango 6 - Demon Mountain Adventure trek in Kerala

Who – Susan and Stuart

Susan and Stuart

This project is also a nineteen day trek in Kerela but taking a different route through the state

It’s a trek of over 200km with a few days mountain biking as well as rafting. Along the way they’ll be trekking over the Western Ghats, heading to the largest dam in India and walking through some very secluded forests which we have special permission to trek through.

Name – Susan

From – Belfast

Occupation before Raleigh – A GP

Thoughts about working on Tango 6 – I’m really excited and enthused by hearing I’m off on this project and about working with Stuart, but terrified of the jokes he’s going to play on me!

Fact – Despite the lack of sleep we’re all getting at the moment, Susan has been up most mornings to go running while we all negotiate our way round the toads to the showers.

Name – Stuart

From – Durham

Occupation before Raleigh – Taxi firm owner

Thoughts about working on Tango 6 – I’m canny excited like! Also looking forward to pulling lots of pranks on Susan!

Fact – Stuart also came on Raleigh as a venture a few years ago and loved it so he’s back again. He loves India despite the fact he burns really easily in the sun and he hates spicy food. So it’s plenty of factor fifty and plain rice for him then!

They're all off now for a few days on their project site visits and to meet the partners they'll be working with when they start the phase in a few weeks with the venturers. Talking of venturers, they arrive a week today and we can't wait! Although I think Kate and Wills are a little nervous about all the noise but I've reassured them that it will simply mean more boots to hide in. I'll be back soon with an update from the teams when they return from their visits to let you know how they got on.