All sorted out

Boy, I am glad I read Harry Potter (or rather let Stephen Fry read it to me). Otherwise the events of 1 February would have been somewhat peculiar to me.
In the evening, the fieldbase of witchcraft and wizardry’s roof terrace became the centre of magic decision making, as our management team solemnly conjured the Sorting Hat, which was to allocate our PMs to their respective Phase I projects. This phase will start on 16 February and PMs and Venturers will be back to fieldbase for their changeover on 5 March.
These are the choices the Sorting Hat announced *drumroll*:

Community Project Charlie 1 - Eco-sanitation - Stephen, Cate (M [this means Medic])
Stephen and Cate (and the soon to arrive Venturers, of course) will help poorer families in the village of Gandenahalli to construct their own eco-sanitation facility. The project will improve community health through access to safe drinking water by reducing pollution of the local water sources. Moreover, the units will provide sustainable rich compost every 12 months; a great basis for growing nutritious crops, which, in turn, provide a source of income. Our project partner MYKAPS and the village’s Self Help Group leaders selected the 45 beneficiary families.

Community Project Charlie 2 - Sanitation - Emma, Izi (M)
Emma, Izi and the Venturers will assist 38 beneficiaries in Kayuni and two neighbouring communities to build individual sanitation units for their family. Not only will the units improve the drinking water quality, but they will reduce the risks particularly for women and children in going into the adjacent forest to satisfy their sanitation needs and risking attack by wild animals including snakes. Our project partner CTRD Trust focuses on tribal and scheduled caste communities with their in the Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP).

 
Environmental Project Echo 3 - Turtle conservation - Natalie, Harriet (M), and M&E Officer Joe
Natalie, Harriet, Joe and the Venturers will help communities on the Maharashtra coast, where growing populations of Olive Ridley Turtles nest between November and March, to develop their economy around eco-tourism. Based in the coastal village of Velas, the group will undertake work to construct a pathway from the village to the beach, so tourists can witness release of turtle hatchlings. They will also patrol the beach at night to prevent poaching and to identify new nests for relocation into the safe hatchery. Project partner SNM has been working towards the conservation of marine turtles since 2002.

 
Environmental Project Echo 4 - Bio-gas - Jenna, Sammy, and Chris (M)
The team of three PMs and Venturers will help to construct bio-gas units for seven recipient families in the very marginalised community of Cheriyery. The units will provide them with free gas for cooking and an alternative livelihood from the sale of dairy produce and organic fertilizer both produced as a bi-product of the biogas production and reduce the environmental impact of firewood consumption. The beneficiaries were selected by our project partner CTRD, according to their knowledge of animal husbandry and the size of their land.

Adventure Project / Trek Tango 5 - Janet, Matt
Janet and Matt will lead the Venturers during their 19-day adventure phase in Kerala. The 200km journey takes place in the Western Ghats Mountains, incorporating trekking in the forest, across savannah grasslands and rice paddies, off-road mountain-biking, and river rafting. Physical challenges will easily be rewarded by breathtaking scenery, including indigenous wildlife (cross fingers for elephants!). The trek is guided by our adventure partner MuddyBoots.

Adventure Project / Trek Tango 6 - Amanda, Barney, and Photographer Bob
Amanda and Barney will lead the 17-day trek in Kerala. During the 200km journey, the Venturers will summit the second highest mountain in south India (2600m) and undertake a 24hr survival challenge including river rafting. This section of the Western Ghats Mountains is renowned for its beauty and diverse terrain, as well as for plentiful opportunities to sample Kerala’s special foods and of course the tea! The trek is guided by our adventure partner Kalypso Adventures.

 
After the Sorting Hat had spoken, Mark Malfoy, Simon Snape, and Pete Potter decided to provoke some antagonism between the newly formed teams by letting them Ready-Steady-Cook against each other. After fierce competition with partially illegal methods, Team Fieldbase and Team Echo 3 topped the list in terms of taste, creativity, presentation, and X-factor. After a penalty shoot-out - involving classic dance, oriental dance, and water - the panel announced douze points for Team Fieldbase, proving that the central management of this expedition is incredibly well taken care of.

Competition faces

The judges

The glorious Fieldbase team and Hogwarts' headmasters

Today, after having worked through folders of essential information about their projects, the PMs headed to their project sites to conduct a Project Planning Visit. They will meet the partner organisations, learn about the project and why it is necessary, meet the local community and assess potential risks on site. They promised me to bring back first-hand information for you, so prepare for a thrilling session of guest blogging.