News from Charlie One – Immersed in Gandanahalli

On this last of four blogs from Anna’s and my recent trip around the projects, I’m posting some photos I took that I hope will give you a flavour of Gandanahalli. This is the village where Charlie One are living (in a school) and working (building eco sanitation toilets). It’s by far Expedition 12J's largest village, with a population of around 7,000 people.

You’ll also see a very short video of your loved ones waving hello as they set off for an afternoon’s work.

But first and foremost, here’s a guest blog kindly written by Jocelyn, giving her impressions of living and working in this fascinating, tightly packed rural community.

We’ve been having bandales of fun here, while working hard of course. This community phase has placed our banter-filled group in the village of Gandanahalli, with the task of building ten eco sanitation toilets. Although this may sound like quite a simple task, I shall quickly share with you some of the daily challenges that Gilles may even describe as hair-raising, that we are faced with. 

Obviously there is the constant language barrier, which is a day-to-day struggle, especially when mixing with cultures so different from your own. Yes, Dan’s northern ways have been difficult for us all to adapt to.

The northern tongue is not the only difficulty our group of twelve has had to overcome. There is also the constant threat of vicious and exotic animals, such as the charging cows, bands of rampant roosters and grizzly goats which have been fought quite bravely by the likes of Ali, Fabian and Pauline. And forced us always to walk in pairs wearing our PPE or protective equipment with Raleigh pride.

Although by now I’m sure you’ll all be aware just how tough this project has been and will continue to be, I will share with you the worst of our struggles brought to us by the naivest and most innocent of the community. A simple question which brought our group near to despair: ‘ What is your name?’ And even when our weary and tired selves succumb to answering the children who surround us at every opportunity, we do not always get the response we may have hoped for - as Miaow, formerly known as Mel, has discovered.

However, our time here at Gandanahalli has not all been trial and tribulation. After a hard day’s work alongside the fast-paced masons, the ‘top lad’ with the simple ring of his bicycle bell can lift our spirits, as he brings delicious meals to our mess tins. He has become our hero of the night, and afternoon, although he has yet to win the battle against Ali’s forever rumbling stomach. We’re planning a special treat for Harry’s birthday, but it won’t be anything too rich out of respect for Laura’s keen sense of smell!

With an Indian Sean Connery who looks uncannily like Shivam by our side, and Raja’s persistent hard work and constant smile, alongside Emma’s musical talents, the ecosan toilets are standing proud through the rubble of bricks and scaffolding. And as we retire to our classrooms each night, with Pauline blushing a crimson red, after numerous winks and kisses have been thrown at her, and Fabian is settled into his sleeping bag listening to Stephen Fry uttering the sweet words of Harry Potter, we can rest easy, knowing that our hard work is paying off.


To complement the picture already in your mind's eye, here are some of the sights:

The daily commute to work - by vehicle ...

... or on foot

Accommodation can be quite basic ...

... or more sophisticated

Life revolves around animals and farming

Everywhere the children - these smartly dressed kids are on their way to Charlie One's host school

School lunchtime

Meanwhile, back at some of the worksites ...

Jocelyn proving she can handle a trowel as well pen a blog

Ali and the person formerly known as Mel

The actor, the singer and the blusher

Birthday girl

If you haven't seen the person you care about yet, fear not! Here's everyone saying a quick hello.

Difficult to believe, but it's less than a week now until the teams return to Fieldbase for Second Changeover. Meanwhile I'll update you on any news as and when I receive it.