Gomukh works with farmers to promote organic techniques in the Kolvan valley and also runs a food distribution network (so I get organic, locally grown vegetables delivered to my door!). Three times a week a group of students walks across the hill to work in the fields. It's very therapeutic to work the land after a hard day in the classroom. We hope to develop the project in many ways, including building a seed bank and trying to link up the food distribution system with our cafeteria.
The project is in its early days, but promises to be very effective. I think that one of the main keys to our success is that Gomukh is an existing non-profit which has already done most of the leg-work of setting itself up. Students are able to be active and helpful from day one, without having to lay down the initial infrastructure of setting something up. At the same time, our input is very valuable and I believe that Gomukh and Mahindra College both have much to offer each other in terms of development.
One of the challenges that many of our community engagement services face is the language barrier. It is difficult to make a difference in a community if you do not speak the language. In fact, it is difficult to make any sort of a connection at all. Thankfully, one of the members at Gomukh speaks good English--it is this channel alone on which our project stands. But I like to see the language barrier as an opportunity instead of a hurdle. What better way for students (and myself) to learn Marathi than through working in the fields with farmers?
The students have set up a blog for our project, which can be found here: link. Please feel free to leave comments!
Liam Goodacre
Faculty Humanities department
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