Visiting Belgaon Dhaga

After two one-day visits to the village of Belgaon Dhaga (BD), I am gaining a clearer picture of my involvement with the village.

My first visit to BD was last weekend. I went alone by bus to meet Vinod in Nasik. The actual time on the road is 3-4 hours. We then drove together to BD, and I had a wonderful evening with Vinod and Kamala. They know one another so well, that every once in a while, they would finish their partners sentance or thought. Kamala's food was extra tasty, and Vinod's insight was extra stimulating.

My intial interaction with the villagers was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life.

After an intial meeting with Vinod, Chandu, Ashok, and Vishnu in Chandu's home, Chandu showed me his irrigation pond, and explained the precise math of the business model of his pond (how much water each crop needed, how much water the pond holds, etc).

Vishnu showed me his 17 water buffalo dairy farm, and explained the process of extracting methane from his water buffalo's waste. It was also exciting to find out that he plans to expand his business and share his bio-gas with his neighbors.

We sat down to chat in Vishnu's home, and the villagers had the opportunity to ask what I was doing visiting their village. Vinod explained I was here from Escelance International, and I added that it was an experience I never had the opportunity to be part of before. Then, I got to drink a fresh glass of milk that was cooked using bio-gas from the same buffalo!

Then, when the electricity came on in the village (It's out for 6 scheduled hours during the day - everyday), I got to see the basic program skills that Ashok was teaching at the second branch of his computer training business. He has a total of 30 young students, and plans to soon expand to a third branch.

Rather than translating Marahti and English when I interacted with the villagers, Vinod emphasized their need to practice English when talking with me, as well as my need to speak slowly and simple sentances when talking with them. He reminded each entrepreneur that it was important to share their full knowledge of each of their projects, in as much detail as possible.

This inital interaction with the villagers demonstrated how capable each of us were in our ability to communicate with one another - and with each visit, our communication will grow.

After the village visit, we stopped in the nearby town of Nasik to attend an Entreprenuership Workshop orgainzed by a spritly group of business men and woman and hosted in Mr. Bagwe's company training hall. (Mr. Bagwe is also a member of the village adivisory board). It was refreshing to see a group of entrepreneurs get together to developed and improve successful communication skills.

There are 2 key people that will be assisting me with the further development to basically "Market the village." One, is Rutul Naik. Rutul is my selected counterpart for the 2 week experience in the village. 19 years old, energetic, passionate, and excited about participating in this project, Rutul has grown to be my best friend in India. Rutul is a 1st year Mass Media student at a college in Mumbai. He is the son of Shaila Naik. Shaila is the principal of Lord's College in Mumbai, and one of the lead facilitators and driving force behind entrepreneurial education in India. Shaila has a tentative meeting with the President of India next month to share her enterpreneurial school cirriculm.

The second key person, is my newly found mentor and guiding light: Aanand Mahendroo. Aanand is a successful film producer that I met through a mutual friend at a Entertainment Industry Convention called FRAMES, that was held here in Mumbai last week. Aanand has an itching spark to help see others succeed. We visited the village school, and several young kids performed a few skits that they had learned in school. It was quite impressive to see the dynamic and commitment of the educators and students at the school. Aanand recognized that the village kids did not have the proper facilities to "excersize their playful minds," and has already made plans to improve the village school through facilitating the creation of a "Youth Center" at the school. As the best way to focus on the sustainability of any community project, is to start with teaching/nurturing the younger generation. Over the course of many years, Aanand has guided a countless number of young men my age to better their lives and achieve their goals. He also has 11 schools in India that educates urban and rural kids together. Enabling the farm kids and city kids to interact with eachother and learn from one another.

It was very rewarding to see Aanand's interaction with the villagers yesturday. As he spoke with them in their native tounge, their minds were put at ease, and the same interaction (questions and explanations of their businesses) that I had with them the week before, was much easier for the villagers to put expression and feeling into explaining their projects. It was wonderful to see that spark in their eyes. And, as I had heard the explanations in English just one week prior, I had the added benefit to see their expressions and passion about their projects this week as they explained them in Marahti.

We all agreed that it was vital to get the village teenagers involved with the projects or at least more active in their own community. Otherwise, the young adults will leave the village for the false perception of better oportunity in the city.

There was also a surprise visit by Vibha Patil. A woman who many describe as "a wonderful bundle of energy." I have been told that her passion and expertise are one of the main ingredients to the success of the GSBG (funding board). Even so, all her input as a lead member of the advisor board who managed a matching grant for 50 toilets (9 of which went to the local school) is topped off with a humble presance and warm smile.

Aanand also pointed out that there was not one pair of sad eyes in the village. That was an incredible observation, and rightfully gives Belgaon Dhaga the name "Village of Hope."