Learn about eco-friendly construction and energy projects in Mandangad, India

Details

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  Description

  "You make a living from what you get. You make a life from what you give." - Winston Churchill. I am 52 years young now. I am done with the making a living part of my life. I am now into the making a life part of my life.
  
  I am a self-funded social worker who is passionate about creating, maintaining and enhancing an experience based holistic learning environment for children. I am currently busy setting up the infrastructure for this environment. Learning is proceeding on three fronts - Eco-Construction/Energy, Organic farming and animal husbandry. I have now dedicated my life for uplifting the learning environment of rural and tribal children in the villages of India. Prior to this I ran a successful consulting practice which specialized in the implementation of emerging technologies. My endeavor now is to see the benefits of technology reach the people who are at the lowermost level of human existence. My family consists of four dogs and two cats. They have all been rescued from the street.
  
  Theme Phrase for our ranch - "Where Dreams Dance".
  
  Theme Song for Ranch:
  
  Oh! Give me a home where the children roam
  And the dogs and the cats are at play
  Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
  And the skies are not cloudy all day.
  
  Oh! Home on the ranch
  Where the dogs and the cats are at play
  Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
  And the children are happy all day.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  General Maintenance

  Farmstay help

  Help with Eco Projects

  Teaching
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Help

  "The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Peter Drucker. This is all about creating a future for our progeny, a future that thrives on Holistic Learning, Eco-sustainability and Altruism.
  
  There are always new projects being implemented here. Projects completed thus far are - Geodesic dome, Geometry dome, Vertical Axis Wind Turbine, Geothermal, Organic Banana Plantation, UDDT (Urine Diversion Dehydration Toilet) based compost toilets, perma-culture based food forest and many more. I am looking for volunteers who are willing to participate in these projects, learn by doing and experiencing the activities and passing on the benefits to the people and regions they plan to be a part of in future. I am doing this as a part of my gift culture philosophy. I will be screening the volunteers because I will be investing my time and energy in facilitating the experiential learning process. Selected volunteers will get free lodging and boarding on the farm. This is a self-sustainable environment. There is no TV. Wireless/Mobile service and internet is accessible from a few service providers. For all practical purposes the place is akin to wilderness camping. Volunteers will be sharing responsibilities for all activities including cleaning and cooking. I stay on the farm and I am actively involved in doing all the activities on the farm including cleaning and cooking. I enjoy this Eco-immersed lifestyle and hope you will enjoy it too. My family consists of four dogs and three cats.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Gujarati: Fluent
  Hindi: Fluent
  Marathi: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  I can with learning of English and 4 other Indian languages - Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Konkani. I like to learn all languages.
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  Accommodation

  The farm is a no-smoking, no-alcohol, no-drugs zone.
  
  All construction on the farm is bamboo based and uses locally available building materials. There are two bamboo based huts of 200 sq.. ft. each. The huts are called 'Casa' - 'Home' in Spanish because I like the Spanish phrase "Mi Casa Su Casa" which means "My home, is your home too". I live in Casa Uno which I share with my visitors too. It has a 110 sq. ft. wooden loft in addition to 200 sq. ft. of floor space. It can sleep 10 people. Casa Dos has 2 Queen size bunk beds and the rest of the floor space provides good sleeping space too. During the Jan. 2014 Eco-Workshop it accommodated 11 children and their 6 mothers (total of 17).
  
  There is a Geodesic Dome with about 1000 sq. ft. of living space. There is a Geometry dome whose roof uses reciprocal design. It has a loft and it can accommodate 10 people.
  
  There are two bathrooms and two Indian style toilets and two western style compost toilets. The indian style toilets are connected to a septic tank. The grey water from the bathrooms and wash basins are fed to plants. A 300 liter solar water heater provides hot water for bathing all year round.
  
  There is a kitchen with gas based cooking facility. The kitchen has all the provisions for daily cooking needs. The food cooked is vegetarian which includes eggs. There is a banana plantation on the farm. So during the harvest period you can have all the organically grown and organically ripened bananas you can eat.
  
  The place has State Board provided electrical supply. In addition there is a 7.5 KVA generator set which is run by a 13 HP Power Tiller (mini tractor). There is a bore-well with a water pump. The overhead water storage tanks store 6000 liters of water. The bore-well provides good quality drinking water. In addition there is a passive filtered drinking water facility.
  
  For practical purposes this is akin to wilderness camping. There are no urban style comforts. There is no air pollution, water pollution or light pollution here. Everything is as nature gives it to you. There are no lights on the outsides of the Casas. Use torches when walking outside except on nights when moonlight is good enough. Self-sustainability is practiced here. Everyone(including myself) shares the responsibilities of cleaning and cooking. I live a rustic lifestyle and thoroughly enjoy it. I hope you will enjoy it too.

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  What else ...

  "If you want to harvest for a season, grow crop. If you want to harvest for a decade, grow trees. If you want to harvest for a lifetime, grow people." - Chinese proverb. The endeavor I am on is about growing people. Along with the volunteers I expect to grow too. It is a two way path.
  
  This is an opportunity for volunteers to gain from the Experience Based Holistic Learning Environment. The volunteer will learn how to use technology for Eco-friendly construction and energy projects. They will learn problem solving and project management skills. I have worked in all the continents on the planet except Antarctica. The volunteer will learn how to look at things from an international perspective and work with people without discrimination of nationality, color, religion, gender or age. The volunteer will learn self-sustainability skills and thereby improve ones self esteem.
  
  I volunteer at the local village and tribal schools. Interested volunteers will get a close first hand experience of working with these children.
  
  I am an avid reader of inspirational books. I also have a good collection of information in digital format. I will be sharing all this with the volunteers. I also expect to learn from the experiences of the volunteers and the travels they have had prior to their visit to my farm.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  I live in the wilderness so I've limited internet connectivity. But via email I can help in whatever capacity possible.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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