At the Badgaon education center there are many children from gypsy families who attend our classes. For most of these families, food just means a small piece of bread. We realised that the lack of nutrition in these children's diets can be detrimental to both their physical and mental growth. Especially in the pre-school program (age 4 to 10), where we are working to develop an education-oriented mindset, it is essential that these children have access to healthy food. This led us to develop our Healthy Meals program, where provide fresh nutritious fruit and vegetables for the children. In this way they have an opportunity to eat fresh foods which they otherwise would not have access to.
To supplement the healthy meals program, we also decided to develop organic gardens, both at spaces around the youth centers, and outside the Chandra Niwas home stay. We will plant seasonal fruits and vegetables in these gardens, which will provide an excellent opportunity for the youth to get hands-on gardening experience, as well as the pleasure of growing their own food. The garden at the home stay would be taken care of by volunteers working with our organic garden project, with the help of local staff members.
In the future we wish to expand this healthy meal program in size and scope. We have set goals to provide food to at least 50 more kids, as well as older people within the village who do not have any means to get food.
We are seeking volunteers who could work on the gardens for approximately 3 hours every day. This entails making sure there is enough water, light and manure in the soil and making sure the land stays fertile. Also, for volunteers working within the organic garden in one of the village locations, it is also their responsibility to involve the village children by making small groups and assigning them different permaculture beds to oversee and take care of.
Volunteers pay a discounted rate for their room/board and food at the friendly family run Chandra Niwas Guesthouse, or a similar guesthouse accommodation. Follow the link to read reviews from past volunteers and guests
The D.A.A.N. Foundation also asks volunteers for a one time donation of 5,000Rs (about $100 USD)
