So I decided against the typical Indian experience and flew to Hubli-the nearest town to Dharwad. Flying within in India has become much easier in the last few years so there are a number of people who are new to this mode of travel. For example the man checking in front of me didn't really have luggage, instead he had 8 plastic bags that were duck taped shut.
It's been raining here nearly everyday and everything is incredibly green and muddy. Also I have to learn Kannada (local language) here ASAP as nobody speaks English, and most signs are also not in English. Also most of the roads don't have any names next to them.
I also met with my NGO today and talked to my mentor. He is incredibly nice there are about 5 people working there. The organization is known as SPS or Samaj Parivartan Samudaya.
SPS works to protect the environment in Karnataka by advocacy and organizing people dependent upon natural resources, mainly forests, land and water, for their livelihoods. SPS has been implementing a five year livelihood project since 2002. The main objective of the program is to contribute significantly to the livelihoods of 3,841 families in 26 villages in two districts of Karnataka - Davanagere and Haveri. I met briefly with the Executive Director today and he gave me several books to read. I think I will be working on policy issues specifically the Right to Information Act (RTI) and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). RTI is a much better version of the Freedom of Information Act. NREGA guarantees 100 days of wage employment to households in rural areas.
I promise to post pictures soon! Hope everyone is doing well!
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