Inspire (Sristi Village, India)

Some moments make you compassionate. Some places inspires you. Some people lift you.

I experienced all this in Tamil Nadu. It wasn’t only me, I saw it in everyone around me. I saw it in their eyes, expressions, movements and interactions.

February 14, 2017 was the date it started without me knowing fully that this was to be expected or would happen. I landed at Chennai airport in the afternoon. I arrived by car at Thazhuthali, a small rural village about 33km away from Pondicherry. I was greeted at the office of Sristi Village foundation by it’s founder, Karthikeyan. I heard the brief history and passion for the creation of the foundation.

As always with any project, I never know what to expect. I was adjusting to the environment. It was a beautiful place that radiated good energy. Each day I learned and immensely loved the village, the people, the project more.

Sristi Village was created in 2014 with the purpose to facilitate and empower people with disabilities. It is a rural village with a special needs school and a vocational training center (Sristi farm academy). There are over a dozen male who are learning agricultural and farming skills in order to get a job to earn an income for themselves. Research shows that when disabled people are given farming skills and the opportunity to work and be a part of society, they are very productive beings of the society.

Every morning the village gathers to meditate and send good energy out to the universe. It is such a small moment of time spent that brings such good energy and sets the perfect mood for the day. Everyday the group practices some simple prayer to earth and physical exercise to stretch and move the body.

Every week there are more than one celebration taken place. Birthdays are cherished and celebrated with everyone, no matter who you are and who you are from. On an anniversary of someone’s passing, friends and family of the deceased pick a charity and spend one day volunteering and sponsoring something. In this case, a group of friends celebrated the anniversary of their friend’s death by volunteering one days time together on the farm and sponsora lunch for the whole village. The simple acts of spending time to express love and simple act of giving does a lot.

The day revolved around some many projects and activities. There are permaculture agriculture happening. There are special school teaching. There are farming training on the premises. The village is so new that there is still lot of work to be done before the land can be cultivated and food can be produced.

The people who work here have huge hearts. They let whatever is on their chest out. The energy is so vibrant and beautiful here. It is very contagious.