INDIA
IMMERSION
PROGRAMME
FOR UNIVERSITIES
A customised 1-3 week programme offering university students a transformational experience of urban and rural India, aimed at bringing their classroom learning to life
Given the challenges the world faces today, hope has to triumph over cynicism and innovation must replace exploitation, for us to experience genuine human and environmental progress. What will get us there is a renewal of inspiration and informed action. And what will this progress look like?
A world where we recognise the interconnectedness of all life, where ecological sustainability and social justice guide all economic development, and where our technologies benefit all of humanity and the planet. In the words of Buckminster Fuller,
“Make the world work, for 100% of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.”
The INDIA IMMERSION PROGRAM aims to be a vehicle for this change — an inspirational 1-3 week program designed to introduce high-school & college students to these earth-friendly ideas & practices. The key building blocks of the program are:
- Perspective and context building
- Deeply immersive engagements with local communities
- Hands-on work on sustainability projects across India
Interspersed with these learning sessions is ample downtime that is built into each of our journeys for personal reflection, rest, and fun. Participating students will also get to experience another side of India through fun activities like trekking, river-rafting, mountain biking, etc.
Our experience over the last decade has shown us that experiential travel, allied with community interactions and sessions with domain experts, can significantly alter the way people view and relate to these ideas. The INDIA IMMERSION PROGRAM encourages participants to question and examine the assumptions and choices that have governed their lives so far. To understand the roles we play in the ‘web of life’, is to begin to alter our beliefs, ways of thinking and, consequently, our actions.
WHY INDIA?
India is on the cusp of a great leap forward, delicately poised between her spiritual past and a future as a growing economic power.
The changes and consequences of laissez-faire economics, and with it, the subsequent globalization of Indian markets in the past two decades has had a deep-rooted impact on the cultural, social, and spiritual aspects of the country.
While there have been some positive impacts of such globalization, some of it necessary for human progress, the contemporary development models — economic, social, and political — that form the pillars of globalization, have become a source of conflict causing the rapid erosion of traditional lifestyles, practices, and social organization.
Some of these traditional lifestyles and practices of India have a lot to offer as solutions for the big problems facing the planet – climate change, water management, loss of forest habitat, and human health. Any solution for these problems has to incorporate the learning, wisdom, approach and practices of these traditional models in its core design.
The economic and cultural shifts facing India also finds resonance across other countries that are trying to cope with the issues of globalization, natural resources, climate change, etc. This is where India has the potential to become a leader in providing solutions to the world based on the design principles of traditional practices found across its many tribes, communities, villages, religious denominations, and regions. Some of these methods have been practiced, tried, tested, and perfected since ancient times.
To the discerning eye, there is great potential in translating these learnings into transformative solutions to the issues facing the planet today. One only requires a willingness to immerse oneself in questions and conversations about development, identity, ecology, culture, and social justice.
THEMES:
Whole Systems Thinking | Environmental Economics | Green Architecture | Renewable Energy | Social Entrepreneurship
OUR METHODOLOGY
Our partners are inspiring individuals and organisations from across India whose outstanding work with local communities spans decades. They have worked extensively on developing locally appropriate alternatives to ecological & social issues. Using purpose-specific modules and time with these expert innovators who have forged their own solutions, the INDIA IMMERSION PROGRAM will provide experiences that allow participating students to:
ACCESS
local communities, organisations, India’s most experienced thinkers, and the most creative and impactful solutions on environment and society
ABSORB
and build nuanced perspectives through hands-on work with communities, and incisive sessions with thinkers and change-makers
ALTER
thinking and behavioural patterns through seeing these solutions in action and creating new ones to fit their context
Our partners, who have chosen us as much as we have chosen them, practice ethical, responsible, and sustainable models. Their expertise has enriched the overall cultural exchange and given us new perspectives into how individual and community needs can be woven together into an integrated whole. An immersive understanding and deeper insights into ecology and the wisdom of local communities is just the beginning…
OUR TEAM
Over the last 10 years, our eclectic team of interdisciplinary professionals has continued to deliver experiences that have transformed participants’ mindsets, opened them up to new ways of being and doing, and reconnected them with alternative ways of life that offer the solutions that we vitally need today…
“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.”
~ Alan Keightley
