Global challenges, local solutions

Neha Kirpal

Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink.” These oft-repeated lines from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner hold true in these times more than they ever did. Water is scarce, and not just in the third world. Its repercussions are being experienced across the globe. This is what a group of 25 young high school students — 20 from the US and five from rural and tribal communities in India — found out while travelling through Delhi, Agra and Ladakh in a unique ‘learning through travel’ programme recently. The programme, spread out over three weeks in July, aimed to make potential future leaders socially, culturally and responsibly global citizens.

Leadership collective 360Plus, theatre group Junoon and travel services provider Voygr brought together the teenagers from more than 15 diverse geographies and demographics. The theme for the year was climate change, its affects and global challenges. This was the first year that Indian students participated along with students from the US.

The group first embarked upon heritage walks around old Delhi. During the old Delhi tour, they were taken to the fascinating Ugrasen ki Baoli. A step well that is used to hold water for villagers, the baoli has been around for about six centuries. Fascinated by the structure, Daviontea Bass, a student from Chicago, did a little research for herself and shared it with us. “Baolis were made around the country in hotter places because people needed a cool place to chill, swim, sleep and eat,” she observed and was surprised that they were still functioning.

There were the usual tourist spots too, but not without that twist of education. Take the trip to Taj Mahal, for instance. Farhan Mashud, a student from New York, was fascinated to discover the importance of water in building and maintaining the structure of the historic monument. “It was interesting to know that the monument was built on wells that contained water and were filled with wood. This is said to have increased the life of the wooden foundation,” he said.

Two artist facilitators travelled throughout with the students and took them through art processes and workshops that stimulate enquiry, reflection, exploration, perspective and expression. Sanjna Kapoor, co-founder Junoon, said, “To get a chance to work with this group of youngsters and artists together to explore the implications of climate change in our lives is a beautiful way of creating learning opportunities.”

While they had heard about how climate change is directly affecting Ladakh in a session on climate change with environmental activist Dr Vandana Shiva, it was only after a visit there that they realised what it meant. Ladakh, with decreasing snowfall, melting glaciers and prolonged summers, is one of the frontiers of the climate change debate.

After acclimatising to the altitude, the group got to spend some time at the eco-friendly Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) campus. Located on the banks of Indus river, the mountainous Hemis National Park in the background and a clear night sky, it made for the perfect place to live in the midst of nature. Here, students from the Leadership Collective gave talks, presentations and English conversation classes to local students.

The group noticed that the river was swollen by seasonal snowmelt and its chocolate colour was indicative of pollution. However, when the students tested a water sample from the river, it was negative for nitrites, nitrates and had healthy levels of iron and hardness. It was refreshing to see that even though access to water is rapidly changing in the region, the river continues to remain relatively pristine.

Through the three-and-half week journey, the group experienced bonding, learning and contemplating together on themes that impact the world. From changing spring sources in rural California, seminars about green economics in San Francisco, the drying of the Agressan ki Baoli in Delhi and the staining of the Taj Mahal in Agra, the students were able to see the connections… and maybe find some answers too.