Page 143 - Secondary School BEATS

Our camp to Mukteshwar was an
unforgettable experience! What seemed
like a rather arduous 3-hour ride to
Ecoventure's central site was instead
brimming with studentsand their
enthusiastic laughter. The long bus ride did
not seem so difficult to endure because of
all the Bollywood songs and games like
Atlas. The organizers had planned several
activities that presented themselves as
opportunities for self-growth and
community involvement. Although, our first
activity, a visit to the local village, was an
absolute favourite, the others were just as
engaging. Students were divided into
random groups of 5, so every third person
was someone new to converse with! After a
mountain trail that took our breath away,
we visited individual houses aiming to learn
and analyse solutions for socioeconomic
issues prevalent in rural-Mukteshwar. Water
scarcity due to lack of facilities to transport
and consume fresh water was one of the
first problems we examined. Here, students
presented solutions through their research
on rainwater harvesting and water sowing,
under the guidance of our teachers. To get
more hands-on experience, we visited wells
(which had a very interesting pulley system
that allowed access to cool-filtered water)
within the mountains. We tapped into our
cooking abilities by creating fresh 'Rotis'
and 'Aloo-ki-subji' on the conventional mud
stoves, learning how Bernoulli's principle
prevents the production of smoke and
carbon monoxide in the houses. Lastly, we
ended our interaction with the friendly
locals by sowing seeds together. The shining
sun and cool wind perhaps were the
loveliest cherries on top. Although this was
the last school camp for DP2, I'm certain
each of us holds the experience as a special
memory for delight and growth.

By Alisha Das Anat (DP 2)

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