My Kinwat Report

I came to Kinwat in August 2009. Kinwat is a Taluk town of Nanded district in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. At Nanded town my parents stay. I wanted to be away from my parents but not too far. My mains aims in my life at that time were:
1. To work for communal harmony
2. To work in the area of alternative energy, and
3. To work in organic farming.
I discussed this with my friend Viju and we decided on the following plan:
1. To move to a taluk town in Nanded district
2. To live in a Muslim locality and work with children
3. To use solar cooker and other alternative fuel chulhas and market them,
4. To do some vegetable gardening in the courtyard of the house I live.
I must mention here that since I am an albino, I cannot work for long hours in the sun. It was one of the factors why we chose a city and not an organic farm in rural areas.
This report covers my stay at Kinwat for nearly two years. At the beginning I must say, looking back, I have got far more success in my plans than I could have visualized. Almost in every field I touched I got some success.
Stay in a Muslim locality
Since my house owner and my room partner both were Muslim, I got a good access in the community. I participated in various functions. In marriages and post marriage functions eating with them (including beef) made a good bond. Various activities with children in muhalla wiped away all misconceptions about the community.
I also went abroad to Palestine via Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Egypt. This trip was called Asia to Gaza and was organized by several groups from Indonesia and India. I was fortunate to be included in it. It was my first foreign trip and it made a big impression on me and I learnt a lot of things. I should write a long article about it but here I will mention only one incident. We visited Tehran University and the hosts explained our mission to the students. Later in an informal chat with one student I asked him who his role model was. He promptly replied, ’You!’ I was absolutely bowled over.
This widened my world view and gave me enormous confidence. It also exposed me to world politics, taught me about Islamophobia and it helped me to understand the stand point of strengthening the marginalized people socially and economically. If somebody had told me two years ago that I have a Hindu upper caste mentality I would not have understood. Today I know what it means. The trip to Palestine increased my prestige among the Muslim community and they regarded me as a very good friend. It also gave me a wide acceptance in the town.
Alternate energy
Using solar cooker, charcoal stove for cooking and using a bicycle played an important role in making an image. They gave a good earning too. Developing a cycle mixer/grinder was an achievement. It showed that ideas are worth practicable. We got an order to supply 119 charcoal cookers. This year we are getting an order to supply 400 cookers. While we are making some profits, the more important fact is that we are creating a demand and market for eco friendly products. The products are reaching villages around Kinwat town where there is real need.
Rain water harvesting
In this field we got an enormous response. We made rainwater harvest structure in 9 houses. We developed the entire technique ourselves by reading books and the internet. This gave us a lot of confidence. Since we got a good earning, all the friends got confidence that the ‘green’ jobs are possible. This year we are offered a contract to build some 60 structures for the agriculture department.
Kitchen garden
The idea of kitchen garden combines availability of fresh organic vegetables, urban waste management by composting the biodegradable waste. It took very long and much efforts to get a piece of household plot which is not in use for developing urban vegetable garden. But finally I got a very good one. Neighbors are helping in cleaning and fencing and we will get good start in this monsoon. This cooperation is also helping to rebuild the community through joint efforts. Meanwhile collection and circulation of local seeds of vegetables in small packets got good response in last year.
Interaction with a wide variety of communities and classes in the town
Due to my various activities and the trip to Gaza I earned the affection from a good number of people in almost every community of the town. I think this was the biggest achievement in the last two years.
My personal growth
Today all my caste/religious baggage is off. I can interact with members of any community on an equal basis. I am much more confidant in everything I do it now.
P. S.
Recently a kitten has adopted me and is teaching me how to rebuild communities by visiting the neighbours unannounced.