India
Before the Ganges
Why this trip?
The journey begins south of Ranchi, in the Jharkhand region, on the Chota Nagpur plateau. This is an area of India rarely included in standard tourist itineraries: an inland state of forests and mines, where the altitude maintains a more temperate climate compared to the Ganges plain.
It is a territory rich in natural resources, yet among the poorest in the country in terms of public services, where more than a quarter of the inhabitants belong to the Adivasi communities, a Sanskrit word meaning "the first inhabitants". People with a strong identity, who fight to keep their language, festivals and traditions alive.
The project
In Jareya we support the Nawa Maskal School, the "school of the new light": around eight hundred students distributed across twenty-two classes, coming from fifty surrounding villages.
Volunteers dedicate their time to the students, helping them with their homework and organising games after school. It is possible to collaborate with teachers in building a library, managing the school vegetable garden or working in the bakery. Healthcare professionals can help the school clinic during visits to nearby villages.
Walks through the villages and maintenance work on the spaces are another way to meet the local community.
Activities are adapted according to the time of year and the group of volunteers. Contact us for more information.
The itinerary
From Jareya, you depart at night on the train to Varanasi, which leaves Ranchi in the evening and arrives at the Ganges the following morning. You stay in Varanasi for two days, moving mainly on foot or by water: the first afternoon among the ghats and alleys, the evening at the Ganga Aarti, the sunset ceremony with candles on the river. The next day, you board a boat at dawn, when the city washes and prays.
The journey continues westward, among the great monuments of northern India: in Agra, the Taj Mahal at dawn and the fort, then Jaipur with the Amber Fort, the Hawa Mahal, and the evening bazaars. It concludes in Delhi for the flight back.
