blog#7, 3 December (team 3) – by Stefan Holtland (Windesheim University of Applied Sciences)
After a cold night sleep at the CEE (Central for Environmental Education) Halvad, the group woke up at 08:00AM. This was the first time we saw the place in daylight because we arrived at nighttime.
A sub district with A comfortable 28 degrees blue sky, bright sun and a surface covered in golden sand. A peaceful place located 150km in western direction from Ahmedabad, without noticeable forms of environmental pollution. We had breakfast. Tea, Cookies, butter and bread. The perfect kick-off meal for gathering information about the Water Resource Management case.
At 10:00 we gathered with Ayub of CEE Halvad to discuss the problems in the area. We gave him our questions and concerns. The communication was done by two group members since they were the only one to speak Guajarati. They translated the conversation to the Dutch members in perfect English.
13:00PM. Lunchtime. Bijoy took us to a comfortable restaurant in the village. ‘ I am really enjoying the Indian food. Eating with hands (right hand of course), smell, taste, colors. I even tried the local spicy sauce which would be too hot for me since I am used to eat Dutch potatoes. Again a delicious meal’.
14:00PM. Time to do some field exploring. We visited many farms, most of the using outdated forms of aggregation(flood aggregation). Water is salty and it is decreasing land fertility. They are less aware about mix cropping and land fertility, But some of them are willing to apply new technology in agriculture. They say that their current method of flood aggregation works. Drilled water pits with a depth of 600ft provide the land with ground water. We, as a group containing students and young professionals with different backgrounds know that this form of aggregation is not going to last. They need innovative, out of the box solutions for the problems that they will face in the upcoming years. Most farmers don’t realize these problems. Today and tomorrow is on their mind, not next year. We are eager to help with providing long-term solutions to create an environmental awareness in an efficient manor to preserve their lifestyle for the coming years.
20:00PM. Dinner was served which resulted in a good night sleep underneath the sky, filled with stars above Halvad. It was a good day.
