"It's so beautiful!"

If I had a rupee for every time I heard that phrase or said it myself this weekend, I could buy a delicious meal of naan and chicken tikka masala from Myx. We really enjoyed a very full weekend up in Ooty- a hill station a couple hours away.

At 5:45am on Thursday morning the batch was ready to load up the jeeps and head out. The mountain road is full of switchbacks, but at every turn you are rewarded by a view more beautiful than the last. Trees and sheer rock faces give way to the florescent green of carrot and potato fields and rows upon rows of tea.

The magnificent view!

  In the morning we visited an NGO called Freedom Firm which rescues and works with girls who are forced into prostitution in India. Check out: http://www.freedom.firm.in/ It was great to hear their stories, meet some of the girls, and even purchase some of their beautiful hand-made jewelry. Next we drove down the mountain on the other side to go to Mudumalai Tiger Reserve for our tiger safari! Driving into the reserve we spotted several wild elephants in the bush which was a complete surprise! Then we boarded the "invisible" camouflaged bus for the real safari… managed to see some rasam deer but not much else; maybe the bus wasn’t actually invisible after all! Afterward we saw the mahout’s or keepers feed their tame elephants which was pretty cool.

Elephant camp

Friday morning we headed out to our next destination: Avalanche camp! On the way the view became even more spectacular when we rounded a curve and saw a lake stretched out on the valley floor! We stopped to take some snaps, and then noticed that one of the jeeps had a flat tyre…which was fine because it meant we could explore the tea field right across the fence!

Wandering through a tea field

When the roads became too rough to pass, we were dropped off to hike the rest of the way to the camp- another 6 kilometers (almost 4 miles) up and down steep rocky and muddy and slippery terrain which was quite fun! Arrived in the beautiful campsite and spent the rest of the afternoon kayaking in the lake, sunning ourselves on the rocks, hiking to a waterfall and just enjoying the beautiful wilderness. That night after a wonderful time of singing around the campfire, we headed out on a night hike which was a little unnerving but incredible to see the brilliant night sky! We tried to get some sleep in our tents that night despite the cold mountain air.

Avalanche camp site

Saturday was another early morning- we said goodbye to the friends we had made at the campsite and the beautiful view and hiked the 6km back to our waiting jeeps. Back in Ooty we visited a tea factory where they showed and described the long process of sorting, drying, and grinding the tea- you can bet we all have more appreciation for each cup of chai we drink now! In the afternoon we had the privilege of visiting a Toda tribal village where they warmly welcomed us in. We learned more about their community, played with the kids, and admired their beautiful embroidery work.

Trying a cup of chai at the tea plantation

By the time we got back to our guest house in Ooty, we were all fried! That night we enjoyed a delicious dinner of pizza and donuts and then crashed by 9:00pm! Sunday was a free day with many options of things to do. Some students visited the Botanical garden, attended a church service of mostly ex-pats who live and work in India, or shopped along the streets of Ooty. Most everyone found their way to the chocolate shop that sells homemade chocolates in order to load up for the next few weeks before heading back down the mountain.

We arrived home tired and dirty but happy from our fun and full time in beautiful Ooty! Check out more photos on our Facebook page!

Ooty, Ooty, Ooty!

The Nilgiri Hills

There are many reasons that we love Ooty, but one of them is that we feel a little bit like we're walking through scenes from the Sound of Music when we're up there.

Ooty is one of India's several hill stations, towns established by the British as vacation homes in the mountains for the cooler temperatures. It almost felt like fall as we used blankets for the first time this semester and built a few bonfires to cozy up next to!

The hairpin turns might make you nervous, but the views are definitely worth it!

As picturesque as it is, Ooty has a lot more to offer than just its views. Our first stop was Freedom Firm, an organization dedicated to rescuing girls out of prostitution in India. Rodney, who works there, sat down to tell us about the process that their investigators go through to find and then rescue girls. They partner with local authorities and advocate for these girls in the courts, but beyond the policy side, Freedom Firm also work to rehabilitate these girls. In the Nilgiris, the organization provides basic classes, horse therapy and vocational training. The students were inspired and challenged by these girls' journeys and the unique problems that are encountered in doing this work in the Indian context.

At Freedom Firm learning about sex trafficking in India. 

The Ooty region is also famous for its wildlife sanctuary and reserves, so we took advantage of the opportunity to go on a safari ride through Mudumalai. We were eager to see what animals are running around in the mountains and were lucky enough to spot wild peacocks, gauer, deer and even several elephants! Students were also eager to see a tiger, but despite scouring the landscape from our jeep windows none were to be found. Maybe next time?

Monkey family in Mudumalai!

We then spent time at a tea estate where we saw the process of making tea from "pluck to cup". Our group had the opportunity to see how tea leaves are dried, rolled, oxidized and processed to produce the different grades and qualities of teas that we love to drink.

At the tea factory learning about how tea is made.

Then we were able to follow the process back to the plant and see how the tea workers pluck the leaves in the field. It was such an informative experience and our group came away from it with a different perspective on tea.

Students learning how to pluck tea.

We were also able to visit two tribes that live in the Nilgiri Hills - the Toda and the Kurumba tribes. Our group enjoyed mingling with them and had time and space to ask questions about their lives and customs. The experience caused our students to examine how the government interacts with people even the remote rural areas of India and gain an appreciation on their traditional way of life.

Kelly at the Toda village wearing a shawl with traditional embroidery. 

Other highlights from the weekend included teaching our BACAS staff the joys of s'mores, exploring the botanical garden, and enjoying the homemade chocolates that the town is famous for!

ISP and some of our wonderful BACAS staff. Enjoying the Nilgiris!

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Photos taken by Randy Cronk

Visit our facebook page to see a student re-creation of the monkey family above and for more photos!

In Pictures: Student Post:: Our Visit to a Tea Estate in the Nilgiris

The Chamraj factory, built under the British

This past Sunday, on our visit to the Nilgiris, we were fortunate enough to be able to tour the Chamraj Tea Factory and plantation. Lucy Maynard, one of our students, wrote up a paper on her field visit for her business class, and her research from our trip is in italics.

Kandyce holding a cup of tea

Our tour guide, Mr. Hendrickson, shared with us a history of the factory and plantation, we learned about the tea production process and the tea industry in south India. Chamraj is certified fair trade, and we were able to ask questions and hear about why fair trade works for those employed in the tea business all across South India.

The United Nilgiri Tea Estates Company is located in Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, at 7920 feet above sea level    

The Nilgiri Tea Company was established in 1922 under British rule, and in 1994 the factory was certified as a Fair Trade Tea Company. It was the first tea company in India to be approached for Fair Trade certification. One dollar per kilo of tea “comes back” to the workers of the Nilgiri Tea Company because of their Fair Trade classification and procedures.


We didn’t know until later in the tour that our group was incredibly fortunate to see the inside of the factory. They typically don’t allow tours, and because of the hard work and connections we have through our partner college, we got in!

The process of making tea at the Nilgiri Tea Company begins with the plucking or harvesting of the tea leaves. All of the moisture is then removed from the tea plants through a process called withering. The tea leaves are then rolled, and after this stage they are fermented, which is an oxidation process using controlled temperature and humidity. The tea leaves are then dried, packaged, and distributed. This type of manufacturing process is referred to as Orthodox, or standard manufacturing.

We got to see the entire process of making tea, from plucking the leaves in the estate in the back yard of the factory to the oxidizing and fermenting process to the sorting of the tea into different grades, from orange pekoe at the top of the ladder to the fannings and dust at the bottom.

Four varieties of Chamraj tea.

We got to see, smell and touch the tea in its various forms, and got to taste several cups throughout our visit!

Alyssa making some purchases in the tea shop.

The Nilgiri Tea Company guarantees fixed and equal wages for both men and women, and it was the first company to offer a pension scheme to its employees that provided employees with ten years of pension pay without the employees having to contribute any money directly to it themselves. This company facilitates and funds an orphanage, hospital, and public school for its employees and their families and the surrounding and greater community as a whole. The Nilgiri Tea Company is an example of social entrepreneurship.

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Thanks for reading on our trip to the Nilgiris! We're off to Chennai this weekend, so you can look forward to hearing about our trip to the capital of Tamil Nadu next week.


For more information on Nilgiri tea, click here.

For more information on fair trade, click here.

In Pictures: Toda and Kurumba Tribal Village

Walking out to the temple in the hills

This past weekend on our trip to the hills, we were able to visit several different tribal villages in the Nilgiri mountains. Our first visit was to a Toda village, where we learned about the Toda’s reverence for the buffalo, whose milk provided sustenance (and could be made into ghee, a staple of Indian cooking as well as daily and spiritual life!)

Todas are a hill tribe and live in the beautiful, green Nilgiris.

Looking at the Toda temple and asking questions of our Toda tour guide.

Buffalo milk products were used as currency, in exchange for grains, tools and medical services.

Another Toda temple. This one has buffalo horns painted on the door.

Our Toda tour guide shared a little bit about the Toda’s worship of nature with us as well as some of the rituals surrounding their temples. Anyone can choose to become and be a priest in the Toda’s religious tradition. Though considered Hindu, the Toda’s religion is uniquely different from a traditional understanding of Hinduism.

Embroidery

Toda women are famous for their intricate, beautiful embroidery, typically done on white cotton fabric using black and red woolen threads. Historically, the women only made shawls to keep warm in the chilly Niligri climate. Now, through partnership with various para-church organizations and non-governmental organizations, the women embroider bags, placemats, table runners and wall hangings as both a way to preserve their culture and earn some income.

A Toda woman working on embroidery. The designs are always geometric and always inspired by nature.

Sunday, we visited a Kurumba village on the border of Tamil Nadu and the neighboring state of Kerala. The Kurumba people traditionally live in thick forests.

Asking questions of the elder

While with the Kurumbas, we asked questions about culture, traditions and religion of one of the village elders, who told us he was at least sixty years old, but probably older, though he couldn’t say for sure!

The village elder we spoke with

Some of the women in the village then taught members of our group some of their traditional dance steps while three men formed a small band of two drums and a wooden horn and played for us.

A drummer drums while another elder looks on

Being informed that the villagers would like to teach our group a few dance steps

Dancing with the women of the village

We then shared loaves of bread and jam with the villagers and learned a few words in their language, which is a mixture of both Malayalam, the language of the state of Kerala, and Kannada, the language of the state of Karnataka.

Jake gettin' down with his bad self

Looks a little like the hokey pokey, no?

Celiz, Becky and Jamie laugh as they stumble over words in the Kurumba language

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To see more photos of our weekend trip, visit our Facebook album here.

In Sum: Weekend in the Nilgiris!

Our trip to Ooty and the surrounding Nilgiri Mountains this past weekend was fun, refreshing and an adventure on numerous counts. Leaving from our apartments at 6 am, we hopped in several Jeeps and made our way up into the beautiful, green hills.

Beautiful green hills!

We stopped in Ooty just for breakfast and a quick visit to a Toda tribal village, where we were able to see several Toda temples and ask some questions about the Toda’s religion and culture.

Toda village in the Nilgiris

We then continued back down the mountain to the wildlife and tiger reserve at Mudhumalai, and our students had incredibly high hopes for an opportunity to ride an elephant! We went to a camp for elephants at the reserve and watched the elephants there being fed, and saw lots of monkeys, warthogs and a few elephants.

ISPeas on safari!

Sunday, we visited a tea estate and another village of tribal people, this group belonging to the Kurumba tribe. We asked questions, observed (and participated in!) a traditional dance and shared a snack of bread and jam with them before hopping back into the Jeeps and venturing back down the mountain to Coimbatore.

Some of the members of our group listening to our tour guide at the tea estate

This week, we’ll post more in detail about the tea plantation, our experiences in the tribal villages and our wildlife safari. Stay tuned!

Elephant!