First I will give you a little background of C.O.R.D, (Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development) the place I am doing the internship. The department of CORD I am working for is located in the state of Himachal Pradesh near the small village of Sidhbari, at the foothills of the Himalayas. CORD is a Indian based organization that works with rural communties to help empower them, and gives them the tools and resources to sustain livelihoods. They also do a lot of work with women helping them to build the confidence and skills needed to empower them to escape dependancy. CORD is great because it works in a participartory manner, meaning they do not do the work for the communities, they educate them, and give them the resources needed so they are able to continue on their own. The CORD vision is « To harness human resources and enable the poor to transform their lives through programmes driven by themselves »That is just a little background, if you want to know more you should check out www.chinmayamission.com/cord.php. I will be working in the farming sector of the organization.

The flight was overwhelmingly long, but bareable. I have been through and seen some interesting things in my short time here, I will quickly list some of them they do not need any expaination.
1) Cab ride from Dharmshala to C.O.R.D center I was taking wonderful photos of the people and scenes, when I was unpacking shortly after getting out of the taxi I realized my camera was gone. The only place it could possibly be was on the front seat of the taxi. The next day I went and asked the driver (he is in a taxi union run by the airport) he denied ever seeing it. The authority at CORD insisted I file a police report, so I did, we will see what happens there.
2) Saw a monk in a small village who had an Iphone !?!?
3) Attended the Hindu ceremony of Pooja which will continue on for 9 days, it is held twice a day. (We conduct this each day at the CORD center)
4)First a pigeon was locked in my bathroom, and that night I heard banging from inside the bathroom. I decided it was a crazy monkey, since there are only two of us staying here and it was neither of us. I must say I was freaked out. Crazy monkeys.
5) Yesterday I visited a tiny village that was on a beaten path, literally. The village was tucked away behind fields with a small walking path through the fields as the entrance. I was there with a CORD worker talking with some villagers who have formed a group with the help of CORD and in are the process of getting a loan to better their farms. CORD has helped to mobilize these farmers to form groups to strengthen their voice, this includes both men and women. (This was interesting because many of these people have never seen a foreigner, and I don’t speak Hindi of course.) Oh and on this trip my water bottle leaked in my purse to ruin my cell phone – yes I realize I have the worst of luck with electronics.
6) They have rural women making clothes here at the center, so all my clothing has been custom made. (I am wearing the traditional Indian clothing called salwar kameez) I got to choose the cuts and the fabrics, and get it fit to my body. I have never had anything custom before so I am really excited about this.

The people are wonderful here, the food is great, and best of all they eat with their hands which I love doing!

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