July 25, 2017The First Excursion (H.D. Kote, India)

We have made it back to Fireflies from our first excursion — three days spent among tribal villages in the picturesque H.D. Kote. The transition to our temporary home at Blue Waters was made easy by days packed with meeting trailblazing women’s groups and nights spent laying on the roof admiring the milky way.

The primary focus of the trip was to interact with the marginalized tribal communities who had been forced to evacuate their land in the Nagarhole Forest and to gain an understanding for the struggles they face. At Thimmanahesahalli, we got a tour of the village herb garden, which they utilize to make all of their own shampoos, medicines, and salves. Deeper in the forest, the Jenu Kurubas showed us what real, pure honey is supposed to taste like. The women’s group at M.G. Halli taught us a tribal song and dance, and the Dalit women’s farmers group of N. Belathuru showed off their keen eye for differentiating between different types of edible weeds, or uncultivated greens, which we later got to cook into a super healthy green curry.

In addition to the irreplicable experience of being welcomed into these tribal women’s daily lives, the most memorable time spent in H.D. Kote was with the kids. Countless hours passed with three different groups of children, all facing the same conflict of staying in school versus dropping out to help provide for their families. From spontaneous Bollywood dance parties to an intense game of dodge ball that will put your middle school memories to shame, I can honestly say I’ve never felt more simultaneously exhausted and exhilarated – nor have I ever gotten that much exercise.

If you’ve forgotten what it is like to feel like a kid again, all you need is a day spent with the liveliest children I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. To find out more about the realities of India is to, well, come to India.

– GIanna Limeri (’18), Psychology major / Criminology minor

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