While searching through some old RIDE documents I came across this wonderful article proposal sent to National Geographic by Stan Klein. Not sure if it was ever published (?), but thought it was well worth sharing so here it is. Stan and his wife played an integral part in the launch of RIDE Eco Tours, of getting RIDE into the Lonely Planet guide and in creating links with partner organisations like Semester at Sea (who bring groups to RIDE twice a year). For this we are eternally grateful to them.
TO: National Geographic Traveler
FROM: Stan Klein
RE: Proposed Article on Eco-Tourism, Kanchipuram, India
The words Adventure Travel usually bring to mind white water rafting, elephant rides or helicopter skiing. But we recently found another kind of Adventurous Travel that is perhaps more exciting and sounded like it would be better suited for my wife and I who are avid travelers but happen to be retired.
We wanted to return to India for a fourth time in twelve years, but were looking for something a little different than camel rides and Pink Cities, as nice as they may be. My wife Marcia came across a web site from a Non-Government Organization (NGO) that sounded interesting. The NGO, Rural Institute for Development Education, offered us an opportunity to get an up close and personal look at an Indian village in the state of Tamil Nadu where virtually every house is involved in the silk weaving and sari making industry.
The agency is not, per se, in the tour business, but they found so many tourists interested in what they were doing they decided to provide eco-tours to individuals and groups. Kanchipuram is the silk weaving/sari making capital of India, with most of these saris being produced in the villages.
Early on the tour we found ourselves in a very basic house with a roof thatched of palm leaves watching a man weave an intricate and beautiful silk sari on a hand loom that was hundreds of years old. The contrast between this exquisite sari and the rather rickety old loom in this primitive house boggled our minds. This weaver still had an eight year-old child working under the loom.
Our guide explained later, that many of these children in slavery were also pressed into other work like cleaning and kitchen chores and were often mistreated. In 1999 there were 40,000 children in slavery in Kanchipuram. Today, there are 4,000. RIDE’s mission is to end child slavery in the mills and in the stone quarries, and to work with women to make them more self sustaining.
Our plan was to spend one night at this NGO’s guest house, see the weavers at work, visit a Bridge School and one or two of the more remote temples not often seen by tourists as they are small and in outlying villages. But we got caught up in this special view of Indian life and in the work NGOs are doing to improve the quality of life here.
There was a coordinators meeting that afternoon which we were invited to attend if we wished. An important aspect of the Women’s Empowerment Program is micro-financing. Briefly, a village coordinator forms a group of up to 20 women to save money together and make small loans to individuals for starting a small business. The equivalent of $20. US can start a small tea stand or a cart to sell bangles in the market. The success of this program, started by the Grameen Bank, is that everyone in the group is solely and jointly responsible for each loan. If a woman is late on a payment, she has 19 of her peers at her door looking for a payment.
Again, we were suddenly immerged in a village activity. Not a show put on by the elders for the benefit of tourists. The enthusiasm and excitement generated by these women made it evident that this was a life changing activity for them that made them feel self empowered and important. Our guides on this tour included the Director, Jeyaraj, and some of the coordinators who speak English.
Kanchipuram is the second most holy city in India with many interesting temples to visit. RIDE includes some famous but not often visited temples as part its tours
The stories we heard as we moved through the village were priceless. One lovely young woman we passed had been told by her mother in law shortly after her marriage that the old man next door fancied her and she was to go and spend the night with him. When she ran to her husband for protection, he told her she must do what his mother says. She was so distraught she swallowed rat poison. One of the RIDE women went to Jeyaraj who ran to the house with his wife, got the young bride to a hospital and afterwards placed her in the home of one of its coordinators. Today she works as a coordinator herself and lives a meaningful life helping herself and other women of her village.
We stayed with RIDE for three more days, eating our meals with Jeyaraj and his family and being a part of the daily life here with its endless stories and events which we would like to share with NGT readers. We had spent several months in India prior to this visit, but this was really “A day in the life!”
This program provided us with one of the best travel experiences we have ever had. It beats the heck out of bungee-jumping!ROMAR TRAVELER ROMAR TRAVELER
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