Article
Elke Cole's India Report
January 2004

Come with me in your imagination, to where the air is soft, the sun shines bright and hot, a warm wind blows from the surrounding hills. Tight village roads wind around brightly colored houses, voices in the courtyards, someone is pumping water at the village well. A small group of men gather at the coffee stand, next to the vegetable stand. The smell of food mixes with the aroma of the jasmine flowers in my hair. Women in colorful saris are threshing bean bushes out in the street. Children call "How are you?" and run away giggling.

Welcome to Tamil Nadu, South India- Kaniyambadi to be precise. This is the village Dr. Ramu Mannivannan chose for another Buddha Smiles school project. In late-December, 2003, a group of 15 or so curious travelers form around the globe gathered here for the first Natural Building workshop. In four weeks we dug, laid stone, made mud bricks, cob and wattle and daub, built arches and shelves. We worked side by side with the local crew led by Selvam. They showed us efficiency and how to work with the local tools like the
‘mumpty,’ which we all grew to appreciate.

Our days began with yoga and meditation, followed by coffee and tea. Food is always an important part of every good program. We were served delicious local food and sometimes had opportunities to help out in the kitchen. After the mid-day meal everyone rested in the shade until the bell called us for talk time- presentations on Natural Building topics or discussions and brainstorm sessions requested by the group. Tea arrived just after the milkman delivered another jug of fresh milk, and then we went back to work on the site until sunset.

During the months of December and January several holidays take place. ‘Pongal’ is the most important Harvest Festival in mid-January. Music from the temples carries through the darkness at 4am every morning. We watched the women create elaborate ‘kolams’ (symbols of abundance and fertility made with colored chalk) in front of their homes, witnessed the first rice ceremony and watched the bull races in the village. On days off people visited nearby temple sites, went for hikes into the hills, or spent a day in Vellore to take care of e-mail and shopping.

The four weeks of the program went by quickly. We were just beginning to pick up bits of the Tamil language, were comfortable taking buses and auto-rickshaws where we needed to go, had established relationships with local shopkeepers and learned that you always have time for a cup of tea. Then it was time to exchange addresses, figure out train schedules, and make plans for the next part of our individual journeys. I intend to be back in Kaniyambadi for the next program of Buddha Smiles. Why don't you join in too?

Elke Cole was one of the lead instructors for the 4-week India Camp with Buddha Smiles. She is a Kleiwerks Collaborator who mainly lives and works in British Columbia, Canada. Elke is co-founder of Cobworks. To find out more about her work visit www.cobworks.com or email her at elke@cobworks.com.

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