Done and Done

Well, today is our last day in Bodhgaya and we are now certified Permaculture Design..."practitioners"?  The course was great and we learned so much on so many levels.  The last week we had practicals and we were to do a design.  Ben and I were on separate teams and it was a good opportunity to explore different areas of permaculture and the needs of Bodhgaya.  His was based on an existing farm, and mine was on a street in an urban setting.  My team was to design ways to deal with water catchment; utilizing existing resources; growing food in urban settings; community building; business development; composting; waste management; black water treatment; grey water usage; beautifying; pest control..quite a few others as well.  It was a real life situation and we had a small group of local clients.  It was a ton of work in a short time but the results were well worth it!  We presented yesterday and our clients came to the presentation.  One of our classmates runs an environmental NGO here and plans to help this group implement the design.  Very exciting!!  

So, we leave tomorrow to head up to Dharamsala..the home of the Dalai Llama and the heart of Tibetan culture.  It is where the Tibetans have set up home after leaving their invaded land up north.  Its cool, mountainous, and allegedly clean, with fresh air....  I cannot pretend that we are not thrilled.  It's  been very challenging to be here...and it's been perfect.  Permaculture  is not just about waste management, sustainable agriculture and technology.  It's about natural healing; holistic nutrition; sanitation; a better way of life, living in balance with mother nature... Bodhgaya, existing in the poorest state in India;  the third hottest town on Earth; trying to support a high level of traffic due to tourism... REALLY needs these kinds of designs.  It couldn't have been in a better place in terms of Permaculture... And it's been a great opportunity to experience the needs of those who are suffering on our planet.   .....  And we are ready to go.  

Bens Giardia came back full force and he had to go back on antibiotics.  Not just the same ones as before, but also Cipro which is the big daddy of antibiotics and kills everything in the body.  A very intense, last resort medicine.  A day or two after starting them he was pretty run down as his system adjusted to a high dose of medicine.  Today is his last day, and we have our fingers crossed (toes, arms, legs and eyes too), that it doesn't come back when he stops taking them tomorrow.   

We have about a 40 hour trip up north... A 15 hour train ride will get us to a 3 hour layover in Delhi which is cutting it VERY close as the trains tend be late, and we have to travel to another train station in traffic...again...crossing our limbs.  Then a 10 hour train ride north, to a five hour train, to taxis....

I will write again from the North, when we are recovering in the Himalayan mountains, breathing fresh air...