The Experience
Travelers with Etose will:
- Gain deeper knowledge into India’s current socio-economic environment (history, culture, customs, politics, economy, etc.);
- Not only see the big-sights (mentioned in tourist guides) but also experience and gain a more insightful look into India’s traditions;
- Have the opportunity to learn and see the application of some of the most renowned and prized theories in the world of development;
- Experience an unusual cultural program (make your own arts and crafts, cook with villagers, work the field, ride on a bullock cart, fetch water from a well, stay with Indian families, visit the biggest (and “richest”) slum in the world, etc. ) and live a day in the life of your hosts;
- Have a first-hand experience of life in villages and how its inhabitants are creatively finding solutions for their development;
- Experience the genuine hospitality of rural people;
- Interact with different people to gain a new perspective of the world and deepen their understanding of humanity;
- Observe how the concept of gender is transforming Indian society and how women in rural areas are becoming successful entrepreneurs;
- Observe how innovative technology developed by our local partners is applied to rural settings;
- Witness the current social transformation that is taking place in India, a society in the past dominated and restricted by the caste system;
- Observe how very little money can go a long way in developing countries and how an extra dollar a day can make a difference to a family living under the poverty level;
- Learn how NGOs function to improve the life of rural habitants;
- Have an opportunity to give something back to the villages being visited (“participatory philanthropy”) and get periodic updates about your contribution via our regularly updated websites upon return;
- Support ecologically and socially sustainable rural development;
- Return home with not just photographs and memories but a more personal sense of gratification for having given back to the host country;
- Be able to donate time and skills; and
- Raise awareness and bring back information to their own communities to shed light on some of the issues faced in countries where the distribution of income is disparate.
If there is anything else you would wish to experience in India, and which is not already on the list, please let us know and we will try our best to organize it for you. You can read about the experiences participants’ had during our last trip at the blog or watch a video.