New Projects and Areas of Expansion in India

Over the last year, the Himalayan Institute’s work in India has been growing rapidly. Yoga+, the institute’s magazine, will be launched in India this spring, to coincide with a 6-city tour and lectures from Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. The humanitarian projects at the Tibetan Settlements in South India are expanding to include three more settlements. In addition, a 15 acre piece of land was acquired at Khajuraho in the forested foothills of the Vindhya Mountains, which will house a large retreat center.

The Lakshmana Temple at Khajuraho.

To accommodate all of this new growth, a new administrative office has been set up in Delhi. Centrally located, this office will oversee the humanitarian projects in South India, the retreat center in Allahabad, and the construction of the new retreat center in Khajuraho. The office will also manage the India branch of the Himalayan Institute Press, which will help to bring the institute’s books and magazine to India.

Breaking Ground in Jonotla, Mexico

After having arrived in Jonotla only one week before, the Himalayan Institute Mexico (HIM) start up team has successfully acquired a plot of land on which to begin its Energy Farming project. The one acre plot is only a twenty minute walk from the center of town, on a wedge of land between two roads. It is accessible by foot, car and horse, and its position in the midst of farmland makes it an optimal location for demonstrating sustainable agriculture techniques and hosting workshops for the local community.

The three rooms in this workshop will serve as the HIM community center with offices, classroom for educational seminars, and storage facility. It is less than 100 yards from the demonstration plot.

The Energy Farming demonstration plot was pure jungle when the HIM acquired it; it hadn’t been cultivated in over 15 years, so great trees, vines, shrubs, and a number of coffee bushes gone wild dominated the property. This long period of rest is an excellent starting point for the organic Energy Farming work, since it indicates a rich, stable soil that has been protected from erosion and free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Workers cut a path through the jungle in order to measure the perimeter.

After receiving a walking tour of the land, a local farmer was hired to organize a team to help with the site preparation including removal and mulching of shrubs and weedy underbrush.

The land was prepared by a team of men using only hand tools. Even large tree branches were pruned with machetes.

In order to maintain the land’s natural integrity and to keep it protected, a 4 meter buffer zone of uncut forest was preserved around the perimeter of the land. Large trees, traditional medicinal plants, and some of the coffee bushes were left standing. The plant debris will serve to enrich the plot, with branches pruned from the trees becoming fenceposts and terracing supports, and leaves and shrubs serving as the foundation for the first compost piles.

After cutting down the brush, workers were instructed to leave the cuttings scattered across the land. This will prevent weeds from spring up and will act as a first layer of compost. Like all other cultivated land in the area, the farm is on a slope.

In the course of exploring and clearing the land with local farmers, HIM staff quickly began to collect information on the traditional uses for native plants and trees. The farmers expressed an interest in learning more specific techniques for sustainable cultivation, as well as the desire to exchange knowledge from the different herbal healing traditions of Mexico, India and the United States.

Señor Leonardo Vasquez describes how the root of a local plant is used to treat snake bites.

Mahua Trees in Allahabad, India

The Himalayan Institute campus in Allahabad, India has been used to test different techniques and crops for the Energy Farming program since 2006 when the first pongamia trees were planted on its land. The most recent addition to the Allahabad campus is the Mahua tree (Madhuca longifolia). Widely found throughout North India, Mahua is a mainstay of rural and tribal livelihood and is used for its fruit, flowers, and wood. Additionally, the tree gives oilseeds which can be used as cooking oil, lamp oil, or for biofuels.

The seeds of the Mahua are pressed for oil and what is left over—the seed cake—is used for fertilizer.

The tree is so useful that the tribal people of India consider it to be sacred. The flowers of the Mahua are exceptionally sweet, and are thus a high quality source of sugar for honey bees and for making a traditional alcohol that is used in ritual ceremonies. This alcohol could also be used as a bio-ethanol, another source of biofuel.

A fully grown Mahua.

Benefits of the Mahua Tree

Erosion Control	Mahua has a large, spreading superficial root system that holds soil together.
Shade & Shelter	The wide spreading crown provides shade for animals.
Reclamation	Mahua is planted on wasteland with hard lateritic soils in India.
Soil Improver	The seed cake has been used as fertilizer.
Barrier Support	It is planted along the boundaries of fields.
Intercropping	Mahua can be raised alongside agricultural crops.

(From www.worldagroforestrycentre.org)

Its wide array of uses makes the Mahua tree an excellent addition to the Energy Farming program.

HI Mexico Takes Off

In December 2009, Humanitarian Projects Manager Jeff Abella and Project Coordinator Cheryl Malkoun traveled to Mexico and secured office space in metropolitan Puebla and farmland in the rural mountain town of Jonotla. This trip was a culmination of two years’ worth of scouting trips and meetings with local officials and cooperatives. Now Himalayan Institute Mexico is a reality.

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Jonotla, which is located in coffee growing country approximately two hours from Puebla, serves as home of the first community center project in Mexico—a 2.5 acre Energy Farming demonstration site. This land, which is being planted with a variety of medicinal herbs, trees and food crops, will be used as a sustainable agriculture training school for local farmers. It is the first step toward a larger Energy Farming effort to promote organic farming techniques, market linkage, and affordable healthcare, while supporting Mexico’s rich tradition of herbal medicine.

Staff members of the Himalayan Institute Humanitarian Department Ishan Tigunait (third from right) and Jeff Abella (far right) visiting a nursery in Jonotla where the biofuel tree Jatropha is being grown.

Ishan and Cheryl meet with a group of local herbalists.

Breakfast with the mayor of Jonotla.

The Puebla office is in the heart of one of Mexico’s largest and oldest colonial cities. Already, staff at HI Mexico are working toward making HI Mexico-Puebla the homebase for hosting eco-excursions and yoga retreats for Himalayan Institute members around the world. It will also be a center point for nurturing the budding yoga scene in the city of Puebla.

Downtown Puebla is known for its architecture. This square has been decorated for the holidays.

Building on the experiences of the now well-established community centers in India and Africa, Himalayan Institute Mexico is at the start of a swiftly moving project that will benefit local and global community members.

2009 Major Activities and Timeline

2009 was an exciting and very busy year for the Himalayan Institute Humanitarian Initiatives. Here is a timeline of major events:

HI Cameroon, HI & Tibetan Partnership, HI India, HI Mexico

January	In depth planning trip to Rabgayling Tibetan Settlement in South India to begin Energy Farming program.
February	HI Cameroon launches new Total Health branch center in Mbveh. Read more.
	HI India campus in Allahabad hosts 100 guests from around the world as part of the Kamakhya spiritual excursion.
March	Energy Farming program launches at Rabgayling Tibetan settlement. A model Pongamia nursery with 8000 seedlings and a 20-acre demonstration farm are established. Read more.
April	HI Cameroon launches new Total Health branch center in Jakiri. Read more.
May	Total Health Mobile Unit launches, reaching hundreds of villages in surrounding region. Read more.
	New Vision reading glasses program launches, bringing affordable reading glasses to the people of Kumbo, Cameroon. Read more.
	HI delegation has private audience with HH Dalai Lama at NYC Town Hall in celebration of 50th anniversary of Tibetan Exile.
	HI team visits Puebla, Mexico to begin preparations for brining the Institute’s humanitarian projects to Mexico.
June	HI Cameroon launches two community well projects the Northwest region of Cameroon. Read more.
	Center for Carpentry & Construction launches first training program in woodworking and furniture making. Read more.
	HI Buffalo 30th anniversary celebration.
	Pandit Rajmani Tigunait goes on a weeklong lecture tour in Japan.
July	HI India secures a new, 14-acre campus near the sacred shrine of Khajuraho in Central India, which will be developed into an educational retreat center.
	Spirituality in Action Conference is hosted in Honesdale, PA with delegates from around the world.
August	HI India annually sponsers village schools and provides scholarships.
September	HI Cameroon’s annual scholarship program awards scholarships to 42 students. Read more.
October	Construction begins on Kumbo Public Library. The library is slated to open by the end of 2009. Read more.
	HI Cameroon Sacred Link Jewelry Program goes mobile and launches its first mobile jewelry training course to over 30 women in Bamenda Cameroon.
	Pandit Rajmani Tigunait goes on a weeklong lecture tour and humanitarian scouting trip in Brazil.
November	HI team returns onsite to expand Energy Farming project to 3 neighboring Tibetan settlements in South India.
December	HI Mexico branch center officially established; HI team in Mexico to begin Energy Farming programs.

Without the support of donors like you, these projects would not be possible. Thank you!