Thursday, April 14, 2011

Change to Change: Mugu Camp, Summer'11

Change to Change: Mugu Camp, Summer'11


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STATUTORY WARNING:

This trip might seriously challenge the way of life you were living and your perspectives towards the world! You will be submerged in discomfort and lack of luxury. It involves tedious length of thoughts,self-reflection and community interaction.

   
 SUMMARY  OF “CHANGE TO CHANGE”

Change to Change is a month long educational program for youth from diverse backgrounds. Youth go on trips for social change and as messengers of peace, sustainability and development. Traveling extensively in remote places, meeting communities, working with social ventures, learning developmental issues and most importantly spreading the message of peace, sustainability and development; these youth return with stories of social change, and the program enables them to use these stories to inspire a larger community.  The program revolves around a month long trip, which is designed to make the participants (Change Fellows) question themselves and their existing beliefs. It is an opportunity to see, feel and know Nepal. With the number of young people leaving Nepal in apprehension, frustration, lack of social freedom and an assumption that there is a better world outside. Change to Change gives youth an opportunity to experience what they have got and to realize what they can do. It is an opportunity to redefine goals, precipitations and attitude.  Change to Change aspires to inspire the youth to experience Nepal and ultimately realize that there’s a “better world inside”.  

SUTRA - the formula: We believe travel is one of the best learning experiences and self-discovery available for young people.

VALUES: The values we actively promote and admire in fellows are:
     
        Respect for cultural and political Diversity 
        Responsibility towards democracy, peace and the environment
        Yes-I-Can attitude, and an attitude to help other succeed
        Respect for labor
        Readiness to add a drop to any novel cause 

METHODOLOGY 

The program can be divided into four phases:

1. Pre-Trip Orientation
This will serve as a platform for all selected Fellows to meet and interact with each other. This process is meant to enable Fellows to have a structured perspective of the program, the trip and its objectives. Travel orientation which includes travel safety, interacting with community, becoming community sensitive, travel health and first aid, emergency response and rescue, area information, travel documentation, expectation, roles and responsibility among others.
     
2. The Change Trip During the trip, fellows are expected to
   
       Travel extensively in and around the mapped area. The Team Leader will facilitate the travel. 
       Strike conversations with community and change makers 
       Be an activist by working on projects allotted 
       Collect interesting and inspirational stories
  
A TYPICAL DAY will include:   

6:00 – 6:30         Wake up and get ready
6:30 – 7:00         Morning Circle (includes day briefing)
7:00 – 8:00         Breakfast (help preparation even if in residing in home stays), morning chores if camping
8:00 – 5:00         Projects1 and/or recreational visits and/or travel and/or self discovery (projects1 will include working with the farmers in the field, to helping build community infrastructure, to providing education in a local school to surveying communities or interacting with them)
5:00 – 6:00         Free Time
6:00 – 7:00         Dinner (help dinner whenever possible)
7:00 – 8:00         Lessons, Games with communities, others
8:00 – 8:30         Debriefing +roses and thrones + Write Day Journal
8:30                       Off to Bed (prepare projects for the next day if necessary)
(Days can differ drastically from a standard day depending on need and local context)
  
3.      Sustaining Change Workshop

The fellows’ workshop aims at providing the skills necessary to sustain change. They will also work on their “action plan to change”. The workshop will train them on “communicating change”, “reaching out to peers”, “social media strategies” and they will come up with an action plan which the project team will follow-up on.  

Post-trip, fellows will: 
  
       Use social media to bring to fore the stories and experiences from their trip
       Engage larger community in a dialog around social issues from their experience through talks and conversations
       Help in fundraising to support social cause or even future Change to Change programme

 THE MANAGEMENT TEAM 

The Support Team: The support team will be based in Kathmandu and respond to emergencies if and when needed. They will also maintain constant communication with the fellows’ guardians. Any kind of additional support needed by the Change team will be sought by the support team.   

The Team Leader: A young adult (24-29) familiar to the place will lead a team of 10 youth. The team leader will already have explored the area and mapped the activity and local partners. Local organizations provide logistic and operational support. The team leader will be responsible for the overall management of the group. He/She will receive support when needed for the support team and local partner organizations. Team leaders is a graduate with experience in working with youth. In addition he/she is trained in emergency responses, first rescue, youth behavior and motivation, community management, etc. Safety is our top most priority.   

2011 CAMP LOCATION
   
Among the 75 districts of Nepal Mugu stands as the 75th in terms of Human Development Index (HDI). One has to visit Mugu to make sense of what the number '75' on HDI implies for Nepal. Primarily because of topographic extremes, this district has minimum agricultural production, no road that connects it to the outside world and very limited health and education facilities. Dolphu VDC is regarded as the most isolated and remote Village Development Committees in Mugu. It also falls within the Shey Phoksundo National Park. Dolphu is 4 days walk from Gamgadi- the headquarter of Mugu, and 8 days walk from Jumla. The trail is steep and you’ll find no tea house after a day’s walk. The village has no phone connection or electricity. Approximately 250 household live in the village.  It is a pristine valley where outside influence has been very limited. The residence still depend on yak farming and herb collection for their livelihood. It is rich in wildlife including Snow Leopard, Blue Sheep, Himalayan thar, Musk Deer among others.
   
WHAT NOT TO EXPECT
    
Change to Change doesn’t guarantee the following:
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       Where you’ll be sleeping and what you’ll be eating – you might occasionally miss lunch or dinner
        Toilets and Taps – have to use bushes and rocks instead
        Mobile signal – you’ll not need signal to talk to yourself 
       Electricity – we aspire to glow the light within you
       Comfort - the woods, mountains and the river might be too tiring for your eye. The trail is too steep and you’ll have to carry your entire luggage for days
       Pure vegetarian food – because house-flies will swim or drown into every meal.…And everything that you don’t realize but are enjoying around you right now! 

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
       Only youth can apply (24 and under) 
       Applications must be submitted by– Saturday, 30th April, 2011. 
       Applicants must meet be ready to abide by the expectations outlined in the handbook. 
       If you have any questions or problems, contact a Tourism Development Endeavors (TUDE) team through an email query. 
       Please note that this is not a luxury trip, only apply if you are mentally prepared to experience and enjoy  challenges of rural Himalayan region.    
   
COST   
    
The cost per individual comes out to be Nrs 28, 000 Though we have partial and full scholarships available, we would like you to contribute some portion of the total cost based onyour ability to pay.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
Regular application deadline: 30 April 2011 (Free)
Late application deadline: 10 May 2011 (Late application fee: Rs. 200)
Mandatory hiking trip with the applicants: 14th May 2011
Results announced: 15th May 2011
Change to Change Camp: Early June- early July 2011
  
Day 1
Leave from Kathmandu by Bus
Day 2
Nepaljung/Surkhet (depending on flight availability)
Day 3
Nepaljung/Surkhet (depending on flight availability)
Day 4
Flight to Mugu: Reside In Gamgadi
·         Discussion with locals from Dolphu and adjutant villages
·         Meeting with Local NGO Partners 
·         Logistic Arrangements: procuring supplies etc
Day 5
In Gamgadi
·         Meeting with NGO’s, Government
 Representative. 
·         Will discuss tourism issues and challenges with NGO representatives
·         Change to Change participants will conduct a 2 hour workshop at the school located in Gamgadi.
Day 6
Trek for Dolphu (minimum 6/7 hours)
·         (components of “Change to Change” on the way}
Day 7
Trek for Dolphu (minimum 6/7 hours)
·         (components of “Change to Change” on the way}
Day 8
Trek for Dolphu (minimum 6/7 hours)
·         (components of “Change to Change” on the way}
Day 9
Reach Dolphu (Shey Phoksundo National Park) by EveningMight have to sleep in Monastery or school.
Day 10
·         Village Orientation and Introductions
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Interaction with local youth, home stays allocations
·         Documentary Show/Drama in the evening “conscience of Karnali”
Day 11
Participants accompany families in their chores and farm work
Day 12
Participants accompany families in their chores and farm work
Day 13
Work on Computer lab establishment/ Tourism Mapping/community meetings
Day 14
Work on Computer lab establishment/ Tourism Mapping/community meetings
Day 15
Work on Computer lab establishment/ Tourism Mapping/community meetings
Day 16
Work on Computer lab establishment/ Tourism Mapping/community meetings
Day 17
On the hunt with cameras (wildlife photography around Namlang)
Day 18
Leave Dolphu
Day 19
Trek Back to Gamgadi (minimum 6/7 hours)
Day 20
Trek Back to Gamgadi (minimum 6/7 hours)
Day 21
Trek Back to Gamgadi (minimum 6/7 hours)
Day 22
Gamgadi (meet stakeholders)
Day 23
To Rara National Park
Day 24
Around Rara Lake
Day 25
To Talcha Airport
Day 26
Flight Nepaljung/Surket
Day 27
To Kathmandu
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For further details please write to: info@tude.org.np

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