A few weeks ago, I flew to Johannesburg, South Africa to visit my sister. I knew that Skateistan is running a skatepark there – so this was my chance to visit a part of the project which had inspired Ulrike to set up Janwaar Castle. Oliver, the founder of Skateistan, introduced me to Kelly Murray, […]
Jagprasad Gond, 45 years old, is father of five – three girls and two boys. As his name indicates he is a tribal and he has accepted to be at the ultimate bottom of the society. What else has Indian society to offer to its tribals? Jagprasad started labouring from an early age onward – […]
It’s been almost three months Pappu has been working on the playgrounds in Janwaar. Actually, it’s been nine months Pappu has started to create and build various elements in the village. The tree house library was his first shot. A small balcony kind of place in between the branches of a Banyan tree where the […]
Pappu is the latest member of our team in Janwaar, and he definitely is a true rural changemaker. 13 months ago, he quit his job as a bartender at Ken River Lodge. He had no idea where his next meals would come from. Today, he is working hard to design a playground and restore a […]
The beauty of Madhya Pradesh you find off the main roads into the furthest villages. The small villages. The beautiful hidden lakes. The big and small farmlands with such a variety of crops growing all year long. And finally, the vast vast barren lands that touch the horizon. Yesterday, I was on such a route […]
It was Ajay’s first break from his one-year program “Diploma in Rural Technology” at the Vigyan Ashram in Pabal. After 15 weeks he returned back home for his well-deserved Diwali break. He was happy to be back in Janwaar – and proudly and loudly he announced that he won’t go back to the Ashram. But […]
I was on a family holiday with my sisters in France, so I’ve had the chance to join the Rural Changemakers Tour Europe. I met the kids on their 6th day in Europe. I came by bus from Paris to Heidelberg, which was the kids’ first stop, where they stayed at Bea’s place – Bea […]
Ajay graduated from 8th grade this year. He is a very active, smart kit but sitting in a classroom is certainly not his strengths. He missed school quite often, Instead, he preferred to roam around in the village and to hang out with the wrong people. He was easily tempted to chewing tobacco, smoking and […]
Suman, a ten-year-old Adivasi girl, was never seen talking to anyone. Many kids at the skatepark didn’t even know her name. They pointed at her and told me that she had started to skateboard. She always looked a bit shabby and lost in this new environment. Nevertheless I felt challenged so I asked her if […]
For 15 days I traveled with seven Janwaar kids 1200 km – more than 100 hours on trains and on the road. We went via Varanasi all the way to Guwahati in Assam. Many people asked how I alone could take care of them and my simple answer was: “At Janwaar Castle kids learn to […]