Ritesh:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/ECO-HUT/451732841625718?ref=hl
Ritesh did her BBM before she joined Swaraj to learn how to do things practically which she missed during her formal education. She became aware of the global scenario and bigger picture of things during her 2 years of learning and worked on making decisions with the awareness of the impact of her actions.At the same time, she was learning to earn while pursuing her passion.
Handicrafts- bamboo work, pottery, Kabaad se Jugaad, jewelry out of natural materials & waste, farming were the things she engaged with while in Swaraj. The connections that she made on the journey are what she finds the most valuable for work and otherwise.
Along with 3 other friends from the community, Tinka as an enterprise initiated which was mainly into products out of waste and jewelry. They dissolved it after some time. Ritesh is currently running a collaborative enterprise called Eco-Hut which is a store in Udaipur that sells handmade herbal products, products out of waste, books,hand-made jeweler. She handles management and marketing activities of Eco-Hut and loves making different jewelry and lampshades for the same. She dreams of everyone in Udaipur knowing of Eco-hut and also realizing their vision of Zero-waste Udaipur which would come true with the participation of all its citizens.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/ECO-HUT/451732841625718?ref=hl
Ritesh did her BBM before she joined Swaraj to learn how to do things practically which she missed during her formal education. She became aware of the global scenario and bigger picture of things during her 2 years of learning and worked on making decisions with the awareness of the impact of her actions.At the same time, she was learning to earn while pursuing her passion.
Handicrafts- bamboo work, pottery, Kabaad se Jugaad, jewelry out of natural materials & waste, farming were the things she engaged with while in Swaraj. The connections that she made on the journey are what she finds the most valuable for work and otherwise.
Along with 3 other friends from the community, Tinka as an enterprise initiated which was mainly into products out of waste and jewelry. They dissolved it after some time. Ritesh is currently running a collaborative enterprise called Eco-Hut which is a store in Udaipur that sells handmade herbal products, products out of waste, books,hand-made jeweler. She handles management and marketing activities of Eco-Hut and loves making different jewelry and lampshades for the same. She dreams of everyone in Udaipur knowing of Eco-hut and also realizing their vision of Zero-waste Udaipur which would come true with the participation of all its citizens.
Karen:
Karen’ job in IT sector and then advertising left her in a very helpless state. She came to Swaraj not knowing what she was looking for and to find the source of her discomfort. During the orientation of the program it dawned on her how connected our education and life are and realized the importance of an honest and a holistic learning space.
She found the space very appealing as one didn’t have to put any guards on and prove anything. Her journey was mostly about accepting what came her way.She felt a strong sense of not wanting to control but opening to abundance and being ready for whatever life bring. Since Swaraj doesn’t provide a degree, she feels, one can find out what one really wants to learn. While developing a positive approach towards lifelong learning, she gave herself space to explore her association with theatre and at the same time also her relationship with different things (money, nature, humans, soul, world, higher power).
With the support she got then, she prepared herself for the training that she’s undergoing now. She’s currently training to be a director and to open her own theatre company with Indian Ensemble (Bangalore) and being mentored by Abhishek Majumdar. She also facilitates in the area of theatre for children.
Karen’ job in IT sector and then advertising left her in a very helpless state. She came to Swaraj not knowing what she was looking for and to find the source of her discomfort. During the orientation of the program it dawned on her how connected our education and life are and realized the importance of an honest and a holistic learning space.
She found the space very appealing as one didn’t have to put any guards on and prove anything. Her journey was mostly about accepting what came her way.She felt a strong sense of not wanting to control but opening to abundance and being ready for whatever life bring. Since Swaraj doesn’t provide a degree, she feels, one can find out what one really wants to learn. While developing a positive approach towards lifelong learning, she gave herself space to explore her association with theatre and at the same time also her relationship with different things (money, nature, humans, soul, world, higher power).
With the support she got then, she prepared herself for the training that she’s undergoing now. She’s currently training to be a director and to open her own theatre company with Indian Ensemble (Bangalore) and being mentored by Abhishek Majumdar. She also facilitates in the area of theatre for children.
Gyan:
Self-designed learner from a very young age, he’s a walkout from formal education system after 9th std. He dedicatedly pursued cricket for 2-3 years after that and also photography & worked with a film-maker. He wanted to be a film-maker like Steven Spielberg while joining Swaraj and has an inspiring interesting journey since then in terms of shifting focus from mainstream to documentary film-making.
He decided to spend 2 years of Swaraj only to learn and not bother about earning then.He interned with Video volunteer in a Gujrat village and has till date edited some 25 videos for the organisation. He was highly inspired by Ekta Parishad and their work for the villagers. While working on film-making in different villages in Bihar,he encountered a few Naxalites who’d surrendered. These experiences and glimpses of the reality evoked his interest in Documentary film-making. Video documenting and later editing Jan Samvaad Yatra across the country covering 18,000 kms by Ekta Parishad has been one of his most powerful experiences and got him closer to grass-root reality as opposed to that portrayed by the media. Joining Swaraj as an extremely shy person he took the opportunity to open up, work on his communication skills and also on cooking, theatre and with kids.
He connected with people while he was in Swaraj to continue his learning further and has gained the confidence to approach them on his own. He has been deepening his skills on editing and cinematography after finishing the 2 years’ program. He has worked with Ekta Parishad and with other activist movements as a film-maker. His journey as a film-maker has been continuing and he’s so far worked on around 50 videos. He dreams of living in a village while continuing his work in the field.
Self-designed learner from a very young age, he’s a walkout from formal education system after 9th std. He dedicatedly pursued cricket for 2-3 years after that and also photography & worked with a film-maker. He wanted to be a film-maker like Steven Spielberg while joining Swaraj and has an inspiring interesting journey since then in terms of shifting focus from mainstream to documentary film-making.
He decided to spend 2 years of Swaraj only to learn and not bother about earning then.He interned with Video volunteer in a Gujrat village and has till date edited some 25 videos for the organisation. He was highly inspired by Ekta Parishad and their work for the villagers. While working on film-making in different villages in Bihar,he encountered a few Naxalites who’d surrendered. These experiences and glimpses of the reality evoked his interest in Documentary film-making. Video documenting and later editing Jan Samvaad Yatra across the country covering 18,000 kms by Ekta Parishad has been one of his most powerful experiences and got him closer to grass-root reality as opposed to that portrayed by the media. Joining Swaraj as an extremely shy person he took the opportunity to open up, work on his communication skills and also on cooking, theatre and with kids.
He connected with people while he was in Swaraj to continue his learning further and has gained the confidence to approach them on his own. He has been deepening his skills on editing and cinematography after finishing the 2 years’ program. He has worked with Ekta Parishad and with other activist movements as a film-maker. His journey as a film-maker has been continuing and he’s so far worked on around 50 videos. He dreams of living in a village while continuing his work in the field.
Sachi:
https://www.behance.net/savyasachi
In 3rd year,he’s pursuing a major in Film studies from Srishti School (Bangalore). Without much of a background in the field, he says he got into the college based on his portfolio which was full of stories from his journey with Swaraj. To get out of the same rut and for some exposure and experimentation of different things, Sachi joined Swaraj after 10th. What he valued the most here was the process of learning combined with doing which got him to explore photography, films, theatre (with activism), farming, photo journalism but more than any of these particular fields for him it was the way of life as a whole experience that added to its value.A lot of things were happening in Udaipur during his time on campus which gave them multiple opportunities to get involved in different kinds of work. He got a lot of exposure through the diverse group of people in the community & by visiting different places as a volunteer, intern and during learning journeys. Also making the use of the environment facilitating learning, he made stronger bonds, understood self and gave vulnerability a chance. He intends to become a documentary film-maker soon.
https://www.behance.net/savyasachi
In 3rd year,he’s pursuing a major in Film studies from Srishti School (Bangalore). Without much of a background in the field, he says he got into the college based on his portfolio which was full of stories from his journey with Swaraj. To get out of the same rut and for some exposure and experimentation of different things, Sachi joined Swaraj after 10th. What he valued the most here was the process of learning combined with doing which got him to explore photography, films, theatre (with activism), farming, photo journalism but more than any of these particular fields for him it was the way of life as a whole experience that added to its value.A lot of things were happening in Udaipur during his time on campus which gave them multiple opportunities to get involved in different kinds of work. He got a lot of exposure through the diverse group of people in the community & by visiting different places as a volunteer, intern and during learning journeys. Also making the use of the environment facilitating learning, he made stronger bonds, understood self and gave vulnerability a chance. He intends to become a documentary film-maker soon.
Aviral:
“There are only two tragedies in life. One is, not getting what you want. And the other is, getting it.”
While he actively organised a TEDx conference and other events, created a students’ group, worked out a proposal for a new course; the college only cared about the classroom attendance and learning. At that point while pursuing Civil engineering he started questioning the lack of importance given to real learning and knowledge outside of class in a conventional education system. He walked out from the college and walked in to Swaraj university with the intent to change the world and to find out what’s right and wrong. Soon his journey led to his focus on changing self before the world and the realisation that there’s no absolute right/wrong.His journey had a lot to do with understanding himself, self-acceptance and the non-judgemental community around that led to his questioning things around.
He worked on a project involving education and entrepreneurship at Re-imagine (Pune), was a part of the team that started up with Tinka (enterprise- into products out of waste and jewelry), supported another start-up named Panache in Baroda at its initial stage, worked on the Ram-roti project, undertook a Vipassana course, explored pottery. Through his involvement in all these projects and several workshops and the sessions at Swaraj, he learnt how to connect with people better and reduce his judgements towards others and gained clarity of thought for situations. In between he experienced a phase of overpowering sense of meaninglessness and over-thinking. He then took up a call centre job for 5 months to gain financial independence and to realise the importance and find meaning in the mundane job.
By the end of the Swaraj journey he realised that there’s no dearth of opportunities in the Social Entrepreneurship sector.He is now working as an executive assistant at Blue Ribbon Movement (Mumbai) which works with youth and in leadership training. He handles events there and supports the core team and organisation with whatever it needs.He realised the importance of understanding himself, his ideas and emotions now when he’s working and observes people not being able to handle situations with the lack of understanding of what’s really going on inside. His dream is to travel, be financially independent and to work with great people,which in a way he’s already living.
“There are only two tragedies in life. One is, not getting what you want. And the other is, getting it.”
While he actively organised a TEDx conference and other events, created a students’ group, worked out a proposal for a new course; the college only cared about the classroom attendance and learning. At that point while pursuing Civil engineering he started questioning the lack of importance given to real learning and knowledge outside of class in a conventional education system. He walked out from the college and walked in to Swaraj university with the intent to change the world and to find out what’s right and wrong. Soon his journey led to his focus on changing self before the world and the realisation that there’s no absolute right/wrong.His journey had a lot to do with understanding himself, self-acceptance and the non-judgemental community around that led to his questioning things around.
He worked on a project involving education and entrepreneurship at Re-imagine (Pune), was a part of the team that started up with Tinka (enterprise- into products out of waste and jewelry), supported another start-up named Panache in Baroda at its initial stage, worked on the Ram-roti project, undertook a Vipassana course, explored pottery. Through his involvement in all these projects and several workshops and the sessions at Swaraj, he learnt how to connect with people better and reduce his judgements towards others and gained clarity of thought for situations. In between he experienced a phase of overpowering sense of meaninglessness and over-thinking. He then took up a call centre job for 5 months to gain financial independence and to realise the importance and find meaning in the mundane job.
By the end of the Swaraj journey he realised that there’s no dearth of opportunities in the Social Entrepreneurship sector.He is now working as an executive assistant at Blue Ribbon Movement (Mumbai) which works with youth and in leadership training. He handles events there and supports the core team and organisation with whatever it needs.He realised the importance of understanding himself, his ideas and emotions now when he’s working and observes people not being able to handle situations with the lack of understanding of what’s really going on inside. His dream is to travel, be financially independent and to work with great people,which in a way he’s already living.
Kamal:
“Jo bhi hota hai achche ke liye hota hai”
https://www.facebook.com/saadgicreations
Coming from a small village near Amritsar, 21 year old Kamalbir Kaur was, at the time of joining Swaraj, a withdrawn, shy girl who had just graduated but wasn’t sure what she wanted to do in life. She was disturbed by reckless consumerism in society and wanted to do something about it. At Swaraj she found the time, the space and the trusted peer group to groom her creativity and her passion for stopping waste. She found her calling when she tried her hand at the sewing machine, was glued to it for several days and started churning out bags, purses, wallets etc made from waste materials. She hasn’t looked back since; she visited various handicrafts organizations in the country like Karm Marg and Green the Gap. Learning from their models, she has now started a social enterprise of her own, selling her designer line of bags and other accessories all made from waste materials. She has trained and employed some girls from a nearby village and is working on increasing output to meet the rising demand for her bags from friends, exhibitions and handicraft stores. Social inclusion, women’s empowerment and zero-waste philosophies are high priorities for this budding entrepreneur. When asked about the subtler shifts during her journey in Swaraj, Kamalbir talks about her increased self-confidence, positivity, rigour, and ability to understand and work with all kinds of people learned from the experiences of starting an enterprise from scratch. She envisions a future where she can spread the idea of simple living and ending consumerism.
“Jo bhi hota hai achche ke liye hota hai”
https://www.facebook.com/saadgicreations
Coming from a small village near Amritsar, 21 year old Kamalbir Kaur was, at the time of joining Swaraj, a withdrawn, shy girl who had just graduated but wasn’t sure what she wanted to do in life. She was disturbed by reckless consumerism in society and wanted to do something about it. At Swaraj she found the time, the space and the trusted peer group to groom her creativity and her passion for stopping waste. She found her calling when she tried her hand at the sewing machine, was glued to it for several days and started churning out bags, purses, wallets etc made from waste materials. She hasn’t looked back since; she visited various handicrafts organizations in the country like Karm Marg and Green the Gap. Learning from their models, she has now started a social enterprise of her own, selling her designer line of bags and other accessories all made from waste materials. She has trained and employed some girls from a nearby village and is working on increasing output to meet the rising demand for her bags from friends, exhibitions and handicraft stores. Social inclusion, women’s empowerment and zero-waste philosophies are high priorities for this budding entrepreneur. When asked about the subtler shifts during her journey in Swaraj, Kamalbir talks about her increased self-confidence, positivity, rigour, and ability to understand and work with all kinds of people learned from the experiences of starting an enterprise from scratch. She envisions a future where she can spread the idea of simple living and ending consumerism.
Devang:
“Shuru Kar Do”
He was the ‘Yogi’ of their batch and could be spotted at random places meditating. He was told by his father to choose a field to work in by the end of 2 years of Swaraj or he’d be made to join the family business. He proudly found his calling in Ayurveda by the end of 1st year. He was doing a part-time job and part-time travelling and exploring deeply the subjects of science, spirituality and alternate technology before he came to Swaraj. He believes a khoji alone can walk only a limited distance but walking together on the path the khoj could be more profound which is why community living was very helpful for him. He walked out of college in 3rd year while pursuing chemical engineering for its monoculture and lack of practical knowledge. Swaraj gave him the opportunity for his Khoj with diverse people exploring in different fields.
He was also on his spiritual quest and found time and answers to his questions and working on them practically. He faced a lot of failures and learnt from them to explore a way of living for him. He carried out several different experiments few of which were- setting up a small weather observatory, making herbal products, creating a box containing the powder of ayurvedic herbs which he would use for healing mild ailments in the community and developed a lot of confidence from their feedbacks. He researched in pure science, organic farming & sustainability. He came across the organisation Prayas while he was on his own learning journey on Ayurveda in Gujrat to get exposure and find his mentor in several Vaidyas that he came across.He started working with Prayas during the 2nd year and is still continuing the work there. He studies and practices Ayurveda there and facilitates meetings of the villagers through the organisation’s centres and also facilitates learning on Organic farming and sometimes screens films for the villagers. His goal for now is to become self-sustainable and help the coming generations in several ways.
“Shuru Kar Do”
He was the ‘Yogi’ of their batch and could be spotted at random places meditating. He was told by his father to choose a field to work in by the end of 2 years of Swaraj or he’d be made to join the family business. He proudly found his calling in Ayurveda by the end of 1st year. He was doing a part-time job and part-time travelling and exploring deeply the subjects of science, spirituality and alternate technology before he came to Swaraj. He believes a khoji alone can walk only a limited distance but walking together on the path the khoj could be more profound which is why community living was very helpful for him. He walked out of college in 3rd year while pursuing chemical engineering for its monoculture and lack of practical knowledge. Swaraj gave him the opportunity for his Khoj with diverse people exploring in different fields.
He was also on his spiritual quest and found time and answers to his questions and working on them practically. He faced a lot of failures and learnt from them to explore a way of living for him. He carried out several different experiments few of which were- setting up a small weather observatory, making herbal products, creating a box containing the powder of ayurvedic herbs which he would use for healing mild ailments in the community and developed a lot of confidence from their feedbacks. He researched in pure science, organic farming & sustainability. He came across the organisation Prayas while he was on his own learning journey on Ayurveda in Gujrat to get exposure and find his mentor in several Vaidyas that he came across.He started working with Prayas during the 2nd year and is still continuing the work there. He studies and practices Ayurveda there and facilitates meetings of the villagers through the organisation’s centres and also facilitates learning on Organic farming and sometimes screens films for the villagers. His goal for now is to become self-sustainable and help the coming generations in several ways.
Vikas:
“Aaj ki shiksha ka jeevan se koi sambandh nahi hai.”
Vikas ’Bhau’ had rather diverse work experiences prior to joining Swaraj. He worked as a driver in transportation as he wished to see the whole of India. He worked as an electrician, in printing sector, &as a painter till he started marketing for pesticides in the villages. He felt being unfair to farmers in this particular work which in a way led him to explore Organic farming and spread awareness about it.
Being an avid learner and already exploring different fields on his own, Swaraj gave him the time and space for self where he could go to depth of things at his own pace. His definition of success and failure dissolved and all that remained was an insight for experiences. He concentrated his 2years of Swaraj journey in the health field exploring Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Yog, Pranic healing, Psychological counselling and trained himself particularly well at diagnosis.
Continuing to explore the alternative healing techniques, during the mentorship periods, he worked at Vinobha ashram (Naturopathy centre) for 1 year without pay and later also practiced consultancy for 6 months at a friend’s clinic in alternative therapy. He’s currently practicing Pranic healing on gift culture basis in Udaipur and carries out small experiments in farming with his wife.
Taking his passion forward, Sampoorna Aarogya Health- a space to learn, practice and spread awareness, which would cover all aspects of health and lifestyle with a holistic approach..is the space he dreams of creating.
“Aaj ki shiksha ka jeevan se koi sambandh nahi hai.”
Vikas ’Bhau’ had rather diverse work experiences prior to joining Swaraj. He worked as a driver in transportation as he wished to see the whole of India. He worked as an electrician, in printing sector, &as a painter till he started marketing for pesticides in the villages. He felt being unfair to farmers in this particular work which in a way led him to explore Organic farming and spread awareness about it.
Being an avid learner and already exploring different fields on his own, Swaraj gave him the time and space for self where he could go to depth of things at his own pace. His definition of success and failure dissolved and all that remained was an insight for experiences. He concentrated his 2years of Swaraj journey in the health field exploring Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Yog, Pranic healing, Psychological counselling and trained himself particularly well at diagnosis.
Continuing to explore the alternative healing techniques, during the mentorship periods, he worked at Vinobha ashram (Naturopathy centre) for 1 year without pay and later also practiced consultancy for 6 months at a friend’s clinic in alternative therapy. He’s currently practicing Pranic healing on gift culture basis in Udaipur and carries out small experiments in farming with his wife.
Taking his passion forward, Sampoorna Aarogya Health- a space to learn, practice and spread awareness, which would cover all aspects of health and lifestyle with a holistic approach..is the space he dreams of creating.
Rama:
Never having stayed away from home for long she longed to explore the world independently and used each opportunity to do so by travelling and exploring while she was in Swaraj. She’s now proud and confident of travelling alone to any part of the country.After working with Shikshantar, she joined Swaraj to deepen her knowledge of film-making.She worked with Abhivyakti organisation (Nasik)and made 2 films on Godavari river and Viju’s Dabeli. She also worked with mentally challenged persons at Sadhna village (near Pune) for a month and describes that as one of the most powerful experiences. From the feeling of running away initially to recognising each person’s need for love by the end of her stay there; she has an inspiring story to share about her experience of the place.
She recently launched her own range of Rama’s hair pack (organic). After a lot of experimentation and testing, she came to the final product which is already selling now. She kept her experiments on gift culture going on even after Swaraj. She believes that listening and sharing are a great way to connect and heal and also there are lot of people suffering in different ways and just waiting to share their stories and taking that further often lends an empathetic ear to complete strangers.
Never having stayed away from home for long she longed to explore the world independently and used each opportunity to do so by travelling and exploring while she was in Swaraj. She’s now proud and confident of travelling alone to any part of the country.After working with Shikshantar, she joined Swaraj to deepen her knowledge of film-making.She worked with Abhivyakti organisation (Nasik)and made 2 films on Godavari river and Viju’s Dabeli. She also worked with mentally challenged persons at Sadhna village (near Pune) for a month and describes that as one of the most powerful experiences. From the feeling of running away initially to recognising each person’s need for love by the end of her stay there; she has an inspiring story to share about her experience of the place.
She recently launched her own range of Rama’s hair pack (organic). After a lot of experimentation and testing, she came to the final product which is already selling now. She kept her experiments on gift culture going on even after Swaraj. She believes that listening and sharing are a great way to connect and heal and also there are lot of people suffering in different ways and just waiting to share their stories and taking that further often lends an empathetic ear to complete strangers.
