THE
BEGINNING
HALFWAY
UP THE MOUNTAIN
1990:
DISCOVERING AN UNCONQUERED ZONE
THE
INTENSIVE AREA DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
THE
FUTURE
Born in 1982, Shikhar is a charitable, non-profitmaking organisation, the idea child of a handful of individuals. We had varying years of experience in leading outdoor expeditions: Hiking, trekking, rock-climbing and sea exploration…
In the first five years of its existence, Shikhar’s focus was on sharing this experience in the form of an organised Outward-Bound Education Programme. The accent was on rediscovering the many aspects of being human, while confronting nature in its pristine form: Patience; understanding the value of non-urban cultures; the fragile web of nature-human interdependence; and cooperation. To the participants, ranging from 6 to 70 years in age, these were fascinating subjects, topics that were rarely found in the curricula of educational institutions.
Our list of programmes
grew longer, the yearly schedule got crowded. Today, at the end of
a hectic seventeenth year, when we pause to catch our collective breath,
the results seem worth it.
a. A total of 3000
Indians and 200 invididuals from 6 nations (UK, USA, Italy, Austria,
Nepal, Middle East) have been through the 10 types of courses designed
by Shikhar.
b. Shikhar has developed
strong ties with othr like-minded organisations: In UK, Italy, Austria
and Nepal.
c. Inspired by the
gains of these courses, some participants have started leading their own
courses.
d. Shikhar has become
a unique organisation in India: both for offering the broadest spectrum
of outdoor learning experiences as well as for their unbroken regularity
over 17 years.
e. And finally (not
without a touch of immodesty though) we must admit that all this was made
possible entirely by VOLUNTEERS! Yes no member of Shikhar ever draws
a salary from the organisation!
1990: Discovering an unconquered zone
Even, while we continued our syllabus Shikhar was seeking newer challenges. Were we getting unidimensional, not touching broader areas of human cooperation?
We looked around to
discover that India’s cities are islands in an ocean of villages.
About 600,000
Villages that are
beehives of unique cultures, each with its own farmland, craftsmen,
local government, its own way of living a life. Suppose we took up
the role of catalysts: Agents who just triggered off a self-sustaining,
higher rate of progress, without upsetting the complex, traditional balance
of every centre?
Shikhar sees itself
as a catalyst that will continue to bring together people and people and
people and nature. But whatever the route we choose to achieve this
objective, consider this a permanent invitation for you participation.
In Sanskrit, probably the oldest Indian language, we’d say, Suswagatam
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The intensive area development prgramme
PROJECT ONE:
We started small.
as part of our cltural Exchange Programme with the forest community School