Spiti Gold Solar Project 2012

The 15 day Gold Solar project took off on 9th June 2012 from Shimla. The groups were randomly divided into two groups to increase interaction among them. After 3 days of travelling the participants settled into the Keyh monastery for the next 2 weeks.  On 13th June 2012 the participants started the first day of work. They were divided into groups and each group was given a separate task everyday which included farma work, mud work, path work, tank work and tractor duties. The groups were so formed that participants from different institutions were clubbed together in a group to enhance inter-regional interaction. On 17th the teams left for a 4 day trek early in the morning. The first day was an 8km uphill trek to a village called Komik. It was indeed a difficult task for the participants as it took some time to acclimatise to high altitude. After an overnight stay in Komik, the teams left for Demul the next day. This was a 12km uphill as well as downhill trek and they reached Demul late in the evening. The next day, participants trekked upto the highest point called Bhalari. Later in the day, the villagers had organised a cultural event for all the participants. After staying overnight, teams left for Lalung, a downward trek and visited the Sarkang temple also. Later they left for the Key monastery. The last two days during the stay at the monastery the teams did the plastering and painting and setting of the solar panel. This, according to the participants, was the fun part of the work. The completed Solar Bath was inaugurated by the King of the Spiti Valley in a ceremony held at the monastery. Later, the participants performed various skits and songs as a part of the “closing ceremony”. As reported by Surabhi Vaidya - volunteer and intern at IAYP