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After each trip we go on I take some time to reflect upon the experiences we've had, the places we've gone and what has been shared with us during our travels from all the people we've met along the way. As I think about the month we spent traveling around India, and indeed our travels this past year one theme stands out: generosity.

The amount of generosity that has been shown to us by the people we have met during our travels these past months is not necessarily captured in the videos we produce. We have visited four continents and interviewed over 75 people from all different walks of life and facets of society. They spoke many languages, addressed many issues and offered a truly diverse perspective on the idea of seeing life as one interconnected, interdependent whole. Some offered skepticism and questions while others shared experiences, stories and calls for action. Regardless of their personal views, the amount of warmth and kindness we were shown while filming and traveling has been overwhelming. People offered not only their time, but they took us into their homes, fed us, housed us and most importantly, spoke to us about their lives, work and families. Many times I wish we had the camera rolling to capture the small things, the meals shared, the late night conversations, the 'behind the scenes' moments that aren't always caught on film.

Our last few days in India were particularly filled with generosity (see my last blog about our time in Ahmedabad). As guests of Manav Sadhna at the Gandhi Ashram, it seemed as if everyone we met went out of their way to make us feel welcome and at home. On our last day over lunch I was presented a parting gift from Jayeshbhai and the kids of Manav Sadhna. A couple of days before, Jayeshbhai had noticed the project's logo on my business card. He told me how he often uses seeds as a metaphor for the kids he works with, telling them that they will grow into great trees that will then send off many more seeds that have the power to change the future. At lunch I was presented with a bag made from recycled newspaper (another one of the amazing things that the kids of Manav Sadhna make) filled with four beautiful wall hangings on handmade paper (again from the kids) with our logo copied exactly by hand and seeds cut and glued onto the paper.

The time and effort that had gone into making these for us really got to me, and the thought behind it -- it wasn't just a thing, a gift for the sake of giving a gift -- it was much more. That's just one example of what people have given us again and again on our travels, much more than just an interview or a few words of wisdom or hope. They have shared their generosity with us and I hope we can, in turn, share it with you.

Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee ...Read more

When I told my friend Nipun Mehta (the founder of CharityFocus and KarmaTube) that we were going to India he insisted we make a stop in Ahmedabad and spend some time at Manav Sadhna. I’m really glad we followed his advice. We spent the last three days witnessing the truly amazing work that is being done by the people at Gandhi’s Ashram (where Manav Sadhna is based). The selflessness and complete commitment to serving others in need that radiates from all the people at Manav Sadhna is overwhelming. The organization is comprised of a young group of dedicated staff and volunteers who work mostly with poor children in the large slum of 120,000 people right next to the Gandhi Ashram. The mission of Manav Sadhna is 'Love all, serve all,' and the projects are based entirely on this philosophy. There are several core people working here, but at the center lies a man named Jayesh Patel (called Jayeshbhai by all around him).

Jayeshbhai is one of the most remarkable people I've ever met in my life, a real man of service, giving everything to those around him with complete selflessness and humility. Seventeen years ago Jayeshbhai and friends started Manav Sadhna, meeting with a few children once a week under the shade of a tree at the Gandhi Ashram to teach them about basic hygiene by cutting their nails and bathing them. Manav Sadhna has grown over the last two decades and now serves more than 4,500 women and children through nearly 40 projects. In the few days we were here, we visited the different projects and spent time talking with Jayeshbhai, both in the Ashram and through the slums. Jayeshbhai doesn’t like the camera and usually refuses to let reporters or filmmakers interview him, but he let us wire a mic on him and follow him as we walked through the slums, as long as we focused the camera on the people me met rather than just him.

Walking through the slum with Jayeshbhai takes a long time because he knows everyone and stops to talk at each home, inquiring about aunts and uncles and family problems. He seemed to know all the details and stories of everyone we passed. The more we walked and talked, the more I became aware of the deep level of compassion in this man, the love and complete feeling of oneness he has for everyone. Jayeshbhai completely lives everything he believes and talks about. He said that it is no good to just talk about respect, oneness and unity without expressing that understanding and awareness through our actions. Jayeshbhai and the others we met at the ashram embody the famous Gandhian line, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” By being an example to others you can sow the seeds for the future and slowly create change toward a better world.

We will have some material and shorts about Jayeshbhai and Manav Sadhna on the site soon as well as a piece about Seva Cafe, a unique restaurant that is one of Manav Sadhna’s many inspiring projects.

Emmanuel ...Read more

We just left a small village in Niligris on the border of Kerala and Tamil Nadu where we spent a few days with Emmanuel Sumitran Gnanamanickam and the Niligris-Wynaad Tribal Welfare Society, an NGO serving the tribal people in this region. At twenty-five Emmanuel is a young, motivated, and inspiring man who manages this organization along with a small, dedicated staff that provides basic health care needs to the four different tribal groups that populate this region. We spent our time visiting tribal villages, seeing the programs this NGO manages, and experiencing the amazing care Emmanuel and his staff offer to those in need.

See what Emmanuel had to say about the concept of a global village in the clip below, and look for a short film on Emmanuel and the work of the Niligris-Wynaad Tribal Welfare Society on our site soon. ...Read more

Auroville is a truly unique place, unlike anywhere else I've ever been. It is both bizarre and wonderful, and filled with some real characters. Auroville is an international township with a core population of 2,000 people (it grows to 6,000 in the warmer months) from more than forty countries (a third are Indian) located just north of Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu. Founded in 1968 by followers of Sri Aurobindo and 'The Mother,' Auroville and its core community are committed to creating a new city based on the principles of human unity and oneness. The goal is to build an infrastructure so that the community can grow to support up to 50,000 people, a number large enough to force people to take note of what Auroville is doing and perhaps imitate its model. From its founding Auroville has been viewed by both outsiders and its own community as an experiment, a laboratory where all sorts of things are being tried and tested, from alternative energy and economic models to communication and education. It certainly felt like a large living laboratory, with ideas having the time, space, and support to flourish and fail alike.

When the first small group moved to Auroville in 1968 it was a large barren wasteland, the victim of deforestation and erosion. The surrounding villagers were poverty stricken, suffering from malnutrition and diseases with very little access to water. Faced with these very real physical challenges Aurovillians devoted much of the first few years to reforestation and erosion control. They developed windmill-powered wells to bring water to the parched soil and thirsty community. Seeing pictures of Auroville in the late 60’s and early 70’s, it seems hard to believe it is the same place. Lush tropical plants and trees now cover the ground, creating a micro-climate bringing the temperature down 4-5 degrees from Pondicherry which lies just a few kilometers to the south. The community here has planted more than a million trees here in the last 40 years, and as a result has become a leading figure in reforestation techniques that have caught on around India. Although water is still an issue and will continue to be one as the population increases, they have built enough wells to support the community and surrounding villagers for the time being. Auroville was also an early pioneer in solar energy use, and much of the electricity used here is generated by the solar panels that cover the rooftops and grounds throughout the community. Many homes are completely off the grid, generating enough energy to meet their own needs.

We met with many different members of the community, from schoolteachers and businessmen to gardeners and mothers, each offering their own experience as Aurovillians. They spoke of both the benefits of living in this unique community as well as the challenges it presents. All the people we spoke with had experienced many communication difficulties over the years with the 40+ nationalities in the community, but agreed that that these problems forced them to become more understanding, respectful and patient with their fellow community members. They said that these challenges are ongoing, but as long as they kept focused on the larger goal of the community they could make it through these problems.

The ideals and values of Auroville have attracted many people committed to developing practical solutions to problems in the world today. One person we met, a French man named Stephan, started a seed bank, collecting seeds of unmodified varieties of fruits and vegetables from around the world that he then distributes to farmers at no cost so that these unmodified varieties will not be lost to the now common genetically modified versions that agribusinesses have developed. Another man named Ramu, a native of the area working at the Auroville Center for Scientific Research, developed low cost toilets and water treatment units that are built in the community and are shipped and used around India helping with the sanitation problems. All the people we met said that the work they did all was grounded in the intention to serve humanity as a whole, and it was that intention that drives their creativity and innovations.

Although the ideas and methods developed in Auroville are impacting people around India and the world, it still felt as though Auroville is living in its own reality, quite separate from the world outside its borders. I do believe that this is not the intention of the community but a result of the intense focus on developing a new city and society that differs so much from the rest of India and the world. You can expect to see a short film about our time in Auroville in the coming months.

Emmanuel Vaughan ...Read more

We've just posted clips from some of our Ecuadorian interviews. Prominent journalist and politician Freddy Ehlers speaks about the inner life of politicians; professor of democratic theory Cesar Montufar offers his insights on globalization; and Vera Kohn, a psychologist and Zen teacher, shares her thoughts on wholeness and the human journey. ...Read more

We met with M.C. Mehta the morning we caught a flight to Chennai. M.C. Mehta is a remarkable individual whose life and work has impacted millions in India and around the world. He has fought more cases against the Indian supreme courts than any environmental lawyer in the world. It is because of his work that Delhi has the largest green fuel based transport system in the world with buses and rickshaws running on CNG and other clean-burning fuels. He forced the closure of hundreds of factories around India whose pollution was destroying local ecosystems and national monuments like the Taj Mahal. He fought for the rights of all Indians to have clean drinking water and argued that learning to care for the environment should be part of all children's compulsory education. You can watch some clips from our interview with him here.

...Read more