Bangalore  : A fruitful Get Together (GTG) at Maralkunte on 13^th and 14^th of June. Participants – 8 International Volunteers and 5 FSL India Staffs.

The day started with a visit to the Maralkunte village, a hour and half journey by Bus from Bangalore. This beautiful village had a variety of farms and greenery around and the kind hearted villagers were very welcoming and generous. Mr. Bala the contact person, took the participants on a village tour and the volunteers saw the daily lives of Indian farmers. They visited some Rose farms, Fruit farms such as Grape fruit, Grapes, Jack Fruit, Gauva, Lime, Vegetables and other leafy vegetable farms.  To be able to pluck fruits and eat them from the trees directly was a wonderful experience for the participants.

Later the participants visited a Government school and interacted with the teachers and the students, they also met the President of a Women self-help group at her residence and learned about the history of this group, their functions and actions.

In the evening, the volunteers and the participants visited the “Lalbagh Botanical Garden” in Bangalore, the green heart of the city to conduct an evaluation through a session called :  Brief Case (Sharing what they would like to keep with them like learnings, experiences) – Washing Machine (the experiences or learning they would like to change) and Dustbin (the ones they want to throw away).

The GTG came to an end with a feedback and suggestions from the volunteers about these 2 days and one to one sessions with their respective coordinators.

Kundapur : Kinara Beach Resort, 14^th of June at Kundapur, 5 Long term International volunteers and 4 Staffs together participated in a Get Together (GTG) where they shared their experiences, had one to one talks with their coordinators and had lots of fun!!!

The Kinara beach resort is located in the proximity of Kundapur Town, close to Kodi beach. The beach is surrounded by water on three sides and is the best part is that it’s a much quieter beach compared to the other ones. Five to six kilometers of pure sand, azure sky above, free from pollution and vendors, this beach offers its visitors amazing breeze and peace of mind.

The spectacular sunset at this beach draws all the nearby residents out of their house to the beach, one can sit there for hours together without any complaints.

 After a delightful lunch accompanied by the amazing view of the beach, the participants had a quite afternoon with sharing of their experiences and learnings. 2 Long term volunteers – Jana Korte and Aljoscha Minnich, who completed 11 Months in their projects shared their experiences with the group.

In the evening, the participants visited the light house situated in north of Kodi beach.  This Light house is 100 feet high and offers a great view of the paddy fields, mangrove forests and back waters of Kundapur.