From 14^th-16^th of October, about 24 Indian children decided to spend a part of their holidays at the Winter Camp of FSL-India’s Centre for Experiential Living (CEL), Kundapur. Compared to our Adventure Camps, the Winter Camp was aimed not only at having a fun time, but also at education. The children came every morning, participated in all the different activities, got lunch and left around 4 pm.

To wake them up, every day started with energisers. Right from the beginning, they were excited to play various games, to get to know each other and start building a team.

They brought various seeds from their gardens and we met up at CEL’s Permaculture area. The children formed groups, and everyone got the chance to plant his/her seeds in the bed they prepared before. They learned to use the tools for weeding and loosening the soil. Also, the children dug trenches where they later put the seeds. In our agricultural garden, expert Sandeep explained how to do this gardening chore. Even though the sun was burning from above, they endured it and successfully finished all the planting.

The planted seeds directly got watered by a thunderstorm that followed in the afternoon. We spend the rainy time inside and played some music-related games together. One of our volunteers took out his guitar and made music with the children.

The final day also was the busiest one. The children were so motivated that they already showed up at 8 am. This day contained a lot of activities. After the energisers, they heard a presentation about the environment and participated in a discussion about the 3 reasons to protect the environment. Furthermore, they also watched some movies about marine life, especially the sea turtles around the Indian coasts. The information they gathered during these clips played a part in a quiz, later on.

The children refreshed their energy during lunch to prepare for the main activity of the day: a Treasure Hunt. Walking to different locations at the FSL India Centre, their goal was to complete 12 tasks, including games and activities.

At the farewell, the children received an Avocado plant to take home. It was a joyful time and we are already looking forward to our Summer Camp 2020.

Special thanks to ‘Recogida De Fondues for India’ from Spain and our Marta, for their sponsorship. FSL India looks forward to receive your support for the upcoming activities in the coming year.