Does business mean you loose a part of yourself?

Curious, open-minded, proud of what they have and at the same time keen to learn, community based – that’s what amazes me again and again when I visit tribal villages. “A huge part of me is not present any more, while focusing on the business perspective only it seems that I have forgotten and lost…

Using a game: income generation and more for selfhelp group women

“It was in 1977 that we have started to put a lot of energy into social work and to set up Self help groups and skill trainings for poor women from urban, rural and tribal areas around Karamadai,” Rev. sister Anila from the Good Shephard convent in Karamadai, Tamil Nadu tells me. She is really…

The Beauty of an early walk in an Indian town

 These days, for discovering the beauty of an Indian town there is nothing better than an early morning walk. It is hot and humid, only in the morning hours, when the town wakes up , the temperatures are really nice. For the rest of the day everyone is looking to avoid the sun …  Still…

If you want to know India, take a Train 

  It’s a real hot morning in April. At the train station in Cochin it’s crowdy. When a train  arrives there is a lot of movement: people jump out of the trains, often run across the iron rails, clack, clack, clack out of the train windows a lot of empty and half-full water bottles are…

Talking about life at a handicrafts shop in Cochin

  It’s one of the bigger handicrafts shops at Fort Cochin.  One of those shops where during the high season tourists from all over the world stop to buy some souvenirs from India. But today there are not many people. It’s April already; the monsoon season has started in Kerala and it is very hot…

Talking to an artist from Cochin, India

  I’m back in India. It’s Saturday morning and before going back to our project area in the hinterland of Coimbatore I talk to a few local people at Fort Cochin, in Cochin: Here are the famous Chinese Fishing nets and a tourist place, too. How does life look here? A young artist gives some…

Impressions from the life in the Philippines 

The days in the Philippines have passed quickly. Before going back to India now, let me share a few impressions from this country with its more than 7000 islands, impressive landscapes and colours, its people and challenges.        Related posts at a glance  Philippines – life and princesses at the dumpsite The sugarcane children…