Teaching health – learning from a doctor in a tribal area in India

Visualsized health information is very common in many countries and cultures. However, often these visuals focus on a specific health issue without connecting it to real life situations of people. They are rather topic-  than people-oriented. Smoking harms ads in many variations, breast feeding benefits, posters show good and “bad” food… But even if the…

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…

Good News from our past Manager trip in India

 In November 2015, some international Corporate  managers have run a leadership session in the tribal areas of Coimbatore staying and collaborating with a NGO, the Karl Kübel Institute for Development Education. Based on the Makingmorehealth program (www.makingmorehealth.com) they learned a lot about the local health challenges and discussed topics on social entrepreneurship. It was a…

How the tribal women gave me a big surprise yesterday

Five months have passed since I have been visiting the tribal village where months ago we had a very good time together with knitting lessons, cooking and more.  I’m traveling with a group of my company this week and today we have come here  for a short village visit because I want to show them…

“Hidden” washing: a toilet key is more than just a key

   Before coming to tribal areas in India I was  never aware on what it really means to live without any toilet in a village and without any individual washing location. Having a small intimate space should be one of the most normal things in life. But it is not.  A life without any sanitation…

Indian tribal drumming dreams and missing opportunities

   Often when I visit tribal villages most of the males have left for school, for work, for a walk into another village … This time school holidays have started and some young boys between ten and twenty sit under a tree or close to a house, all together, and talk. “I wish we had…

Knitting with tribal women in Tamil Nadu, India

The knitting experience      I wanted to find out how the intercultural collaboration and interaction “across the borders”  works and feels: being in middle of tribal women, who are organized in some selfhelp groups, live in very limited infrastructural surroundings and who are busy with caring goats and providing the basics for their families. How…

The Secret of a successful training for tribal women

Development means more than knowledge transfer At the learning center in the rural surroundings of Coimbatore the tribal women of the villages around join in large groups. Today there is a workshop on hygiene. I noticed it already some months ago. There is a huge interest in education.  The interest in getting to know, in…