The newspaper headlines are dominated by the sad stories of farmer distress, water crisis as summer is about to hit us. Meanwhile, the world is witnessing a greater impact of climate change, threat of war, war crimes by ISIS and religious hate crimes. Added to all this, our economies are increasingly moving away from economic sustainability and moving towards high consumption.

In the midst of this increasingly polarising and consumption-driven world Kumar Prashant from India, an artist, and Ben Reid-Howells from Canada, an educator, are bent on developing resources for peace, sustainable living and community wellbeing by embarking on the Vasudhaiva Ride, inspired from Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and the vision of the the whole world as one family. Together these two men from diverse backgrounds are combining their strengths to execute various projects which benefit communities from India all the way to Scotland: one motherland to another.

They work independently with global and local volunteers, on-the-ground communities and partners. They connect their grassroots engagements with platforms for global collaboration, connecting people, projects and communities across borders as they go. So far the Vasudhaiva Ride has undertaken 3 projects in India thus completing their India leg of the ride.

The Bihar Project

Arrah in Bihar is a case study of unsustainable, unplanned development. The local government cannot keep up with the rate of growth, which expands over wetlands and farmers’ fields, leaving behind swaths of half-constructed concrete houses without proper drainage, road infrastructure or any electrical system to speak of. It is a world of necessary jugaad, of rampant pollution and of quickly disappearing greenery. A place where casteism is alive and strong and society is traditionally conservative.

Ben and Prashant wanted their last project in India to have a lasting impact. When Prashant suggested doing a project in Bihar to lay the groundwork for future work in upcycling and eco-design, a perfect opportunity presented itself. The Bihar Project was born: to create a prototype for self-reliant housing, a house made of a combination of upcycled waste, natural materials and weatherproof construction materials, and a house that grows its own food, treats its own waste water and sources renewable energies.

Prashant says “Our idea was to experiment with waste, natural materials and modern construction technology to create a model for self-reliant housing. A new way towards more sustainable development here in Arrah, and hopefully a prototype that will enable change here, and across Bihar.”

The house in Arrah built using upcycled materials

“This project is huge compared to anything we’ve done before,” says Ben, “At first we planned to build a fence! Mark the space where one day Prashant would return to create the entire centre, but now it had become a full-fledged construction site!” If the final product of creating a large-scale home-cum-training –centre out of a combination of mud, waste and other materials wasn’t enough of a challenge, the process of the Bihar Project was a whole other challenge.

Used bottles used as lights in the house

“Anyone in India will tell you, don’t go to Bihar, and if you reach Bihar, they will tell you, DEFINITELY don’t go to Arrah!” jokes Prashant, “But here we’ve had our most international team yet!”. With volunteers from Tunisia, Czech Republic, Mexico, Chile, Canada, South Korea and across India, all working alongside Bihari labourers from Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim backgrounds. The Bihar Project is a daring experiment. In a place known for conflicts and social barriers between communities, it is a bold statement of global unity.

For many international volunteers Arrah was their first stop in India, and for Arrah, it was the first visit from these far-away nations. This made a deeply intercultural experience for everyone involved. “We quickly became close with the local community. We ate our meals in their homes and facilitated after-school events for the kids,” Ben reflects. “It’s been a learning process for everyone: for Prashant and I, as well as for the local workers and volunteers, all of whom are being confronted by radically different ways of perceiving of the world around them.”

The building itself is a statement of what you can do with waste and natural materials: from the gilwa mud plaster that lays between the bricks, to the post-construction cement rubble that now forms intricate mosaics around the upcycled wooden doorways and thela-cart windows.

It is a model for sustainable development: a home that grows its own food on upcycled rooftop gardens, treats its own wastewater with a simple in-house treatment system, and sources solar energy, thanks to the contribution of a 5 KV solar power system, committed by Greenpeace India. While it does resemble the houses around it in its stature and solid form, the distinct modern…