Paapedi 2013 Thabuttegama to Galgamuwa

A Great Vision, brings about great journey, a journey involves great days amongst many. But all great days must begin with a bit of Nanda’s special unique brand of 5am stretching combined with rhythmic breathing exercises! It was actually 5.30am to be precise, but the majority all awoke at 5am anywayJ What better way to start the day as mentioned in the previous entry than to get those aching joints well oiled and moving like our beautiful bikes.  The perfect start and on your way to a healthy and well balanced lifestyle!!

The day began in earnest as we headed out to the streets of Thambuttegama to raise awareness of environmental sustainability to the public and various shop owners and to continue to raise the awareness of the use of various products people consume including simple changes in their attitude and lifestyle which would preserve Mother Nature and hopefully go a long way towards creating an eco-friendly society.

Following this the group of eager Yathrees headed to the fruit and veg markets where they performed their first Street Drama of the day. It’s amazing how extremely absorbing It is to watch the public’s reactions to the street drama. And so it should be, with such stunning performances. It is truly engrossing and I have been totally blown away by it all. Really I have! It is a very surreal experience as I don’t think I have ever been with a group of people who are so passionate and deeply care about what they believe in and are able to contribute on a different level which Paapadi 2013 allows them to do.

During street drama at Thabuttegama

Water quality testing at Maha Galkulama

After the multiple downpours of rain the previous day, which in effect ensured we remained cool and well hydrated compared to the usual days in the scorching heat in the land known as Sun Lanka, we were able to test quality of water of the various reservoirs scattered around in the areas we cycled through. This was an intriguing process in itself as we learnt first hand more about the multiple tools and equipment used during the method of testing the clarity and condition of the water.

From the many highlights of the days I have, I always find it very interesting to listen to Kanchana share her vast knowledge of the eco system to the group, of the birds, trees and nature itself.  One example there are ants living in the barks of certain trees which cannot be seen with the naked eye. We should not just see from a distance, but be close to nature. One way is with our eyes. There are many beautiful birds in Sri Lanka, and although we were at the side of a main road connecting two towns, we were fortunate to see a few of the 7 different species of Kingfishers this land has to offer. One of which is the largest in Sri Lanka called the Stork Billed Kingfisher. Which is extremely beautiful to see through the eyes of a binocular.

The day ended with a peaceful and relaxing dip in the lake, close to our stay for the night in Galgamuwa. Although we did not get to see wild elephants roaming freely as is the case in the late evening, I’m glad we didn’t  as I’m pretty sure we or I for that matter may not be here to finish writing this blog for the day!

Police Environmental protection Division who are riding with us 

Reflection time

Today has been a really enjoyable day. Every day is a huge success from the impact Paapadi is creating seems to be getting better and stronger as the Change Makers grow in confidence and experience led by the ever exuberant Kanchana.

3rd day of Paapedi 2013

15. March 2013

Today is the 3^rd day of our journey. Our program is intense. We get up at 5 o clock every morning and fall into bed around 12 at night. And it feels so good!!! There are many things about our group of “yathris” (travellers) that impress me. Our 25 youngsters are inspiring. They are ready for every item on our daily schedule. No debating whether it is hip or cool enough or “just not my kind”  or whatever. Those guys just dive into the activities and do them with passion and commitment. Whether ‘street theatre’, speeches in front of a crowd, talking to pedestrians about our environmental campaign or singing a song. Everybody joins in and is a part of the group. There is so much caring and sharing among our yathris which is a new experience to me, because having grown up in Germany, I know that the first thing that many people there would do would be “complaining about something that is not how they expected it to be”. But the attitude among those young guys is really different. Our trip is definitely not a luxury journey. We have to deal with all kinds of challenges. And our travellers are content with what is offered and they appreciate what they have. I see them with admiration and I feel that I can learn a lot from them and their attitudes. I feel that this journey does a lot with us all. We are learning from each other, we are learning from Kanchana, and of course from nature. You should be here with us to experience this power of enthusiasm.

Teaching about bikes

Nadeesha in the middle of  public awareness programme

Yathrees at Thalawa tank with environmetal protection division of Police

Jai

The cycling begins! Our 2nd day in Anuradhapura.

What a day! After arriving to Anuradhapura by train on a 200km ride yesterday, we began today at 5:30am with an early morning stretching and breathing activity by Nanda Kumara, a long time ECO-V volunteer and certified physical education teacher. We learned the importance of being able to control our breathing, for as we age our lung capacity goes down. And if we do not learn to manage it now, our quality of life would most likely go down as well.

Then we grabbed our bags, and jumped right onto our bicycles for the first time. We rode a short distance towards Sri Maha Bodhi, the sacred temple and location of the tree with a written record as being the oldest planted by a human being. We were greeted by one of our sponsors, managing director of Singer Sri Lanka, Dhammika Wijesundara who had come all the way from Colombo to wish us good luck. He had a few words of encouragement and shared a few thoughts about the importance of this ride and its symbolism for the future environmental health of Sri Lanka.

 We were then supported and escorted by the officers from the Police Station in Anuradhapura and the Sri Lanka army to our next three destinations, 2 major bus stop locations and a hospital in this ancient city. Our participants  completed their first challenge the evening before and developed a street theatre performance, which tried to educate and entertain the public regarding mother earth, sustainability, and human impacts and solutions to preserving our environment. These performances, similar to a flash mob, attracted 40-80 public members each.

In the evening, we were visited by Ruwan Weerasooriya from the Air Resource Management Center, who gave our yathris a lectured power point presentation on air pollution. Some of the items we went over were point and line source pollution, emissions history and science, green house gases and its relationship to climate change – all specific to Sri Lanka. All of us learned about the increase of our human ecological footprint and how that has impacted the environment and the health of people.

Our night concluded with a bike and cycling troubleshoot and education lead by Sion Zivetz, Nanda, and one of our participants Sujitha Ramanathan, who translated the workshop for our Tamil language speakers.

-          “This journey is a very new experience as an environmental journey. In the next 10 days I look forward to informing a lot of people, along the way to Colombo, about pollution and human duties to stop pollution. I also want to say it has been an interesting experience working and learning with international volunteers.”  - Sahan Amalka Jayakody, participant from Kadawatha in the Gampha  district in Sri Lanka

Officially two days before the Paapedi; it is full steam ahead with preparations!

Hello, my name is Jie Chen, an international Eco Friendly Volunteer who just arrived in Sri Lanka about a 36 hours ago from San Francisco, California. Immediately I was warmly welcomed into Kanchana’s home, which doubles as Eco-V’s headquarters, and by her team of volunteers who have been working tirelessly to put together various components of the bicycle journey for climate justice.

I met Kanchana for the first time in November 2012 when she paid the Crissy Field Center a visit. We were sharing about each other’s work with young people and I could immediately see the passion she had about her work in developing a more environmentally conscious and just society in her home country of Sri Lanka.

I was drawn to participate in this journey for many reasons. One of which was the immense potential for an exchange of learning of best practices and also a professional development opportunity for myself. It was also a great opportunity to see how, through the journey of a 10 day bike ride, young leaders would be inspired and trained to become tomorrow’s environmental stewards.

In the past 36 hours I have been able to witness the hustle and bustle of Eco-V’s office (in no particular order):

          ·         endless phone calls, faxes, and errand running to manage and changes and finalize and confirm plans

          ·         media studio interviews and communication with two major Sri Lanka networks Sirasa and MTV Sports

          ·         The pick up of supplies: bikes, helmets, repair equipment, water bottles, t-shirts, first aid, pamphlet and curriculum materials, and more

          ·         the organizing of the camera crew (Kanchana’s own brother) to document the journey and the stories of the ride

          ·         updating social media outlets

I look forward to the next couple days when the yathra (journey) officially begins. We will jump right onto a train and head towards Anuradhapura where all the yathris will convene together for the first time from different areas of Sri Lanka. We will start riding 28.4km towards the town of Thambuttegama in the first leg of our 234km journey.

Please continue to visit this blog for more updates in the next few days!

Jie Chen

 

Exploring Anuradhapura to Wariyapola on Paapedi route

Thalawa tank- one of the awareness sites for Paapedi 2013

Planning ahead of Paapedi in Thalawa

Last Monday Kanchana, Trudy and I (Sion) spent the day finalizing the route and logistics for Paapedi.  We left home before the sunrise and when I woke up in the back of the van the sky was gray and raining.  We were approaching Anuradhapura, our first stop for the day and starting point of the bicycle journey.  The air was cool and the scenery a lush green.  The tanks seemed full to capacity and the landscape looked to be an endless wetland.  This is a completely different scene than in the dry season, where the landscape is arid and brown.  The bicycle journey will be wonderful and the participants will get a real treat seeing all the greenery, the birdlife and the tanks.

We stopped briefly for a string hopper breakfast before entering Anuradhapura.  I’d never been there before, but was struck by how calm, clean and quaint the town seemed.  It is of course one of the ancient cities of Sri Lanka and it is nice to see that the modern life has not completely taken over.  Our first visit was to the secretary of the provincial council.  We entered a massive government complex and found his office.  Kanchana spoke with him about our journey and confirmed their support and collaboration.  He agreed to have a small ceremony for the yaathris before leaving Anuradhapura and Kanchana agreed to offer a workshop for media representatives.  The goal of the workshop is to educate the media about the issues that we will be talking about on the journey so that their coverage is accurate and educational for the public.

From there we visited an ancient dagoba (stupa) where we paid a visit to the head monk.  While we waited for him we observed the langurs in the trees and enjoyed talking about birds.  When the head monk arrived Kanchana requested that he offer some blessing or ceremony to the yaathris before we start the journey.  He was willing to do it and agreed that on the 14^th in the evening we would come to the dagoba and he would lead some chanting and ceremony for our group.  Everything was falling into place.

From there we visited the circuit bungalow where we will spend the first two nights.  The accommodation is nice and close to a tank where we will be able to do yoga in the morning and begin our preparations for the journey. 

We left Anuradhapura and continued on to Thambuttegama, our second stop.  Before reaching Thambuttegama we stopped in Thalawa to meet a contact of Kanchana.  He learned about Eco-V from the Kelani Nadee Yatra and was interested in helping with Paapedi.  He introduced us to the local council and showed their garden.  It was a nice mandala style garden, but clearly there was not a great interested to keep it up.  He expressed concern because they had sprayed “round up” a weedicide to kill the grass.  We agreed that it would be a good place to bring the yaathris to learn.  From there we went to the local tank and saw some beautiful trees.  Kanchana explained that they were planted by the British and have some harmful effects on bees.  They decided to arrange to plant some native trees nearby so that after the life of the non-native trees, the natives could grow up in their place.  What a nice idea!

After this meeting, we continued on the Thambuttegama where we were searching for accommodation.  We met the manager of a hotel and in conversation, Kanchana helped him to understand how to make better environmental choices, like switching from very dark curtains to lighter curtains so he wouldn’t have to use the lights during the day.  He was open to learning and said that he would help find accommodation for us.

We continued on to Galgamua where we went in search of a place for the yaathris to stay.  We visited the irrigation department training campus which is set in a beautiful garden.  Unfortunately the head of the center said that the facilities were completely occupied because they host students there.  She suggested a few places to us and we visited a lovely little guesthouse where we will be staying.  It is located on the banks of a beautiful tank.  The family that runs the guesthouse is willing to help us and we all thought that the location would be great for the group to stay.

From Galgamua we carried on to Variapola, our last stop of the day.  We checked in with the agriculture training school to confirm accommodation for the group.  Everything there is set and we spend the last of the afternoon light enjoying the garden and visiting a local nursery.  From here we spend the next few hours coming back to the city.  The roads get progressively more crowded and there are more and more shops along the way. 

The day was beautiful and the roads are quiet in the north.  It will be a pleasure to ride our bikes through the country.  I’m very excited for the journey and it feels that the experience will be so rewarding and transformative.  Go Paapedi!

Sion

Legendary Cricketer Muthiah Muralitharan Endorses ECO-V’s Paapedi 2013

As the countdown for Paapedi 2013 begins, World Class Cricketer Muthiah Muralitharan’s endorsement has been a tremendous encouragement for all at ECO-V.We are much grateful  to

 Mr. Kushil Gunasekera  Founder, Foundation of Goodness, who has made this endorsement a reality and for the support he extends towards Paapedi.

With just 11 days to Paapedi, we are faced with new challenges everyday; to have the support of this legendary personality has given us the extra energy to achieve our goals. Mr. Muthiah has long been actively supporting environmental causes in Sri Lanka, and we admire his dedication towards Mother Earth. Hopefully this brilliant message will reach the youth & encourage them to join with us to combat Climate Change on an individual and global level.

 

Dhilmi