Day 6 - Barwada Village

On the 15th of December, we left the beautiful city of Udaipur and departed to meet the Aajeevika Bureau team for the last time at Barwada Village. Unlike the centre at Ahmedabad and the STEP Academy at Udaipur, this centre focuses on family empowerment and acts as a satellite STEP centre, catering to women who cannot join STEP at Udaipur.

The Family Empowerment Programme has been the centre’s main focus because female literacy rate is half that of men in the villages; this makes them unaware of the rights they are entitled to as they cannot comprehend the information about government social welfare schemes. There are solidarity groups called Ujalah (which means light), where issues are discussed and negotiated. This gives the women a sense of belonging to the community as they help each other out and resolve issues together. Training is provided to women leaders to help the women understand their rights and benefits. On top of that, training in various fields such as masonry and mobile appliance repair is provided. Seeing how they can thrive individually and in the community in the absence of a male figure in the family gives them an additional sense of empowerment as well, which is what community development is about. And it was really heartening to see the smiles on the women’s faces as they were actively involved in stamping legal documents to be submitted to the government.

After the sharing, we visited one of the hamlets and had the chance to interact with two Ujalah leaders. Hearing from them firsthand how the solidarity group has helped them and how they have in turn helped the others in the group gave us a better understanding of what agency truly means.

Thereafter, we proceeded to the Kumbhalgarh fort, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of Rajasthan’s most celebrated tourist attractions. Spanning 36km, it is the second longest wall behind the Great Wall of China.

From the bus, we transferred to a jeep, which brought us to the Kumbhalgarh Fort. As we approached the site, a castle-like structure resting atop a hill emerged in the horizon – the Kumbhalgarh Fort. With all its grandeur, it was truly a sight to behold. The moment we reached the entrance to the Fort, it was almost sunset and we rushed to the top of the Fort to catch the legendary sunset. However, on the way up, we were constantly distracted by the unique architecture of this ancient mega structure, and took numerous pictures.

At the top of the Fort, we were greeted with a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape of the mountains and villages that dotted the lands. Finally, as the sun set, the sky turned an orangey-hue, which made for a perfect backdrop of the mountain landscape. After taking numerous pictures against the scene and the excitement slowly settling down, some of us found an unusual but comfortable silence. A much needed silence for introspection of our unique experiences thus far.

Finally, after the sunset, we slowly made our way down the Fort and watched the Fort light up in the night sky – another impressive view, before making our way back to the resort to conclude the eventful day.