The Rakkar playground needed urgent attention as the drainage channel that cuts across it was leaking, forming large puddles under the swings. Our team worked hard to clear the channel of overgrowth and pack the leaks with clay. It is very likely that we will have to wait until it is dry and then re-lay the base of the channel with concrete to ensure the smooth flow of water. We are proud to do this for our village but would sincerely appreciate local contributions to this work!

We have a very excited crowd of children these days as they are practicing for their performance of the Ram Lila which is to take place on Rakkar Ground on 24th October. Vijay, Ankush and Ravindra have written out a script which the children are learning so as to audition for the key parts. It’s a heavy competition!

Ravi, our new Austrian civil service volunteer is a qualified and dedicated gardener. In order to improve the fertility of our soil he is showing our team how, if you burn wood to make biochar and add it to compost it will greatly assist in carbon storage and water retention which is very necessary during the dry seasons in this area. We look forward to increased vegetable crops!

The bright October skies draw the children down to the playground to joyfully rediscover the equipment.

Recycling plastic by melting it down releases more CO2 than it saves. Nishtha recycles soft plastic into building blocks which when sealed in concrete pose no threat to the environment. Support our effort by sorting your waste and delivering sacks of clean soft plastic to Nishtha. Reduce – Reuse – Recycle

Vijay and Ankush are dedicated to helping the children and students learn how computers work and to enjoy using them. Every afternoon students from the local school perch on the stools and learn to type, draw and do puzzles while on Sundays the students we sponsor double up on the computers to become familiar with using them for their college work.

No less than 70 garbage hotspots have been identified by satellite mapping all across Himachal Pradesh. Immediate targeted action is required to educate the public and provide real solutions to the serious issue of waste management that affect us all.

A vibrant and charming performance by the participants of a recently concluded Kathak dance workshop led by Annu Gupta was held in Nishtha Community Centre on Sunday. Four of the performers were Nishtha sponsored students who proudly showed off their new talents to the rest of the students and friends of Nishtha. It was inspiring to see the level of concentration, team work and expression achieved during through this short but intense training.

It is shocking to see how Dharamshala’s new fancy smart city garbage bins are neither emptied frequently nor used with any care.

We were delighted to host our first group of students from abroad for a very long time! Six students and their teachers from the US enjoyed visiting our clinic and community centre, hearing about our work, meeting our students and staff and playing with the children.