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Behind the smog, we saw the light

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Behind the smog, we saw the light

New Delhi on November 5th; the Air Quality Index on that morning was over 750, with anything above 250-300 considered "very unhealthy" to "hazardous". For the 20 million people living in the metropolis, especially the most impoverished ones living on the streets, life must go on just the same.

A few weeks ago, Slow Motion Projects spent a few days in New Delhi; there is no doubt that what we saw there will remain etched in our memories for a very long time. When you hear that Delhi is extremely polluted, and that you see extreme poverty at every street corner, well: this is true. We stayed in Delhi right after Diwali, one of the biggest celebrations in India during which people light crackers in the streets. In addition, during the winter months in India, the farmers in the northern part of the country burn their crop fields to fertilise the soil for the next harvest. These events, combined with the constant traffic, resulted in air pollution levels far above the maximum of any established scale to measure the concentration of toxic particles in the air. The air was so dangerous indeed that schools remained closed for several days. 

Behind the smog cloud, however, we saw rays of sun. Our local partner in Delhi, the NGO Pardarshita, battles to facilitate the implementation of the 25% clause regarding admission of underprivileged children in private schools, according to the Right To Education Act enacted by the Indian parliament in 2009 (more information on our project page). Pardarshita welcomed us in one of their centres for school support, located in a very poor area of the city. The NGO runs several centres, where needy children get free help with their school homework. The kids can also come to the centres anytime to read the books available there. Their mothers are often women facing difficult life situations: they are abused by their husbands, victims of violence (often linked to addiction problems), or when they decide to leave, they become isolated and alone with their children. Pardarshita supports those women through the enrolment process of their children into private schools, providing them access to computers and help with the procedures. 

During those days of extreme pollution, it became clear that Slow Motion Projects needs to play a bigger role in empowering the children to change the future of their city. Those kids face the reality of poverty and poor health linked with air pollution, and we want to allow them to dream of their future life, better and cleaner. For the next step of our action with Pardarshita, Slow Motion Projects will supply the school centres with nature education books. In particular, we will bridge our two current Indian projects by acquiring and distributing in the centres the nature book "The Secret Garden",  and further publications of our partner NGO in Uttarakhand, Nature Science Initiative.

Before we went away, the kids left with us their very special way of saying thank you to all the generous donors who contributed to supporting the project... Keep an eye on your mailbox! We join them in expressing gratitude for your donations, and constant support and attention towards our actions.

 

 

 

 

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Fast-Forward across Mongolia

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Fast-Forward across Mongolia

Over the past two months, our Slow Motion journey took us across the incredible landscapes of Siberia and Mongolia. We thought that timelapse video would be an oddly appropriate way to document these adventures... In fast-forward!

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To Moscow in 4 sleeps

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To Moscow in 4 sleeps

There we go! We finally left Switzerland on the fourth of April, and exactly one week later, we were in Moscow. In the mean time...

  • we had a delicious lunch in our favourite vegetarian restaurant in Prague 
  • we discovered Warsaw for 3 days and were offered by our fantastic hosts to fly above the city in their Piper Cherokee Arrow from 1970 - yes, no flying we said, but we could not say no to such an invitation
  • we spent two days in Minsk, slowly getting familiar with post-Soviet culture.

We, lucky Europeans, benefit from the largest and best developed railway network in the world. Using night trains, we can hop from one capital city to the next and get to discover them.

Now, to make it clear once for all: no, night trains do not mean sleepless nights and low comfort. Those trains offer 2-bed compartments, most of them equipped with your own washing corner, towels and soap, a small closet to hang your clothes, drinking water, and even breakfast with hot coffee in the morning. In each corridor, you will find a shower in most trains, and they also offer a bar and restaurant where meals are served at the table.

Depending on the booking, travelling in 2-bed compartments in night trains can be more expensive than travelling with the plane. However you will save money on accommodation as you are sleeping on the train. Also, the railway stations of capital cities are always located within or close to the city centre. You will not waste any time travelling to the airport, waiting there for two hours before boarding and you will be able to bring back anything you want in your luggage.

Enjoy your next train ride and stay tuned for our Slow Motion stories in Russia!

Your Slow Mo's

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How to pack for one year?

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How to pack for one year?

Travelling as much as possible on foot is central to the idea of Slow Motion Projects. This means that the weight we will carry on our backs should be absolutely minimised. In the last couple of weeks we have been asking ourselves: what do we REALLY need? What could we do without?

Here is a breakdown of what will follow us from the bitter cold of the Siberian taiga to the tropical heat of the Yunnan summer. We hope the list will prove useful to other Slow Motion travellers!

For each of us

  • large (70-90L), waterproof rucksack
  • set of ultralight packing sacks to store and separate stuff in the rucksack
  • small foldable bag to use as daypack
  • 1 pair of trail running/hiking shoes
  • 1 pair of sandals
  • 4 pairs of underwear
  • 4 pairs of socks: 2 light cotton, 2 heavier wool
  • 1 pair of thermal underwear/yoga tights
  • 4 light short-sleeve T-shirts in synthetic fabric/Merino wool
  • 2 long-sleeve T-shirts in stretchable/breathable fabric
  • 1 pair of breathable, fast drying shorts
  • 1 pair of convertible pants/shorts
  • 1 pair of mountaineering/waterproof pants
  • stretchable belt
  • waterproof hardshell jacket (3-layer Gore-Tex)
  • down jacket
  • thin gloves
  • warm down mittens/gloves
  • multifunctional headwear (scarf/hat/balaclava)
  • warm woolen hat
  • set of toe and hand warmers
  • warm but lightweight synthetic down sleeping bag
  • compression sack for the sleeping bag
  • inflatable pillow
  • silk sleeping bag liner (+5°C to your sleeping bag, replaces it in warm climate)
  • inflatable sleeping mat
  • indestructible sunglasses
  • camping cookware set (pot, fork/spoon, plastic cup)
  • foldable plastic bowl
  • aluminium or Nalgene water bottle
  • handheld water filter (LifeStraw)
  • USB-rechargeable headlamp
  • microfibre towel (about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have)
  • three-segment collapsible walking poles
  • the "Point it" traveller's language kit book
  • toiletry/healthcare set (too much in there to detail here, maybe for a separate post)

Shared between us

  • roomy tent with a separate compartment for our gear and smelly fellow canine travellers
  • portable yoga/floor mat
  • multi-fuel camping stove (burns white gas, unleaded fuel or even kerosene)
  • first aid/survival kit (too much in there to detail here, maybe for a separate post)
  • the (indispensable!) SAS Survival Handbook
  • water filter with a hand pump
  • 3-litre hydration bag
  • multifunction knife
  • waterproof fire starters
  • waterproof solid fuel tablets
  • length of thin rope
  • biodegradable soap/(dish)washing liquid
  • solar charging kit with USB output
  • LED camp lantern
  • thin USB-rechargeable laptop
  • USB power pack
  • waterproof action cam
  • compact camera
  • e-reader
  • dry sack for the electronic stuff

Oh and all the dog thingies of course... We're working on finding a way to share the load with our hairy teammate. Stay tuned for more on that!

Spotted anything we missed? Interested in the specifics of this or that piece of gear? Let us know in the comments, or contact us directly!

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