Janwaar. Beyond Skateboarding.

Janwaar. Beyond Skateboarding
Bea Gschwend / Ulrike Reinhard

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Der Verein The Rural Changemakers
gem. e.V. wurde 2018 gegründet und
hat seinen Sitz in Berlin. Der Zweck
des Vereins ist die Förderung der
Jugendhilfe, Erziehung, Volks- und
Berufsbildung und der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit
sowie die Förderung
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auf allen Gebieten der Kultur
und des Völkerverständigungsgedankens.
Der Satzungszweck wird verwirklicht
ins besondere durch die
Planung, Durchführung und Betreuung
interdisziplinärer Projekte mit
und für die Kinder und Jugendliche
in ländlichen Gebieten und Dörfern
in Indien.
The Rural Changemakers gem. e.V.
is a not-for-profit association based in
Berlin where it was founded in 2018.
Its purpose is to support youth welfare,
education, vocational training
and cooperation in the field of development
aid, as well as to promote an
international ethos, tolerance in all
areas of cultural life, and understanding
among nations. In particular,
its aims are realised through the planning,
execution, and supervision of
interdisciplinary projects with, and
for, children and young people in the
rural areas and villages of India.
n :jy psatesdlZ bZ-oh- ,d xSj&ykHkdkjh laLFkk
gS ftls 2018 esa cfyZu esa LFkkfir fd;k x;k FkkA
bldk mís”; ;qok dY;k.k] f”k{kk] O;kolkf;d
çf”k{k.k vkSj fodkl lgk;rk ds {ks= esa lg;ksx
ds lkFk&lkFk varjjk’Vªh; yksdkpkj rFkk
lfg’.kqrk dh le> dks lkaL—frd thou ds lHkh
{ks=ksa rFkk jk’Vªksa ds chp c<+kok nsuk gSaA fo”ks’k
:i ls blds vuqPNsnksa dk mís”; Hkkjr ds xk¡oksa
vkSj xzkeh.k {ks=ksa esa cPpksa vkSj ;qokvksa ds lkFk
var%fo”k; ifj;kstukvksa dk vk;kstu] fØ;kUo;u
vkSj i;Zos{k.k djuk gSA

Janwaar. Beyond Skateboarding
Bea Gschwend / Ulrike Reinhard

8

Seite 8: Das ist eine Luftaufnahme von Janwaar. Janwaar ist ein 1200 Seelen-
Dorf im Nordwesten von Madhya Pradesh in Zentral-Indien. Es ist 600 km
von Delhi und 1200 km von Mumbai entfernt. Seit 2015 gibt es dort einen
Skatepark. Die Dorfkinder wurden unter dem Namen „Barefoot Skateboarders“
weit über die Grenzen Indiens hinaus bekannt. Skateboarding hat ihr
Leben in vielerlei Hinsicht verändert.
Page 8: This is an aerial photograph of Janwaar. Janwaar is a 1200-soul village
in north-western Madhya Pradesh in Central India. From Janwaar it’s 600
kilometres to Delhi and 1200 kilometres to Mumbai. In 2015 skateboarding
was introduced to this village. Over the years Janwaar’s children became
well-known under the name ”The Barefoot Skateboarders“, way beyond
India’s borders. Skateboarding has changed significantly the lives of these
children.
Page 8: vkdk”k ls yh xbZ ;s rLohj tuokj xkao dh gSA e/; çns”k jkT; ds mÙkj&if”pe esa
fLFkr tuokj 1]200 fuokflvksa dk xkao gSA ;s e/; Hkkjr dk Hkkx gSA tuokj ls fnYyh 600
fd-eh- vkSj eqacbZ 1]200 fd-eh- dh nwjh ij gSA bl xkao esa LdsVcksfMaZx dh “kq#vkr o’kZ 2015 esa
gqbZ FkhA fiNys dqN o’kksaZ esa tuokj ds cPpksa vkSj ;qokvksa us viuh igpku Hkkjr ds lkFk&lkFk
dbZ ns”kksa esa cuk yh gS ;s vc ^^n cs,jQqV LdsVcksMZjl^^ ds uke ls tkus tkrs gSaA LdsVcksfMaZx
us bu cPpksa dh ftUnxh dks mYys[kuh; <ax ls cny fn;k gSA
Photo page 8: Divy Bhagia
9

content
Editorial 10
Janwaar: Auf der Suche nach einer neuen Identität 14
Shail Desai
Unser Skatepark – die Sprungrampe in ein neues Leben 54
Doris Eichmeier
Fototeil 88
Janwaar 90
Panna 108
Barefoot Skateboarders Organization 124
Villa Janwaar 132
Homestays 142
Frauen in Janwaar 148
Die Dorfältesten 164
Prakriti School 178
Open School Projekt 186
Fotonachweis 201
Impressum 213
10

Editorial 10
Janwaar: Discovering a New Identity 14
Shail Desai
Our Skatepark – the Vert Ramp to a New Life 54
Doris Eichmeier
Photo Section 88
Janwaar 90
Panna 108
Barefoot Skateboarders Organization 124
Villa Janwaar 132
Homestays 142
Women in Janwaar 148
The Elders 164
Prakriti School 178
Open School Project 186
Photo Index 201
Imprint 213
Laikndh; 10
tuokj% ,d ubZ igpku dh [kkst 14
Shail Desai
gekjk LdsVikdZ & oVZ jSai ls ,d u, thou dh vkSj 54
Doris Eichmeier
QksVks vuqHkkx 88
Tkuokj 90
iUuk 108
cs;jQwV LdsVcksMZlZ vksxZukbts”ku 124
foyk tuokj 132
gkse LVs 142
tuokj dh efgyk, 148
cMs cqtqxZ 164
izfdZfr Ldwy 178
vksiu Ldwy izkstsDV 187
QksVks lwpd 201
Nki 213
11

Janwaar.
Beyond Skateboarding
Axel Pfennigschmidt /
Andreas Schulten / Berlin
Members of the Board
The Rural Changemakers gem. e.V.
www.rural-changemakers.com
Vor unserer Reise nach Janwaar im Februar 2020, hatten
wir Bilder im Kopf von einem Dorf, dessen Alltag seit
Generationen in festen Bahnen verläuft. Uns war klar,
dass der Skatepark für Unruhe gesorgt hat. Ist das Leben
der Dorfbewohner dadurch aber wirklich ein anderes
geworden?
Diese Frage wurde uns vor Ort schnell beantwortet. Denn
aus den ersten Kids auf Skateboards sind Schüler mit
vielfältigen Erfahrungen im In- und Ausland geworden.
Von deren Ideen und konkreten Plänen profitiert nun das
ganze Dorf. Mütter managen Homestays und werden bald
Heidelberg besuchen. Väter helfen beim Bau weiterer
Skateparks in anderen Dörfern. Es gibt Internet. Und zwei
Jugendliche verkaufen selbstgefertigte Tonskulpturen –
made in Art Ichol.
Das alles war für uns spannend und anregend. Nicht nur
der Skatepark und all die Impulse ändern Janwaar, auch
unsere Sichtweise auf das, was eine kleine Initiative
Großes in Gang setzen kann, hat sich geändert. Wir
bleiben dran.
12

Before we left for Janwaar in February 2020, we pictured
it as a sleepy little village where things hadn’t changed for
generations. We knew that the skatepark had disrupted the
life of the village. But had it really changed the lives of the
villagers themselves?
Once there, we didn’t have to wait long for an answer. We
quickly realised that the skateboarders had turned into
students enriched by a trove of experience from all that
they’d seen in India and abroad. Today the whole village
benefits from their ideas and savvy plans. Mothers are
managing homestays and will soon be flying to Heidelberg.
Fathers are helping to build skateparks in other rural villages.
There’s internet, and two of the youngsters are selling
clay sculptures which they make themselves – made in
Art Ichol.
All of this was enthralling and a source of deep inspiration
for both of us. The skatepark, and all the impulses that
radiate from it, is not only changing Janwaar, it is also
changing our view of how a tiny intervention can set something
far larger in motion. We’ll stay tuned.
Qjojh 2020 esa tuokj tkus ls igys geus lkspk Fkk fd oks ç—fr dh xksn
esa clk ,d “kkar vkSj lkSE; xkao gksxk tgk¡ lfn;ksa ls dqN ugha cnyk
gksxkA gesa ;s ,glkl Fkk fd LdsVikdZ us tuokj xkao dh ftUnxh dks
ges”kk ds fy, cny fn;k Fkk ij D;k LdsVikdZ us xkaWo okfl;ksa dh ftUnxh
cnyhA
tuokj igq¡p dj gesa mldk mrj feyus esa nsj ugha yxhA tuokj ds
mRlkgh ;qok LdsVcksZMlZ ¼LdsfVax cksMZ ij jiVus okys½ Hkkjr vkSj nqfu;k
Hkj ds dbZ ns”k ls tqVk, vius vuqHkoksa ds dkj.k vc lEiu vkSj çpqj
f”k{kkFkhZ gks pqds FksA vkt lewpk tuokj xkao muds u, fopkjksa] le> cw>
ls ij[kh ;kstukvksaa dk ykHk mBkr gSA bu mRlkgh ;qokvksa dh ekrk,¡ vc
?kjksa esa vfFkfrxzg pyrh gSaA bues ls dqN efgyk¡, tYn gh gkbMsycxZ dh
;k=k ds fy, vk,¡xhA bu ;qokvksa ds firk nwljs xzkeh.k {ks=ksa esa u,
LdsVikdZ cukus esa tqVs gSaA tuokj vkSj blds vkl ikl ds bykdksa esa vc
baVjusV dh lqfo/kk Hkh gSA bl ;qokvksa ds lewg esa ls nks ;qok vkVZ bpkSy
xzke laLFkk ls ifjf”k{k.k ik dj feêh dh ewfrZ;k¡ vkSj çfrek,a cuk dj
cspus yxs gSaA
ge nksuksa ds fy, tuokj esa ;s lc dj ikuk cgqr gh fnypLi vkSj vfr
çsj.kknk;d gSA LdsVikdZ ds çHkko ls vk;h u;h meax us u dsoy tuokj
ds thou dks cnyk gS ijUrq bl gLr{ksi us ;s lkfcr dj fn;k gS fd bd
NksVh ls igy cgqr cM+k cnyko yk ldrh gSA tqM+s jfg;s] ge bls vHkh
vkSj vkxs ;s tk;saxsA
13

Janwaar
Janwaar is a small hamlet four
kilometres off Panna-Satna
road. 1200 people live there –
the Yadav caste and Adivasi.
There is hardly any electricity
in the village, no sanitation and
only recently a young doctor
opened a medical practice
which is rather badly equipped.
13 years ago a government
school opened its doors; today
the kids can pass 8th grade in
the village, then they have to
go to another town for further
education. The quality of
education is meagre – but at
least there is a school. There
is no rush in Janwaar, life is
rather laid back and people
enjoy the here and now.
90

Geeta Yadav on her way to
her cattle. The stable is just
opposite of her house. She and
her family have the largest
herd of cattle in the village,
and live in the ”posh“ area of
Janwaar.
Photo: Aslam Saiyad
91

Geeta Yadav milking one of
her buffalos. They give milk
twice a day. Her husband
Anand Singh Yadav (see
opposite page) brings the milk
every day to Panna. Selling
milk is an important source
of income for them.
Their youngest son, Ajeet,
is participating in the Open
School Project (see pages
186-199).
Photo: Makarand Ranavde
92

Anand Singh Yadav, husband
of Geeta Yadav, after milking
the buffalos. He is riding every
day on his motorbike to Panna
to sell the milk. Two or three
canisters are magically fixed
(Indian Jugaad) at his motorbike
– filled with milk. He sells
one litre for 40 Indian Rupees
(4.50 Euros).
Photo: Aslam Saiyad
93

The soil in and around
Janwaar is not very fertile.
This is a field in November.
It usually should have wheat.
But farming in Janwaar is
a challenge – year by year.
Many fields lie fallow – either
because of the lack of rain
or cost for labour. The main
crops are: wheat, lentil,
mustard, black gram and a
little bit of rice. During the
monsoons people grow sesame
seeds and various vegetables.
Photo: Aslam Saiyad
94

Pahalvan Yadav owns a flock
of goats. For his family, goats
are an important source of
income – they milk them and
sell the young goats.
Photo: Aslam Saiyad
95

A typical lane in the Adivasi
part of the village.
The water in the street
comes from the water pump.
This water body is always
there – it is a breeding place
for mosqitos and many
other bacterias which cause
Malaria and other diseases.
Photo: Aslam Saiyad
96

A little girl carrying buckets
of water. Carrying water
is the job of the girls and the
ladies. Needless to say that
this is hard work because the
buckets are heavy. During
the hot season (April – June)
sometimes they have to walk
far in the heat of the day to
reach a water pump that still
provides water.
Photo: Aslam Saiyad
97

Children are happily playing
in the Adivasi part of Janwaar.
They usually play in small
groups, still mostly separated
by caste. They rarely “mix” –
only at the skatepark and at
the Villa Janwaar the different
castes come together. Since
there are no toys available
they come up with very
innovative ”toys“ and games.
Photo: Aslam Saiyad
98

Liddhee Adivasi taking a
bath at the water pump right
next to the lake (see next two
pages). Very few houses in
Janwaar have a bathroom.
Photo: Aslam Saiyad
99

Sunrise at the lake in Janwaar.
The lake is the water reservoir
for the village. It is surrounded
by very old trees which provide
a pleasant shade during the
hot summer days. There is
always a breeze at the lake.
Photo: Aslam Saiyad
100

Early morning on the field
track along the lake in
Janwaar. The track leads to
the Doolha Dev Temple – a
temple where the villagers
come to worship. The villagers
tell a myth about the lake and
the temple. They say in the
early days a royal couple
drowned in the lake and this
determined which caste could
live and survive in Janwaar.
One of our kids, Anil Kumar,
has written a story about
this.
Photo: Aslam Saiyad
101

Hetsingh and his wife Gyaan
Yadav are sitting in the
courtyard of their house,
cleaning peas. Hetsingh was
the Sarpanch of Janwaar
(a sarpanch is a decisionmaker,
elected by the villagelevel
constitutional body of
local self-government called
the Gram Sabha in India).
The couple has three sons
and they live with their
families all in the same household
– three generations
under one roof. They are
living in the ”posh“ part of
Janwaar. One of their sons
is Veer Singh – he is our
landlord at the Villa (see
page 138) and from him
we’ve also leased the land
on which the second skatepark
is built.
Photo: Maninder Singh
102

Lalla Bai and Gond Bai – both
Adivasi ladies – sitting in their
courtyard. It’s a very typical
posture. Both of them are hard
working women – they go in
the forest to collect wood (what
they actually should not do:
getting into the forest and
cutting wood is forbidden) and
sell it in Panna. It’s a couple of
hours work, long walks included
(at least 14 kilometres) – and
they get badly paid for it.
They hardly make 200 Indian
Rupees per load, which is less
than Euros 3.
Photo: Arun Kumar
103

Jamie Fullerton, a journalist
from the UK, with Seglal
Adivasi, on a walk through
the jungles. Seglal loves to take
the guests who are coming to
Janwaar for a jungle tour.
During these tours the guests
learn a lot about the trees and
bushes of the jungle – what is
eatable and what not. If they
are lucky they will see a tiger
or bear; they will certainly
come across some snakes.
Photo: Matjaž Tančič
104

Siya Bai being interviewed
and filmed by Danny Schmidt,
a film maker from Salt Lake
City, USA. Arun Kumar was
translating the questions.
Danny is planning a short
documentary on our work in
Janwaar. He was planning
to return to the village in
March 2020 to shoot more –
but then the Corona virus hit.
Photo: Ulrike Reinhard
105

The Janwaar kids were cast
by a Mumbai film team for
the movie ”Desert Dolphin“ –
a story based on our story in
Janwaar. The drama was
directed by Manjari Makijany,
a young director from
Mumbai, now living and being
married in Hollywood, USA.
Photos: Vinati Makijany
106

107

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1. Edition 2020
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