Category Archives: General

Apr6

Dhauladhar Mahila Jagriti Mandal & My Himachal celebrates Swachata Diwas

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Dhauladhar Mahila Jagriti Mandal & My Himachal celebrates Swachata Diwas

dhauladhar-samiti

Shimla: It would have been a relaxing Sunday for some, but not for the residents of Dhauladhar colony, Dharamshala.

Dhauladhar Mahila Jagriti Mandal, My Himachal and local residents—from children to the old all were together on streets, collecting garbage spelled all over the society. With no proper disposable system in place, people are throwing waste on streets and khad and some are burning everything including plastics, without being aware of its poisonous affects in the environment.

For the complete society there is not even a single garbage cane kept by the government or the developers. Also, there is no pick up vans for the collection of garbage coming to this area.

So local resident here have come together and decided to hold each other’s hand and find out a solution to this. With the help of the Samiti and My Himachal they are now on the streets and creating an awareness campaign, making people aware of the segregation process. The purpose is to separate kitchen waste from the dry waste. Once this kitchen waste and dry waste is segregated from each home, locals are trying to find a place with the help of panchayat so that this can be converted into manure and can be given to the local farmers. For the solid waste, they have no immediate solution, but they are trying to find a place where bin can be placed, so that people do not throw waste in streets and khads. Once they have bins near the house, they will all have a place to dump the waste, from where MCD can send the pick up truck at least twice a week.

children with rags

Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is also carried out to recover resources from it. Waste management can involve solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive substances, with different methods and fields of expertise for each. To read more about Waste Management kindly click here.

waste management

Many countries around the world have chosen this technique of waste management to intelligently dispose various types of waste.

Dec9

My Himachal Allocates HOPE Scholarships

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My Himachal Allocates HOPE Scholarships

Shimla: My Himachal, a US based non-profit organization, announces grant of HOPE Scholarships to 81 students of Himachal Pradesh studying in various recognised schools of the state. The grant amount is based on government school fees structure.

lalpani-0511Director Education Dr. O.P. Sharma, today bestowed a scholarship cheque of Rs 2000/- to Akhil Negi S/o Shri Shiv Kumar at Government Senior Secondary School (Lalpani), Shimla and formally launched the HOPE scholarship grant for meritorious and deserving students of Himachal Pradesh.

Akhil scored 83% in 8th standard from H.P. Board of School Education and is presently studying in 9th class.

Speaking over the occasion Dr. Sharma congratulated Akhil, who aspires to become a doctor, and all other eighty-one HOPE beneficiary students and said that such scholarships prove as an encouragement to the students to perform better with some help to their family.

He appreciated the effort of My Himachal team in bringing out HOPE Scholarship this year and gave his best wishes for the effort in coming years as well.

With an objective of encouraging and rewarding merit of deserving students, My Himachal members (consisting of globally re-located Himachal residents) have come together and contributed to giving out these scholarships to students.[/lang_en] Read the rest of this entry →

Oct9

Payson Stevens to be honored by PCI for his work with My Himachal

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Payson Stevens to be honored by PCI for his work with My Himachal

Payson Stevens, one of My Himachal’s advisors would be honored on 8th November in San Diego, California for his work with My Himachal. Project Concern International (PCI), one of the largest non profit organizations in US is hosting Hands Across Borders 2008 to celebrate the diversity and spirit of South & Southeast Asia and an “Honor Roll” of local individuals and nonprofit organizations whose commitments are making a real difference in South & Southeast Asia..

A total of 30 NGOs would be honored while Md. Yunus, the noble peace prize winner from Bangladesh would also be honored in same event with Humanitarian award.

Sponsored by QUALCOMM Wireless Reach and including major corporate sponsors, the Forum would see a keynote address by Professor C.K. Prahalad.

About Payson R. Stevens

Payson R. Stevens, President and Creative Director of InterNetwork Inc. (1979-99) and well as InterNetwork Media Inc. (1993-2004), both award-winning science/consulting groups with clients in government, industry, and academia originally attended molecular biology at the City University of New York and oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He has also studied at the Arts Students League and the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

An artist, designer, writer, and film maker for over thirty years, he is one versatile man. Lead author of Embracing Earth: New Views of Our Changing Planet (Chronicle Books, 1992), which appeared in four foreign-language editions, he was also contributing author and artist/designer to the award-winning college textbooks, Geology Today (CRM, 1973) and Biology Today (CRM, 1971). His film credits include a CINE Golden Eagle Award (1980) for a national Public Television broadcast script on Antarctica.

From 1981 to 1995, Stevens and his company helped develop a series of sponsored Earth-science reports, brochures, posters, and multimedia projects for the major US science agencies which won numerous awards for design and writing in annual competitions.

He has also produced and directed ten acclaimed educational CD-ROM titles on Earth-science and environmental subjects, two of which debuted at the Smithsonian Institution’s 1995 “Ocean Planet Exhibition.” In 1994, InterNetwork received the Presidential Design Award for Excellence from President Clinton for the CD-ROM science-journal prototype, Arctic Data InterActive, the first time this honor had been given for multimedia work. Stevens is also an accomplished public speaker and has presented at numerous conferences on the environment, technology, and design. He has also been an advisor on environmental sustainability and ecotourism issues for the Great Himalayan National Park in India. Stevens is currently painting/drawing in his studio in Del Mar, California, and during annual trips to the Kullu Valley, India where he lives part of the year with his wife, the writer Kamla Kapur.

About PCI

PCI is a San Diego-based global health and development organization started in 1961. Since then it has implemented thousands of projects around the world to prevent disease, improve community health and promote sustainable development, reaching millions of families in countries in Africa, the Americas and Asia.

PCI’s projects in India reach some of the most vulnerable people throughout the country, including children at risk of contracting polio; women and children in rural communities; HIV positive people in urban slums; and most recently, thousands of people affected by some of the worst flooding in the country’s history. PCI also uses its convening power to help people here learn more about the world.

The South & Southeast Asia Forum on Nov 6th will give this extraordinary group of people a chance to share their experience and explore ways to collaborate.

Jun14

My Himachal HOPE Scholarships 2008

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My Himachal HOPE Scholarships 2008

My Himachal Scholarships Committee announces HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils’ Education) Scholarships to help deserving bona fide Himachali students (up to 10+2 level) pay for tuition fees, books and school uniforms for the academic year 2008-2009 on Merit-cum-Means basis.

Form and Further Details: Hindi Version English Version

My Himachal members and subscribers residing in Himachal, are urged to download & print copies of these forms, visit their local schools and make representations to the respective school principals and contacts to encourage them to make as many copies of these and distribute them amongst the students who may wish to apply for the scholarship this year.

My Himachal members residing outside Himachal, can send these forms to their relatives and contacts in Himachal to help us reach out to students who may need financial assistance for education.

My Himachal will also announce scholarships for degree/diploma and post-graduate level bona fide Himachali students in August 2008. Stay tuned !!! Read the rest of this entry →

May29

Fourth My Himachal Health Mela in Kullu – 2008

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Fourth My Himachal Health Mela in Kullu – 2008

Shimla: Are we all healthy in Himachal Pradesh? The answer to this question is unfortunately a sad…..NO. The rural villagers of the state suffer from Improper and insufficient diets, resulting in malnutrition. There are many reasons for this serious issue affecting our people and they include not only poverty but also lack of nutritional education, replacement of higher quality traditional foods, and gender issuses and inequities between young girls and boys.

Poor, uneducated parents lack the proper knowledge to give essential nutrient diet to their children especially during their early, formative years. The resulting malnutrition can often affect their physical and intellectual development. Read the rest of this entry →

May23

My Himachal Update – May 2008

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My Himachal Update – May 2008

View Online Print version

Dear Friends,

Please find attached our May 2008 Update. This update is to keep all our members and subscribers informed about our recent accomplishments and on-going activities. Please feel free to forward the online update version via email to your friends, family and acquaintances. If you would like to share this update in print, we have also attached a printable version of the same.

As our activities continue to grow every year, we need your support now more than ever. Every little contribution from you is important and makes a difference in what we can do for the people of our Himachal Pradesh. Your membership dues, donations and contributions go a long way in encouraging and enabling us, to achieve higher goals in service of our mission. Read the rest of this entry →

Apr30

Government-NGO collaboration can spell success for the Kullu weaving industry

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Government-NGO collaboration can spell success for the Kullu weaving industry

Weaving has been the mainstay of every Kullu-ite’s livelihood for generations now. A month long study by Anoop H, Shilpa Kendre, Jyothsna Sekar, Shilpi Baral from SP Jain Institute of Management of Research (Mumbai) in association with My Himachal reveals startling facts on the health of the traditional Kullu weaving industry. The advent of technology and the opening up of numerous employment avenues has left this industry reeling.

The number of weavers has reduced by around 50% over the last decade. More and more weavers are leaving the profession to jump over to occupations that promise them greener pastures. Those still sticking to weaving are migrating to Ludhiana, where they have the opportunity to work in a more organised environment. The power looms in Ludhiana, are swamping the industry with their mass production and low cost capabilities. A short survey amongst locals, tourists, weavers revealed the following startling facts. Read the rest of this entry →

Apr20

Save the Weaver : Is weaving dying in Kullu?

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Save the Weaver : Is weaving dying in Kullu?

You never know what you have been missing until it arrives. This adage can’t be more apt than for the weavers here. The folks in this valley are just plain contented. Either they have very little aspirations or very high levels of self satisfaction.

According to the 1995 census, Kullu district had 28,500 weavers. 12 years hence, officials can only approximate the number to around 11,000. Is the industry dying? Read the rest of this entry →

Apr18

Save the Weaver : A Litmus Test for Authentic Kullu Shawls

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Save the Weaver : A Litmus Test for Authentic Kullu Shawls

The scenic landscapes of Kullu beckon avid travellers to visit the hinterlands of this small town. Shopping does take a top priority on the itinerary of these tourists who come from all across the globe. It is observed that most foreign tourists acquaint themselves to the location by investing a great deal of time in reading about it through travel guides like the Lonely Planet and Thomas Cook. The internet has also recently been one of the popular media through which tourist information is disseminated. Indian tourists on the other hand, normally come via package tours and are spoon fed by their travel guides. Read the rest of this entry →

Apr18

Save the Weaver: An eye opener for tourists

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Save the Weaver: An eye opener for tourists

For tourists from across the globe, the hilly terrain of Manali-Shimla is a shoppers’ paradise for woollens. The heart of the weaving industry is in the small town of Kullu, 40Kms away from Manali. As one enters this scenic valley, colourful traditional Kullu shawls dot the sideways of every market street and one can see huge signboards atop tiny shops flashing ‘Traditional Kullu Shawls’. This is bait to the blind crocodile. Many of these shawls are not handcrafted, sometimes not even made in Kullu. They are mostly machine made shawls sourced from other towns in the country.

Is it that one doesn’t care enough to make an informed decision while buying or is it that one fails to see the value in a handcrafted product?

I am afraid it’s both. On one hand, tourists have little or no time on their itinerary to go searching for an authentic store and are more often than not directed by their local travel guides or the rickshaw drivers and cabbies to one of the numerous bogus shops that sell machine made shawls at hefty discounts (sometimes as high as 50%). A setup of a few handlooms in the periphery of the store serve as a perfect backdrop to disguise the machine made shawls as handmade shawls. While the tourist walks out of the store with discounted shawls, the local guide walks away with his share of commission, thus making this whole money making act a farce in the name of tourism.

On the other hand, as consumers, we fail to recognize the value of a handcrafted product. The value of art does not reside in the price we pay for it, but in the efforts that have gone into making that masterpiece; that masterpiece which is born out of the dexterity of the weaver, his eye for weaving an intricate design from his own palette of colours, the long hours of adeptly crossing the warp and woof to create kaleidoscopic patterns on the fabric, creating designs which by no means can be replicated on a programmed machine that churns out batch after batch of immaculate shawls at the press of a button. The power looms can produce a shawl in a couple of minutes while the weaver spends an average of four days to weave an elaborate design on his handloom. We must learn to appreciate the beauty of inherent imperfections in a handcrafted product that renders it it’s exclusivity. No price is too high to pay for unadulterated art, be it for the purity of the wool, the sanctity of the natural organic dyes or the simplicity and genuineness of the heart of the person who is making it.