Central Himalayan Institute for Nature & Applied Research
(CHINAR)
(A member of FAO Mountain Partnership of the United Nations & IUCN Nature for All)
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller
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"The above inspirational quote by Helen Keller describes the partnership of CHINAR and The School of Sustainability, Xavier University Bhubaneswar on creating a Sustainable world.
Since 2016 as a coordinator of Sustainability Discovery programme, I have been assigning MBA Sustainability Management students to CHINAR to have learning and living experience of Himalayan ecosystem and its Community under the guidance of Dr. Pradeep Mehta, Hon. Chairman CHINAR and his team.
In these five years of partnership, CHINAR has helped us to create a pool of Sustainable warriors and taught our students to appreciate & analyse the community initiatives undertaken in the Himalayan region.
I am thankful to CHINAR who have helped our students to inculcate values of sustainability and to think beyond career milestones. We are very proud of our association with CHINAR and look forward to our Sustainable journey."
Dr. Elizabeth Abba,
Associate Professor, School of Sustainability,
Coordinator, Sustainbility Discovery Program
Assistant Dean- International Relations
Xavier University, Bhubaneswar
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“Protecting Himalayas perhaps needs more bottom up approach involving the local communities based on sound scientific principles and interventions. CHINAR, is one such leading organization which has been working in education, capacity building, livelihood and sustainable development of the central Himalayan region involving the local communities. I witnessed some of the activities of CHINAR in the village Liti, Bageswar District, Uttarakhand while visiting and mentoring four students of school of sustainability, as a part of their Sustainability Discovery Program (SDP). Staying at the comfort of homestay, getting lost at the picturesque Himalayan range, experiencing homemade delicious food prepared from the locally grown crops will stay in my memory forever. I could appreciate how CHINAR is promoting the concept of homestay which helps income generation for the villagers while protecting the nature simultaneously.
CHINAR is promoting smoke-less chulahs, local handicrafts, organic farming, climate smart agriculture, documenting traditional knowledge systems of the mountain people among others in Liti. Interestingly, I never felt that CHINAR has ever imposed any of those ideas but everywhere I noticed full acceptance and cooperation from the villagers testifying that CHINAR lives its vision and mission. As a leaf of chinar becomes more spectacular when it matures, I wish CHINAR a more successful and colorful days in the future. We need more CHINARs in our mountains.”
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Tamoghna Acharyya, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Sustainability
Xavier University Bhubaneswar
"I got the opportunity of interning with CHINAR in my first year of MBA in Sustainability Management from Xavier University, Bhubaneswar. It was a month long internship, but the experience of it will last a lifetime!
From learning to sustain in the freezing cold temperature with bare minimum necessities, to walking distances for work and in search of a mobile network sweet spot but later preferring the away-from-virtual-world and closer-to-nature lifestyle, to having absolutely organic home-grown food each and every day and finally creating a bond of a lifetime with the our home stay owners. That one month will always remain etched in my memory as a month of reassessment and rediscovery of self.
Apart from the personal growth, the learnings from it can still be applied to my present corporate career in terms of the importance of PRA and a bottom up approach in order to bring about a quality reform. The impact my project had on the livelihoods of the villagers is a great source of motivation for me whenever I see the updates of their thriving homestay business. It proved how closer home had come the shift from global to local. All throughout, Pradeep sir had been and still is an amazing mentor to me and I owe so much of my progress in the field of sustainability to him. Thanks sir and team CHINAR."
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Devina Das
Senior Officer, Sustainability
UltraTech Cement
Year of internship: December 2017
"My Internship experience with CHINAR, enabled me to visualize and put in practice the core principle of sustainability, to generate societal value. The most influential part of the internship was staying with the community. This aided me in understanding the issues that were central to the village and to work on solutions with the society while empowering them.
These experiences and learnings helped me in developing and understanding global issues and further influenced my thought process. The guidance received from Dr. Pradeep Mehta was instrumental in whatever I could achieve in a short time. The work that CHINAR and Pradeep Sir are doing is commendable and encourages us to practice sustainability in our daily lives as well as creating grassroot level solutions to problems."
Anamaya Chaturvedi
MBA Sustainability Management
School of Sustainability
Xavier University Bhubaneswar
Internship Year: 2018
"As part of the Sustainability Discovery Program (SDP), I got an opportunity to work with CHINAR. It is one of the most unique non-profit organization I have come across.
I always wanted to work with an organization who could have the balance of all the three identified pillars (people, resource and the environment).
CHINAR gave me my first step in acquiring practical knowledge in community development and managing resources efficiently. It helped me design an alternative sustainable livelihood opportunity for the mountain community through social entrepreneurship. The team members were always open to provide insights and also made sure that we as young learners could contribute the maximum and take back most learning from the community and the team.
I was part of a family (homestay developed by CHINAR) who gave me a sense of belongingness and most importantly they gave me space to be part of their family. I also got lucky to experience the first snowfall of the year.
CHINAR and Liti Village have been a crucial part of my journey which will always be memorable for me.
Roma Patro
MBA Sustainability Management
School of Sustainability
Xavier University Bhubaneswar
Internship Year- 2018
"It was my privilege to be associated with CHINAR not just once but twice. It was an amazing experience to pursure my Winter and Summer internship from CHINAR. During my Winter internship, I worked towards the Documentation of Community Water Management Practices. In my Summer Internship, I worked towards improving and promoting the eco toursim culture in the villages of Bageshwer district.
It was a learning experience for me to live and work in the mountains. Working in mountains for the community was truly enriching. CHINAR has been really active in the villages of Bageshwer district in the domain of health, tourism and development sectors. Biggest learning was knowing how to interact with the rural people, to know about their mindset which is very different from urban people. Interacting with them on daily basis helped my interpersonal skills alot which will definitely help me in my career. I really thank CHINAR for giving me an oppurtunity to work for the betterment of the people and the community as a whole."
Abhinav Verma
Officer at Grasim Industries, ABG
Winter Internship 2018
Summer internship 2019
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"It has been a great experience being associated with CHINAR as a summer intern during the summer of 2019. During my internship, I was posted in the Kapkot Block of Bageshwar District of Uttarakhand. I was involved in Documentation of Climate Change Indicators and the shift of local agriculture in the face of Climate Change. Staying and working in the High-altitude Himalayan mountains has been an amazing experience. My project demanded daily interactions with farmers along the hill sides. Through the process I have learned about the local Kumaoni culture.
The internship has taught me the value of simplicity through the rural mountain lifestyle which can be advocated as the most sustainable one. CHINAR has been actively working towards the development of tourism, ecology and agriculture in the high-altitude villages of Uttarakhand. Protection of environment while generating new economy within the community has been the focus of CHINAR. I thank CHINAR for giving me the opportunity to work where I could improve a few essential skills like documentation and stakeholder interactions."
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Sneha Bhattacharyya
MUI, CEPT University, Ahmedabad
Internship: 2019
"I got the wonderful opportunity to work with CHINAR as a part of the SDP during my first year of MBA. The one month internship in the mountains provided me with the experience that taught and helped me understand just how vulnerable the mountain community is to impacts of the changing climate. These changes have a direct impact on the livelihoods of the people living in these regions. And CHINAR is an organisation which has been helping these communities mitigate the impacts of climate change or help them adapt. CHINAR does a wonderful job motivating and engaging the local communities and help them become self-reliant. More respect goes to the people of the community because they are very eager to learn and adopt the suggestions provided to help enhance their livelihoods.
Throughout the internship period, CHINAR guided me through my project and even later to present and share the findings of the project on an international platform. I am thankful to CHINAR for providing me with the exposure to the struggles and opportunities of implementing sustainable solutions at community level."
Pallavi Ranjan
MBA Sustainability Management
School of Sustainability
Xavier University Bhubaneswar
Batch: 2018-20
Internship Year- 2018
"SDP has been a wonderful experience in life. Living in mountains was completely different and a new experience from living in the plain region. I learnt to adapt myself to the extreme climate and a different weather that was too cold and also survived in below zero-degree celsius temperature.
I enjoyed the scenic, serene beauty of the Himalaya as well as the fascinating snowfall. I liked working, sharing and exchanging knowledge and information with the community.
To live with the community in the village was a heartfelt and warm experience that will be memorable in life."
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Bandana Agrawal
MBA in Sustainability Management (Batch of 2019-21)
School of Sustainability
Xavier University Bhubaneswar
Internship Year:2019
"Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, there I was amidst the winter snow and experiencing the vermilion hues of the evening sky. I realized I was in paradise.
My Sustainability Discovery Program in CHINAR was a valuable learning experience.
Staying in Liti village and working alongside professionals gave me an opportunity to gain insight into the real problems faced by community people. I got an opportunity to interact with the community people and learnt that it is the little things in life that make us happy and we don’t really need to have the best of everything."
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Abinash Pradhan
MBA Sustainability Management
School of Sustainability
Xavier University Bhubaneswar
Internship Year: 2019
"I had an amazing experience which I will cherish throughout my life. I learnt a lot from the field work experience and that has made me gain a better insight into PRA methodology and how CSR projects work. I would like to thank Prof. Sutapa Pati, Dean, XSOS for being a constant source of positivity and always motivating us to do better as sustainability professionals.
My whole SDP journey was a enriching experience, it made realise the problems of communities at an grassroots level which has led me to employ strategies and provide solutions in my current job. Marketing an experience and making a social impact is vital to me as a sustainability manager. I will forever keep the community close to my heart and impart the knowledge and skills I have learnt from them. I will forever cherish the experience and opportunity provided by CHINAR. Thank you for a beautiful journey."
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Dibyajit Dash
MBA Sustainability Management
School of Sustainability
Xavier University Bhubaneswar
Internship Year: 2019
"The internship with CHINAR has given me a new family. At times when the world is integrating at an enormous scale, we’re also losing touch with our grassroots. And CHINAR is playing a tremendous role in that gap, bringing together parties that open up new worlds for one another.
Pradeep Mehta’s humility and amicable nature certainly don’t escape your eye in the first meet. He has made learning easier, thoroughly encouraged all of his interns to absorb, apply and give back. My first Himalayan Experience was made a beautiful one, only thanks to CHINAR."
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Basanthy Singampalli
Associate Consultant- Climate Change & Sustainability Services,
Ernst & Young
Internship Year: December 2017
"The two-month internship offered by CHINAR was an eye opener for me to understand the micro climatic conditions and the process of economic balance of a rural Himalayan village. CHINAR was a constant support in developing my skill-sets and knowledge while working for the local economic development of the village."
Sachin C Kuzhivelil
Masters in Urban Infrastructure Faculty of Planning
CEPT University Gujarat
Internship Year: 2019
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"As a part of a curriculum requirement from my University, I interned with CHINAR in June 2018. I had always wanted to learn about sustainability and conservation and therefore, chose CHINAR as an ideal route to fulfill my curiosity. It paved way and played a major role on my decision to pursue a masters in the field of conservation. The experience pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and to critically think about transition I had to experience to settle in during my internship. But this transition was fostered through a spirit of adventure.
It would be rather unfair to neglect the impact that both, the social and physical environment had on me during the time of my internship. I learnt several things during this time but the biggest takeaway being perseverance and a zealous work ethic. This was firstly, due to the wonderful people I met in the process who reminded me what it meant to be a part of a 'community', however Weberian it may sound and secondly, due to their patience and kindness. It soon translated to an important lesson that I hope to successfully apply to my everyday life moving forward in my life and for which, I shall be deeply indebted to CHINAR and to the lovely people of Liti."
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Aditi Natarajan
Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts
2016-2020
Internship Year: 2018
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"It was an amazing experience to work with CHINAR as a winter intern during my first year of MBA. CHINAR gave me the opportunity to explore the true elucidation of sustainability. It was one month long internship which I will cherish forever in my life. I stayed at Nashalla village in Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh. I worked on the documentation of Study on Existing Trends and Future Prospects of Renewable Energy in Kullu Valley.
I feel short of words to elaborate my experience. It was not only about learning and gaining knowledge but it was more than that. It was really very challenging to sustain in a cold climatic conditions for a month. This was not only my Sustainability Discovery Programme, but also self discovery. This also taught me how to acclimatize in different conditions. It was an amazing experience to live with the community and know their culture and living style. Love and affection given by my house owner never made me to miss my family and the bond created with them will last forever.
I am thankful to CHINAR for giving such an amazing learning experience and also the best memories of my life.
Dev Kumar Dutta
Associate Consultant (Climate Change)
CTRAN Consulting Ltd.
Year of Internship: December 2016