Construction continues, and vocational training

As well as trying to work in the difficult rainy conditions of the monsoon, work on the orphanage build was disrupted for some weeks during the complete shutdown of the town in September due to a political dispute between the local and national authorities. All work stopped and shops and hotels were closed and as there was no transport up into the hills there were no materials to build with either. The good news is that there has been a resumption of construction although another strike is planned in late October which may lead to further shutdown.

The photos show the retaining walls which have been put in place on the lower boundary to the site and progress so far. Once finished the buildings’ occupants will have a bird’s eye view out over the valley and rooftops below.

As we wait for the monsoon to abate in Darjeeling it’s a good opportunity to take a look at some of the other activities and projects going on around the town.

The Trust supports young people in a number of different ways, including sponsoring them into college to learn new skills and improve their employment prospects. Five young people who have all lived at the boys’ orphanage are being funded to attend the Food and Craft Institute (FCI) in Darjeeling which is set up to provide training in catering technology and hospitality; with an affiliation to the National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology in New Delhi the college is able to offer on-the-job placements and a good route into future employment.

Photos of two of the young men, Sushmil and Upesh, are shown here.

Sushmil Thapa

Upesh Vishkawarma

The Trust is also helping young women undertake vocational training. Alka has lived at the girls’ orphanage for a number of years and comes from a poor family. She has started training as a nurse at the Planters’ Hospital in Darjeeling on a two year course during which time she will continue to live at the orphanage with the Trust paying for her board and lodging. Meanwhile, Aishwarya whose mother is widowed and who tries to make a living by selling vegetables, is training as a lab technician at a college in Siliguri. She originally considered nurse training but changed her mind when she became really interested in undertaking lab work.

Aishwarya Sharma

Alka Rai

In the meantime, work is ongoing to make sure construction is all set to resume on site as soon as conditions improve. More updates soon! 

Progress Report- Politics and Weather

As September passes the monsoon will gradually start to lessen its impact on the weather in Darjeeling and days will start to turn from being days of continual rain to days of mostly mist. The prospect exists that the sun will start to shine more regularly and buildings, people and building sites will start to dry out.

It would be satisfying to be able to report that despite the wet weather building works had continued at the orphanage site and completion of Phase 1 was now in prospect. Sadly this is not the case as for the last four weeks or so Darjeeling has been in a state of almost complete shutdown. Political agitation has returned to the town as a consequence of the long running dispute concerning the local wish for the establishment of a semi-autonomous state centred on Darjeeling and separate from the existing administration of the West Bengal government. This is based in Kolkatta about 400 miles away on the plains to the east.  The issue of the creation of a Gorkhaland state has been a long running one which led to disruption and violence in the mid 1988’s and which has never been resolved.

Following an indication that the Indian Congress is about to create a separate state in the area of Telangana in mid central India, the ruling Gorkha Janamukti Morcha party (GJM) in Darjeeling called an all-out strike to try to put pressure on Congress to do the same for the hills. Everything has closed down in Darjeeling – hotels, shops, colleges and schools and of course transportation and building sites. As you might imagine this situation is causing huge difficulties for local people, many who are paid daily rates and therefore currently have no income. In addition, food is scarce with nothing and no-one moving around the hills or able to transport goods up to the town from the plains.

There is currently some small change in circumstance as there is to be a two day break on September 10^th and 11^th when shops will be able to restock and schools will be allowed to open and to remain open. We will have to wait and see whether this means that gradually things get back to normal. In the meantime the children and young people continue to look forward to the completion of the next stage of construction.  

Meanwhile, rather than do nothing, architect for the project Raghavan is investigating the costs of different items which will be required for fitting out the new dormitories. Darjeeling Children’s Trust continues to work to raise funds for the project; it is great news that the Bricks and Mortar Ball due to take place in London in November and which is raising money specifically for the orphanage project is a sell-out.

More surprises and complications!

Yet again the site has thrown us another surprise for the builders to deal with. Excavation has been continuing despite the early onset of the monsoon and areas have had to be covered with large tarpaulin sheets to avoid flooding. The rain however has proved to be an easy problem compared to the huge rock which digging gradually revealed as excavations extended to cover the area required for foundations for the main dormitory blocks.

Another visit by the architect was required to review the situation. Because of the difficulty of trying to break up the rock which would have to be done by hand and the consequent time and costs involved, it was decided that it would be better to change the footprint of the block and take the wall of the new building away from the rock rather than get rid of the rock. Photos of the works are attached and although a little difficult to identify the large rock can be seen jutting out from the soil. The photos also illustrate once more the slope of the site where works are taking place.

Not all bad news though. The new plan has produced an internal redesign of the building as well. The repositioning of the toilet block allows the dormitories to have much bigger windows which will look out over the enormous view beyond into the valley below and will also provide better through ventilation. The decision has also been taken to use aluminium window frames as although these are initially more costly they will be more durable in the longer term. Wooden windows in any building in Darjeeling suffer from the non-availability of properly seasoned wood, the rainy conditions and poor workmanship – and this is without mentioning the termites!

The new plans which are shown here provide more spacious accommodation with two large dormitories each possibly accommodating 28 boys although Pema Bhante may not wish to accommodate this number.

Changing plans into reality

Six months can make so much difference to the life of any construction project. From the time of the first turf cutting in November last year to the present we have seen the plans gradually start to become reality.

The first phase occupies the lower part of the site. The 60 boys will be accommodated in five dormitories each with room for 12 beds arranged in bunks together with some storage and small study areas. Bathroom facilities will be shared. This phase will also include some accommodation for the guests who visit and support the orphanage. The floor plans below show the layout of the site- four storeys high and a great mix of accommodation and living space:

The first part of Phase 2 will see the demolition of the block where Pema Bhante’s office is currently located as well as some of the existing dormitories. These will be replaced by new staff and office accommodation.  The last part of the redevelopment will see the new kitchen, dining room and prayer room together with the new area for the girls. The detail of this is being redesigned to provide smaller rooms which can be occupied by different age groups.

The first indication of how it might look came when architecture and engineering students at the University of the West of England in Bristol who have been taking an interest in the project produced a 3-D model. And now at last we can see how the plans are shaping up on the ground! Take a look at the model below and see how it brings the development to life.