Rural immersion, a trip to lachhakadi. Lachhakadi is a small village in Gujarat where we went for our rural immersion trip. A trip to village, it did sound very boring but I was wrong, it was way better than I expected it to be. We painted walls, played with the local children, helped in mango, turmeric and bamboo farms, and we even made a skit for the children in a local school. This trip was one of the best experiences that I have had and I will never forget this experience.

LO1 – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

I am a visual art student and I love to paint. Rural immersion gave me an opportunity to take this strength of mine to a new experience which was wall painting. It all started when a professional warli artist came to our camp to teach us warli painting. I being a art enthusiast was very excited to learn warli art and show it to my friends. That sir showed and explained us the basics of warli art. First I made a warli art on a piece of paper which all of the teachers and my friends loved. Looking at that warli art I made, our teacher selected me as a part of a team to make warli art on the wall of a local school. The next day we went to the local school and I started to clean the wall to make it ready to paint. We first painted the wall red which was the bade color for our warli art on which we then started to paint. The wall was very uneven which made it very difficult to paint evenly, the color was spreading and we had to work in humid temperatures. This made me realized that as an art student, I can practice wall painting more often to develop my skills and work on something new.   

LO2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills

Being a black belt in taekwondo, I love adventures but I have not really got a chance to go on a adventure but this rural immersion gave me the best opportunity to go on a adventure that I never done before. It was rappelling and rock climbing. The moment I head about rappelling and rockclimbing, I was instantly thrilled and excited to do it but there was an issue, I have never done rappelling or rock climbing before which did make me a bit scared in the start. As soon as we reached to the location, I was among the first few people who went for rappelling and rock climbing because this seemed to be the perfect adventure for me. After wearing the harness and helmet, I started moving towards the edge of the cliff but when I saw the height, I got a bit scared because this was the first time I was going to do rappelling and I didn’t know how it would go. Keeping all of the thoughts aside, I began rappelling and I started enjoying it. The only thing running in my mind was that “I can do it” and I did it.

LO4 – Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience

During this trip I gave my best in every activity from farming, wall painting, helping in bamboo furniture unit, till trekking and all of the adventure, I showed my commitment towards this rural immersion trip. This shows that when I was committed to giving my best throughout the trip, I was able to overcome some of my fears like height, improve my skills, and sharpen my strengths such as painting. My commitment helped me learn a lot from this trip and this made this experience unforgettable.

LO5 – Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively

This rural immersion trip was about to end in a day or two but then during the reflection time we got to know that we had to prepare 2 skits for students in a local school. We were divided in groups of 15-17 and we started brainstorming ideas for our skit. Collaboratively we shared our ideas on which we could perform a skit. We chose the topic of “rural v.s urban” where we compared the lives of rural people and urban people and show how people living in rural are more happy and satisfied with what they have. I played the role of a father of a family living in the rural area. Collaboratively we planned and performed a skit which was a mixture of comedy and moral of how rural life is better than urban. Working collaboratively helped us complete planning and execution of the skit in just 2 days because we divided our work and everyone were dedicated towards the role assigned which shows hoe collaboration can make anything work.

LO6 – Engagement with issues of global significance.
Visiting the rural village, we witnessed the stark realities of education access. Engaging with the children highlighted the disparities they face—limited resources and societal biases. By providing books, resources and mentorship, we fostered a sense of hope and empowerment. Quality education can bridge these gaps, challenging discrimination and inspiring future generations.

LO7 – Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions.
Visiting the rural village opened my eyes to the ethical dimensions of our actions. Conversations with locals about their challenges highlighted the importance of making informed choices that respect their traditions and needs. This experience deepened my understanding of ethical responsibility, emphasizing the necessity of community engagement in sustainable development.