Ben Reid-Howells and Prashant Kumar embarked on their Vasudhaiva Ride in December 2016. Inspired by the Sanskrit phrase Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (“the whole world is one family”), their travels will take them from India to Scotland in a two-year series of collaborative projects with artists, individuals and organizations. The goal is to show what people, especially communities, are capable of doing when they come together. The biker duo wants to create, share and connect the stories of these people and places while working towards peace, sustainable living and community well-being.
Ben and Prashant rely heavily on the idea of jugaad (“to make do with what you have”). Having decided on their old (un)reliable Enfields as their primary mode of transport, it’s a concept they will carry with them throughout their journey.
“If we had unlimited time on our hands, we’d much rather travel on horses,” jokes Prashant. “We would have preferred a mode of transport that didn’t emit any carbon. The bikes were the next best alternative.”
To raise funds, they used their skills as musicians and Prashant produced art installations for various pubs and bars across Pune using his upcycling skills.
Their endeavors have now brought them to Nepal, where their next project finds them in the village of Kagati in Nuwakot. In collaboration with HCI (Himalayan Climate Initiative), Ben and Prashant, who specialize in education and upcycling respectively, have put their skills together to build a playground for the children of the village. But there was no money. Luckily, the Kagati Village is located next to a waste dump. And that was all Ben and Prashant needed.
They used the waste to create a playground for children for a fraction of the initial estimated cost. By doing so they want to embed the idea of waste products as raw materials. This in turn could have a huge impact on sustainable development.
Ben and Prashant’s collaboration with HCI nudges things along the same positive direction. Countries like Nepal that have been hit hard by climate change, climate justice and their social impact, have a chance to leap-frog straight to clean development instead of dirty development. They as such can set an example for the rest of the world.
“This is possible because of the natural resources available in the country and people’s changing mindset, which is very important,” explains Ben.
Apart from their efforts in Kagati, Prashant did a one-day workshop with a group of 60 women in Kathmandu where he taught livelihood skills and helped participants learn ways to create stuff and make ends meet. This will be an ongoing program for working women and poor communities.
Ben, meanwhile, runs teaching programs that focus on the importance of sustainable development and ways for people to build houses that clean their own water, make their own food and source their own renewable energy.
The Vasudahiva Ride might not change the way the world thinks right away, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. The duo’s stint here in Nepal is only a small part of their big project. You can follow their work and progress through their website and social media. For anyone interested in helping, you can get in touch with the two when they return to Kathmandu on April 27.
