The ideal R.O.S.E. Kanda participant is someone willing and able to engage in a challenging lifestyle with patience and flexibility. They want to make an authentic connection with the local culture and they are curious about life in a remote Himalayan village. They want to help others and help make the world a better place. Guests at R.O.S.E. do not need any special experience to participate.
Over the last 30 years R.O.S.E. has hosted volunteers of all ages and nationalities.
“We are two British volunteers who have recently been staying with the Verma family in a beautiful setting in the foothills of the Himalayas. We really wanted to do something worthwhile while in India but found that a lot of charities had extortionate administration fees and a minimum length of stay requirement of at least one month. We soon came across R.O.S.E. Kanda which offered the perfect combination of volunteering and an experience of traditional rural Indian life at not too high a cost. We had no idea what to expect but were delighted when we laid eyes on the brightly rose-coloured family house and surrounding farm lands. The trip to Kanda is not an easy one but undeniably worth the time it takes to get here – the journey through the winding mountain roads is a wonderful experience in itself if you’re happy to share a bus with the locals and put up with the occasional bout of travel sickness! After one week with the family, we have witnessed a Hindu ceremony, tasted the delights of authentic home cuisine (eaten with hands of course), watched a cow being artificially inseminated, taught deprived Indian school children the hokey pokey and developed a warm attachment to Mr Verma and his family. We cannot recommend this experience more highly to anyone considering volunteering in India!
– Nicole and Harriet
Does this sound like you?
You travel because you want to experience other cultures but you find that when you arrive at a destination that sounds interesting you feel like you are being exploited and worse as you walk past an endless line of hotels and trinket shops that you are damaging the culture you came to witness.
You want to help people in the world who are struggling to have their basic needs met but you don’t want to support replacing local values with Western ideals.
Ways To Participate:
Short Term Volunteers tend to want an authentic experience of rural Indian culture. They may be generally curious or interested in something specific such as cooking, dance, spirituality, etc.
Long Term Volunteers may want to learn some traditional practices, like farming, construction or metal work. Or they want to really immerse themselves in Hindustani culture and language. Maybe they want to learn about and help with the challenges of operating a remote NGO….or they have some skill they’d like to share.
Project Contributors really want to make a tangible difference in the daily lives of the less privileged people.
Of course you can just Donate money to the organization. Contact Jeevan to arrange your financial contribution.
So, does this sound like you? Click here to learn more about what to expect.
Or you can read some stories from past volunteers on the Blog page.