MYP 3 Field to the Rann of Kutch

MYP 3 students this year visited Gujarat. Little Rann of Kutch was the focused area. The IDU planned for them was an inquiry based study on the desalination process carried out in the area of Little Rann of Kutch and its overall impact on the life of people there considering various aspects such as social, environmental, economic and health. At the location, they got an opportunity to interact with various people. The students have shared their experiences and learnings from each place they visited.

 Wild Ass sanctuary: Kyra

The Wild Ass Sanctuary was the first place that we went to on the trip. There we learnt about how the Wild Ass is nowhere else found but in the Rann Of Kutch and how endangered the animal is. We also found out that the food that they eat is very sparse and there is a danger to them even in the Kutch as the local cow-herders allow their cows to graze in the sanctuary. As both of these species eat the same food they are both fighting for it.NGO’s, among others, have fought with the government over the fact that the Wild Ass are an endangered species and they need all the food they can get to survive.

Salt Farms: Mark

During the safari we got the opportunity to see a family which works on salt pans. They work on those pans from September to April. In the Monsoon time they work in the big factories which still work with salt. Those poor farmers work in real harsh conditions and it was very inspiring to see how they work even though they make very little money. Those workers barely get any profit in the months they work. This occupation has impacted their lives to a great extent.

Sun Temple: Savera

During the field trip to Gujarat, the MYP3 students got the opportunity to visit the sun temple in the small village of Modhera. We learnt about the fact that those who created the temple knew or had some relation to the number of days in a year, weeks in a year. This was shown through sculptures surrounding the temple. There are exactly 365 elephant sculptures surrounding the temple to show the number of days in a year. There are also 52 pillars for the number of weeks in a year.The temple is built on Tropic of Cancer.

National Institute of Design: Sharwari

While on our trip we got the chance to visit the National Institute of Design– one of the best design institutions in all of India. We learnt about different aspects and kinds of design, ranging from graphic design and animation film design, to textile design and product design. We found taking a tour around the campus to be quite inspiring, as we met students who were truly passionate about what they were studying.

Sabarmati Ashram: Prisha

During this trip one of the monuments that MYP3 visited was the Sabarmati Ashram. This is a famous historical monument in Ahmedabad and has now become home to the ideology that set India free. In the Ashram our class saw Gandhi’s house, learnt a lot about the history of the place, how it was created, why it was created and all about Gandhi’s aspirations for the country. We found out all about the life he led and the struggles he overcame in order to set India free. This was a very enlightening experience for all of us.

Step Well: Avaneesh

On the third day we visited the Adalaj step well which was a step well built for a queen named Rudabai who was a hindu queen, a wife of King Veersen. A mongol invader Muhammad Began invaded their town and killed the king. He proposed Rudabai to marry him who smartely asked him to complete the step well, the task her husband could not complete in his life. After Muhammad completed the step well, which is a five storey construction, Rudabai jumped into the well from top floor and committed suicide.

Mir Tribe: Othilie

At the first evening some local tribe’s people came to the hotel we were staying at. They showed us some dances and taught us a little about how to dance. After they had taught us how to dance, we interacted with them. Also we learned how to communicate with them despite speaking different languages, so we had to find another way to communicare. The next morning they came back and they taught us how to do some beadwork meanwhile we kept interacting with them.

All-Girls School: Vatsal

During the field trip we went to an All Girl School called, Gujarat Girls School. All of us were split up into separate groups such as, Science, French, German and English. We made different activities to teach the students above the content we learned such as for the science group we started making catapults and tried to teach them about how a catapult works. Not only did we teach them something but they also taught us something back such as a little bit of Gujarati. It was a great opportunity to improve our collaboration and communication skills because of the language barrier.

Conclusion: Cheng

This was a very interesting field trip as we gained a lot from it and also learnt a lot of new things. We visited many places and got through a lot of different and difficult challenges but I am sure that every one of us enjoyed this field and had a lot of fun. We also improved skills like communicating, risk-taking, knowledge and understanding. Not only did we learn on this field trip, we all bonded together through endless fun activities and long bus rides. We would like to thank the teachers  and the Trailblazer teachers who came with us.