I wanted to share with you the story of Draupadi. She’s a mum like me. She’s also a grandmother that I aspire to be one day. She lives in a remote village in Uttarkhand in Northern India. She’s part of a unique, tribal community that sadly suffers from discrimination, violence and exploitation because of this special tribal identity.
Draupadi
She and her community are slightly removed from mainstream society and as a result struggle to feed their families and grow enough food on the tiny plots of land available. They aspire to earn a decent living and spend some quality time with a healthy family. With the help of Find Your feet, they are getting there.
Find Your Feet is a tiny charity. I mean really tiny. A few super passionate people who are making life a million times better not just for Draupati but for her children and grandchildren. They’ve helped her start a saving and loan scheme. They share issues affecting them and collaborate on how they can work together to be self reliant and not dependant on the exploitative loan sharks.
I love Draupadi’s story. Her every day life is not dissimilar to my own yet so far removed. She makes her own compost like me. She pops it onto her onions and vegetables like me. But unlike me, she has to rely on her harvest to feed the 15 members of her family. She’s achieved that through the help of Find Your Feet and now she’s out and about in the community sharing her knowledge about sustainable agriculture which costs a mere £12. Amazing. Really amazing. I wish her and her family all the luck in the world and hope that this post will help raise a little money to support her in her work and also her friends, neighbours and colleagues.
You can help and get involved in the campaign til 30 November in a couple of ways….
Eat out
Be part of the Curry for Change campaign and eat out at the restaurants taking part. Here are a few of my favourites
- Cinnamon Kitchen’s Curry For Change menu – I will be going for the sticky toffee and date pudding with honeycomb and ginger ice cream.
- Asma Khan’s Calcutta Supperclub on 15 June – She really does make the best Baigan Bhajia (Aubergine Fritters). Read my review.
- Cyrus Todiwala’s Khaadraas Dinner – This literally translated means greedy pig. I have been looking for an excuse to go and this is a great one with £5 from each meal going to the charity.
Host your own Curry For Change dinner party
Or host your own curry themed dinner party. Sign up and you’ll get all the inspiration you need including Bollywood themes and recipes from Atul Kochar, Dhruv Baker, Vivek Singh, Anjali Pathak and this one for Pomegranate Soufflé with Rose and Raspberry Cream from Anjum Anand to get you going.
If you want to know more about the campaign please visit the campaign website or leave a comment below and I’ll get you an answer.