Inspire-ED – Opportunities To Be Inspired
2017 Summer Internships Program
Application information and link to application form
First round deadline: 31 March 2017
Edbrand is partnering with three citizens’ coalitions to showcase immersive internship and volunteering opportunities for students over the summer.
I am Gurgaon
I am Gurgaon saw its inception in the realization that the pace of growth and construction in Gurgaon was resulting in the loss of key components of the ecosystem. Acute water shortage, high population pressure and disappearance of green cover were bound to have immense ramifications on the quality of life and progression of climate-change in the area. A collective of women then set-about liaising with various governmental and private organizations in Gurgaon. A reclamation exercise of 350 acres of biodiversity then ensued and resulted in the creation of the Aravali Biodiversity park. Here, one can find native tree species, migratory and native birds, reptiles and some interesting mammalian species. Now, I am Gurgaon has also undertaken the greening of a corridor in Sushant Lok (opposite Paras Hospital) and what was once a degraded wasteland has now been transformed into a lush, tree-lined cycling and walking track for the residents of Gurgaon.
The following internship opportunities are available with I am Gurgaon:
1. Crowd-sourcing of designs
Interns interested in marketing and business development and interns interested in fashion design will be involved in an exercise to crowd-source innovative banners that convey the objectives and other campaign ventures of I am Gurgaon. They will organize and crowd-source ideas and collate the best designs to choose from. They will work closely with a professional graphic designer and the leadership of the organization.
2. BYOB (Bring your own bag) campaign
Plastic bags and bags made of other non-biodegradable material often function as persistent organic pollutants and are incredibly harmful to the ecosystem. I am Gurgaon has conducted multiple cloth bag distribution drives around the area as Phase I of its BYOB campaign. In Phase II, the organization seeks to create short videos to make the usage of these bags ‘trendy’ and appealing to the residents of Gurgaon.
Interns with an interest in media, theatre, mass communication, design and content creation are encouraged to apply. Interns will be responsible for content creation, script, filming and dissemination. They will be closely mentored by the I am Gurgaon team.
3. Contemporary History – Recreating I am Gurgaon
The founders of the organization invested almost a decade of their lives to create the Biodiversity park and rejuvenate the flora and fauna of the area. Lessons learnt in the process can serve as valuable tools for any organization seeking to work on the rejuvenation of landscapes. The contemporary history project will be full of lessons in governance, forging partnerships, teambuilding and strategy.
Students interested in history, conservation biology, literature and archiving are encouraged to apply. They will work closely with a communications expert at I am Gurgaon.
4. Native Species Planting Effort
Indoor gardens and potted plants are an essential component of residential life. Some residents also have the luxury of a small garden. Palms, pines and other exotic varieties of flowering and fruiting plants dominate the landscape. However, many species commonly used for ornamental and gardening purposes have a very negative ecological footprint. Because they are not native to the landscape, the spores or pollen from these plants rapidly colonize the landscape and native plant species end-up dying-out because they all compete for the scarce resources available. For instance, the Lantana Camara was introduced in India for its ornamental value, to embellish gardens. It has rapidly proliferated and invaded entire ponds and lakes in India, South Africa and Australia and is termed as one of the world’s most invasive species. It is toxic to livestock, degrades farmland and also chokes-off oxygen to fish and other plans in the water bodies.
It is therefore imperative that awareness is created on the harmful impact of invasive species. Interns will be responsible for campaigning within their respective residential areas, talking to other residents and holding awareness events centered around the importance of native plants and ways in which people can incorporate native species in their houses. The internship will also involve designing brochures and videos to spread the message.
Solid Waste Management with Ruchika Sethi
Packaging material, food cups, plates and other utensils commonly used by street vendors and hawkers, are usually persistent pollutants that do not degrade with time. Their rampant usage has however not resulted in civic authorities questioning modes of disposal. As a result, it is not uncommon to see massive hill-sized dumps in the outskirts of the city.
Ruchika Sethi has been working in the space of solid waste management for almost 10 years. They are keen to spread the word among hawkers and street vendors about the ill-effects of Styrofoam and other non-biodegradable solid wastes. Interns in this project will be responsible for talking to street vendors in targeted areas, using known methods to quantify the carbon footprint of the materials used by these vendors as well as to work with them to transition into eco-friendly solid wastes. They will be mentored by Ruchika in all stages of the project.
Laksh Farms
Laksh Farms can simply be described as eight acres of rolling green fields and pastures dotted with traditional cottages and flavored with the best Indian hospitality. Laksh farms is located in the Mangar Village, Haryana, and in addition to an organic farm, it comprises of a small charitable educational society and a women's co-operative.
Run by the dynamic Ila Lumba, Laksh foundation is striving to build a self-sustaining community in Mangar, by empowering its women to engage in organic farming, sourcing of vegetables to the city, as well as in the creation of merchandise that is inspired by the designs of Haryana.
The following internships are available with Laksh Farms:
1. Fashion Design and Creation
Laksh Foundation’s label has been making waves. Big fashion houses have expressed interest in the label. The need to scale-up is imminent and Laksh Foundation is looking for talented interns interested in fashion design and fashion technology to help them curate and maintain the collection. This will involve the specification of quality standards, monitoring the weavers and ensuring that collection of fabrics takes place on time and the designing of new collections. Enterprising interns with exciting designs may even get the chance to showcase their own label with Laksh.
2. Tutors at the Laksh school facility
Laksh foundation’s charitable school was created with the vision of ensuring that the children of Mangar village have access to quality education. Tutors spend time in the morning as well as the evening and work with the residents of the village to supervise their learning. They also create teaching plans and training modules for the teachers. Interns with the education initiative will be responsible for working closely with the tutors to create lesson plans, mentor individual students and assist in all ongoing initiatives.
3. Milk collectivization
There is a high demand for organic, unadulterated milk in the urban centers of Gurgaon and Delhi, just half an hour away from Mangar. At the same time, Mangar village’s households are active in dairying with native breeds of cows. However, there is no supply chain that establishes the linkage between the demand for organic milk and the supply for the same. In addition, the youth who engage in dairying in Mangar have not been properly trained in methods of organic dairying, collection of unadulterated milk and supplying the same to Gurgaon and nearby areas. The interns on this project are ideally interested in business, economics or entrepreneurship. They will work closely with the village residents and with Ila Lumba to create a business plan and help execute it.
The first round deadline is approaching. Here is the link to the application:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfs3AYqqmDptO9fAAQRTOTEqLs8r1bRQbBygow-MQSeV614Dg/viewform?c=0&w=1