360 Trekking in Nepal

I have just returned to the UK and I'm finally able to start processing the many 360 photos, Videos and Soundscapes that we recorded in the badly quake hit area of the Langtang valley in Nepal. The area was hit last year by an earthquake that caused a giant Landslide wiping out the entire Village of Langtang, killing hundreds and damaging the popular trekking route.

Although the route was quickly rebuilt by locals, much of the trail is still badly damaged and the local economy is suffering as a result. We have been exploring the area and documenting the route using new and old tecnology to crete a virtual map that will serve as a guide to trekkers and help provide evidence for those appling for help to rebuild.

We also published an article on the state of the local economy which was published in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/apr/25/treking-nepal-one-year-after-earthquake

Here are some behind the scene photos from the most recent trip:

Madrassa

Last year I was commissioned by the Legatum Foundation to spend time with several programmes supported by World Education Nepal, gaining an insight into their holistic approach to meeting the needs of the country’s most marginalised children.

Two of the projects I visited were in Rautahut, a district that snakes along the border of India. Though police guard official border posts, there is an open border policy between the two countries. I was up early and wanted to take a closer look; the closest crossing was a wide bridge straddling a dry river bed. The passage way was busy with trucks, cycle rickshaws, horse and carts, as well as many women and children simply walking across the river bed. I could see a few police checking vehicles, but no-one stopped me, so I carried on walking. There was nothing to mark the change in territory, no 'Welcome to India' signs, or anyone checking passports. I realised I was an illegal in India, with no visa or papers. It was that easy, even for me, whose red hair and pale skin made me very visible indeed!

My time at the Madrassa was particularly memorable. I was blown away by the girls and their community. They were all so bright and beautiful. Contrary to misconceptions about the Muslim view of women, here they believed all young women should be educated. The headteacher told me that education is important to these girls not only because it prevents exploitation of child labour but moreover:

‘If a man is educated, he keeps his knowledge to himself, but if a woman is educated her whole family will benefit as she will share her knowledge,’ he said.

As soon as classes finished I would be surrounded by a crowd of around 40 girls, who insisted on guiding me around their village. They took me by the hand and led me into each house, where I was made to sit and drink sweet tea. The girls would also crowd inside, where they sang songs to me. They insisted I reciprocate. Now, I am a terrible singer but the pressure was on to represent my country, so I sang the only song that came to mind. It is probably the only one I know all the words to because I went to a Church of England primary school, and took part in nativity plays every year. Yes, I sang Away in a Manger. I really have to work on my repertoire!

In Rautahat alone, World Education, in its 2011 census estimates there to be 42,000 out-of-school children. The town’s Madrassa, set up six years ago, integrates traditional Muslim education, such as learning the Koran, into mainstream education. Its pupils leave with recognised school certificates, as well as the value of cultural and religious teaching. Alice Carfrae met with the school’s headmaster who told her:

‘There was a lot of very hard labour to get to this point of education. The major concern is that Muslims here learn the Urdu language, but in Government schools it is not taught. The objective of the Madrassa is to be able to retain their language and still receive mainstream education.’

The education of girls is taken very seriously. Prior to the founding of the school, it was the fate of many girls in the region to go directly to work in sari factories. Educated girls are increasingly considered an asset because the likelihood of financial security via employment reduces the cost of the obligatory dowry. Now the Principal is hoping the Madrassa system – it costs nothing to attend - can be applied to higher education, all the way through to offering degrees in engineering, for example. Its ethos is one of respect for all, which precludes the use of the stick for disciplining children.

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Alice Is Always in Wonderland

welcome to my world.....

In 1865 Lewis Carroll wrote alice’s adventures in wonderland a fictional story of a young girl who enters an upside-down world full of curious creatures and contradiction. This story can be interpreted as a metaphor for the loss of this ch… — In 1865 Lewis Carroll wrote alice’s adventures in wonderland a fictional story of a young girl who enters an upside-down world full of curious creatures and contradiction. This story can be interpreted as a metaphor for the loss of this childhood innocence as Alice tries to make sense of the adult world. Carroll was fascinated by Children and their apparent innocence he photographed the real Alice Liddell whom he had based the story on.
Some claim that: ‘his adoption of Children as his favourite friends was in tune with a Victorian cult of the child in which childishness and childish games and pastimes were part of the sensibility of the times.’ But His claim to innocence has been disputed by many contempory opinions

Photo of Alice Liddell taken by Lewis Carroll (1858)

Inspired by the story of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Carroll's photographs of Alice, I teamed up with performance artist and model Rosie Race to shoot our own version of wonderland.

China Town Kolkata

Kolkata is home to India's only Chinatown.

Situated in the eastern part of the city, the locality was once a thriving Kolkata suburb home to 20,000 ethnic Chinese. The locals I talked to say in the past year or so has dropped to around 200 permanent Chinese-Indian residents. The traditional occupation of the Chinese community here had been working in the nearby tanneries and Chinese restaurants. Around 10 years ago the Tanning factories started to relocate to the outskirts of the city because of complaints and fears of the toxic sludge they produce as a by product. This sludge contaminates water supplies and causes heavy environmental damage. Today only a few factories remain but it is clear to see their toxic legacy in the murky ponds surrounding the area.

Children play in the ruins of one of China Towns old tanneries

With the collapse of the industry most of Chinatowns younger residents have moved abroad to work and study in the US and Canada. Leaving an aged population of 3rd generation Chinese Indians.

Mr Chung is the eldest survivor of four generations who have lived in China Town. His grandparents escaped from China  and fled through Burma to make a new life in India, selling Haka noodles on the street. Mr Chung is the owner of a successful… — Mr Chung is the eldest survivor of **four generations** who have lived in China Town. His grandparents escaped from China and fled through Burma to make a new life in India, selling Haka noodles on the street. Mr Chung is the owner of a successful Chinese restaurant. His sons who all live and work abroad.

The area is still noted for its Chinese restaurants where Kolkata residents flock to taste traditional Chinese food. This has been China towns saving grace and has kept the place alive just......

Being Baul

I have just spent the most amazing two weeks in West Bengal exploring the world of the Bauls for a documentary I am working on. I had to cope with 45 degree heat and many sleepless nights ( Bauls know how to party ) But I was lucky enough to shoot some of the most incredible people and places.

Two years back I had the pleasure of meeting Paban Baul and Mimlu Sen. The music blew me away but what really inspired me was Mimlu's talk on the unique Baul culture. Mimlu is the author of several books about the Bauls and has been really supportive in sharing her contacts in Bengal with me.

The Bauls originate from Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. The Baul movement, is said to date back several thousand years. Baul music is popular among the rural population of Bengal, As well as the city slickers of Kolkata. Their music and way of life have been influential in Bengali culture, including the compositions and poetry of Nobel Prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Some Bauls sing Baul songs traditionaly acompanied by the 'ektara, the lute dotara, a simple one-stringed instrument, and a drum called dubki.' Some Baul musicians have also intergrated modern instruments like the guitar into Baul music.

Here is some more information on the unique Baul culture from Unesco:

'Bauls belong to an unorthodox devotional tradition, influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism, Bengali, Vasinavism and Sufi Islam, yet distinctly different from them. Bauls neither identify with any organized religion nor with the caste system, special deities, temples or sacred places. Their emphasis lies on the importance of a persons physical body as the place where God resides.'

'Bauls are admired for this freedom from convention as well as their music and poetry. Baul poetry, music, song and dance are devoted to finding humankinds relationship to God, and to achieving spiritual liberation. Their devotional songs can be traced back to the fifteenth century when they first appeared in Bengali literature.'

'Baul music represents a particular type of folk song, carrying influences of Hindu bhakti movements as well as the shuphi, a form of Sufi song. Songs are also used by the spiritual leader to instruct disciples in Baul philosophy, and are transmitted orally. The language of the songs is continuously modernized thus endowing it with contemporary relevance.'

The purpose of this initial trip was to research different types of Baul practice. Mainly the differences between Sadhu Bauls, Musician Bauls and those who combine both practices. The project will be a video documentary this is simply a blog post to keep people up to date on the project and introduce Baul.

Here are a few behind the scenes shots.

Mountain portraits

A preview of some portraits taken as part of a project I have been shooting in Humla far North West Nepal. Editing these portraits of people attending Chaitalo festival in Thehe, is a bit of light relief from the hours of footage I am working my way through.

Behind the scenes shoot in Humla, Nepal

At an altitude of 1500-7300m Humla is one of Nepal’s highest and most inaccessible districts. It is located in the far Northwest of Nepal and has a population of around 45,000 living in small villages on the slopes of the lower Himalayas.

view of old Simikot from the small airstrip

Last month I flew with a small team to shoot a project in Simikot, the district headquarters which has a dirt airstrip that lands only a few flights per week in good weather. I was not prepared for how remote this region really is, the closest road to Humla is nine days walk and Tibet is six days walk away. These isolated mountain communities rely on subsistence farming and minimal trade with Tibet and India.

Here, isolation poverty and a harsh mountainous landscape deprive people of all but the basics of life. For many of Its population of Tibetan speaking Buddhists and Nepali speaking Hindus existence is day to day survival.

Mother and Daughter make tea in Baraunse

Much of the area we were shooting in is high Himalaya; the main passes can be closed for up to four months of the year by winter snow. We ended up being snowed in twice and flights were unable to land for a good four days later than scheduled.

Humla is an area of incredible beauty. Its sheer remoteness and inaccessibility have inspired legends. It is believed by some to be the home of the mythical Shangri-La that same remoteness and inaccessibility means That many of its traditions still remain strongly intact. While shooting in this area we were lucky enough to witness two festivals in two remote villages a days walk from Simikot.

Here are some Images from behind the scenes of our shoot and some that will never make the final edit but are still worth sharing...............

Memuco

A short film I put together to promote the work of Beijing based environmental art warrior Memuco. Check out more of his amazing work @ www.memuco.net

Yeyahu (wild duck lake)

Earlier this year I visited Yeyahu or wild duck lake northwest Beijing, with bird expert and blogger Terry Townshend

. It was surprising to discover that This area of Beijing actually boarders the Inner Mongolia Plateau Transition Zone and is at an elevation of 479m above sea level. Making it noticeably colder than urban Beijing.It was a chilly 3 degrees with a biting wind. But luckily Terry was on hand with a thermos of coffee and some instant noodles. In just a few hours of birdwatching we spotted 70 different species of bird including some rare migratory species such as the oriental Plover. Here are some of the photos from the trip:

Black Leopard Wildlife Conservation Station

LiLi is the founding member of the Black Leopard Wildlife Conservation Station. He started his career in traditional Chinese painting. He grew up in the suburbs of Beijing when parts of the city were still villages. He would capture wild birds to paint in his studio. They would inevitably die and he felt guilty. Touched by the loss of the birds' habitat in his village and the beautiful wetland scenery, Li decided to protect these birds.

He decided to dedicate his life to protecting them. He now has a group of full time warden patrolling and protecting the Beijing surburban district of Fangshang. protecting wildlife in particular the endangered Black Stalk.

I followed LiLi on patrol of a streach of river in Fangshang as part of a series I am making about Beijings often overlooked wildlife.

Taking the plunge

The Beijing Municipal Winter Swimming Club, now has 2,000 paying members, including 1,200 to 1,400 who swim regularly in the winter!

In winter the temperature can be as cold as -15 Celsius and the lake freezes over. The cold however doesn't stop die hard locals donning their swimmers and taking the plunge.

I chatted to one swimmer Mr Li who told me that he swims in the lake all year round. I photographed him taking a chilly dip in Houhai lake in central Beijing. He carried a couple of litres of 'clean' water which he used rinse his body off after the swim before heading home on his bicycle.

Jiuzhaigou

Us IMMJ students were lucky enough to be offered a photography job last month which was an all expenses paid trip to Jiuzhaigou Valley a nature reserve and national park located in northern Sichuan province of southwestern China right on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. The Chinese nickname the area fairyland, for a good reason. The scenery is other worldly, frozen forests, icefalls and multicoloured lakes with a backdrop of snowcapped mountains. during my time there the hotel we were staying put on odd shows that made Tibet look like an ethic disney land. This did make me feel a bit uncomfortable as I was being hosted in order to take photos to promote the area.

I decided to stay on a couple of days more at a Tibetan home-stay with a lovely family. who never let my teacup or belly be empty. The family live just outside of the park as sadly the only Tibetans allowed to live in the park are there as a tourist attraction. They are not allowed to farm or set up business. So they exist only as a tourist attraction and sit around in fake villages looking Tibetan so toursits can take photos with them.

Re-cycle!

Recycling in Beijing happens on a huge scale, i'm sure there is also a lot of landfill but rubbish here is worth something and money can be earnt by pedlars who rummage through the trash looking for recyclable material. Their bike carts are usually empty at the start of the day. This photo was taken about 5pm

Being in Beijing

Its been 6 months now, I can hardly believe it! Whats more unbelievable is how long its taken me to start this new blog.

afternoon  autumn sun near Dongsi — afternoon autumn sun near Dongsi

So much has happened since I arrived in September to start my MA in International Multimedia Journalism, here in Beijing. I wont be able to fit it in one post!

So I will keep updating this blog with a mix of current and past project news.

For now here are a few photos taken back in September that give my first impressions of this ever changing and ever challenging city.

Hairdressers doing an early morning exercise routine below my bedroom window in Dongsishitao. The early morning choreographed routine included hits such as Mariah Kerry's "All I want for Christmas" full blast every day from September&… — Hairdressers doing an early morning exercise routine below my bedroom window in Dongsishitao. The early morning choreographed routine included hits such as Mariah Kerry's "All I want for Christmas" full blast every day from September till.......well indefinitely

bored looking teenager at the gates of the forbidden city. probably being dragged round on one of the popular Chinese cultural tours of the city.