An amazing thing happened this spring at Provision: Friends we had not yet met arrived bearing gifts small and invisible… It was 6am and the rains were falling in torrents. It is not our practice to pick visitors up from the train station in Huedin when they arrive that early… but in such a weather… it wasn’t only pity that made us go, it was inspiration. They entered and we all sat in a large circle inside our small living room. They were weary from their travels and travails while working to re-create an over land green pathway from India to Western Europe. It was happening. It was working except for a piece of Iran that is currently inaccessible, and the faces we met there were open and curious as our own. I felt as though we were all part of a special tribe…
Alex, Gijs, Vikram, Pragnya, Pema, and Sijmen were to become our esteemed companions over the coming days while we found an easy and respectful, direct and naturally collaborative way of planning and making decisions together. This, for me, was regenerating my hope that this kind of togetherness is, indeed, possible.
One of the small gifts, representing a collaborative project of 1.5 years between several parties in Australia and India, including the Social Entrepreneurship Association in Auroville, from which our new friends hail, is a booklet called “Grounded Imaginaries: Storytelling and Research in Times of Climate Crisis.” I have been pouring over its pages on and off for half a year now. They left this booklet, some little hand-sewn items, the Provision Schoolhouse more liveable and repaired, and a great deal of warm memories behind them when they departed again, to continue their great journey some days later.
They also gave a gift to the school in our neighbouring community of Sancraiu: a slide presentation and stories of their life in Auroville. The presentation was well-attended and the children sat in rapt attention with eyes wide as they saw pictures of trees, rivers and houses looking unfamiliar and very other than the kinds of vegetation, landscapes and dwellings than those found in this region.
We all found it a great joy and honour that the 2023 Green Silk Road came through our region! And we hear rumours that there is a new crew taking up the work again this coming season. Perhaps there will be another chapter to this continuing storytelling adventure, perhaps one that may be open for even more people in this region and beyond… We will keep you posted through Provision’s event pages on our website if the Green Silk Road leads to Alunisu again in summer 2024!
More information on The Green Silk Road: www.thegreensilkroad.com
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