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REPORT
FROM VRINDAVAN ACTIVITIES Friends of Vrindavan Professional Cleaning Friends of Vrindavan has won 3 street cleaning contracts with different organisation this past year. Friends of Vrindavan has shifted from volunteer work to a mix of volunteer work and cleaning contracts. This is continuing satisfactorily at present and therefore the conclusion could be reached that the present staff, supervisors and management are on course and that further contracts are likely. Friends of Vrindavan hope to gain the India Oil Refinery Hospital cleaning contract for example. Special note: this also means that for more than two years Friends of Vrindavan has regularly employed a core of 15 staff from the 'karam chari' community, making Friends of Vrindavan the second highest employer in this community after the Vrindavan Municipality. The bonds of a hard won mutual trust amongst a core group of about 25 staff in this community will stand Friends of Vrindavan well when the time comes to construct and staff our proposed recycling plant and for more widespread garbage collection and disposal. Plantation Work A gardening and plantation team is being sustained and Friends of Vrindavan has also had a few small contracts. One recently was with Nirphad for planting 4,000 trees around the villasge of Sunrakh. Mansarovar is still being tended and we wish to continue this. Thus far no government or others have come forward to help financially. The Mahantani of Mansarovar now employs a full time caretaker to help the sanctuary security. The Friends of Vrindavan nursery stocks 75,000 mixed trees. The focal point of Friends of Vrindavan's work is that the trees are to be planted unconditionally in Vraj. The main obstacle to a 100,000+ plantation, which can be done with Friends of Vrindavan stock, is the trees' security once planted (cost of fencing, tree guards, water, etc.). PROPOSALS FOR 2000 Friends of Vrindavan is moving into the Chotta Munghir Office and Nursery premises along with a reduced staff. This move will help enormously in the management of Friends of Vrindavan activities, staff and financial information. The office needs to be turned into a welcoming and informative location to attract visitors and to promote the Friends of Vrindavan work. Friends of Vrindavan hope that a meaningful initiative can be planned with WWF for a Year 2000 environment education initiative with the community. If Water Tanker filling and hiring costs go down, as anticipated if the Rajasthan government provide the pump set for water extraction, we will consider opening another nursery site in partnership with Nirphad at Sun Rakh, for example, where villagers are keen to participate and where there are no monkey menaces destroying young plants. Friends of Vrindavan has the use of two rooms at Jaipur Mandir and we have established an initial exhibition of Robyn Beeche's photos of Vrindavan and Vraj and environmental posters in English, bought from the centre for Science and Environment. In any future exhibition photographs, illustrations and posters will be utilised, and we will assemble a core collection of relevant material. NEW LINK TO FOOD FOR LIFE Starting in 2000, Friends of Vrindavan will be a partner of Food for Life in Vrindavan. Together we will cover a range of activities aimed at addressing the most immediate humanitarian needs of Vraj's poor, while supporting the development of more resources in the community, suh as clean water, fruit trees, environmental education, and basic health care training. We will be forming community task groups in each village to develop these self-help programmes.
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