A treasure in the forest

Until recently, the only people who came into Jomi Pacharin’s remote mountain village were vendors and debtors. Doctors, teachers and government officials never set their foot here, they find the trail too arduous; hence many Paharia die from malnutrition and preventable diseases. When local helpers of the German NGO Welthungerhilfe first came to their village, Jomi and her neighbors stayed inside, full of suspicion – until they realized that these strangers would not take their belongings but offer something.

documentary published by the German NGO Welthungerhilfe >>

In 2016, the German NGO Welthungerhilfe sent me to its most remote project office in India: From the feet of the Raj Mahal hills we hiked two hours uphill a small mountain path until we reached the indigenous Paharia (Adivasi) villages. The two friends Jomi and Veidi Paharia – one woman in their 30s, one in their 60s – allowed me to join them while collecting wild forest food. I could barely keep up with their pace in the heat! Although I was one of the first foreigners they ever saw and although we needed two interpreters (Paharia – Hindi, Hindi – English), they made me feel welcome and shared their perky humor with me and the camera.

Photo story about Paharia village >>

I visited the village and other projects in India in late 2016 and produced this multi media feature for Welthungerhilfe among others.

Post on 2. August 2017 by Christina Felschen tagged: , , , , , , , ,