Karm Gaon - Our Home
Karm Gaon, as our home is called, is a warm, loving space that in reality is a lot more than just a home. It functions as a place of residence, a vocational training center, a large community kitchen, a non-formal school, a space for learning in visual and performing arts and an organic garden. We wanted it to be, and feel that it has truly become, a space that allows young people to express themselves freely, and grow to become confident, motivated individuals.
In brainstorming sessions with three young architects from Delhi's School of Planning and Architecture - Manu Gopalan, Arun Damodaran and Shipra Ogra - the children discussed their hopes and desires for their new home. Ideas of experimentation with a co-ed shelter came up, amongst many others. Bearing in mind that all families consist of girls and boys living together, it was only natural that the same principle be followed here. A place where they can live independently, but still be part of a community ... like a joint family.
Children, with some support and supervision of elders and friends, largely run the home on their own. There are weekly meetings amongst them in which they mutually delegate responsibilities towards maintaining and running the home, also sorting out in the process any issues in this regard. The children – many of them young adults – learn to budget the expenses of the home themselves. This helps them understand and plan when and how to spend the allocated funds to ensure that the home runs smoothly. This also empowers them to take decisions about matters that directly affect them, giving them an equal measure of responsibility and freedom.
The home isn’t just about the built space either. Nature, and respecting its systems, is important to us. The home as a result has an organic kitchen garden, besides numerous varieties of plants, bushes and trees. At the home, the children also share this space with eight dogs, four ducks and three hens (and they aren’t a part of the kitchen garden!). While we do have a full power back-up system for when it may really be required, the reliance on electricity is quite limited. There is also a solar water heating system.
Over the years, many children have lived at Karm Marg and moved out to make their own homes, empowered with a job or the drive to start small businesses. Many of these children are now married and some even have children. However apart their lives have grown, these children still think of Karm Marg as a place to confide in, sharing their ups and downs with the rest of us. This alumnus always comes 'home' to celebrate festivals and special occasions. A heart-warming fact and a testimony to Karm Marg as a family.
