India Bandhavgarh Project

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Worth More Alive III
After two years of running marathons on roads Paul opted for an even more ambitious week: two big marathons with the filling in this endurance sandwich being Kilimanjaro. Thousands of words and photographs have been delivered on this feature:

Daily Mail | Metro.co.uk | Wimbledon Guardian Online | Wanderlust.co.uk | Orange News

Yes there was drama and pain but critically it worked and raised well over £30,000.
Almost 600 people came to see his predator lecture in the hallowed hall of the RGS three days before his first run (the video link will be online soon!). Eight people joined him on Kilimanjaro (six got to the top) and he was cheered on all of the way by the vast crowds in Brighton and London.
 
The tiger suit is not a gimmick, it is not just an attention-grabber (although it does a pretty good job of that). It is the obvious focal point of a fund raising programme that has gone back many years. There will never be  too much money for tigers but Paul has always maintained that the funds have to be spent appropriately and pragmatically. This year his big word is compensation.
 
Each year the farmers and smallholders suffer around Bandhavgarh because of tigers eating their livestock. There is nothing new in this. For a tiger a slow moving cow is a far easier prize than a fleet footed spotted deer. Understandably these farmers do not think much of tigers. Almost four hundred animals are taken each year and the current compensations scheme (government run) is woeful.
 
To repay money quickly or replace animals with alacrity is critical in the tigers survival which is why the vast amount of money from last year and this year will be directed to a new compensation programme implemented by FOC India and the park authorities. Farmers who suffer need recompense quickly, this is what we will be endeavouring to achieve.

It will be a long battle and not one given up on. It is unlikely that the park will ever be effectively fenced so compensation will always be a vital part of the park's ecosystem. Who knows ... there may even be a Worth More Alive IV

See more details about the Worth More Alive III events or all previous Project Updates

Tigers & Cricket Tour 2012

Client Kara Thorne writes about the Tigers & Cricket experience, read her version of events: Tiger Tourism: Friend or Foe?

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Where in the world?

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve is situated between the hill ranges of Vindhyan and Satpura in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. A one time hunting reserve of the royal family of Rewa, it was declared a Tiger Reserve 1968. Although Bandhavgarh is somewhat isolated in the rural heart of India it is well worth the effort of getting there.

What are we trying to do?

Bandhavgarh, partly due to its inaccessibility and its reliable watercourses, is home to one of the last few viable concentrations of tigers on Earth. However it is not immune to the twin threats of poaching and encroachment by the many villages that surround the park. Exodus believes by providing assistance to both the park directly and the surrounding villages, the local population see real practical benefits that simply would not be there without the close presence of the tigers and the visitors who come to see these most magnificent of all big cats.

How did we set it up?

Having previously supported other tiger conservation projects and after a visit by one of our staff in 2005, we quickly mobilised to help the remaining, but threatened, tiger population at Bandhavgarh. In conjunction with our local partners in Delhi and Friends of Conservation in the UK, Exodus set about raising funds to help the school in the village of Tala, close to the main gate. To date we have raised around £25,000, which has been used to build two classrooms, a toilet block and a boundary wall to keep the children safe. Other works include a deep well and water tank as well as an administration block.

Our most recent acquisition for the Park is a brand new jeep, which Paul Goldstein was able to present to the Park Director when he was there in January. Please see the Project Updates (Project Phase Two) below for further details.

What do we want to achieve in 2010?

• Supply 25 solar lights to the park at a cost of Rs5000 per light (approx £4,600)
• 6 pairs of deep search metal detectors to locate snares set to catch tigers and other wild animals with approx. cost of Rs. 80,000 per set, amounting to Rs.4.80 Lacs. (£7,500)
• 50 Helmets with LED lights fitted with it costs approx. Rs. 4000 per piece, total amount works out to Rs.2.00 Lacs. (£3,000)
• Supply 100 sets of CPG cylinders, gas stoves and pressure cookers at a cost of approximately Rs6000 per set (£9,500)
• Books, stationery and general knowledge books for poor children, funds to be allocated: Rs. 1.00 Lakh (£1,500)
• Pay the part time wages/tuition fee of 2 English speaking teachers - approximate cost for 2 teachers per year: £2,500 Per year.

What can you do to help?

Paul Goldstein, who instigated the project, is our resident and award-winning photographer. He holds regular talks in the UK on the tigers of Bandhavgarh, and also leads our special photography trips to the region. A contribution of £100.00 per passenger goes directly to the project. Paul's blog from his most recent trip can be viewed here

If you are travelling on any of our India trips and you have any spare room in your luggage please could you pack any children's general knowledge and children's story books (especially those with pictures) you may be willing to donate. We are trying to set up a library in Tala School and any book donations would be appreciated. Please give them to your leader on arrival in Delhi and he will make sure they are sent to the Tala School.

Download the documents from the links below detailing the events of each of the project phases from 2005 to date.
Project Phase One (2005-2007) | Project Phase Two (2008 to 2010)

Would you like to know more?

May 2011

Worth More Alive II
In 2010 Exodus’ Paul Goldstein ran the London Marathon in a nine-foot high tiger costume to raise money for our tiger protection projects in India’s Bandhavgarh National Park. Eyeing up the tiger following this event, Paul then decided to up the stakes for 2011 and run four marathons in one week, once again with the 25kg tiger costume on his back.

Before embarking on this madness, Paul managed to convince Exodus client Terry Coates to run with him for all four marathons. He was also joined for two by Exodus’ Andrew Appleyard and Exodus client Simon Judah and for one, Exodus’ Ben Roseveare also jogged along. On an exceptionally warm 10th April 2011 Paul and Terry pounded the streets of Brighton. Still nursing blisters, aches and pains they then ran in Manchester and Cardiff. The grand finale was the London marathon on 17 April where not only did our runners successfully complete the course on another very warm day, but Paul also managed to find enough energy to give a live television interview to Olympic  gold medallist Denise Lewis at the half-way point on Tower Bridge.

Paul and the team managed to raise almost £22,000 via their Just Giving Page. This money will be used to fund a variety of activities which will help to protect Bandhavgarh’s precious population of tigers.

Click here for more details about the 2011 Worth More Alive II campaign

May 2010

London Marathon 'Tiger Run' raises over £20,000
Paul Goldstein ran in the Virgin London Marathon 2010 with a 'tiger' strapped to his back. Many spectators sent in their images of Paul and our news pages report on the build up of his achievement: before the marathon and after the marathon which supported him during his marvelous effort to raise awareness of the tigers plight in India.

Bandhavgarh Project Newsletter
We have issued an updated Newsletter concerning our current project in Bandhavgarh, for your copy please download the PDF document:

Bandhavgarh Responsible Tourism Project Newsletter - 22/04/10

July 2008

One of the main aims of the project is to use education to explain how the communities’ welfare can actually improve, through tourism dollars, with the end of poaching and an increased tiger population. Tala is a small village next to the one of the very few remaining thriving tiger reserves. Almost everybody in the village is connected to both the park and school, so the school was the obvious choice for a major renovation project. Bore holes have been dug, new classrooms and ablutions built and construction on the school hall, which houses all 500 pupils.

Through emphatic fundraising and some inspirational client donations Exodus has managed to raise a further £7,600 for the third phase of necessary renovation and construction work. Whilst this is a fantastic amount of money, our local partners in India still need £900 in order to reach the target of £8,500 in order to complete the work.

We have just been informed that the Indian Government has confirmed that construction can commence on the secondary school renovations, so the last push for that £900 is vital. We have a wonderful opportunity here to save an endangered species, not by exclusion, but by including the affected communities, creating a sustainable future for the community of Tala and the Bandhavgarh Bengal Tigers.

To make a donation to this project, please click on the donation link above.

March 2008

Many of you may have recently seen 'Tiger Kill' on BBC2 - an astonishing wildlife programme from the park presented by Simon King. Far more pertinently, at least fifty Exodus wildlife enthusiasts have visited the park this year and enjoyed tiger viewings, preferring their sightings from elephant back rather than armchair. They have also seen the progress at the school project that Exodus support. New classrooms, a borehole and perimeter are all completed, but although it sounds desperate, this is only the tip of a huge project.

With generous donations from Exodus clients and the money raising efforts of Exodus staff and other business suppliers, we have raised nearly £6,000 and have been focusing on the rebuilding of the secondary school in the nearby village of Tala.

Currently the school needs a new hall and more classrooms. But the developments are not going to stop with the school. Next door in the park there is much to be achieved: new patrol vehicles, bicycles, and proper clothing and they all cost many lakhs of rupees.

Along with Kanha, Pench, Panna and a slowly recovering Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh is a success story for tigers. However these are small oases in a desert of despair. Internationally, numbers are dropping alarmingly and this puts pressure on these few jewels. The fault lies with the other parks, with the appalling incompetence and complicity of the authorities in Delhi and critically, the desires of some flaccid egos to insist on tiger parts to inflate their pathetic esteem. This is a major problem and money, properly spent, is the answer.

Think of this - 500 pupils at this school and their relations all now know how important the tiger is to their livelihoods. Breakfast cereals, beer, oil and golfers are all happy to use the name, how many actually help this brand they so happily endorse? Think of that next time you see Tiger Woods sink a 40 foot putt. Our passengers have helped and continue to do so, but the light is still a very watery one at the end of a very long tunnel for the tigers.

Please see the holiday page for Land of the Tiger

January 2008

This gives me immense pleasure to inform you all that the renovation and reconstruction work has been completed for the 1st phase of Bhandavgarh School project, this includes as follows:
Completed Construction:
• Toilet block with complete plumbing / flush system.
• Water Tank with complete plumbing work for water supply upto toilet block and 6 outlet taps for drinking water.
• Two new Class Rooms.
• Deep Well and its concrete construction inside / outside fitted with sewerage for un-interrupted water supply to the tank.
• Boundary wall covering the whole premises of the school with proper Iron Gate for safety of the children and to prevent school premises to be misused by local people.

Hopefully the next construction/renovation work at School should start by April' 2008. In the meantime, we have already given order for 60 study tables and benches for the School children which should be ready by the end of this month.

2007 Update

Friends of Conservation UK has issued a letter of intent for funding the reconstruction work of School's admin block. Also a letter of intent from FOC, was received by us for sponsoring to donate a Jeep for anti-poaching purposes to the Park authorities at Bhandavgarh.

2006 Update

Since January 2005, we have completed the reconstruction of several classrooms, built a new ablutions block, installed two new clean water towers, have begun work on the main school building and the boundary walls of the school grounds.

May 2006
Further increasing our commitment to Bandhavgarh, we have joined forces with the owner of one of the local lodges to help equip the 300 or so dedicated rangers, who patrol the borders of the park. This list of equipment includes motorbikes, winter jackets and blankets. This is a major addition to our projects, and we project that we will need to raise around £5000. We are going to split donations between equipment for the rangers and the school.
April 2006
Exodus’ India program manager Emma Garrick, raised nearly £400 by completing the Welsh 3000s – a gruelling 15 peaks over 3000 feet in just under 2 days. This money is already in India.