Chandelao Village Project - India

Chandelao is a small principality near Jodhpur whose current Rajput ruler, Praduman Singh, is involved in trying to upgrade the life of the underprivileged in the village. He is already active through an NGO in helping the local schools and Imaginative Traveller have decided to offer further support through our Responsible Travel fund.

We have regularly stayed as welcome guests in Chandelao during our Amongst the Maharajahs tour and now we'd really like to extend our support further than tourism by helping the local schools. The short term project is to obtain water tanks for the school's toilets so that the hygiene situation improves. The longer term plan is to create a play school for younger children so that they can have their own play area - something that normally gets neglected totally in rural India. This building will be built in the local mud-house style and we will use local craftsmen for this job. We plan to not only support this project financially but offer our travellers the chance to become involved hands-on through our Rajasthan Insight volunteer tour.

Around Chandelao lie the picturesque villages of the Bishnoi community who are known to protect all animal and plant life. The Bishnois are a gentle community of potters, weavers, leather embroiderers and camel herders. The men are distinguished by their large, white turbans, while the women wear earthy colours and have a particularly striking nose ring that establishes their identity. Cattle rearing and agriculture are dominant pursuits. The best way to get to know the Bishnois' fascinating way of life is to join Praduman on a jeep safari into the villages.