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In a rustic setting in the hills, amidst quaint houses, come sit with us around a bonfire, on a winter night. Allow yourself to be warmed up by the sheer presence of a rural community and revel in their age-old customs. Welcome to Ghost Village Festival!

Ghost Village Festival is a village experience that celebrates the spirit of rural Uttarakhand – its culture, traditions, people; and their existence.

Tucked away in the mountains of Garhwal, is a small village named Saur, which is one of the 1,053 villages of Uttarakhand that have fallen prey to excessive migration and have been labelled as ghost villages. These villages lie abandoned because people have moved to urban spaces in search of better opportunities. Of these villages, Saur is particularly endearing owing to the big hearts of the 12 remaining families, and a rich history of culture and traditions.  

As an attempt to preserve the cultural heritage of this hamlet, earlier this year, Project FUEL undertook ‘The Wise Wall Project’. We documented the stories and life lessons of all the families of Saur. We then painted these lessons and local folklores on the walls of all the houses of the village, both inhabited and abandoned. This project garnered the interest of Saur migrants, local authorities and travel enthusiasts alike, and helped shine a spotlight on an otherwise obscure Saur.

During the project, many villagers recounted the fond memory of a mela(fair) that used to be celebrated with great fervor. Realizing the cultural and economic importance of this fair for the region, the thought of its revival gave birth to ‘Ghost Village Festival’. This festival is to keep up with our endeavors of increasing connectivity, improving livelihoods and to rebuilding a ‘ghost’ Saur.

We invite you to be a part of a carefully planned itinerary for the perfect village experience. The festival is a two day running event, scheduled for 4th and 5th November, 2017. However, you are requested to arrive in Dehradun by 3rd from where we will be travelling to Saur and the departure from Saur to Dehradun has been scheduled for 6th.

Look forward to community living, wall painting, hands-on village experiences like the exploration of local flora and fauna, food foraging, pine needle craft making, folk music galore, sumptuous Garhwali fare and a celebration of human wisdom.

There’s more! We’re camping it out in open fields surrounded by mountains!

So, if you are someone who is charmed by rural life, the birdsong at dawn, and the milky way at night, and would like to contribute to the social health of a nearly abandoned village, kindly apply at the earliest. The entry for this curated event is limited to 100 people and the fee is INR 10,000, non-refundable (includes travel from Dehradun to Saur and back, accommodation, food and workshop fee).

Kindly make arrangements for travel to and from Dehradun. But the journey to and from Saur to Dehradun, will be one of happy troupers.

Apply Now:

Please click

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScWS9C2F1em3OWerln9AYQmkmqLRBApEQRXJzpeYZ-HiH6MPA/viewform?usp=sf_link to fill out our application form.

Deadline to fill the application is 10th October, 2017.

 

 

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About The Author

3 Comments

  1. Please I want to be part of this Festival.
    anni.bhu@gmail.com
    Mob. 9654561971

  2. Sounds very interesting. Wish I had known about it earlier. Would love to get involved next year!

  3. U r doing such great job ..I wish I will be part of a fuel

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