I have had a very intense summer....its been a lot of stress, a lot of work and some fun. I have been working with Toxic soil busters / worcester roots since last summer. This summer however was more intense as youth have vacations (that means we work longer hours beside the heat) on top it we were attempting to incubate two new cooperatives, a graphic shop and Youth Incharge. There were lots of council meetings and heated real talks, some issues resolved, some left as everyone was getting burnt out. There is a lot of value in having real talks and I learn this summer that they work only if all the parties involved have a vested interest in making it work and a willingness to engage and be uncomfortable. We use real talks (kasapa) to give a space for people to speak about how they are feeling and make space for consturctive feedback to make our work more effective and fun. At the end of the summer graphic shop ceases to exist in the form we envisioned while Youth Incharge is still together despite several issues tha we had.
One thing I noticed in the working style of both adults and youth that is different from mine and from most people I worked with in the past in India was compartmentalization and lack of follow through. We hyderabadis are known for being lazy nawabs and Americans for being in time and organized. Infact in Barkatpura I remember even on days when we had deadlines to meet people had the time to stop and check-in. Here everyone looks very busy on the outset with tight agendas, back-to-back non-stop meetings but often times they spend time attending meetings and do not really follow through on work they take on.
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