8 days, 12 catalysts, 1 Roadtrip – Changing Miyar’s destiny
Miyar is a quaint little valley in the lap of the colossal Himalayas. The celebrated mountaineer, Sir Chris Bonington, has called it the “Yosemite of India”. It opens up for only three months every year; rest of the year, Miyar remains cut-off from the world, owing to thick sheets of snow. But the lives of Miyaris is a far cry from the picturesque beauty of the Valley – without sustainable economic development in the Valley, the Miyaris are forced to endure difficult lives or abandon their homeland in search for a better life.
In 2014, RTXProject.com (Road trip Experience Project) created a stir in the creative community by bringing 30 dreamers, doers & influencers together from diverse creative backgrounds on a road trip to connect, create and collaborate. The results were awe-inspiring – the bunch created a documentary, a music project and a photo series while exploring rich experiences.
Come July, the road trip commences again. And this time, it is not just about collaboration. This trip will combine the genius of 12 handpicked social entrepreneurs and change-catalysts, who will travel the Miyar valley for eight days, and work with a design team to solve social and environmental problems in this low- accessibility zone. The end goal is to prototype the best solutions in Miyar.
Why Miyar?
Miyar is the Mecca for climbing and mountaineering and has seen little exploration. There are various virgin peaks that are an exciting proposition. The main valley of Miyar has vast open meadows peppered with flora and fauna, and is a favoured region for the nomadic “Gaddi” shepherds, hailing from the Kangra valley. Horses and Yaks roam freely in these places! A valley this beautiful, and with this much potential, needs assistance.
Increased tourism will give Miyar a temporary boost in the months it is open. It is the rough months that the valley is closed that sends Miyaris in a downward spiral. The young people of the valley are leaving in search of better prospects leaving the old and infirm behind. This can only be curtailed by creating opportunities for employment and livelihood. Sustainable development in the areas of healthcare, education, and the economic ecosystem is the answer to saving Miyar. Miyar will be an example that goes to show how designled innovation in low access areas can make the magic happen.
Charting out the plan
Here’s how the process will unfold.
- Identifying social entrepreneurs, designers and individuals who are innovators and change makers.
- Inviting these change-catalysts on a road trip to Miyar
- Engaging with the local community to capture information, understand pain points, and define challenges in that region
- Drawing insights from shared experiences of these change makers
- Initiating an online Global Design Challenge. The open design challenge will be leveraged to encourage and inspire individuals from across the world to contribute ideas that can create sustainable change in the region.
- Best ideas from an online design challenge will be invited to Miyar in February 2016 for building prototypes
The team
The team behind the initiative is a rather diverse one. The trip will have two travel architects – Jay Ahya, Founder @RTXProject and Honey Bajaj, Co-Ideator @ RTXImpact, WEF Global Shaper: Innovation & Design. Jay and Honey owe it to Avilash Bisht and Vishwas Raj (both avid mountaineers), for bringing Miyar’s beautiful landscape and it’s challenge to their notice.
The outcome
It’s not just about saving Miyar Valley. There’s more that’s expected to come out of this initiative. Rather than looking outside for help, our own citizens are leading the pack for solutions and in turn, creating a community of skilled individuals who are capable of creating social innovation. The design challenge will likely create a pool of solutions that might be scalable to other geographies that face similar problems of accessibility.