General News. There are currently three proposed trips to Mettupalayam that I know of. Robina is going in early January as are Craig and Kay Begg (briefly). Our North Yorkshire visit is planned for August 2001. Visits always generate news and stimulate interest. I know that Venkat looks forward to them and finds them rewarding. This first hand contact is invaluable and should anyone want to know more about arranging such a visit please contact me. Friends may be interested to know that Venkat and his son Anand have been invited to UK during the period July/August 2002. This will be privately funded and will not involve project funds.

The website has been launched (as you an see -web ed!). At present it has the newsletters on it, an interesting photo gallery, which I am hoping to improve shortly and a brief introduction page. I have had requests to put up more background information and hope to do this early in the New Year.

Computers, diesel cultivators, wages and the way forward.
Although Friends of Mettupalayam is a registered charity, we have always been informal and I hope friendly and professional. Recently I have had some interesting conversations regarding the appropriate way forward for Mettupalayam and the identification of the things Friends choose to support. We have always paid closest attention to the ideas that are generated by Venkat himself. We are also guided by our own studies and experiences. Everyone is most welcome to put forward their opinion and argument. To aid this I have tried to identify some proposed future objectives in this newsletter. The key objective currently needing to be researched is the provision of latrine facilities for the school. A particular reason for re-visiting the project in August is to ensure that members of the Trust committee are fully conversant, first hand, with the current development issues faced by Mettuplayam. Two areas of particular interest recently have been the diesel generator and the possibility of providing the village with a computer. The Trustees have discussed at length the respective merits of hand cultivation compared with mechanical cultivation. In the end VenkatÕs arguments in favour of the greater efficiency of diesel cultivation were supported. As a general rule we try to provide technological support that the people at the project feel is appropriate to their situation. It is common for all but the very smallest plots of land to be cultivated mechanically. We have to support the project in its efforts to improve its own level of self-reliance; the cultivator will increase crop yield by 25%. The other, possibly more contentious question is that of computer provision. There are no immediate plans to provide a computer for the project at this time. I am currently in a minority of one within the Friends Trustees over this issue. I believe the benefits of speedy communication would be very advantageous. I think it would increase peopleÕs involvement, especially for those who cannot make a personal visit to the project. It would certainly enable some excellent educational work to be done, which would lead to some major fundraising that would more than pay for the cost of the computer. It is perhaps important to realise that computers are ÔworldÕ and not ÔwesternÕ technology. Beyond communication there are many practical uses that a computer might be used for. Researching organic agriculture, latrines, solar-power cookers or biogas developments for example. Surely a research tool that people who have the opportunity to readily access University libraries, magazines, and buy books regard as a necessity, is all the more valuable for people with no research alternatives? We are conscious that the pay of the people working at the project is at a very low level and it is an area, that we will have to review this year. Further details of this situation will be presented in a future newsletter. The school continues to be a very exciting aspect of the project. Having been running for more than ten years it now benefits from hard won experience. Changes in staff occur but this does not effect the balance of its work. I would like to see an improvement in the midday meal provisions in the coming year. Again I would hope that nutrition and health support would be issues that feature in coming additions of the newsletter. Many thanks to all of you who support Mettupalayam, it has been a fantastic year and you have all been very generous. It is so important to remember that the day to day work of teaching, feeding, sharing and caring is at the core of the whole effort. Debates and thoughts about future development of the project and moves towards increasing levels of self-sufficiency take place against a constant need to meet the continuing everyday needs of the people at the project. I am hoping to get some short sketches of the lives of some of the individuals at the project to be included in future issues. If you wish to comment about any of the points made, raise new questions, or if there is an aspect of the project that you would like to see discussed in the newsletter, please contact me at any of the addresses given below.

GIFT AID (increase the value of your donations by 28%):
Gift Aid has been put in place by The Chancellor. When making any donation to charity if you state that you intend it as Gift Aid, then the charity can claim back tax, providing it is made from taxable income. This requires no more than acknowledging your intention whenever you send a donation.

Financial latest: The drafts for the outlined expenditure and running costs for Feb-Mar have been drawn, this amounts to £ 4 500. We now have approximately £2 000 in reserve.

Regards David Eldridge (Director F.o.M.).
D.Eldridge,
The Coach House,
Bainbridge,
North Yorkshire.
DL8 3EE Telephone:
01969 650618
E-Mail: dave@eldridge.demon.co.uk
Friends of Mettupalayam website: www.irdt.co.uk

Bank account details for standing orders: Account Number: 30120268 Sort Code: 54-10-41
Bank: Nat West, Northallerton.
Registered Charity Number 1054673

The objective of Friends of Mettupalayam: "The relief of poverty and sickness (whether physical or mental). The advancement of education and the preservation and protection of good health amongst those persons residing in and around the village of Mettupalayam in the district of Chengalpattu, South India.'