Experiential Learning in Indian Agriculture #HogsAbroad

University of Arkansas students and professors outside of Amer Fort in Jaipur, India. #hogsabroad

My entire college career has consisted of lecture halls, high tuition rates, theoretical concepts and week-long homework assignments, and endless cups of coffee. However, my education was missing a small, innovative approach that would help me find my favorite learning style. An opportunity presented itself to me in the last semester of my graduate career through the study abroad office at the University of Arkansas. There was a two-week course being offered called Experiential Learning in Indian Agriculture and it was led by two professors: one from the plant science department and one from the environmental, soil and water science department.

Eight students participated in this international experience and were from departments within the university, such as agricultural education, hospitality, psychology, animal science, agricultural business, apparel merchandising and product development, and agricultural economics.

The class would take place in India, specifically in the cities of New Delhi, Agmer, Jaipur, Agra, Meerut, Modipuram, and Rishikesh. In these places we discovered Indian culture through language, food, textile designs, farming, religion, and hospitality. Many cups of tea were drank and butter cookies consumed amongst the company of Indian agriculture leaders, educators and students. It was an experience of a lifetime and I HIGHLY recommend that any student seeking an extraordinary educational experience choose to study abroad with the Dale Bumper’s college to India.

Agriculture in India

India is famous for its spices. It is no secret and every dynasty within the past two-thousand years has coveted the famed cardamom, clove, cumin, coriander, mustard seed, and black pepper spices that India so exquisitely produces. Markets were full of bowls of beautiful, colorful powder that every tourist could not wait to get their hands on. The National Research Center of Seed Spices (NRCSS) in Ajmer has been doing development research on every spice that Indian farmers are producing. Our group was able to tour their top secret facility to learn about the types of projects going on there. We also enjoyed a visit to a small farming village behind the institute that produced marigolds. We were greeted by the sound of drums and thousands of marigold pedals falling upon us. Not even Dr. Vibha, our Indian professor, had experienced such a classy cultural welcome before. It was definitely an original occurrence!

Students viewing all the different products made from seed spices at the NRCSS.

The next few days the group went on tours of massive greenhouses throughout the state of Rajasthan. We met farmers who were growing cucumbers and tomatoes by the ton within state-of-the-art greenhouses. The extra land around the houses was covered in sweet peas. These farmers were making more than Indian businessmen! It was wonderful to see these structures because they were providing jobs to the locals and bringing in agritourism to the area. It was an educational experience for the students in agriculture-related fields and hospitality. Also, every house was being run by solar power panels. This renewable energy decreased the amount of waste produced by the houses while increasing the yield per hectare of food production. Since India has not approved any genetically modified crops besides Bt cotton, making the most of the arid land is very difficult without these greenhouses. Most of the desert is used for camel and goat herding.

A view of the greenhouses, solar panels, and farm crew in Rajasthan.

There are MANY agriculture education institutions in India. On our trip we visited three: Delhi University – South Campus, Dayalbagh Educational Institute (DEI), and Sardar Patel University. The most fascinating university, in my opinion, was DEI because of its framework and system of operations. DEI is located in Agra, India (the city where the Taj Mahal is located) and is focused on educating students to become a complete person. The philosophy of DEI is stated below and can be found on their website here.

“The Institute has introduced a scheme of innovative and comprehensive education at university and non-university general and technical education levels which aims at excellence but not at the cost of the relevance, which inculcates dignity of labour, encourages initiative and creative work, which is multi-disciplinary, which prepares men for the increasingly techno-oriented society of tomorrow without uprooting them from their agricultural moorings, which will generate in the alumni the basic values of humanism, secularism and democracy by exposing them to the principles of all the major religions of the world and to their own cultural heritage, thus developing in them an integrated personality of well-adjusted men whose world has not been broken into fragments by narrow domestic walls.” — DEI

The school does not currently offer any degree for agriculture, but is moving forward with the creation and implementation of one that should be in place by next year (2018). However, a majority of their campus is dedicated to farming, which feeds the DEI student and faculty population as well as a small village that is stationed on the campus. Additionally, DEI has a dairy research institution where they produce high quality milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. About 35 liters of this milk is exported each month, but only to private buyers.

The scratching machine at the DEI dairy farm.

Lastly, DEI is the leading university in the world in consciousness studies. The dairy farm is hoping to make a discovery linking a cows consciousness to the quality of milk it produces. This effort is being supported by continuous music being played for the cattle and an automatic grooming machine that turns on when a cow approaches it seeking out some relief. And DEI has very cheap tuition demands. You will only pay about $1000 USD for approximately five years of top-notch education. I may consider studying abroad permanently?

Exploring India: The Taj Mahal

While in India, we did a lot of exploring landmarks, markets, cuisine, and museums. The most iconic of all the explorations was, of course, the discovering of the Taj Mahal tomb. This place was birthed from one of the most epic love stories of our time, and has survived on of the most heartbreaking betrayal known to man. The Mughal emperor, Shah Jhan, built the tomb to house the remains of his most beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. On her deathbed she requested that he build a memorial of their love on top of her grave to represent their eternal love. It took the emperor 22 years to build the Taj, in the meantime almost bankrupting India. In that day, around $40,000,000 USD was used to build the Taj (try figuring that in todays monies), and a majority of it went to the laborers and craftsman responsible for the construction and decoration of the project. It is believed by historians that Jhan was going to build a second Taj for himself, but using black marble instead of white, across the Yamuna river. He was dethroned and imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb and was not able to visit the Taj Mahal after it was completed. However, he was able to see the tomb from his cell window.

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India.

The architecture and design of the Taj Mahal is very interesting. A variety of semi-precious stones are inlayed in the white marble, such as onyx and emerald. The carvings are so specific and so complex and the government of India has declared the it a protected art. Currently, there are about 400 families who are direct descendants of the people who built the Taj Mahal, but only 65 are still practicing this art. They do touchups on the Taj as the old materials crack and wither away. Surrounding doorways and windows are intricate designs of flowers and/or Arabic markings, which is the creation story and judgement found in the Quran.

The four towers surrounding the Taj are strictly decorative. They lean approximately one degree outward so that incase of an earth quake, the main structure would not be harmed.
The platform that the Taj is resting upon is being supported by massive beams that go about 20 meters into the ground. Since the structure is built next to a river, the weight from the marble would not be supported by the loose soil. These beams hold the whole structure steady. Additionally, the platform that the Taj Mahal rests on is leveled in weight by a mosque to the left and an exact replica of the mosque to the right. Both of the structures are exactly equal in weight to the Taj Mahal.

Group pic – we are all happy to be here!

There are so many more mysteries to be discovered of the Taj Mahal’s history and its design. Over 20,000 people were put to work to construct this masterpiece and it is still standing 400 years later. I have been asked, “What is so impressive about a building?” My response is simple… This is not just a building. It is a memorial of religion, love, history, and monarchy. There is more hand-craftsmanship in this one building than in all the continent of Asia. This is the product of dedicated men and women who loved their king enough to, in some cases, devote their entire life to creating this one masterpiece. With that being said, if you are near Agra and miss the opportunity to stand in awe at the Taj Mahal, then you are missing out – seriously.

The mosque that resides next to the Taj Mahal.

It is absolutely imperative that each and every one of you purchase a plane ticket to India in order to experience this wonderful work of art. No excuses allowed. 

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For information about Bumpers College study abroad programs, go to Bumpers' international page. Bumpers College offers faculty-led programs to Belgium, England, China, India and Mozambique; courses and exchanges in France and Austria; internships in Greece and Scotland; and research in Brazil, the Philippines and Greece.