India Rsets Foundation

Our place is out in Jamalpur, right in the village area. We are based at Sandhya Bhattacharyay’s house, which makes it feel a lot more like a home than an office. It’s in the Purba district, and if you’re driving through, you’ll see mostly green fields and small shops. We spend our mornings checking on the projects we have going on in the surrounding villages. Usually, there’s a stack of notebooks on the table because we like to keep track of everything by hand. Computers are okay, but paper feels more real out here. People stop by at all hours, sometimes just to say hello or to ask for advice on something. We don't have set office hours like they do in the city; we just work until the sun goes down or until the work is finished. The room we use is simple, just some benches and a cupboard full of supplies. It can get pretty loud when the local kids are playing outside, but we don't mind. We've been part of Jamalpur for a while now, and everyone knows where to find us. It’s a quiet life mostly, focused on the basics. We don't try to be anything we aren't. We just want to see the local families doing a bit better. Sometimes we have meetings under the big tree outside if it’s too hot indoors. It’s just local people helping local people, really. We keep a pot of water for anyone thirsty.