India in India: A trip report
Last month, Brooke’s Media Officer, India Hurford-Jones, visited India to see Brooke’s work with communities and animals across the country.
In February, I travelled to India to learn more about Brooke’s work in the Maharashtra and Gujarat regions, meeting a myriad of communities and animals along the way!
Day One
Starting with a flight from Delhi to Pune, we visited a two year-old brick kiln Brooke is partnered with. Here, 25 donkeys carry bricks to help build schools and houses in the region.
Brick kiln and donkey owner, Harekrishna, described to us the vital role Brooke has played in keeping his animals healthy. Lack of grazing and shelter before meant donkeys had little access to food in their working day, and were often stolen. Since Brooke’s intervention, Harekrishna has grown maize and sorghum in a nearby field and built shelters for donkeys to safely sleep in.
I spoke to Vet and Equine Welfare Project Officer, Dipak Shivagi, who oversees Harekrishna’s donkeys. Before Dipak’s arrival, many donkeys contracted and even died from tetanus caused by open wounds and germs on the ground. He has since linked them with government vaccination schemes, provided a First Aid Kit and connected them with Animal Health Providers based just 10 minutes away.
Harekrishna prides himself on grooming his donkeys every morning and evening, and is grateful to Brooke for helping him build better animal management practices!
Harekrishna with azolla pit.
Day Two
In Pune, we met Suraj and his 17 donkeys at a migratory brick kiln, where workers travel from long distances for the season. Suraj and his family migrate 400 miles to live on-site, with their donkeys transported by large loading vehicles.
To avoid the stifling temperatures, Suraj’s donkeys start work at 5am after being fed, groomed and hooves picked. Since Brooke’s support, the animals have more comfortable tethers and an azolla pit - a nutrient-dense feed providing donkeys with a balanced diet.
Suraj adores his donkeys and described his favourite, Ghodamya, as like a son to him who he treats as part of the family!
Suraj with his favourite donkey, Ghodamya, who is "like a son" to him.
Come afternoon, we joined a women’s equine welfare group to learn more about their thriving business: a balanced feed unit, where donkey feed is produced for local owners. As one of six units Brooke is trialling in the area, the women have set a target to serve over 14,000 equines by February 2025.
The women demonstrated how they make the feed using a grinding machine, laughing and enjoying each other’s company as they worked. Talking with the President of the group, Shaman, it was obvious they are a close knit team and proud to work for Brooke to earn an income.
Group member, Nirmala, owns her own donkeys and pointed to her favourite, Radha, six-years-old, whose name means God of love, tenderness, compassion and devotion.
Women's Equine Welfare Group.
In a remote western India village, we visited Rekha, a Brooke intern, donkey owner and saddle pad maker. Rekha owns eight donkeys who she cares for in the brick kiln off-season and grew up in an animal loving household, having owned donkeys since two years-old.
Rekha evidently feels a great deal of compassion towards animals and wants to help them in any way possible. She expressed how since becoming an intern, Brooke has taught her how to make more comfortable saddle pads for her donkeys to help reduce back wounds as they work. Sourcing thick blankets and soft cotton off cuts, Rekha sells them from her home, at market or through Brooke.
We also met Rekha’s friends and members of a women’s equine welfare group, Sabitri and Sheetal, who explained how Brooke helped them with financial independence through loans. Thanks to savings from the welfare group, Sabitri owns eight farm animals and her sister, Sheetal, has opened a shop on their street and learnt how to care for her animals properly through Brooke.
Rekha with her sewing machine
(From left): Sheetal, Rekha.
Joining a nearby brick kiln in the afternoon, two women, Rani and Sangita, described their role as primary carers for their family’s 22 donkeys working on the site. Since working with Brooke Field Assistant, Amol Landje, they have learnt to give the animals balanced feed, more regular water breaks and vaccinations to prevent disease.
We discovered Sangita buys and uses saddle pads made by Rekha, and is grateful to her donkeys for bringing money to her household, allowing her children to go to university. Rani showed us her favourite donkey, Shali, who is “very clever” and always comes over to say hello during breaks!
India with donkeys and (From left): Rani, Sangita.
After a short flight north, we reached Ahmedabad to call into a migratory brick kiln. Here, a woman named Manjulaben makes and sells saddle clothes (Godhadi) from old saris and blankets for her family’s donkeys. Taught to sow by her mother-in-law, she swapped traditional hessian sacks for a softer and more comfortable material, which can be washed easily.
Brooke has connected Manjulaben with local markets to sell her cloths and make a living, helped build troughs and shelters for her donkeys and taught her the importance of washing the cloths regularly to ensure good animal hygiene.
Since Brooke, Manjulaben and her husband, Moodjibhai have medicines and connections with medical practitioners to treat their donkeys with infections like colic. Manjulaben pointed out her favourite donkey, Tikhi who she shares a special bond with as they “both understand each other.”
Moodjibhai was quick to say that all his animals were favourites, but gave special mention to Badl (meaning cloud) and Dhakdhan (heartbeat)!
Manjulaben with her sari saddles cloths.
Manjulaben holding the donkey's First Aid Kit.
(From left): Manjulaben's husband, Moodjbhai, Brooke Field Assistant, Kunal.
After lunch, a Brooke farrier, Amol, shared with us his experience working with 15 brick kilns in the region. Owning two horses and eight donkeys, Amol’s compassion for animals inspired him to train as a farrier through Brooke. He wants to make his services accessible to everyone, often lowering his fee if an animal is in a particularly poor condition.
Amol demonstrated hoof trimming on a horse and donkey, explaining how lameness had been a significant issue before his work due to them walking on rubble and rough surfaces. He felt that before Brooke, donkeys were invisible to people in his area and now they are finally appreciated. Networking with other horse lovers, Amol’s life work is farriery and he hopes to treat sports horses in the future.
Our final stop was a fishing village on the Gujarat coast to meet Safura, one of Brooke’s ‘Ashwasakis’ - meaning ‘friend of equines’. Safura became an Ashwasaki to help close the community’s knowledge gap in animal care, learning how to clean hooves, groom and treat them through medicine.
Safura and other women in the village look after horses who help collect fish from the sea and wood from a nearby forest. Hoof issues and skin irritation were issues for the horses when standing in salt water, so Brooke has taught the community to rinse them in tap water and shampoo once a week.
(From left): Safura, Dr. Anita, Brooke Field Assistant, Varju.
The women sew fabric using a tie dye technique called 'Bathej', to sell in local communities.
Safura described horses as like family members to her - if they are hurt, she is too! She even holds one-to-one sessions with community members to help them understand how to look after their animals, and has set up her own jewellery business to earn extra income.
Brooke vet, Dr. Anita, visits the village regularly and described how other women have been inspired by Safura’s work, noting the condition of animals has dramatically improved.
Travelling back to Delhi for our UK-bound flight, I had time to reflect on the skill, empathy and warmth Brooke India has fed to people and communities nationwide. Everyone we spoke to was proud to be affiliated with Brooke and appreciative to learn how to improve the lives of working animals, from their small corner of the world.
All photos taken by Harish Damade.