Over the previous week, we have now been reflecting on how the 12 months 2021 was for all of us at Indiahikes. Trying again, 2021 was one of the vital decisive years for Indiahikes. In an organisation’s historical past, there are one or two years which can be extraordinarily important. We take massive strides, make basic modifications. In 2021, we did that many instances over. Which is why 2021 is a 12 months that can stick in our reminiscence and in our hearts.
I believed I’ll share these reflections with you, as a result of for us, you’re as a lot part of Indiahikes as we’re. You might be a part of the ups and downs we face, the highlights and the low factors. So I feel you’ll discover these reflections very insightful.
1. In 2021, we rewrote the imaginative and prescient of Indiahikes to Everybody Should Trek.
My first level could shock you, as a result of proper from the time Indiahikes began, our imaginative and prescient has by no means modified. We now have at all times needed everybody to trek, which is what led to the creation of Indiahikes in 2008. Actually our title “Indiahikes” mirrored our ideas that we needed India to hike. But, we had by no means outlined it properly or articulated it.
In our incapability to outline our imaginative and prescient, we’d inform everybody that we needed to “Outline the way forward for trekking.” It did justify all of the futuristic work we did, however on the similar time, it was a posh thought for folks to grasp.
So one of many largest highlights of 2021 was that we rewrote our imaginative and prescient. We modified our imaginative and prescient to a easy “Everybody Should Trek”. That is what we believed in, that is what we needed to do.
This rewriting of our imaginative and prescient led to a shift in how folks understand Indiahikes. First, it modified how these inside the organisation understood the imaginative and prescient and spoke about it. Not simply our Trek Leaders, cooks and guides, even the distant muleman out of the blue appeared to grasp the imaginative and prescient and discuss it like his personal. It has led to an incredible sense of affection, pleasure and possession within the organisation.
This has additional had a ripple impact, touching our trekkers’ lives. They’re returning residence with a stronger trek expertise. As soon as they’re again from their treks, they really feel in a different way about themselves. They really feel so near our imaginative and prescient that they even attempt to take it ahead inside their circles.
We now have by no means seen such a profound affect inside or exterior the organisation earlier than, which is why that is considered one of our most vital highlights of 2021.
2. We outlined the Indiahikes Expertise.
For a very long time, the idea of an Indiahikes Expertise remained summary. Trekkers would trek with us and depart with a sense that was past rationalization, past phrases. Over a decade we have now been designing our treks in order that trekkers go residence with not simply fantastic reminiscences of the mountains and journey; however with a profound change in themselves. This was the Indiahikes Expertise.
But, for anybody to grasp this, particularly our trekkers, it was very summary.
Lastly in 2021, we truly outlined what it was — an amalgamation of our 4 pillars coming collectively. In direction of the tip of the 12 months, our filmmaker, Mayur Srivatsav, gave us a stupendous image of the Indiahikes Expertise via this movie.
Essentially the most profound affect of the Indiahikes expertise has been on our trekkers. Not solely are they going again residence with a robust sense of transformation, they’re studying new expertise which can be making them safer, extra sustainable and extra assured trekkers.
3. In 2021, we began constructing Indiahikes campuses. We constructed campuses at Sari, Raithal and Kotgaon.
For over a decade, Indiahikes has been working treks out of lodges/accommodations on the base village of the trek. These have been our basecamps.
However creating a singular Indiahikes expertise at these basecamps was very tough. In lots of of those basecamps we didn’t have the proper ambiance. We have been in cramped confined areas. Trekkers spend extra time contained in the rooms than in mingling with one another.
We didn’t like this. We noticed trekking in a different way. We needed our trekkers to grow to be half of a bigger trekking neighborhood. We needed our basecamp to resemble this neighborhood — an area for everybody to return collectively and work together. We needed our trekkers to grow to be a group even earlier than they began on a trek. We had seen in our expertise that when trekkers trek as a group, the expertise is altogether totally different.
Which is why, in 2021 we determined to construct campuses close to our base villages. We began with Sari (Deoriatal trek), adopted by Kotgaon (Har-Ki-Dun, Kedarkantha trek), after which Raithal (Dayara Bugyal trek). You could even have visited these campuses.
The importance of our campus is three fold. (1) It brings trekkers collectively as a neighborhood. (2) It additionally helps convey our group along with a really sturdy sense of possession. It has an incredible affect on the group’s morale working there. (3) Lastly, we can provide higher services to our personal group members. The campuses can create a house away from residence.
4. We launched DIY Trekking in 2021.
DIY trekking isn’t new (DIY stands for Do-It-Your self). A lot of the world treks DIY fashion. But, hardly a handful of individuals in India take it up. As a result of there’s a drawback trekking DIY in India. Trekking trails aren’t clearly marked out. There aren’t any boards or indicators on trekking trails. However, navigation on a path, particularly within the Himalayas may be fraught with risks.
As well as, light-weight trekking gear (tents, sleeping luggage), easy-to-make trekking meals, and moveable cooking gear are unattainable to get in our nation. Solely the diehard can search them out (spending huge quantities on it).
We needed to vary this. We needed trekkers in our nation to have the ability to trek DIY. So for the complete a part of 2021, our DIY group began gathering GPS recordsdata of necessary treks in our nation. They began to mark factors on the recordsdata for anybody to comply with. Nobody would get misplaced in the event that they adopted the GPS trails of those treks. Plus they constructed simple tutorials to information trekkers on find out how to use these trendy navigation instruments.
Then our Analysis Crew began working with our producers to design new light-weight tents, sleeping luggage and meals kits. (Extra on that within the subsequent level.)
We ran pilot teams. A few of them labored properly, some didn’t. But, by the tip of 2021, we have been able to launch DIY trekking with our navigation, tenting, and meals kits. Our first few trekkers went out on their very own DIY treks within the final days of December. They got here again completely thrilled with the expertise.
5. In 2021, our Analysis and Growth division turned unbiased.
In 2021 we took one other massive stride, which we consider can change the way forward for trekking. We created a Analysis and Growth group at Indiahikes, which might make innovation a basic a part of Indiahikes.
There are 3-4 necessary leaps we have been capable of make because of the R&D group.
- We launched new light-weight sleeping luggage. Our Hillman sleeping bag used to weigh 3 kilos. Our R&D group together with our producers experimented over many months to convey down the load of our sleeping luggage, with out compromising on their effectivity of -10°C. After a lot experimentation the load has come all the way down to nearly 1.4 kilos. This has an enormous significance. It fosters DIY trekking, which advantages trekkers to a big extent.
- We made new light-weight DIY tents. Earlier our Hillman tents weighed 5 kilos. Once more with a number of analysis our producers and R&D group have gotten the load of our tents down to only 2.5 kilos. This has additionally been a game-changer. Now with equal efficiency in adversarial climate circumstances, we have now lighter tents.
- We launched pre-mixed meals, which has led to a unprecedented change within the meals expertise. In 2021 we began focusing strongly on meals. The analysis and growth of premixed meals led to three issues. (1) Standardization of style and consistency in meals throughout all slopes. (2) It has enabled DIY treks and made it potential (3) Most significantly, it has given cooks at Indiahikes extra time. This has helped them look past cooking and concentrate on the next degree of trek expertise.
Internally, there are innumerable different improvements that the R&D group has led to — our offloading kits make baggage administration extra environment friendly and simpler on the mules.
Our cooking stoves have undergone modifications to grow to be extra vitality environment friendly.
Our new segregation sacks and water contraption programs are a beautiful approach of waste administration and water effectivity. But, that is solely the start.
Analysis and Growth brings about innovation in trekking. This could change how trekking is finished sooner or later.
6. The Indiahikes group grew practically threefold in 2021.
In 2020 throughout the pandemic, when many of the world thought we have been closed down with out work, the Indiahikes group was working tougher than ever. Our treks had stopped, however our minds hadn’t. We needed to return out of the primary lockdown as a renewed organisation — Indiahikes 2.0. I had written to you about it at the moment.
In 2021, all our arduous work from 2020 paid off. We introduced many new members into our group.
Our group of Trek Leaders grew in quantity. Our group of guides and cooks have additionally grown in quantity, with all of them enjoying an lively half in imparting an Indiahikes Expertise to trekkers.
We now have shaped an “Expertise group” at Indiahikes, which takes care of the design and execution of the Indiahikes Expertise. Our group of Expertise Coordinators is bigger. Our content material group has specialised movie makers, photographers, designers working collectively.
The brand new era of group members is slowly starting to take cost of the organisation, bringing in innovation and looking out into how we design the Indiahikes trek expertise. (See profession alternatives right here.)
Trying forward at 2022:
We’re trying ahead to the 12 months 2022 with a number of optimism.
It’s true that we’re beginning the 12 months with an Omicron variant that has left a query mark on our treks. However that is non permanent. We consider we will likely be out of the worst of the third wave of Covid disaster by the tip of February.
A whole lot of the numerous steps that we have now taken in 2021 will bear fruit in 2022 — be it DIY trekking, our campuses at basecamps, new improvements in trekking or new routes to trek on.
I hope you may be part of our work ahead in 2022, whether or not as a trekker, a group member or a properly wisher. 🙂
Completely satisfied New 12 months 2022!
