Kar ghor eta? Rahna ghor kothay? Ke ekhane thake?
Whose room is this? Where is the kitchen? Who stays here?
A woman outside of her mud home in one of the villages near the Panigram site.
Over the last couple weeks, we three interns explored a village near the Panigram site to learn about the Bangladeshi homestead. Read the rest of this entry »
Now, after almost two weeks of settling into our humble abode in Jessore, we interns, have become quite adjusted to our new lifestyle abroad. We eat our egg and ruti in the morning before our hour-long autorickshaw ride to the project site; a ride which often makes me think of getting pulled down bumpy sidewalks as a child in my little red metal wagon. Here, though, the sidewalk is eight feet wider and trucks stacked twenty feet high with local goods like hay, bricks, or goats (though not usually all three together…) fight at top speeds for the extra sliver of road beside me.
Millie waits for our driver Rafik in the autorickshaw.
We have a great group of interns this year, all architects who will be helping us construct our site office to test out our mud building techniques.
Bradley Kinsey
Bradley Kinsey
Raised on steak, potatoes, and public pools, Bradley was your quintessential product of the American midwest. While the suburbs of Chicago offered him a side yard and picket fence, the idea of varying topography and open space was all too alluring, so he packed up for the University of Colorado. While at C.U., Bradley’s appetite for new cultures was heightened as he studied abroad in Italy and traveled throughout Europe with the university’s snowboard team. When it was time to move on, Brooklyn, New York came calling to him with a similar lure as Colorado, being the pursuit of architecture and the excitement of a foreign land. Read the rest of this entry »
This is the third summer now that I have been fortunate enough to have interns. This year I have two Cornellians and a student from the University of Edinburgh, all architecture students keen to learn about mud buildings.
The interns spent their first night at my house in Dhaka. I immediately put them to work on an arts and crafts project, but jet lag caught up with them and craft time soon turned into nap time.
Jet lag catches up with the interns as craft time turns into nap time...
A couple of months ago a student from Cornell emailed me. She said that she had applied for the summer internship last year at Panigram, but unfortunately was not selected. She said that she really wanted to work for my company and was wondering if she could come do a winter internship with me. I thought that three weeks was too short for an internship, but I was impressed with her initiative, and I always enjoy working with students, so I agreed. Her friend Cat (another Cornell engineering student) decided to join her. Read the rest of this entry »
Josie Vertz, the latest Panigram Resort intern, has arrived in Bangladesh! She will be spending the next 6-9 months developing some of Panigram’s socially responsible initiatives.
Josie Vertz
Josie Vertz
Born and raised in Berkeley, California, I did not stray too far from my roots receiving a BA in music, specifically vocal/opera performance, from the University of California, Berkeley. While pursuing my passion for music I stumbled upon the education abroad program; for me the logical place to study was Italy—the birthplace of opera. This immersion experience sparked an interest in an in-depth exploration of culture and it opened up a new passion.
After graduating in 2008, I accepted a position at Salesforce.com, Inc. located in San Francisco. I was impressed by the company’s philanthropic model. During my two year stint in the corporation, I found a home within the humanitarian sphere of the company. I was an active member of the Foundation’s Time Council, a group organized to allocate the funds earmarked for donation and volunteer events. As a member of the committee, I worked directly with outside non-profit organizations to champion and execute community volunteer events. Through this work I cultivated a strong sense of social awareness and a desire to give back.
As my rekindled passion in culture grew and I explored all the places in the world where I might go, I was drawn to Panigram. The images of a lush natural landscape and a company that was fully committed to social responsibility—the improvement of the people and community within the villages surrounding the resort—called to me. This opportunity seemed to satisfy my urge to experience an entirely foreign culture and my desire to contribute to something greater than myself. During my time here I am working on the implementation and expansion of the social initiatives Panigram has envisioned for the local community. Personally, I also hope to explore the musical culture of Bangladesh.
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Kristin Boekhoff
Owner, Panigram Resort
kboekhoff@panigram.com
Mikey Leung
Designer and Web Guru, Panigram.com
mikey@panigram.com
