An appreciation exercise

We have great appreciation and deep respect for those people who make it do with bare minimum. But wouldn't it be interesting to find out if we can really do it with something as minimal as what we pay as daily national wage? Right now that's Nu.125.

I am sure something like this would have been tried elsewhere in the world, but we need to have an established experiment closer to home to authenticate it as our own. I have been thinking about this exercise for a long time now. Of course, if there are more Bhutanese bloggers willing to brave this you are most welcome in the team.

The survival exercise, if it goes well as conceived, is to see if we could work and feed ourselves in a place like Thimphu. I know all of us are doing that right now. But this exercise is bit different. The idea is to be completely homeless and start from scratch. All you take is some clothes and the team members survive on how much they earn and work for. But not more than the daily minimum wage.

Once that is done, we can rightly point out and establish if what our people earn from their hard work is sufficient or are we starving them. I am not concerned if it's legally correct or not; it is morally a right thing to do. What does it achieve? What can we do with the facts?Answers to the above questions are basis for the exercise.

This one-month (or shorter or longer) exercise would be an eye-opener for those involved and those who follow and read about it. The team members would make daily entries in their blogs and talk of what they have done for that day, keeping a close eye on how much they have earned and spent. The blogs can also share how easy or difficult the experiment, and consequently readers can conclude many things.

More than anything, I would like to believe that maximum benefit is on those carrying out the exercise. I am definite it would provide us with a deep sense of appreciation for what we already have and are capable of contributing to the betterment of others around us. If that's achieved, that's the whole purpose. In a nutshell.

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