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Press Release: For Immediate Release
UK couple embarks on epic journey across India in a Morgan 3 wheeler
- Driver starts 3,500 mile journey six months after major heart surgery
- Target to raise £200,000 for rural regeneration
- Team clothing made from recycled plastic
73 year-old philanthropists Alan and Pat Braithwaite will set off on 1st February 2020 to tackle a 3,500 mile journey across India and back in a Morgan 3-wheeler. The ‘Trans India Challenge’ aims to raise £200,000 to support Indian NGO Goonj, which works to relieve rural poverty through social and economic regeneration using the circular economy in clothing and textiles.
The adventure starts just six months after Suffolk-based Alan had open heart surgery: “I actually needed more extreme modifications than the car for this trip, but I’m confident we’ll both reach the finish line in great shape!”
The Braithwaite’s adventure has already attracted support from the Morgan Motor Company and lifestyle company Ralph Lauren. Based in Malvern, Morgan has been making handmade motor cars since 1909, of which a staggering 98% are still on the road; with lifespan and the materials used it is arguably the most sustainable car manufacturer in the world. Throughout the Challenge the team will be wearing Ralph Lauren polo shirts from its Earth Polo range, with clothing crafted from thread derived entirely from recycled plastic bottles and dyed using an innovative waterless process.
The whole theme of the challenge is social and environmental sustainability. Starting from Mumbai, the Challenge will visit cities including Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Patna, Lucknow, Agra, New Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur and Ahmedabad before returning to Mumbai at the beginning of March. It aims to visit 11 Goonj projects along the way to highlight the work the organisation does in regenerating rural communities through recycling urban discard, especially cloth. Although little known in Europe, Goonj is one of the biggest NGOs in India and has developed long-term sustainable economic regeneration programmes with human dignity a central theme of its work. Alan and Pat hope to explore and promote Goonj’s innovative social entrepreneurship model which could revolutionise sustainable regeneration across the world.
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For further information, or to arrange an interview with Alan and Pat Braithwaite, contact the Trans-India Challenge media office: Peter Brill, David Campbell, Amanda Campbell – media@transindiachallenge.com or +44 (0)7881 387572
To follow the Trans-India Challenge on social media see:
Facebook: @transindiachallenge
Twitter: @TransIndiaChal
Instagram: @transindiachallenge
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/trans-india-challenge
