Interview with Thomas Holmes, June 4, 2021
Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Thomas Holmes served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in India, from 1968 through 1972, in the Village Level Food Production Program. Tom had an opportunity to study in India during his junior year of college. He wanted to return to India, so applied to Peace Corps, and was invited to serve with India 60. The group trained in Hemet, California, and at a Rural Agriculture Training Center in Karnataka, India. Training included Kannada language, culture, and agriculture. Training encouraged volunteers to assess “felt needs” of their communities. Tom was assigned to the village of Jalihal, to work on the Tungabhadra Irrigation Project. He helped establish an Agriculture Cooperative to acquire seeds and other materials. Tom extended twice. During his second extension, the Peace Corps program in India ended due to the Indo-Pakistani War. Tom and some friends spent additional time in country to take a six-week bicycle trip through southern India. Tom considers his Peace Corps experience to be a major influence on his life. He later served as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer in Tanzania, as a Clinical Teacher.Interview Accession
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Interview Keyword
Peace Corps (U.S.) India (Country of service) 1968-1972 (Dates of service) Peace Corps (U.S.)--1960-1970 Peace Corps (U.S.)--1970-1980 Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Agriculture / Village Level Food Production Program India 60 (training cohort) Rural Agriculture Training Center, Karnataka Kannada (language) Jalihal village Tungabhadra Irrigation Project Indo-Pakistani War Peace Corps Response Tanzania (country of service) 2016-2017 (date of service) SEED Foundation (Sow and Encourage Economic Development) Older Americans Many Faces of Peace Corps #manyfacesofpeacecorpsInterview Rights
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Holmes, Thomas Interview by Julius Sztuk. 04 Jun. 2021. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Holmes, T. (2021, June 04). Interview by J. Sztuk. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Holmes, Thomas, interview by Julius Sztuk. June 04, 2021, Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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