By Lauren Rogers
A Weekend in Williamsburg with the Kashmir World Interns
Second week of March, the Interns working at the Kashmir World Foundation took a weekend trip with CEO Princess Aliyah, her husband Dr. Pandolfi, and daughter Kashmir Rose to the historic town of Williamsburg, Virginia. The goal of the retreat was for the interns to get a better understanding of each project and how they work together—and also to have a great time while doing it!
The group stayed on 100 acres of private woodland property in an eighteenth century styled mansion. The house itself had been built in a different location and then rebuilt and restored on the new property. The house owner, Cliff, and his sons got a chance to come out and learn about drones along with the interns. They got a chance to fly the drones and familiarized themselves with the technology—hopefully their own use later on. It was truly an amazing experience to be learning about such modern technology in such a historical setting.
Kashmir Rose started the day with testing the propellers on her quadcopter drone.
Garrett and his friend from JMU journeyed from Warrenton to join the team on the build of a quad-copter. Garrett is studying Aerospace Engineering and looking forward to becoming an Instructor with DaVinci Challenge. Garrett had an opportunity to build, program and fly a drone for the first time, all in under 4 hours. Pulling the drone out of a old tree was quite a challenge, but with a little help from an old patio table umbrella hooked on the branch Garrett reached up and pulled down the drone. It was a successful day even with minor set backs.
On the second night of the retreat, Cliff and his sons joined the Kashmir World Foundation group for a home-cooked meal prepared by Mara and Luke. Mara cooked a delicious Slovak potato dish followed by a traditional dessert cake baked with peaches. Luke also cooked a dish for the group: a traditional African meal made with rice, onion, and beef liver. After dinner, everyone enjoyed a cup of pink Kashmiri tea prepared by Princess Aliyah. It was a remarkable experience to have such a diverse group of people coming together to share their experiences and cultures with one another.
On the last day of the retreat, the group traveled to William and Mary College to see the Leonardo DaVinci Museum Exhibit which was being showcased that weekend. The interns got a chance to examine the works of the great artist and inventor whose work the DaVinci Challenge workshop is based off of. The artist’s passion for discovery and invention are evident in his sketches, even hundreds of years after their creation. The opportunity to see these great pieces and learn about the history and culture surrounding their creation gave the Kashmir interns a greater understanding and appreciation for the great master Leonardo DaVinci.
The intern retreat was an amazing chance for everyone to learn about the different projects
here at Kashmir World Foundation while also learning about the rich history and preservation of the arts associated with Leonardo Davinci and historic Williamsburg. It also gave the interns a chance to learn more about drone technology and become more familiar with its applications through working with Cliff and his sons.