Dollar-a-Day India Experiment

A story about how Sheel Mohnot left his six-figure consulting job to live on $1 per day in India for a year.

"I moved to India when I was 24 years old and lived for one year on around a dollar a day. I was working for Kiva, a nonprofit microfinance institution, and I wanted to live like our borrowers who were living on a dollar a day.

I went from being a management consultant in the United States making a six-figure salary to living in India where I had a bicycle - even the bicycle was a big deal for me to buy. I learned so much during that time. I learned I don't need a lot of money to be happy - I was so happy in that time.

There's this concept in India called 'jugaad,' which is a Hindi word that means creative problem solving. I really learned a lot about creative problem solving during that year, just reusing things. I learned the importance of community and resourcefulness.

The why is kind of silly in hindsight - I watched a Hindi movie called Rangde Basanti where they're like 'India isn't just going to change, you have to change it.' I grew up in America but have a lot of affinities to India and wanted to change it. I had this lofty ambition, but I don't think I did anything for India - I did a lot for myself.

In hindsight, it was risky - I got typhoid. But overall it was an amazing experience, and many of my close friends today are from that time."