Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-131
Tom Roschke served as a Peace Corps volunteer in India from 1970 to 1972 in an agricultural development program. His training included instruction in the Tamil language and rice production techniques and was held over three months in California, the Philippines, and southern India. Roschke lived in a small village (Kovil Devarayan Pettai) of both Hindus and Muslims. He worked as an agricultural extension agent in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and demonstrated modern techniques of growing rice to the local farmers, including pest control and use of chemical fertilizers. Roschke had limited support from the southern India regional Peace Corps office and from the government of India. The interview includes his assessment of the success of the program and concludes with the story of how he met a young woman from a nearby town, whom he courted and subsequently married. Interviewed and recorded by Donald Camp, August 21, 2019. 1 digital audio file.