The Darbari Waldorf School has been closed since July 7, 2022 but we are following our former students in their education (see details below).

Association Malenbaï

Conferences at the Saulx-les-Chartreux media library

From Thursday, October 1st to Saturday, October 3rd, 2026, we had the pleasure of being hosted by the Saulx-Les-Chartreux media library and its friendly team.

The first two days provided an opportunity to share Jacques's experiences of life among the Dalit community in the Thar Desert with nearly 180 fourth- and fifth-grade students across six sessions. The children were very attentive and truly captivated by his account.

On Saturday, we presented an overview of life in the Thar Desert and the association's work to date to an audience of around forty adults.

This final presentation concluded with a tasting buffet featuring Indian specialties: lassis, naan, chicken tikka, fried onions, chai (Indian tea), and more. Everything was prepared by Nishant, who runs the "Namasté" restaurant in Saulx-les-Chartreux. It was all excellent! Jacques, who is accustomed to Indian cuisine, greatly appreciated the quality of the dishes.

A big thank you to all the participants—children and adults alike—for their attentive listening and the questions that demonstrated their genuine interest.

A big thank you to Nishant for his kindness and the quality of the food he prepared for us.

A very special thank you to the media library team for organizing, hosting, and managing the event.

Jacques and Patrick

India Day in Bédoin

On Monday, April 29, 2024, a special event took place in the heart of the beautiful Provençal village of Bédoin, dedicated to the work of the Malenbaï association in India. The initiative began with Nathanaelle Reynard, owner of the wonderful *L’Astucieuse Renarde* bookstore in Bédoin. She provided the opportunity for a book signing and meet-and-greet session featuring two books based on my life in India—*Mamta* and *Les Chroniques du désert du Thar*—published thanks to Anne Daunay, director of Escapade Editions. The project quickly gained momentum through the commitment and enthusiasm of a highly active local community: Vidji, who is of Indian origin, organized a buffet and prepared samosas, pakoras, and chai, with the proceeds donated to our cause. Sylvie Brun, manager of the *Roseraie de Gérenton* (Gérenton Rose Garden), offered to host us and present a slideshow talk about our work in India inside a magnificent yurt. Following the presentation, Sylvie Brun led the participants on a tour of the rose garden, concluding with a voluntary collection that raised funds for our association.

To promote the event, Jacky Glays—a graphic designer in Bédoin and art director at Studio Orkidées—designed and donated a beautiful poster.

It was a day rich in meaningful encounters and an extraordinary opportunity to raise awareness about our association and our work in the Jaisalmer region. The Malenbaï association received a total of €230 in donations.

A huge thank you to everyone who gave their time and heart to make this wonderful day a reality.

J. Monteaux

The Association

Association Malenbai is a French non-profit organisation (law of 1901). It was created in order to set up and run humanitarian projects in India.

Named after the goddess of the Rajasthani desert, Association Malenbai's aim is to help some of the most vulnerable children in Rajasthan by providing a stimulating and happy education and an alternative to child labour and early marriage. Following the Steiner Waldorf principles, we focus on creativity and confidence-building and work closely with the local community.

This organisation is of a humanitarian and social nature and does not pursue any profit, religious or political purpose.

Our story

Our story began - in true Bollywood style - with love at first sight between a french tourist, Capucine and a camel driver, Pabu. Capucine gave up her Parisian life to live in the desert with Pabu and his family and they married and had two children. From the beginning, the local children begged Capucine to teach them to read and write and in 2007 Malenbai Association was born. Capucine appealed to her own class teacher, Jacques Monteaux, for help and in 2016 together they launched Darbari Waldorf School, a Waldorf Steiner school on the outskirts of Jaisalmer. Jacques has continued ever since, training local teachers in Steiner methods and thanks to Ganpat Ram, our first school teacher and School Project Manager, they are going strong seven years later, with 8 class-levels and more than 50 children aged 4 to 18.

Structure and financing

Darbari Waldorf School is supported by the French association Malenbaï in connection with the Indian NGO "Malenbaï Institute for Education" that was created on site to run local operations.

The school does not currently receive any state subsidy.

The investment budget (construction) is funded by partner associations and foundations (see Our partners) as well as by donations from individuals.

The operating budget - Teachers' salaries and training, running costs (rent, water, electricity, maintenance of the premises, etc.), children's meals, training costs (travel, accommodation for teacher-trainers) - is covered by donations from the Fondation Freunde der Erziehungskunt and by individuals via sponsorships. Families participate towards tuition fees by up to 6% of the necessary budget.