A POPULAR Sikh blogger from Malmesbury will be educating festival-goers about his religion this weekend.

Navjot Sawhney, 25, who runs the blog Nav’s Project 365, contacted Boondocks Festival organiser Neil Muttock to see if he could contribute to this weekend’s festivities.

“I reached out to Neil as I thought I might be able to do something fun,” said Navjot.

“Neil agreed, and offered me space to do some activities. I’ll be running turban tying tutorials – as well as a few other bits and pieces.”

Navjot’s stall will include turban tying, Sikh-themed colouring in, screening of Nav’s Project 365 videos, and some information about the work of Engineering Without Borders, who Navjot will be volunteering with at a social enterprise in India come September.

In his blog, which is now followed by more than 15,000 people, Navjot regularly speaks about his religion and is hoping to demonstrate his passion for Sikhism to festival-goers over the weekend.

“I love meeting new people and hearing their stories,” he said.

“I also think it’s important to, where I can, to talk about Sikhism and why I wear the turban – this is a great opportunity to do that.

“I hope that people will ask me lots of questions, and leave my tent feeling like they know a bit more about Sikhism.

“I hope I’ll be able to improve awareness of Sikhs – who we are and what we stand for.

“But I’ll also be talking about Nav’s Project 365 and how to make every day count – if I inspire anyone to do a bit more of what makes them happy, then I’ll be very pleased.”

At a time when racially-aggravated attacks have spiked in the fallout to Britain leaving the EU, Navjot says it is now more important than ever to engage with people about the subject of religion and race.

“Sadly, there appears to have been a rise in racist incidents since the Brexit vote,” he said.

“I have at least 10 friends who have been told to “go home”, or something similar.

“So I feel like it’s more important than ever to take away the stigma associated with the turban and beard, and join together as a community to celebrate our similarities – and our differences.”

For more information on Boondocks visit theboondocksfestival.co.uk

To follow Nav’s blog search ‘Nav’s Project 365’ on Facebook.