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| The '''Social Work and Research Centre''' ("SWRC"), |
The '''Social Work and Research Centre''' ("SWRC"), aka the '''Barefoot College''' is a voluntary organization working in the fields of education, professional development, health, drinking water, women empowerment and solar electrification. ], writes that Barefoot College has trained more than 3 million people for jobs in the modern world, "in buildings so rudimentary they have dirt floors and no chairs" so that poor students feel comfortable.<ref name=TIME>Mortenson, Greg. (2010-04-29) . TIME. Retrieved on 2012-06-02.</ref>In 2008 there were approximately 7,000 children attending the night school programs.<ref name="PBS">{{cite news|url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/july-dec08/indiaschool_10-06.html|title=School in India Teaches Women to Improve Lives, Towns | Online NewsHour | October 6, 2008 | PBS|last=Fred de Sam Lazaro|work=]|accessdate=18 November 2012}}</ref> | ||
| The "Villagers' Barefoot College" in the village of ] gives simple school lessons (mainly in night schools) in reading, writing and accounting to adults and children especially the "drop-outs, cop-outs and wash-outs." Girls heavily outnumber boys in the night schools.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/south_asia_villagers0_barefoot_college/html/9.stm|title=In pictures: Villagers' Barefoot College|last=Sanjay Suri|work=]|accessdate=18 November 2012}}</ref>In 2008 there were approximately 7,000 children attending the night school programs.<ref name="PBS">{{cite news|url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/july-dec08/indiaschool_10-06.html|title=School in India Teaches Women to Improve Lives, Towns | Online NewsHour | October 6, 2008 | PBS|last=Fred de Sam Lazaro|work=]|accessdate=18 November 2012}}</ref> | |||
| The 2011 audited annual foreign exchange accounts of the SWRC disclose that SWRC's foreign exchange assets increased from ca.{{INRConvert|48|m}} to ca.{{INRConvert|72|m}} on revenues of ca.{{INRConvert|135|m}} donated as external aid during the year for conducting activities such as "non-formal education projects, coaching classes, rural development".<ref>Regulatory filings under the Foreign Currency Regulation Act accessed from Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India </ref> | |||
| ], writes such abiding compassion and grass-roots social entrepreneurship has trained more than 3 million people for jobs in the modern world, "in buildings so rudimentary they have dirt floors and no chairs" so that poor students feel comfortable.<ref name=TIME>Mortenson, Greg. (2010-04-29) . TIME. Retrieved on 2012-06-02.</ref> | |||
| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| Bunker Roy founded Social Work and Research Centre in 1972 in Tilonia.<ref name="Osler2000">{{cite book|last=Osler|first=Audrey|title=Citizenship and Democracy in Schools: Diversity, Identity, Equality|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=e6mbW3wDwREC&pg=PA170|accessdate=23 November 2012|year=2000|publisher=Trentham Books|isbn=9781858562223|pages=170–}}</ref> The organization has utilized a system of training the trainers to bring skills training to villages.<ref name="Osler2000"/> Within the school's programs, students and trainers of all castes and genders ate and worked together, in spite of traditional cultural hierarchical distinctions.<ref name="Osler2000"/> Barefoot College began Children's Parliaments (also called ''Bal Sansad'') where 2500 children age 6-14 in the Ajmer District learn about the electoral process by running for office and holding elections.<ref name="Osler2000"/> | Bunker Roy founded Social Work and Research Centre in 1972 in Tilonia.<ref name="Osler2000">{{cite book|last=Osler|first=Audrey|title=Citizenship and Democracy in Schools: Diversity, Identity, Equality|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=e6mbW3wDwREC&pg=PA170|accessdate=23 November 2012|year=2000|publisher=Trentham Books|isbn=9781858562223|pages=170–}}</ref> The organization has utilized a system of training the trainers to bring skills training to villages.<ref name="Osler2000"/> Within the school's programs, students and trainers of all castes and genders ate and worked together, in spite of traditional cultural hierarchical distinctions.<ref name="Osler2000"/> Barefoot College began Children's Parliaments (also called ''Bal Sansad'') where 2500 children age 6-14 in the Ajmer District learn about the electoral process by running for office and holding elections.<ref name="Osler2000"/> | ||
| Night Schools were begun that allowed students to work to support their families during the day to still receive training.<ref name="Osler2000"/> | |||
| In 1997, Kamala Devi became "the first woman barefoot solar engineer" trained by the colleges programs, and she continued to work with the college, becoming head of the solar unit at Kadampura in 2012.<ref name="hindu15yrears"/> | |||
| ==Methodology== | ==Methodology== | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| The programs are influenced by the Gandhian philosophy of each village being self-reliant.<ref name="ElkingtonHartigan2008">{{cite book|last1=Elkington|first1=John , |last2=Hartigan|first2=Pamela|title=The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=sgvbNQY_IFIC&pg=PT52|accessdate=23 November 2012|date=2008-02-01|publisher=Harvard Business Press|isbn=9781422104064|pages=52–}}</ref> The policy of the Barefoot College is to take students, primarily women from the poorest of villages and teach them to skills such as install build and repair solar lamps and waterpumps without requiring them to read or write. In extreme cases, there are students without verbal fluency in the languages of their teachers.<ref>http://www.barefootcollege.org/</ref> | The programs are influenced by the Gandhian philosophy of each village being self-reliant.<ref name="ElkingtonHartigan2008">{{cite book|last1=Elkington|first1=John , |last2=Hartigan|first2=Pamela|title=The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=sgvbNQY_IFIC&pg=PT52|accessdate=23 November 2012|date=2008-02-01|publisher=Harvard Business Press|isbn=9781422104064|pages=52–}}</ref> The policy of the Barefoot College is to take students, primarily women from the poorest of villages and teach them to skills such as install build and repair solar lamps and waterpumps without requiring them to read or write. In extreme cases, there are students without verbal fluency in the languages of their teachers.<ref>http://www.barefootcollege.org/</ref> | ||
| The participating villages create a Village Energy and Environment Committee which determines the rates the villagers will pay for the solar panels and identifies which of the poorest residents of the town will go to the college for training.<ref name="ElkingtonHartigan2008"/> The students receive 6 month training program learning about solar panels and storage batteries before returning home where they maintain and repair the systems.<ref name="ElkingtonHartigan2008"/> | |||
| The college does not give out any degrees or certificates.<ref name="Rothstein2010">{{cite book|last=Rothstein|first=Mitchell Grant|title=Self-management and Leadership Development|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=QSXWqlCfJKsC&pg=PA499|accessdate=23 November 2012|date=2010-06-01|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=9781848443235|pages=499–}}</ref> V. Krishna has described the approach as "de-mystifying high technology" to rural villages to show that with the right training, "the uneducated and semi-literate can operate and manage" items like solar panels and water pumps.<ref name="Singh2005">{{cite book|last=Krishna|first=V|editor=Singh, M.|title=Meeting Basic Learning Needs in the Informal Sector: Integrating Education and Training for Decent Work, Empowerment and Citizenship|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zapeS2j-SFMC&pg=PA200|accessdate=23 November 2012|date=2005-09-14|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781402034268|pages=200–}}</ref> | The college does not give out any degrees or certificates.<ref name="Rothstein2010">{{cite book|last=Rothstein|first=Mitchell Grant|title=Self-management and Leadership Development|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=QSXWqlCfJKsC&pg=PA499|accessdate=23 November 2012|date=2010-06-01|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=9781848443235|pages=499–}}</ref> V. Krishna has described the approach as "de-mystifying high technology" to rural villages to show that with the right training, "the uneducated and semi-literate can operate and manage" items like solar panels and water pumps.<ref name="Singh2005">{{cite book|last=Krishna|first=V|editor=Singh, M.|title=Meeting Basic Learning Needs in the Informal Sector: Integrating Education and Training for Decent Work, Empowerment and Citizenship|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zapeS2j-SFMC&pg=PA200|accessdate=23 November 2012|date=2005-09-14|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781402034268|pages=200–}}</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | ==Funding== | ||
| Rajasthan's traditional art of puppetry has been utilized by the college to "spread information on health, education and human rights".<ref name="lonely2008">{{cite book|title=Lonely Planet Rajasthan, Delhi & Agra 2nd Edition|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Zz0_zXPb68kC&pg=PA207|accessdate=23 November 2012|date=2008-10-01|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=9781741046908|pages=207–}}</ref> | |||
| Funding for Barefoot College comes from many different agencies within the Indian national and state governments, as well as from the UN and other western funding agencies.<ref name="Willis2005"/> | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| Funding for Barefoot College comes from many different agencies within the Indian national and state governments, as well as from the UN and other agencies.<ref name="Willis2005"/> The college holds what it calls "transparency ''melas''" in which it presents its financial records and allows villagers to ask questions.<ref name="Willis2005">{{cite book|last=Willis|first=Katie|title=Theories And Practices Of Development|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6Ar5GK4MdakC&pg=PA105|accessdate=23 November 2012|year=2005|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780415300537|pages=105–|notes=the information in the book is cited as being from the Barefoot College website}}</ref> The college also charges a fee to the villages for the solar and water services provided. <ref name="Willis2005"/> | |||
| ==Campus== | ==Campus== | ||
| The campus is entirely solar powered. The |
The campus is entirely solar powered. The campus sits on 8 acres, has rainwater harvesting design and was built by the students.<ref name="indianexpress"/>There is a gift shop featuring locally made souvenirs. <ref name="lonely2008"/> | ||
| The campus sits on 8 acres, has rainwater harvesting design and was built by the students.<ref name="indianexpress"/> | |||
| There is a gift shop featuring locally made souvenirs. <ref name="lonely2008"/> | |||
| ==Cross-cultural collaboration== | ==Cross-cultural collaboration== | ||
| In 2012, the Barefoot College became the first NGO partner with UNESCO's Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education.<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/indias_barefoot_college_and_unesco_join_forces_for_girls_and_womens_empowerment/|title=India’s Barefoot College and UNESCO join forces for Girls’ and Women’s Empowerment|publisher=United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|accessdate=23 November 2012}}</ref> A UNDP funded program of India's Ministry of External Affairs brings women from villages in rural Africa (which do not have electricity) to the school for training, after which they return with new skills to install solar electricity in their villages.<ref></ref> The college entered into an agreement in 2012 to expand the programs for students from Fiji.<ref name="DAWN%25252525252525252525252525252520GIBSON">{{cite news|url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=217943|title=Women get $550,000 -|last=DAWN GIBSON|date=Nov 22, 2012|work=Fiji Times|accessdate=23 November 2012}}</ref> | In 2012, the Barefoot College became the first NGO partner with UNESCO's Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education.<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/indias_barefoot_college_and_unesco_join_forces_for_girls_and_womens_empowerment/|title=India’s Barefoot College and UNESCO join forces for Girls’ and Women’s Empowerment|publisher=United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|accessdate=23 November 2012}}</ref> A UNDP funded program of India's Ministry of External Affairs brings women from villages in rural Africa (which do not have electricity) to the school for training, after which they return with new skills to install solar electricity in their villages.<ref></ref> The college entered into an agreement in 2012 to expand the programs for students from Fiji.<ref name="DAWN%25252525252525252525252525252520GIBSON">{{cite news|url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=217943|title=Women get $550,000 -|last=DAWN GIBSON|date=Nov 22, 2012|work=Fiji Times|accessdate=23 November 2012}}</ref> | ||
| The documentary film '']'', funded by the Skoll Foundation and the Sundance Institute, follows a Jordanian woman as she joins with other women from around the world to participate in the solar engineering training at Barefoot College.<ref name="solarmama">{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/nov/18/why-poverty-world-documentary-directors-interview|title=Documentary-makers join forces to expose the evil of global poverty|last=Killian Fox|date=17 November 2012|work=Guardian|accessdate=23 November 2012}}</ref> | |||
| An exhibition of photographs taken by the students of the Barefoot College was presented at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.<ref name="BBC"/> | An exhibition of photographs taken by the students of the Barefoot College was presented at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.<ref name="BBC"/> | ||
| ==Awards and achievements== | ==Awards and achievements== | ||
| Engineers from the Barefoot College installed water hand-pumps in Ladakh (el. 14,000 feet) where "urban experts had said was technically impossible". <ref name="ElkingtonHartigan2008"/> | |||
| *In 1998, it was awarded the ] (Indira Gandhi Environment Award), by the ], ]. <ref name="press">{{cite web |title=List of Awardees |url=http://envfor.nic.in/citizen/award/igpp.html#LIST |date= |publisher= ] }}</ref> | *In 1998, it was awarded the ] (Indira Gandhi Environment Award), by the ], ]. <ref name="press">{{cite web |title=List of Awardees |url=http://envfor.nic.in/citizen/award/igpp.html#LIST |date= |publisher= ] }}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 08:33, 24 November 2012
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| Barefoot College | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Tilonia, Rajasthan India | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1972 |
| Founder | Bunker Roy |
| Campus | Tilonia |
| Website | www |
The Social Work and Research Centre ("SWRC"), aka the Barefoot College is a voluntary organization working in the fields of education, professional development, health, drinking water, women empowerment and solar electrification. Greg Mortenson, writes that Barefoot College has trained more than 3 million people for jobs in the modern world, "in buildings so rudimentary they have dirt floors and no chairs" so that poor students feel comfortable.In 2008 there were approximately 7,000 children attending the night school programs.
History
Bunker Roy founded Social Work and Research Centre in 1972 in Tilonia. The organization has utilized a system of training the trainers to bring skills training to villages. Within the school's programs, students and trainers of all castes and genders ate and worked together, in spite of traditional cultural hierarchical distinctions. Barefoot College began Children's Parliaments (also called Bal Sansad) where 2500 children age 6-14 in the Ajmer District learn about the electoral process by running for office and holding elections.
Methodology
The programs are influenced by the Gandhian philosophy of each village being self-reliant. The policy of the Barefoot College is to take students, primarily women from the poorest of villages and teach them to skills such as install build and repair solar lamps and waterpumps without requiring them to read or write. In extreme cases, there are students without verbal fluency in the languages of their teachers.
The college does not give out any degrees or certificates. V. Krishna has described the approach as "de-mystifying high technology" to rural villages to show that with the right training, "the uneducated and semi-literate can operate and manage" items like solar panels and water pumps.
Funding
Funding for Barefoot College comes from many different agencies within the Indian national and state governments, as well as from the UN and other western funding agencies.
Campus
The campus is entirely solar powered. The campus sits on 8 acres, has rainwater harvesting design and was built by the students.There is a gift shop featuring locally made souvenirs.
Cross-cultural collaboration
In 2012, the Barefoot College became the first NGO partner with UNESCO's Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education. A UNDP funded program of India's Ministry of External Affairs brings women from villages in rural Africa (which do not have electricity) to the school for training, after which they return with new skills to install solar electricity in their villages. The college entered into an agreement in 2012 to expand the programs for students from Fiji.
An exhibition of photographs taken by the students of the Barefoot College was presented at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
Awards and achievements
- In 1998, it was awarded the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar (Indira Gandhi Environment Award), by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.
- In 2003, the Barefoot College won an Ashden Award for its work bringing solar power to rural villages.
Returned award
- The creators of the campus near Tilonia received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Originally the award was attributed to "an illiterate farmer", but later the award was corrected and redesignated to read "A young architect, Neehar Raina, prepared the architectural layout and an illiterate farmer from Tilonia, along with 12 other Barefoot Architects, constructed the buildings." when the presenters became aware of the involvement of professional architect Neehar Raina. Because of the inclusion of Raina, Roy did not accept the award on behalf of the school and returned it.
External links
- The Barefoot Approach, essay from Sumithra Prasanna for the International Museum of Women
References
- Mortenson, Greg. (2010-04-29) Sanjit 'Bunker' Roy The 2010 TIME 100. TIME. Retrieved on 2012-06-02.
- Fred de Sam Lazaro. "School in India Teaches Women to Improve Lives, Towns". PBS. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
{{cite news}}: Text "October 6, 2008" ignored (help); Text "Online NewsHour" ignored (help); Text "PBS" ignored (help) - ^ Osler, Audrey (2000). Citizenship and Democracy in Schools: Diversity, Identity, Equality. Trentham Books. pp. 170–. ISBN 9781858562223. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- Elkington, John ,; Hartigan, Pamela (2008-02-01). The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change the World. Harvard Business Press. pp. 52–. ISBN 9781422104064. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - http://www.barefootcollege.org/
- Rothstein, Mitchell Grant (2010-06-01). Self-management and Leadership Development. Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 499–. ISBN 9781848443235. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- Krishna, V (2005-09-14). Singh, M. (ed.). Meeting Basic Learning Needs in the Informal Sector: Integrating Education and Training for Decent Work, Empowerment and Citizenship. Springer. pp. 200–. ISBN 9781402034268. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- Cite error: The named reference
Willis2005was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Jain, Sonu (1 July 2002). "Tilonia's Barefoot campus, now the bare facts". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- Cite error: The named reference
lonely2008was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - "India's Barefoot College and UNESCO join forces for Girls' and Women's Empowerment". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- DAWN GIBSON (Nov 22, 2012). "Women get $550,000 -". Fiji Times. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- Cite error: The named reference
BBCwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - "List of Awardees". Ministry of Environment and Forests.
- Barefoot College wins Ashden Award
- "Swiss award for Bunker Roy". The Hindu. Sept 22, 2002. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
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