Based on Gandhian ideals and values, the Barefoot College has successfully completed 50 years working towards bringing a change at the grassroots
I always had a desire to study but my dreams were put on hold after I completed Class 3. Soon, household chores and family responsibilities took precedence in life and the quest of studies took a backseat. But when way back in 2003, I got the opportunity to revive my dreams albeit in a different way, I made the most of that opportunity. It was the year I had joined the solar project run by Social Work Research Centre (SWRC) at Tilonia and my life changed for better,” said 55-year-old Lila Gurjar with a sense of great fulfillment.
For Lila, it was the newfound confidence and heartening realisation that if one is endowed with wisdom and practical knowledge, one could excel in life even without a school certificate and degree. This is the beauty of SWRC, popularly known as The Barefoot College, she says.
Based on Gandhian ideals and values, The Barefoot College has successfully completed 50 years working towards bringing a change at the grassroots, with barefoot solutions in a wide range of fields—solar and other renewable energy, water conservation, education, health, rural handicrafts, communication, women’s empowerment and public movements.
History
It may be a tryst with destiny that brought Sanjit (Bunker) Roy to Rajasthan. As a young man, well qualified from a reputed institution, a lucrative and successful professional career awaited him in 1966-67. But he decided to embark on a different path. Deeply moved by the drought situation in Bihar, he was exploring solutions to the water woes of common people. In 1972, his quest brought him to Tilonia, a small village in Ajmer district of Rajasthan. Here, along with his farmer friend, Meghraj, he started digging wells in water-starved areas of the state. This journey laid the foundation of Barefoot, gradually developing into a perspective and giving further shape to an all-inclusive comprehensive development model.
Bunker’s dream to bring about a change in rural India attracted several likeminded people, which eventually led to the formation of the SWRC at Tilonia. The centre was formally registered as Barefoot College in 1972. A year or two later, the centre began working with women, who had the natural ability to excel as community leaders. This gave impetus to women’s empowerment and soon many women, who were barely literate, successfully trained themselves as solar engineers, health workers, hand pump mechanics, puppet makers, etc.
Empowering women
The formation of women’s groups in 11 villages in 1981-82 was the beginning of an awareness drive about their economic contribution and role as a daily wage labourer. “My association with the Barefoot College made me aware about our rights and we could stage a protest to demand minimum wages that lasted almost six months in 1981,” recalls 76-year-old
Norti Bai.
With this newly gain self-confidence, Norti Bai could muster up the courage to fight a court battle next year against a corrupt Sarpanch, who was eventually sent to jail. The women’s groups also led an intensive campaign against dowry and other atrocities against women. Norti Bai proudly remembers the 1983 victory in the Supreme Court in a case fought to secure minimum wages for women.
“Main angutha chhap thi. Pan dheere dheere chah mahina ka kors me kakaharo seekhyo, akshar jodbo seekhyo, maatra lagabo aayo (I was illiterate but slowly I learnt my first alphabets, how to join words and write the right spellings through a six-month training at SWRC),” she shared in her local dialect. Norti Bai, whose leadership qualities have been applauded on many occasions, later learnt to operate the computer. She was also invited to speak at the United Nations forum on women’s empowerment.
“In 2010, when I was elected the Sarpanch of Harmara panchayat, my office bearers said they were not computer savvy. To their surprise, I told them, I can teach you basic skills if you want. How to work in word and excel, memorizing the keyboard…,” she said in a witty vein at the golden jubilee function recently held in Jaipur, in the presence of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
She emerged as one of the strongest community leaders and the face of all awareness campaigns. She says she felt motivated by Aruna Roy, who fought a long battle to get the Right to Information Act (RTI).
Lighting up lives: The Solar Programme
The Solar Programme has been one of the most creative and significant programmes of the Barefoot College. The first solar project was started at the Tilonia campus in 1996 where local stakeholders received training to make solar lamps. This was well appreciated by the local community since it served their energy needs.
The larger initiative in the field, however, was the “Solar Mammas Programme” launched in the year 2000 with the European Union’s collaboration. Under the programme, semi- or even illiterate women were provided trainings in solar home lighting systems.
Recalling her experience, Lila says that she was initially hesitant and unsure if she would be able to learn through the Solar Programme but after a six-month training, she found herself to be a confident person. Having learnt the whole process successfully, she and her colleague Magan Kanwar, have been providing training to several other women like them. So far, over 1,700 women from 96 countries, such as Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Motswana, Guatemala, Kango, Mexico have been trained.
The solar programme has helped 75,000 households find solutions to their energy needs and has prevented environment pollution by saving 45 million litres of kerosene. “A homemaker like me who could never think of stepping out of the village boundary got the opportunity to visit overseas. I have visited Fiji island, Janjibar, Germany and France to attend conferences and further training,” Lila added.
Barefoot solutions
The focus at the Barefoot College has been on finding holistic solutions for the rural population, be it water conservation, improvement in rural health services, night schools, encouraging children’s parliament or promotion of handicrafts, advocacy, and skill development. The innovations and barefoot solutions at Tilonia have been widely acclaimed all over the world.
Several women have received training as hand pump mechanics as well. Lali Devi, who has a long association with Tilonia, says, “It’s the women who have to bear the brunt of water crisis the most, so it helps if the women know about hand pump technology.” Although she has never been to school, she is well equipped today to diagnose a non-functioning hand pump!
To keep the villagers updated on issues of concerns and development schemes, a community radio service has also been functional since 2009. RJ Aarti says that she feels empowered ever since she got associated with Tilonia Community Radio. “As an individual and a woman, one can hardly dare to raise any concerns with the government officials, but through the radio I have the courage to air all the public concerns and get answers for,” she said.
The fifty-year journey of the Barefoot College has shown the way how, if exposed to right opportunities, the rural population, particularly women, can increase their economic mobility in life. They have the skills and wisdom required to be a catalyst for change, for her own self-reliance and confidence and also for the betterment of her family and society.
(The writer is an independent journalist from Rajasthan. features@charkha.org Charkha Features. The views expressed are personal.)
