Forum Topic

Welcome to our Knowledge Commission Team

Just a few days I came across this extremely interesting group. In the meantime I have read across some of the stuff on top of the list and I fully support from my heart the driving idea, the proposal to the Knowledge Commission for the rural development around Auroville. It serves many vital aspects simultaneously:

1) It gives UHU a challenging perspective for its development and “grounds” UHU in the earth of its environment and the practical realities which Auroville is quite familiar with.

2) It creates a true outreach aim for the whole of Auroville, demonstrating the ideal of human unity. By this project Auroville will give out of its skills, knowledge and wisdom and will grow up by doing so. In return Auroville will receive whatever it needs including the land required, because the world is waiting for such projects and ideas to take shape; because everybody can be convinced and will understand that Auroville’s existence is not only of “public interest” in general but is a wonderful exciting chance for the development and the future perspectives of the mostly young population of the wider Auroville region. So the question of land could be amicably settled with the villagers.

3) It attracts by the sheer complexity and novelty and the huge challenge the best educated and most motivated scientists, educators and managers of the world to come to Auroville and participate in this project. Because of this inflow from the world the IZ would find its true function as the international body of UHU, where the exchange with the world takes place in both directions.

One last comment for now: The proposal to the Knowledge Commission was generated as a “top down” concept. In the next step one should try to develop it also “bottom-up”. Then the short-comings, which have been already mentioned by some members of this group, would be clearly seen and a balanced proposal would arise.

One main thing here is proper integral education from Kindergarten to vocational and academic skills and knowledge along the lines which now e.g. are in the implementation stage in NCBS and NEES. This alone is a huge task to fulfil for such a large region comprising many 100.000 people. One other main thing, which was not really addressed in the proposal, is the agricultural revolution which must be achieved.

And I would like to caution you about the funds needed to implement such a proposal. Alone to bring up AIS from its present status to a full fledged vocational training centre for only 500 students would at least cost 12 Crores. This little example, which I came to know by collaborating with AIS, illustrates that the funds needed for the whole program will not be 50 Crores but at least one magnitude more.

So my recommendation would be, to build up a data base of the region, and derive from the structure of the population and the present state of agriculture, water and energy demand and supply, the present importance of industries and handicrafts etc. future scenarios of what must be achieved on the ground. The networks and knowledge based management systems described in the proposal would then not float in the air but serve a complex system

of educational efforts,

of vocational activities and knowledge based income generation and

of research, arts and creative expressions of all kinds,

flowering upon a secured livelihood.

Based upon such an analysis a concept of how to proceed for achieving the objectives can be derived.

I would be happy to participate in this endeavour, which needs a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional universal approach.

PS (26.07.2007): Today I read the first time the earlier stuff deeply hidden down below in the group-list (the PPP by Sankalp & ARTS, the articles on microfinance) and may understand now better the idea of IT-based village centres. Still poverty is eradicated by an high productivity, which can be achieved only by a higher level of organisation, not by own-account workers. Here the paradigm of cooperatives should come in as an alternative to the classical capitalistic enterpreneur who creates jobs for the many together with a high productive environment. The whole project should enhance this cooperative development path and include corresponding components.

Does anybody know about the practical experience with IT-based village centres? Are reports available?

Helmut.

ASRN Actually, Rod, referring to your latest call for action (to put it lightly) i did inform myself in a very short time through the reams if material already on the project.

Q1 You have meetings right? They occur not just to put together the concept of the project, which has already taken place, but also so you can devise actual practical action plans, both collective and individual, go away and act on them and report back etc....or has this not actually occurred yet? Also, you can't do this online, i believe you need to meet in person and make specific commitments once they've been identified. What are the barriers right now to this form of action to occur now, how can that be remedied, so real dynamic day-to-day action begins to happen? Finally, when can such a scenario take place?

commented by auromirra123@yahoo.com on Jun 17, 2007

commented by bhavana on Jun 16, 2007