SIM CITY IN REALLY RURAL INDIA

in Blog Community program by Egon — August 13, 2012 4:47 pm | 3 comments

On our motorbike tour through north-west India [so far 4000 km of 5000 km, roughly the distance Lisbon-Moscow, and yes, I am fond of boasting about it] we visited also the Barefoot College [www.barefootcollege.org], founded in 1972 by Roy Bunker, ranked as #15 on The Top 100 Best NGOs [www.theglobaljournal.net/article/view/493]. Even though one eschews “ranking of NGOs”, one is still impressed by it, and rightfully.

What impressed us most was that the Barefoot College still and definitely has a tangible connectedness to its surrounding rural communities, even after 40 years and countless ‘success stories’ about it. It is a vivid example of how to help people to help themselves.

One member of “The Women Barefoot Solar Cooker Engineers Society”

But back to SIM CITY: on its new campus, Barefoot College managed to create an autonomous setup and a model of what can be done with some planning and effort: ALL electricity is generated through solar power, ALL its water comes from collected and stored rain water, food is being cooked in a solar oven. There is light manufacturing [e.g. toys and artifacts, solar cookers], medical and educational facilities, a theater, library, there are [modest] guest rooms, and there is a radio station, which broadcasts on-site generated and for the surrounding communities relevant programs, alas only 15 km in radius, due to government restrictions.

In the evening we went with our guide to a village ca. 15 km away, where we witnessed the 6-days-a-week evening school for children which can not go to day school, because they have to work – another initiative by the Barefoot College to strengthen surrounding communities.

 

Evening school – the kids are still full of energy

The Barefoot College also makes a point to include the physically challenged, which face many difficulties in rural communities.

A very inspiring and encouraging place.