Education, Communication, Training and Capacity Building
In 1992, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) developed the concept of "Village Knowledge Centre" (community base). Since, 1997, MSSRF is implementing the Village Knowledge Center (VKC) and Village Resource Centre (VRC) programme. In 2003, the VRC and VKC programmes were further strengthened in the form of creating Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy for Rural Prosperity (NVA) through the collaboration with several international and national partners (including content and capacity building). All our VRCs are connected by ISRO uplink / downlink satellites. The main aim of the programme is to empower vulnerable people in order to make better choices and achieve better control of their own development and to build skills and capacities of the rural poor with a view to enhancing livelihood opportunities. The NVA programme is to bring together the experts and grassroots level communities in two-way communication with the objective that knowledge should reach every home and hut.
In 2004 we consolidated this concept in the form of creating multi-stake
holder partnership called "Mission 2007: Every Village a Knowledge
Centre". By 2005 this network has more than 200 partners and
getting support from both national (including government) and international
agencies. In 2007 this network converted into movement called "Grameen
Gyan Abhiya (Rural Knowledge Network)".
GGA is a multi-stake holder partnership and facilitating national
and regional events related to ICT-enabled rural development activities.
Some of GGA partners testing different technologies and develop applications
for VRCs and VKCs. Academicians, Corporate Sectors and Policy Makers
may use this platform for knowledge and technological empowerment.
NVA is using different participatory techniques to find out the needs
of the community. NVA also prepares the village profiles, details
of major livestock population, crops, month wise fish catch, prevailing
diseases, etc. Through such data and a well-planned need assessment,
NVA develops locale-specific demand-driven content, organizes training
and awareness programmes and makes linkages with several experts’
institutions / organizations for transforming the content into action.
NVA is using different modern and traditional technologies such as
notice boards, wired and wireless public address system, K YAN-PC
(it contains PC, projector, TV tuner card, DVD player, amplified speaker
and modem), WiFi based video conferencing such as 802.11 b and 802.11
g, satellite based video conferencing, offline CDs for both audio
and video, community newspaper in Tamil, Marathi and Malayalam and
providing answers through telephone and advisories through video.
On 7th August 2007, NVA launched a new programme called “Knowledge
on Wheels”. On 29 December 2006, NVA and Sankara Nethralaya
Medical Research Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding to
provide eye care facilities and eye care awareness using a van for
this purpose. The mobile unit has necessary ophthalmic equipment for
diagnosis of eye related problems and is equipped with spectacle grinding
and frame fitting facilities, to provide spectacles then and there
at reasonable and affordable costs to the rural community. This mobile
van visits VRCs regularly and provides the treatment in many areas
such as cataract, squint evaluation, glaucoma evaluation, paediatric
clinic, yag caps, retinal evaluation, field test, prescription for
glass, etc. This is a joint initiative of Sankara Nethralaya Medical
Research Foundation, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), World
Diabetic Foundation (WDF), ESSILOR India Private Limited and M S Swaminathan
Research Foundation.
With the help of HP and ISRO, MSSRF got the soil van from HP-Kuppam
project. Now the mobile is ready to provide service for poor farmers.
The mobile laboratory consists of pH meter, electrical conductivity,
colorimeter, flame photometer, atomic absorption spectrometer, Magnetic
stirrer, Electrical weighing machine, Oxygen cylinder and Glass wares
(supporting equipments). These equipments are helping to test the
different soil parameters such as pH of the soil and the irrigation
water, electrical conductivity of the soil and irrigation water, soil
organic carbon, available phosphorus (Olsen method for neutral and
alkali soils and bryen method for acid soils), available potassium
and available micro-nutrients (zinc, manganese, iron, copper, magnesium
and calcium). This van has computers, LCD projectior, solar backup
and generator. With this facility, NVA plans to show a few documentaries
on soil nutrient management, crop cultivation practices, integrated
pest management, post harvest technologies, etc.
Another initiative called mobile agro pack with the help of Bosch.
TERRA 25, a packaging machine fitted in the van has the capacity of
packing products such as rice, sugar, pulses, chips, etc. This machine
will fill and pack 80 packets per minute. Through this mobile facility
NVA plans to create awareness about hygienic packaging of different
food items and help them to use this facility for community based
agro packing.
Rural women and men are rich in traditional knowledge and wisdom
derived from experience of working with nature and natural resources.
If rural transformation is to take place, the contributions of the
grassroots academicians are essential since they know the problems
of rural communities and also the potential solutions. Whether semi-literate
or literate, rural families are able to master new technologies, provided
the pedagogic methodology is learning by doing. It will be important
to identify and elect suitable rural women and men who have shown
leadership qualities as Fellows of Jamsetji Tata National Virtual
Academy for Rural Prosperity (NVA), so that they become role models
in their respective villages. Selection of Fellows is done on the
basis of their innate abilities and their proven social commitment.
The most important criterion is the commitment of the individual to
the progress of his / her village. The aim of NVA is to provide the
economic of human dignity and enable "blossoms in the dust"
to flower and bear fruit.
Based on this concept, 985 Fellows have been selected from 21 States
(Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil
Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkand and West Bengal). This year NVA has
also selected 25 Fellows from Afghanistan, Philippines, Nepal, Kenya,
Nigeria and Sri Lanka.