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.
Source:http://www.mssrf.org/ect/index.htm
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.
Source:http://www.mssrf.org/ect/index.htm