JPvision

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JP’s Vision of an Integrated Development

A Centre for Economic Development :

JP believes that the development initiative should usher in a total transformation of the valley, a transformation consistent with the past ethos, the current reality and the emerging future. Such a transformation should touch all spheres of human endeavours.

JP visualises a scenario in which she is able to create a large number of meaningful opportunities for employment, self-employment and new ventures in the agricultural, non-farm and industrial sectors of the economy to villagers in the 31 villages of the valley. Grameen Udyojakata Vikas Kendra - (A Centre for Economic and Rural Development) of JP will be the anchor for such economic initiatives in the valley. The GUVK will undertake activities which will encompass skill training, skill upgradation, technology transfers, new technology experimentation, entrepreneurship training, entrepreneurs’ incubation park, a data warehouse for disseminating marketing information, a rural chamber of commerce and industry for the Shivaganga valley, a modern communication infrastructure linking farmers, schools, cooperatives, village- panchayats not only among themselves but also all over the country and across the world, a socio-cultural centre for recreation, centre for cultivation of medicinal plants, resource and information bank for the valley.

The GUVK will undertake the following activities to facilitate economic development in the valley :

Autonomous Vocational Education Courses for students (who fail to qualify for school-leaving certificate examination for Std. 10) from the valley in various trades such as electronics, wiring, plumbing, farm equipment repairing, computer data-entry etc.

Government recognised Industrial Training Institute (ITI) to cater to the emerging technological requirements for the Pune and adjoining areas of the valley.

Autonomous vocational training centre for women offering short duration skill training courses in traditional and modern vocations (papad-pickle making, tailoring, handicrafts, electronics assembly, computer and DTP operations, floriculture, dairy, poultry etc.).

Entrepreneurship Development Centre undertaking entrepreneurship awareness and training programmes for prospective first generation entrepreneurs from the valley, this centre will also offer skill and management upgradation inputs to existing entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship Incubation Park (similar to Science and Technology Park in the West) allowing space for budding entrepreneurs in the start-up period with a provision for venture capital for initial 2 to 3 years.

A strong federation of credit-saving groups of women culminating into an apex cooperative bank wholly promoted and managed by women from the valley to steer economic development of women through farm and non-farm activity.

An agricultural processing centre and a centre for demonstration and propagation of modern and appropriate technologies for the rural areas such as biogas, solar equipment, agri-processing, watershed conservation techniques etc.

A research and documentation unit equipped to handle large volumes of data on health, education, agriculture, industry, live-stock etc., for providing on-line inputs in the development planning.

A communication network consisting of citizen band radio, television, computers linking all the thirty one villages in the valley - a central studio facility to produce the necessary software - audio and video-relevant for the needs of the valley.

An open university for the valley providing academic and extra curricular inputs to children, youths, teachers, women, farmers, elected representatives, government officials and all citizens in the valley through conduct of training programmes, workshops, seminars, exposure visits etc.

Institutionalising the spirit of voluntarism by creating a Social Re-engineering Fund as a source for giving fellowships to young gaduates working in villages.

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Linking Vision, Strategy and Action Plan

A vision of the transformation of the valley needs an appropriate strategy. A consistent and coherent strategy incorporating the broad vision of development will ensure attainment of the vision. In the following paragraphs, we have discussed two broad strategic thrusts which JP has experimented with in the past and on the foundations of which JP proposes to begin her future inititives.These strategic thrust areas are :

Promotion of Rural enterprises and self-employment and
Women's empowerment through and micro-enterprise promotion and Micro-credit enhancement institutions

These two thrust areas need to be appropriately supported by creation of certain infrastructure, promotion of a development communication and research unit and creation of an endowment - social re-engineering fund- a mechanism to institutionalise the spirit of voluntarism. The subsequent chapters discuss the rationale behind these strategic thrusts.

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Review of Thirty Five Years of Development Action

Jnana Prabodhini’s interaction with the villagers began simultaneously with the educational experiments that commenced in Pune in June 1962. Infact, right from the inception, the Shivaganga valley has been a field laboratory for nonformal learning to four generations of JP’s Karyakartas. The rural development initiatives since 1962 to 1998 in the valley can be broadly classified under four phases.

Phase 1 : Initiative for improved agriculture and agricultural practices (1962 to 1985).

Phase 2 : Vocational Education, Promotion of Employment and Self-employment in the industrial sector (1971 to 1985)

Phase 3 : Watershed conservation and development activities in the valley (1985 onwards).

Phase 4 : Empowerment of women and capacity building of local groups of youth, women, farmers through saving-credit activities, youth clubs, farmers’ clubs (1992 onwards).

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The ever continuing phase : Awareness, Education and Community Mobilization

An underlying theme in all above developmental interventions is the conscious emphasis of JP on sincere field work. Continuous rapport with the villagers, designing and implementation of various formal and non-formal educational training programmes, group meetings, exposure visits to other projects, annual meets-exhibitions etc. These are some of the machanisms to develop a genuine sense of participation among villagers. A true developmental activity whether in the field of agriculture, industry, education or health is not sustainable if it relies too much on externalities. The participation and mobilisation of the villagers is the true reflection of the involvement of the community in the process of development. JP has been quite sensitive to this "soft" aspect of the development initiative and has a number of programmes for responding to this requirement. Some of them are -

Rural Talent Search and Development Programme covering 700 children in the age-group of 10 - 16 years.

Kishori Vikas Prakalp (Enrichment programme for adolescent girls ) 300 girls from 15 villages

Jijamata Prabodhan Kendra (A discussion forum of 50 women leaders from the valley)

Leadership and personality development programme for elected leaders of the Panchayat Raj.

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