Barefoot College
Encyclopedia
Barefoot college known as Social Work and Research Centre is an Non-governmental organization founded by Bunker Roy
in 1972. It is a solar-powered school that teaches illiterate women from impoverished villages to become doctors, solar engineers, architects, and other such professions. The school is located at Tilonia
village, Rajasthan
, India
. It serves a population of over 125,000 people.
The policy of the Barefoot College is to take women from the poorest of villages and teach them to become professionals without requiring them to read or write. In extreme cases, there are students without verbal fluency in the languages of their teachers. It is the only school with such a policy, as well as the only school in India that is entirely solar-powered. Keeping with the principles of the Barefoot College, solar panels were installed by a Hindu priest with only eight years of schooling, and many of the builders were themselves illiterate.
(Indira Gandhi Environment Award), by the Ministry of Environment and Forests
, Government of India
. In 2003, the Barefoot College won an Ashden Award for its work bringing solar power
to rural villages.
Bunker Roy
Sanjit 'Bunker' Roy is an Indian social activist and educator. In 1972 he founded the Barefoot college in Tilonia, Rajasthan. The Indian non-governmental organization was registered as the Social Work and Research Centre...
in 1972. It is a solar-powered school that teaches illiterate women from impoverished villages to become doctors, solar engineers, architects, and other such professions. The school is located at Tilonia
Tilonia
Tilonia is a village in Ajmer district in Rajasthan, India.It is home of the NGO, Barefoot College founded by renowned social worker Bunker Roy. Since it was founded, this village has become a model for all remote villages for economic and social development....
village, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It serves a population of over 125,000 people.
Founder's philosophy
The organization was established to solve grave problems like drinking water quality, female education, health and sanitation, rural unemployment, income generation, electricity and power, as well as social awareness and the conservation of ecological systems in rural India. Bunker Roy, born to a wealthy Indian family, received what he described as a "very snobby, elitist, expensive education," which he believes imparts arrogance without providing the kind of practical knowledge needed in poor villages. His decision to leave the city for the village estranged him from his parents, furthering his conviction that "such an education can destroy you."The policy of the Barefoot College is to take women from the poorest of villages and teach them to become professionals without requiring them to read or write. In extreme cases, there are students without verbal fluency in the languages of their teachers. It is the only school with such a policy, as well as the only school in India that is entirely solar-powered. Keeping with the principles of the Barefoot College, solar panels were installed by a Hindu priest with only eight years of schooling, and many of the builders were themselves illiterate.
Cross-cultural Collaboration
One program of the Barefoot College brings women from villages in rural Africa that run without electricity to the Barefoot College. They are then trained by local Indian women at the Barefoot College. At the end of their training, they return to Africa with new skills that allow them to install solar electricity in their villages.Awards
In 1998, it was awarded the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran PuraskarIndira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar
Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar is an environment award instituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India in the year 1987, in order to encourage public participation in environment...
(Indira Gandhi Environment Award), by the Ministry of Environment and Forests
Ministry of Environment and Forests
The Ministry of Environment and Forests is an Indian government ministry. The Minister of Environment and Forests holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers...
, Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
. In 2003, the Barefoot College won an Ashden Award for its work bringing solar power
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
to rural villages.
External links
- BBC feature
- UNESCO
- PBS News Hour Article
- The Barefoot Approach, essay from Sumithra Prasanna for the International Museum of WomenInternational Museum of WomenThe International Museum of Women, , headquartered in San Francisco, California, is an online museum that covers women's issues world-wide.- Creation and expansion :I.M.O.W. was founded as the Women's Heritage Museum in 1985...