Shripad Dabholkar
Encyclopedia
Shripad A. Dabholkar was an intellectual and activist from India
born in 1924 and died May 2001. He was the founder of a non-structured methodology of grassroot networking for nature-friendly and human-friendly neighbourhood development called the Prayog Pariwar methodology.
This approach to farming and living share some common traits with Masanobu Fukuoka
"natural farming" and permaculture
.
district in Maharashtra
, among the grape cultivators. Soon the productivity in the district rose to world standards and grape production became a highly productive activity, inducing small farmers to turn to it. Dabholkar has then successfully extended the applied research to other crops as well.
The central thesis is that without depending on foreign aid or imported technology, economic development can be achieved by experimenting farmers and by common individuals in their own neighborhoods. It evolved out from an initiative by S.A. Dabholkar in Maharashtra, India, in the mid-1960s. By then the network was called Swashraya Vikas Mandal, meaning self-help and self-reliance for building new possibilities by working in one's own real-life situation.
These groups also pioneered collaborative networking practices and an Internet
-type information exchange using postcards.
Dabholkar described the Prayog Pariwar methodology in the book "Plenty for all" (Mehta Publishing House, 1998) where he defines and establishes a non structured approach for development in the neighborhood through:
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...
born in 1924 and died May 2001. He was the founder of a non-structured methodology of grassroot networking for nature-friendly and human-friendly neighbourhood development called the Prayog Pariwar methodology.
This approach to farming and living share some common traits with Masanobu Fukuoka
Masanobu Fukuoka
was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, no-herbicide grain cultivation farming methods traditional to many indigenous cultures, from which he created a particular method of farming, commonly...
"natural farming" and permaculture
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
.
Biography
Shripad A. Dabholkar was an educationist of a unique kind. His efforts were to shape education as a tool for total change in the life situation of an average worker in rural areas. Gifted with originality in thinking, Dabholkar dared to take the untrodden path. Realizing the limitation of conventional academic system in which he played a part as a teacher for 25 years, he left it to undertake the task of educating farmers through demystification of science, adopting innovative non-formal methods of knowledge communication. He was a lone campaigner, typical of his independent temperament. But being a man of conviction, he decided to reach solutions in his own life situations. He succeeded in creating mass awareness and interest in farmers, who the formed their own groups called Prayog Pariwar (experimenting cells), even in his absence. This was network building par excellence, resulting in a new sociology of science and education. Dabholkar started his mission in Tasgaon, a village in SangliSangli
Sangli is a city in the state of Maharashtra of India. Sangli is known as the Turmeric city for its vast production of Turmeric. Sangli is situated on the banks of river Krishna and is the largest market place for Turmeric in Asia and houses many sugar factories, which it is also noted for...
district in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, among the grape cultivators. Soon the productivity in the district rose to world standards and grape production became a highly productive activity, inducing small farmers to turn to it. Dabholkar has then successfully extended the applied research to other crops as well.
Prayog Pariwar methodology
Prayog Pariwar methodology is about networking of self-experiment ventures for nature friendly and human friendly prosperity.The central thesis is that without depending on foreign aid or imported technology, economic development can be achieved by experimenting farmers and by common individuals in their own neighborhoods. It evolved out from an initiative by S.A. Dabholkar in Maharashtra, India, in the mid-1960s. By then the network was called Swashraya Vikas Mandal, meaning self-help and self-reliance for building new possibilities by working in one's own real-life situation.
These groups also pioneered collaborative networking practices and an Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
-type information exchange using postcards.
Dabholkar described the Prayog Pariwar methodology in the book "Plenty for all" (Mehta Publishing House, 1998) where he defines and establishes a non structured approach for development in the neighborhood through:
- grassroot networking
- demystification of latest science, knowledge and new thoughts to generate and propagate
- people's own techno-scientific ventures
- full fledged eco-motive rurban development all over the world.