Reimagin'g Jaipur - the way forward
Dear All,
After seeing the overwhelming response to the Jaipur Learning City unConference, where we had more than 350 people from varied interest areas visit and participate in the one day event, we realized that there are many in our city who are desiring to collaborate with others to provide sustainable and restorative solutions for the challenges that we are facing in todays world at personal, local as well as global level. Some of us also have a desire to move to more community based social actions and entrepreneurship models rather than depending solely on Governments or Big Businesses to provide for our needs.
What is our Vision?
We are now reaching out to turn this desire for change into an actionable process by launching a project called ‘Re-imagine Jaipur’ or ‘Jaipur Mera Shehar’. We are planning to make a network of many themes (or interest groups) based on ‘peer to peer support groups’ in Jaipur. We are creating a transparent, equivalent and consent based system for running the network where we work in our individual group and also are interconnected to the other groups in the city.
How can you join more people of your areas of interest?
You are requested to share your areas of interest by filling this form...
We will form groups based on these interest groups. These groups will come together to form a network of diverse sub-groups which can support each other and nurture the people of Jaipur. Each group will work as an autonomous unit, which working within the shared vision of the Network. Please check the peer support group/s that you would like to be part of and get updates in your inbox. Once we get the response we will send you more details about this program and schedule of the next meeting of the group.
What is the implementation method?
Those of us who are initiating the process have decided to run this network by Sociocracy, for first six months and review it with the whole network later on. Sociocracy is a consent based decision making and governance system and we will be offering knowledge of Sociocracy as we go along and want people who join the network to be willing to learn the basics of it so as to support the functioning of this network efficiently and inclusively.
This network is an interconnected web which will be steered by a council of representatives coming from each interest group. Here people from one group can connect or take support from other groups through their representatives who go to join the network council. Representatives will bring in inputs from their respective group to the council meeting where they have the opportunity to be part of framing the policy of the whole network. The reps will also take the thoughts/decisions/policies made by the council to their respective groups for consent. The council will be holding the larger picture and yet not be above any individual or a group and decisions taken by the council will have to be consented by the group and vice versa.
We now want the groups to meet face to face and want you to select the specific group/s that you want to be part of from the broader group. We are sending you the form for the same.
Once we have formed various groups we will send you a calendar for the series of meetings where we will call a separate meeting of each group. Initially, the anchoring team for launching this network will also be with you and once the groups are formed they will be self operating.
In the first meeting, by using Sociocratic principles we will together frame a statement of purpose specifying the vision, mission and activities of each group. This will be the identity of the group for the time being and will help people in future to understand the domain of the group so they can make the choice to be part of it or not.
Besides this, with a consent based election process we will elect four posts which will enable the smooth functioning of this group and the network.
A. Operations Leader - will be the anchoring person for ensuring that the agreed upon tasks are done and the team is willingly engaged in doing those tasks.
B. Facilitator - will facilitate meetings in a Socioractic process which ensures that each person has the space to speak and contribute in the decision making of the group.
C. Secretary or Circle Administrator, will announce the meetings, circulate the agenda before the meeting, ensure that minutes of all the meetings are written and shared in a place that it is accessible to member of each group as well as those of other groups, to ensure total transparency.
D. Representative, who will take the inputs from the interest group to the network council and vice versa.
Once this process is done each group will work as a unit and also be part of the interconnected web through its reps who will come to the network council. The groups will have their meetings, make their policies, plan their activities, make a calendar of events and share on their email groups, FB Page or whatsapp page or any other form they wish to choose to connect.
We will also launch a website for the network council and each group can have a page/s in it. The activities of the group will be announced and shared on this page. Even individuals can post their profiles on the page of the group if they wish to. Each group will also be requested to have people for documentation so they can update their pages on the website so the rest of the world can have access to our activities and be inspired by it.
In addition each group can make their blog or uses any other creative media to share their work with the larger community.
During the initial phases we need to have a Sociocracy implementation group which will provide support in implementing the governance process. The reps of this group will also be invited to the council.
Apart from this we will have a Board or Wisdom circle which is a group formed of the well wishers of this community process. It could be people who bring outside inputs to this community and the rep from this Board or Wisdom Councli will also be part of the Network Council.
We look forward to seeing you on the meetings of your respective groups. If you have joined more than one group you will be requested to join meetings of all the groups that you have signed up for.
Look forward to see the magic unfold of the process re-imagining our city with you. If you have any queries please write to us.
Warmly
Shammi, Chintan, Piyush, Avinash and Aditya
Anchor Team
Jaipur Mera Shehar
Learning city unConference - a look back
This post was originally made on JaipurCityPost
Twelfth of March 2016 was like any other spring Saturday, with the sun shining down the front lawns, some running for work and some basking in the laziness of the dawn of another weekend. Little did many knew, that beyond the threshold of a school in Jaipur, a little pulse of revolution was throbbing. Jaipur City Learning unConference, organized within the mesh windows and yellow walls of Samarth School, in association withPravah (Jaipur) and Shikshantar, was an alternate Conference bringing people of all ages to learn, teach, co-create together with other like minded people. It was a place to meet local learning communities who brought their work, skills, processes, projects, produce, books, gifts, ideas and conversations that is and can further transform our city Jaipur.
There are some people that go with the defined flow of life, following the herd, meddling in with the stereotypes and making their life a dance routine and then there are some who come out of the trance of survival on earth and actually look around their worlds to find the deepest meaning of their lives. The unConference was nothing but an amalgamation of such people, who wanted nothing, but to break the shackles of following the society imposed conventions and live a life that, their uniqueness defined for them.
At first sight, it was overwhelming to know where to be or where not in the bunch of almost all strange faces, but thanks to the organizers, who began the event with fun activities.With participation open to all, the fun activities consisted of co-operative games and soon the ice began to break and the strange faces started melting and reforming as acquaintances.
The entire premise of the school was divided in activity zones. The rooms was slotted for variety of workshops and sessions – like Urban farming at zero budget, restorative justice, story telling, circle dance, bottle art, alternative education, social entrepreneurship. The programs like You Lead talks, Elder Earth Project, consisted of story-telling and sharing one’s life experience and lessons with an overall view of making Jaipur a learning City.
The school’s balconies and rooftop were adorned with colorful stalls. All the stalls were an end result of innovation and creativity. One could find various sorts of art and craft items ranging from dream catchers to paper earrings, homemade food items such as chocolates, brownies, muffins etc. and stalls representing various initiatives such as that of myschoolproject.com showcasing and promoting the concept of importance of practical learning in schools.
One of the things that highlighted the essence of the event was the “Dariya Dil ki Dukan”, where one could buy anything present in the stall with smile being the currency for the means of exchange. Amidst all the hustle and bustle of the workshops, the open verandahs were a beautiful mixture of people indulging themselves in various art forms. There was painting, singing, pottery making and dance circle. In all the alternate corners, one could find food stalls, feeding the organizers, the volunteers and the visitors with fresh juice, snacks and food according to the need of time. A room was dedicated to DIY Film festivals showing short movies throughout the day. In the end, groups were formed and initiatives were taken by people working in different domains to step forward and plan to create a change in the domain where they would like to see one.
Some people came with a purpose, some with a message, some to find a way, some to experience new things and some simply to enjoy. Whatever be the intention, the unConference proved itself to be satisfying everyone’s expectation in some way or the other.
Imbibing Love for Nature in Urban settings
Nature has it's OWN WAYS...
-Ever wondered how our ecological systems are managed?
-Have you thought how important our Holy Cows are?
Lets hear out Deepti's views on on natural cycle of our Mother Earth.
" Our widespread and long term use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers is creating large scale barren soils.
Having studied botany from Raj University and Civil Engineering from Columbia University I was aware that the natural cycles of the earth- the carbon cycle and the water cycle are malfunctioning on a global level.
After much study and understanding I have come to the conclusion that the the only reasonably cost effective and relatively quick way to restore the health of soil on a larger scale is to keep the cows on the land. Much the way Krishna kept them.
Our Holy Scriptures talk about Krishna having 9 Lakh cows and Radha's father having 12 Lakh.
And what I would like people to know is that they did not keep cows for just their milk.
Their was a much bigger, more important reason.
They were using the cows to manage their ecology. The cows went grazing everyday to a different piece of forest land and every place these cows moved from, they left behind their mutra(urine) and gobar (cow dung) in huge quantities. What grass they could not eat was trampled and pressed into the soil as mulch. These 2 acts by the cows had an enormous effect on maintaining the quality of the soil.
In the cow dung and urine left behind by the cows, were millions of micro organisms from the cow's rumen, which then fed the insects, the birds and the other small animals around. All the droppings from the cows, birds and other wild animals acted as a manure and fed the grasses, shrubs and trees that helped to create a healthier forest. All the vegetation led to an increase in the carbon in the soil as well as in forests and grasslands the soil supported. All this carbon came from the Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.
Without the thick vegetation and the rich soil bank the carbon has ended up now in our atmosphere.
And the what remains is desertifying soils and rising carbon dioxide levels. This is the carbon in the air (in the form of carbon dioxide) that is causing climate upheaval.
Hence the carbon cycle is disrupted.
Now more the carbon in the soil ie. rich healthy soil acts as a sponge and collects and stores the water that falls on it as rain and later releases this water through out the year, even long after the monsoons are over. This process allows our streams and rivers flow perennially. Because of such life nurturing contribution by the cows, they are venerated in our culture.
For me the link is clear.
Cows mean clean water,
Cows mean clean and healthy food,
Cows mean stable climate,
Cows mean clean air,
Cows mean forests and ecologically healthy ecosystems,
Cows mean healthy soils,
And in the end Cows can mean delicious milk, ghee, chaach etc".
A mother is her child's first love..
A simple thought can bring about a big change.
Meet Gurpreet Kaur and her daughter Ayana who believe that their passion is what will get them going..
Belong to a small town in UP , Moved around India for my own education and with great ambition completed my MBA to join a MNC where I worked for 7 long years and would have been still there if the issues in education hadn't touched me deeply. It all started after I started to look for schools for my daughter and didn't want her to be in a factory kind of school. I believe education is much more than literacy but each school i went to showed me only a list of topics in form of syllabus that child would know by the end of it. Almost at the same time during my landmark education advance course i came across a lady whose son was going to a Waldorf school and that was it. That was the first time i heard of Waldorf. I explored it through visiting various Waldorf schools and going for residential training and thereafter opened the school in Jaipur along with the mentor from a Waldorf School and now I m working for it on my own. Its being a tough journey but i am sure that passion for it would get me going.
The school is based in civil lines, Jaipur and there are 4 children in the school including my own daughter.
What I want to talk about:---
How Waldorf Instills a lifelong love for learning in children?
Waldorf, though 100 years old time tested pedagogy, still is very new to India and hardly anyone knew of it in Jaipur. I would want to cover a brief introduction of Waldorf schooling system for kindergarten and how its so appropriate, especially for times today.
Making our own path....
Swaraj University
What if you walk into a university to find out that there are no
classrooms, teachers, degrees, curriculum, and exams? Above all, you even
see people learning joyfully in their own ways, involving their
head-heart-hands, doing in their lives what interests them the most. Welcome to this place of learning and unlearning called Swaraj
University, which for last 6 years has been providing platform for youth to
identify their hearts’ vision and engage them in developing the skills and
practices they need to manifest that vision.
Unfortunately, due to pressures of society, family, media, and education system, youth today are devoid of acceptance at every level. In the tender age of 15-27, a lot changes in the life of a youth which they need to cater to – there are struggles with parents on career & livelihood; that is when they begin tryst with relationships and love; there are a lot of bodily changes, one also begins to question their role in the society, or find purpose of life. Unfortunately, our education system pays little attention on all these aspects of life. The only focus is on career and livelihood.
At Swaraj University, we support khojis (that's what learners call themselves) to start, create and reclaim self-designed learning processes, provide a safe space to the learners to walk their path with other co-travelers and take responsibility of their emotional well-being, engage them with many unlearning challenges to help them out of their comfort zones and build deeper perspectives for regenerating self, soil and society. We also connect them with a wide network of individuals and organizations that provide internship, mentoring and work opportunities, support them to discover, articulate and work towards shifts that our world needs today and give the opportunity to translate dreams and passions into real and sustainable livelihood possibilities.
A few khojis and team members of Swaraj University would be present at the
Jaipur Learning City unConference and would be glad to share their experiences.
Looking forward to see you at this exciting event...
To know more about the University click here and to know more about what some of our khojis are upto Explore here
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Eco Haat Trio
Guddi Prajapat: Born in Mewar, Rajasthan and is the co-founder of ‘ECO Haat’. She is a motherly figure and is an affectionate woman. She cares for each and everyone. Keeping our rich culture alive, Guddi likes to sing the traditional songs and has a vast collection of them.
She is also fond of creating the herbal products and likes holding workshops at different places to spread awareness about the benefits and the use of herbal products to people.
She is a remarkably hardworking woman who has worked day and night to create a forum like Eco Haat where the best of herbal products are easily available for everyone.
WishAll Singh: Ever since the childhood, Vishal had a creative instinct him in and what appealed him was the waste material. That's where his journey began as a crazy designer and he became the master of - Best out of Waste. He experimented with the waste product and created some out of the box designs and products. Beside being the co-founder of Eco Haat, Vishal also loves trekking, organizing heritage walks and community mobilizing oasis games. He has been working on making his home city Udaipur, a zero waste city. For him, Tinka was another venture for taking a step closer to his dream.
Ritesh: She is the third pillar of the Eco Haat group who brings the balance by being the sanest in the group. After studying accounts, she realized that her real passion was to create things with her own hands. One can learn the art of smiling from her. She has a positive aura around her, her level of patience can surprise anyone. The serene look on her face is what comforts the people around her.
The three of them together will be a part of the Jaipur Learning City unConference on 12th march 2016 and bring to you the best methodology of making eco-friendly colours.
Live Live CRAZY Style...
Every family has that one member who is crazy and drives people crazy with his energy and enthusiasm . Here is another high-spirited member of the unConference member who believes that- live each day as if it was you last and love each one around because all humans are beautiful in their own way.
Manish Kataria
Here is a small message from our crazy Manish-
Hello Friend,
So excited to be part of Unconference happening in Jaipur. I have been to some Unconferences before and it's an unforgettable experience. Specially, for me I found so many 'crazy' people like me, connected with some as families and have formed very deep bonds with some of them, which is so beautiful. It's not only a day long event, it's beginning of new life and fun. For me, it's life changing initiative which encourage me to do more beautiful things in the world.
I really want to offer my co-operative, non-competitive games, energisers and dances. Also want to put lots of positive energy to help us all go crazy and to put lots of fun, laughter and smile in the gathering.
Also, want to share my journey to introduce a new sport "Ultimate Frisbee" in Rajasthan and "Harawal" cycle initiative.
Here's a glimpse of the crazy experience that you will encounter on 12th in Jaipur.
one is ALONE but together we are a TEAM...
Aditya and Chintan are taking a session on social entrepreneurship during the unConference.
Chintan Bakshi Aditya Nath
Social entrepreneurs solve social problems through the for-profit route. A number of times social entrepreneurs start as a non-profit project and then figure out a sustainable business model. Social enterprises can be built to solve problems in areas like education, health, environment, waste management etc to name a few. Social enterprises need to start with an innovation (that solves a problem) around which a business model could be built. Some social enterprises retain a hybrid character – one part of the social enterprise function always remains as a non-profit while another part becomes a for-profit. For example, activities like awareness generation to create demand for a product, might need a lot of effort before results start and thus these can be sustained only through grant contributions, but once the demand gets generated, the for-profit model kicks in. For example, generating demand for an alternative model of education in rural India might take a lot of effort and time, but once the demand generation has been done, the process of providing education could be enabled through a for profit model.Some social enterprises can be built around a common non-profit activity of community mobilisation. Say, the community in a village has been mobilised to work together and create a governance structure which has the capability to execute village level projects. Multiple social enterprises in areas like water harvesting, waste management, rural electrification etc can now get enabled to work in the village and provide products and services. Collectives also make possible the delivery of multiple services and revenue collection for B2C services and can further lead to development of new business models. Similarly, collectives developed through mobilising the residents of an urban cluster can provide the necessary demand for a lot of innovative social ventures in areas as diverse as urban farming, community centre management, sports, arts, waste management, water harvesting, to name a few.
Social enterprise development essentially requires the following steps and processes:1. Identifying the social problem2. Understanding the problem in detail and empathising with the person facing the problem to understand the context of the problem3. Brainstorming on all the possible solutions4. Shortlisting the top solutions5. Creating the prototype or the minimum viable product (MVP)6. Designing the pilot testing project to test the MVP7. Raising resources for the pilot (ideally it should not need any external resources)8. Implementing the pilot project9. Collating results and key learnings10. Developing the scalable business model11. Implementing the scalable business model
Startup Oasis is looking to work with aspiring social enterprises and multiple social enterprises and help them with developing the right MVPs / business models and by providing them networks in rural and urban areas and advisory support.
World beyond HIStory...and tales beyond Bed time story...
Storytelling session.....
Name: Koitso Salil Mukhia
Project: Elder Earth Project (is a compelling journey in storytelling with an attempt to record voices of the last shamans of critically endangered tribes and sounds of the sacred elder natural sites)
About Koitso:
Of the Koits tribal community of the Eastern Himalayas, Koitso is one of the very widely acknowledged storytellers in the country. A shamanic healer by tradition, his work revolves around the idea of bringing forward the relevance of nature based sacred traditions in the urban context. Founder of Acoustic Traditional and National Festival of Indigenous Storytellers, his work over the past 14 years has been driven towards reviving indigenous oral traditions and documenting the vanishing folklore of various tribes of India.
Session for the un- conference:
1. Fire Storytelling Circle
Time: 11 to 12.30
6 to 7:30pm
This transformative session invites all into the sacred circle of sounds and stories for the Earth and her Spirit Guardians.
With mountain music, sacred sounds and drums the session is an exploration into the incredible world of sky stories and legends of the ancient worlds.
