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A Green Village School Developed by Indians and Americans

By Krishna P. Bhattacharjee
Friday April 11, 2008

“Don’t let school interrupt your education,” said Mark Twain. He spent most of his youth on steamboats going up and down the Mississippi River, earning a living. He lost his father when he was young and could not complete his school education. Later he went on to write many books, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 

At the other end of the world, in India, the Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore expressed similar sentiments when he established the institution “Shantiniketan” (meaning “an abode of peace”) . He too did not complete his formal school education.  

He has stated, “My object in starting the institution was to give the children full freedom of joy, of life and of communion with nature. I myself had suffered when young through the impediments that were inflicted on most boys while they attended school, and I have had to go through the machine of education, which crushes the joy or freedom of life for which the children have insatiable thirst. And my object was to give freedom and joy to children (of men).” 

Freedom of expression, living without fear, joy of learning and reaching out to marginalized families have been the four principles on which the Center for Human Settlements (CHS)-Habitat developed its philosophy towards life and learning. The executive director of CHS-Habitat, Professor K. P. Bhattacharjee (the author of this article), was exposed to India’s Freedom Movement, having witnessed the freedom struggle and non-violence movement initiated by Mahatma Gandhi and Nobel laureate Indian poet Rabindranath Ta-gore’s cry for freedom and democracy scripted in his poems.  

During his years on the UC Berkeley campus he observed the famous Free Speech Movement and the brutal force unleashed on students by the state to curb freedom of expression.  

The founders of CHS-Habitat longed for the type of democracy about which the Indian Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore wrote in his book Gitanjali: “where the mind is without fear and the head is held high ...” Similar ideas on freedom have been written and propagated by many authors including the famous Irish author Iris Murdoch.  

The directors of CHS-Habitat initiated action research on socio-economic issues and development to provide economic freedom to the economically weaker section of the population.  

In order to extend the output of its action research to the field, CHS assisted marginalized families to enhance their income, assisted families to build affordable houses, provided free books to school-going children of marginalized families and provided health care facilities. Households were guided to improve their living environment. Such inputs from CHS has helped the marginalized families in improving their lives and freed them from the shackles of economic burden.  

In order to exchange ideas with other institutions and individuals on improving the quality of life of the marginalized families, CHS-Habitat organized international conferences bi-yearly during last 20 years. Many participants from abroad and local areas contributed toward implementing income-generation projects and social housing for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) of the society.  

Among them was Dr. Jon D. Raggett, a senior structural design engineer based in California. He is also the director of the Development Engineering Research Institute (an organization supporting development of school projects in different developing countries around the world.)  

During Dr. Raggett’s participation at the International Conference on Human Settlements in Calcutta in 1997-98, he exchanged his ideas on the need for development of schools in villages in India with Professor Bhattacharjee and assured him that some joint venture project would be taken up in the future.  

In the meantime, CHS-Habitat prepared the ground for implementing its ideas developed from his action research toward total development of children in villages by making available to them shelter, education, employment opportunities and basic amenities (SEBA Mission). The word SEBA in Sanskrit means “service.” CHS would ensure that democracy, freedom of speech, joy of learning and rule of law would be the four cornerstones of his institution. His concept of development has been appreciated by many experts including Dr. Ramachandran, former Executive Director of UNCHS, Nairobi, and an advisor to CHS-Habitat.  

Many NGOs located in Indian villages came forward to implement the SEBA project. In order to get the local NGOs’ participation and involvement in the project, CHS-Habitat insisted that the local NGO is required to participate in the development of the project. In case they cannot devote time for the development and maintenance of the project, then they are required to provide land or donations. 

 

Action research  

The implementation of the present SEBA project (to develop an institution) has been initiated in a village named Chamtagarah within the district of Bankura (which is connected to Calcutta by motor-able road and rail track) in the state of West Bengal, India. A local welfare society named Vivekanada Adibasi Kaliyan Samity, serving the Adibasi (indigenous people) children of the villages, having realized the need for education for the children, invited CHS-Habitat to implement the SEBA project and offered its land on which the project would be developed. 

Prior to preparation of the project report and the physical layout design of the building complex and infrastructure, a number of visits to the site were made by the CHS team to inspect the land, to learn about the local conditions and the need for a primary and secondary school in the area. 

Bankura is one of the most backward districts in West Bengal, India. It is about 250 kilometers from Calcutta. The village of Chamtagarah is within the Block Chhatna (under Saldiha Gram Panchayat, the local administration). Hot and dry climate prevails for nine months of the year and the temperature is around 35 to 42 degrees C. There is little rain from July to September, and soil is unfertile and red. There is very little agricultural activity, and vast land lies barren. There are a few stone chip crushing mills and small business units. Small industries are now coming up in the area. 

Consequently, residents have little income and most of them come under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and are Below the Poverty Line (BPL) as defined by the government of India, except a few traders and businessmen. About 40 percent of the population of the village belong to Schedule Tribe and Castes (indigenous people) of the locality.  

According to the information collected by the CHS field team, those children who are not admitted to schools from the 12 villages in Saldiha Gram Panchayat under Chhatna Block within the district Bankura are likely to attend the new school. The local population of the block is about 10,000, and out of this about 40 percent (say 4,000) belong to the Schedule Tribe (indigenous people) and 25 percent of the remaining population belong to other backward classes.  

Among the 2,000 school-going children between 9 to 18 years of age within the 12 villages of Saldiha Gram Panchayat, about 1,000 children are enrolled in the only secondary school in the locality (Kesra High School) in this Gram Panchayat. Thus more than 50 percent of the children of this Gram Panchayat remain uncovered by any secondary education.  

 

Proposal for a green school and vocational training center 

During the field survey in the village on the type of school that should be developed, parents of children requested to introduce classes in nursery and primary sections first.  

They also requested to introduce kindergarten or Montessori system and to teach English conversation to students. Though such demand from the parents were not expected, considering that it is a village school, it appeared that a section of the villagers are well educated with degrees and even graduate qualifications. They know well that for higher education and employment, English is essential. 

Accordingly, a proposal has been made by CHS-Habitat for development and construction of a sustainable institution consisting of nursery and primary sections at the first stage.  

However, CHS committee decided to develop a long range master plan for this project to include Secondary section, hostel accommodation for the children who come from different villages and districts, as well as vocational training center for children who would not pursue higher education so they may be gainfully employed. It was also decided that a GREEN and SUSTAINABLE complex should be developed so that no greenhouse gas is contributed by this project, so the project has been planned to include electricity lights from solar panels ( installed on the roof of the building) and rainwater harvesting Accordingly, a master plan has been prepared and a view of the scheme can be seen in the website www.chshabitatcal.org.  

Fortunately, these facilities for the complex met the approval of the well-known Indian author and social worker, Maheswata Debi, who is also involved in social service work for the Indigenous people in the district of Bolpur which is located adjacent to the district of Bankura in West Bengal. 

The scheme for the school complex also met the approval of our American friend Dr. Jon D. Ragett, whose charitable organization Development Engineering Research Institute (DERI) had encouraged CHS to proceed with the project. 

He discussed the project with the board of directors of DERI who unanimously approved the project and agreed to provide grant for the class rooms and essential infrastructure for the school. 

 

Project implementation and its operation  

CHS has designed the building complex to meet the need of the local hot and dry climate All external brick walls were made of thick cavity walls so as to reduce transmission of external heat within the interior so classrooms are cool. Even during summer months mechanical fans are not required. In addition adequate cross windows and ventilators were provided for cross circulation of air and to keep the interior cool. Use of exposed bricks has enabled the building to merge with the local vernacular architectural style. The main roof is flat and made of concrete so that rainwater can be collected and then drained out by down pipes to discharge into the existing well at the edge of the compound. Water is scarce in the locality, so rainwater harvesting is essential. However for drinking water a submersible pump is to be installed at a local water tank far away. 

Carbon emission in this project has been reduced to nil, since solar panels have been used for lighting the class rooms. Though the initial investment for solar panels has been high, recurring expense for maintenance is very little. This is a green and sustainable project in view of taking care of the utilities and services which are served by renewable energy and harvesting of rain water to make water available for the institution. 

The first stage project has been successfully completed and on seeing the complex on our website, Dr. Raggett and his colleagues highly appreciated the project and remarked it is a “great project” and added he will take steps to strengthen this Indo-American partnership. 

The governor of the state of West Bengal has been invited by the directors of CHS to visit the school and he agreed to do the same. He has highly appreciated the school building project since it is green and sustainable.  

 

Social impact of ‘SEBA Mission’ project: 

The new school complex set in a green environment merged with the local surrounding and was immediately accepted by the people of the villages; word spread and people from distant places came just to see the school complex made in local vernacular architectural style using local bricks and construction techniques. Many families visit the school every afternoon and rest in its garden. Garden seats were built within the compound for visitors. Children play within the garden adding life to the entire area. 

Children were admitted and nursery classes started in August 2007. The school’s education and environment have been appreciated by parents and visitors. CHS’s current plan is to add seven more classrooms to accommodate its primary and secondary schools.  

There is an urgent need to build residential accommodation for teachers and dormitories for students, install pumps for drinking water and build other infrastructure. CHS desires donors and philanthropic organizations to come forward and complete this project where education is the light which would guide the villagers to a better living environment free from hunger and disease. 

 

For information write to chskpbcal@gmail.com  

For more details: www.chshabitatcal.org  

 

Krishna P. Bhattacharjee, professor, architect and planner, is the executive director of the Center for Human Settlements Int’l (CHS-Habitat). He is a graduate of UC Berkeley