Overview of projects
CERES Global works with communities and organisations in India to generate solutions that are community driven and meet the needs identified by members of the community. Project sustainability is a key aspect of successfully engaging with communities and projects are designed and implemented with these principles in mind. The following information outlines the key areas that CERES Global engages with in India. These engagements provide a unique insight into India, its environment, its people and some of the issues they face.
Climate change adaption is a challenge that will be increasingly faced by all communities across the world. Indeed, the early effects of climate change are already having significant impacts on the poorest communities in developing countries. These are the communities that have contributed the least to the issues that they face, bearing the consequences of the resource intensive lifestyles of developed countries like Australia. Remote and village people are particularly vulnerable to future climatic changes. This is compounded by a number of other issues including, already difficult agricultural conditions, the destruction of surrounding forests for firewood, limited access to power, water scarcity, remoteness, a rapidly growing population and unemployment, just to name a few.
CERES Global works with community organisations in India to promote awareness and develop climate friendly technologies that are accessible and sustainable. Our aim is to offer and share resources, knowledge and skills around climate change issues, and support local organisations and communities to improve village living standards through sustainable measures. In the past CERES Global volunteers have been involved in a range of climate action projects across a number of different climate related issues for example:
Sustainable Energy for Remote Areas
Solar, wind, biogas, efficient wood stoves, solar water heating, solar water purification, solar cooking, and solar food drying projects
Water Harvesting
Techniques for catching the monsoon rains—dams, bunds, percolation dams, pumping underground water, water efficient irrigation.
Reforestation & Revegetation
Revegetation of native forests, coastal areas, and wetlands and working with women's groups to protect and expand existing natural vegetation.
Organic Agriculture—Food Security
Sharing organic food growing techniques including establishing worm farms for both soil improvement and local revenue.
Waste Management
Building sustainable waste systems and working with waste sorters and recyclers to develop safer working conditions
Sustainable housing design
Researching housing design that draws on traditional, local knowledge and resources along with new technology to improve the quality of living and offer a sustainable alternative to concrete and steel which is increasingly dominating the housing market in India (here there is an opportunity for architects town planners, builders, trades people and green technology experts).
Access to information and resourcing about environmental issues in India is limited, natural environments are sacrificed for the necessities of everyday life - forests are cleared for fuel to burn for food preparation; farms are converted to genetically modified seed stocks in the hopes of increased food yields; waterways and landscapes are polluted with runoff from industry and manufacturing. Rural farming communities lack the education and infrastructure to effectively address the issues they face in a holistic and sustainable manner. CERES is widely recognised as a leader in developing innovative solutions to the delivery and design of environmental education programs within Australia, in 2003 the Pitchandikulum community approached CERES to visit and conduct training for local teachers in environmental education strategies and resources. This was CERES Global's first project and since then every trip includes the sharing of environmental education techniques and approaches—both with students and teachers. In each of the areas that CERES Global visits our partner organisations are trying to deal with major environmental issues.
Examples of past CERES Global engagements include:
Establishment of Environmental Centres
In South India four environmental education centres have been established; the diverse work of these organisations has included revegetation strategies, primary and secondary education, wetland restoration and marine ecology.
Community Engagement with Environmental Issues
Through student centred, interactive games, workshops and problem-solving activities CERES Global volunteers model world class environmental education techniques and strategies. CERES Global volunteers with environmental education experience have conducted workshops for local teachers, demonstrating some of the teaching strategies used at CERES and in Australian schools.
Development of Educational Delivery Models
CERES Global volunteers have met with local Environmental Educators throughout India and conducted workshops on teaching techniques. In Almora, in the foothills of the Himalayas, our partner organisation has specialised in environmental education for over 30 years, here CERES Global volunteers have enjoyed exchanging teaching strategies and ideas. Their program has provided an inspirational model for other environmental centres in India.
In Tamil Nadu, CERES Global would like to work with the Marine Eco-Centre, and the Chennai wetlands Eco-Centre (Adyar Poonga) to assist their staff to develop educational programs. In Tamil Nadu and Pal, CERES Global would like to organise, in conjunction with our partner organisations, workshops for Environmental Educators, examining crucial local environmental issues, their solutions, and strategies for education and change
Access to primary and secondary education in India, particularly in rural areas, is often something that poor families struggling to afford. Instead children work with their families from a young age and the cycle of intergenerational illiteracy and innumeracy is perpetuated. While education in India has certainly improved over the last decade, the quality of rural education is poor compared to city schooling. Teachers are less qualified, there is little or no access to technology and English language skills, are unattainable in most places. Despite the efforts of government to provide computers for rural schools, teacher training has been largely neglected. In many places these computers sit in rooms, unused and gathering dust. For young rural people without computer basics and some grasp of English finding jobs outside of their rural hometowns is impossible as they struggle to compete against city educated young people. In the past CERES Global volunteers have worked on the following projects:
English and Computer Literacy Courses
Using student centred, interactive teaching strategies CERES Global volunteers teach children of all ages English and Computer Skills Spending two or three weeks in a rural village teaching children and teachers the basics of computer use and practising speaking English can make a lasting difference to rural villagers' lives.
School Visits
School interactions are always a highlight of CERES Global trips even if education is not an area of a CERES Global volunteers' expertise. Meeting children of all ages who are eager to talk a nd interact with foreigners from faraway lands has helped CERES build a special relationship with the villages that we visit and the organisations that we partner with. Classes about Australia are always popular, as are English learning games, songs and activities. Some volunteers have prepared units of work on a particular theme and taught this across different age groups.
Teacher Training
Some volunteers with a background in education work closely with local teachers to ensure some sustainability is achieved. Kindergardens or Balwadis in the foothills of the Himalayas are already modelling advanced teaching practices; further teacher training is desired there along with adult education support for women.
India has traditionally been a male dominated society in which women, particularly those from poor socio-economic backgrounds, are relegated to being wives and mothers, working in the family business and following their husbands' direction. In the last few decades this dynamic has begun to shift, women's groups have emerged as a powerful phenomenon throughout India. In part, this has been in response to the increasing absence of men from villages for large periods of the year, as they head to cities seeking work. Because of this, women now have an increasingly dominant role in managing the affairs of the village, while also establishing village enterprises to improve financial security.
CERES Global visits involve sitting down with Women's Groups—hearing about the initiatives they're undertaking, the issues of life in the village, their desires for the future and how CERES Global volunteers can help them achieve their goals.
Examples of past In the past CERES Global projects include:
Documentation
CERES Global documented the benefits of belonging to a Women's Group. The women's group used the results of this in their annual report to the government and subsequently gained funding for the enterprises they were planning. CERES Global documented the lives of village women in written English. The women's group promoted their work using the written case studies and as a result secured overseas funding .
Small Business Assistance:
CERES Global assisted a tribal women's group in developing a business plan and book keeping system. The group successfully set up a shop selling basic necessities solving the problem of travelling 5 km in a bullock wagon for supplies. CERES Global assisted a women's group in securing additional funding to purchase a chick pea de-husker. Without a de-husker the women had to sell their chick-peas and then buy them back de-husked at the market, at a much higher price.
Training
CERES Global provided advice and training on improving worm farm production. Worm farms have become a popular Women's Group enterprise. CERES Global provided training in designing patterns for new styles of bags and clothes to assist the women's tailoring group to expand their market.
Although urban India has seen an increase in doctors and medical advancements, the rural poor continue to suffer from a lack of adequate access to health services. Some of the most common health issues in the rural villages that CERES Global visits are easily preventable and include, malaria, coughs and colds, anaemia, scabies, diarrhoea, dysentery and malnutrition or poor nutrition
CERES Global trips have frequently included people from medical, nursing or health-care backgrounds keen to offer medical assistance and training to rural villagers, for example:
- During CERES Global 2009's trip a women's group requested a special meeting to discuss health issues in childbirth and infant health. An issue that emerged from this meeting was the need for health education for secondary school students because of the health related issues associated with marrying young. Typically village women will marry at around 15 years of age; women expressed health concerns for both mothers and their babies and wanted advice to help them overcome these problems.
- The cleanliness of children is also a major issue in villages, skin diseases and scabies are common. Education can provide a simple solution to this.
- Nutrition is another common village problem. Again part of the issue is in education and working to increase understanding of nutrition. By growing greens in their farms villages have found a simple solution that is having a major impact on widespread anaemia in villages.
CERES Global aims to take a group of health workers, doctors, and/or nurses to India each year to implement sustainable health initiatives. The focus is on working with locals to develop solutions based on education and training to ensure that the programs we help implement are sustainable.
“The possibilities for ways we could contribute were limited only by our imagination and enthusiasm. It radically changed our pre-conceptions about India, even for those who had already been. Certainly a life changing experience for all involved”
(Adam Gooderham, India Cultural Exchange participant).