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DA Digest
October 2017
UPCOMING
Conference of the Parties (COP) 23, 6th-17th November 2017, Germany
- Side Event on 'Circular Economy and Low Carbon Development - A Climate Change Solution', 13th November 2017, Bonn Zone, Germany
- Panel Discussion on 'Accelerating Climate Innovations in the SME Sector in India', 16th November 2017, Bula Zone, Germany
- LC3 Exhibit, 6th-11th November, Bonn Zone, Germany
Flagship Event of Work 4 Progress - 'Jobs We Want', 30th November 2017, New Delhi
EVENTS
Development Alternatives Group celebrates 35 years of commitment towards Sustainable Development
DA celebrated its 35th Annual Day, 'Parvaaz - To Skies and Beyond', on 14th October 2017. The function was a platform to bring together the families of all staff members, who were quite enthusiastic to behold the energy and talent of DA. The event witnessed participation from the staff - in the form of dances, a skit, songs, games etc. Dr. Ashok Khosla, Chairman, through his encouraging and motivating words, emphasised on the importance of deriving insights from everyone to achieve new heights. Individuals and teams were also awarded for their commendable professional performance through the year. The event concluded with the recitation of the DA Anthem, spreading enthusiasm amongst all.
Stakeholder workshop on 'Assessment of Rural Habitat Scenario', Uttarakhand
A stakeholder workshop was organised for 11 building technologists and geologists on 11th October 2017 at DIT University, Dehradun. It aimed to bring together learnings from 4 identified villages of Uttarkashi district and arrive at a tentative list of building materials and construction technologies suitable for implementation and capacity building, under the DST-TIME Learn programme. Zeenat Niazi, Vice President, DA moderated the session and emphasised the need of demonstrating these technologies on ground that should be taken up further as an example to set in front of policy makers, forest officers and other government officers to demonstrate the judicious use of different construction material like timber, stone etc without causing negative environment impact on mountain ecology.
Capacity Building Workshop on 'SDGs and Systems Thinking', Delhi
DA, in partnership with Heinrich Boel Foundation and the Indian Institute of Public Administration, facilitated a capacity building workshop on 'Contextualising the Ecological SDGs in India's perspective' on 28th October 2017 in Delhi. The participants were from identified state departments and CSOs, within the scope of work. The purpose of this initiative was to introduce 'Systems Thinking' and apply it for designing, planning, implementing and tracking the SDGs 12, 13 and 15, focusing on waste management, climate change & mitigation, and land diversion from forest areas, respectively. It aimed at enabling the participants to understand the SDGs better, and enhancing systemic integration of SDGs in government's departmental planning & implementation activities.
"Kaun Banega Business Leader" Launch and Competition, Bundelkhand
A reality competition called "Kaun Banega Business Leader" was launched in Bundelkhand on 20th September 2017, followed by process of selection and competition which continued till 31st October 2017. The competition solicits innovative business ideas from youth and women. Top 100 applicants were selected based on their potential for improving livelihoods, resolving local needs and innovation in businesses, processes and technology. The top 25 applicants were then shortlisted and taken forward for co-creation workshops with technical, financial, business and market experts. After a screening of the final business pitches of these applicants, the final winners were provided financial support to set up their enterprise.
Convocation ceremony of TARAAkshar+ Graduates, Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh
TARA Akshar+ held graduation ceremonies on 24th and 26th October 2017 in Jhansi and Tikamgarh districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, respectively, for over 150 women enrolled. They were awarded the NIOS Basic Literacy certificates. During the convocation ceremony, the graduates shared their experiences of attending the course and narrated how their life has changed for the better. The chief guests included the Pradhan and the Principals of the respective villages. They appreciated DA's work on literacy and said that education brings enlightenment in the society.
Generate Your Business Idea (GYB) training, Uttar Pradesh
A three-day GYB training was conducted for 21 participants at Gopiganj, Bhadoi, Varanasi, from 9th-11th October 2017, in partnership with the la-Caixa 'Work4Progress' project. The objective was to enable prospective entrepreneurs to test their potential & capability, and to develop a concrete business idea which would serve as the starting point for developing a business plan. The training comprised of information bridging and selection process, followed by enrolments. By the end of the training, all the potential entrepreneurs were able to develop a concrete and feasible business plan, 6 of whom intend to commission their enterprises in a month's time.
Demonstration of Kitchen Garden Model, Uttar Pradesh
A training session was conducted on 24th October 2017 in Sonbhadra, as part of the Tribal Development Fund - Wadi programme. The aim was to spread awareness regarding the importance of a healthy and nutritious diet. The trainers from DA explained how community well-being can be easily achieved if each family adopts the Kitchen Garden model, generally known as the 'posan vatika' - a small-scale organic farming model for daily use. Using this, one can easily fulfil the daily nutritional requirements by growing seasonal vegetables, like spinach, carrot, radish, onion, potato, peas; different types of fruits at the borders, like papaya, banana; pulses and cereals.
Workshop on New Brick Technologies, Bihar
DA Group was invited for an Awareness Workshop organised in Munger, Bihar, on 4th October 2017. With the Supreme Court directive wherein all Brick Kiln operators are mandated to shift to newer and cleaner technologies for brick production, DA Group undertook the task of spreading awareness on the issue. A presentation was made, describing two technologies - Fly Ash Bricks and Vertical Shaft brick Kiln (TARA Eco-Kiln) - along with information on the required investment and how entrepreneurs can be supported in setting up new enterprises with these technologies. The workshop witnessed participation from about 200 Brick Kiln owners and senior officials from Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB).
Exposure visit of IIS officer trainees at TARAgram Orchha, Madhya Pradesh
A team of 10 Indian Information Services (IIS) Officer Trainees, along with one professor, visited the TARAgram Orchha campus DA, from 27th-29th September 2017. They observed various intervention models and activities of DA, such as soil and water conservation structures at Ghurai; COCO model at Mador Village; waste to wealth activities and community based enterprise models of Gaushala at Gundrai Charduari; community empowerment and institution building at village Punawli Kalan and Pahuj; and Natural Resource Management model at village Govind Nagar, Datia.
Exposure visit of students of Study Abroad Program, Delhi
A team from the Study Abroad Program on Social Entrepreneurship visited the TARA Ghitorni campus on 17th October 2017. The objective was to learn about DA Group's technological innovations and how these are benefiting rural communities. The students and the professors gained information on the paper recycling and fly ash brick production technologies and processes. The purpose was to explore what 'social entrepreneurship' means across four continents in the world.
Session on 'Bridging the Information Gap' (BIG), Delhi
A session on 'Bridging the Information Gap' was organised under the 'Disha Chat' project, for the school Rani Jhansi Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Delhi, on 13th October 2017. Disha Chat initiative is envisaged as an innovative model to bridge the information gap among girls in secondary and senior secondary schools, developing their marketable skills and connecting them with income opportunities. In the session, the team guided the students on career paths, also introducing them to 'Pankh Portal' - an online platform that provides information on various career opportunities and courses, aptitude tests to understand a match between skills and career, and a connection with remote counselors. Till date, 7275 girls of 9th-12th standard from 25 schools in Delhi have been reached through the BIG intervention.
Workshop on 'LC3 - Potential for Resource Efficiency in Construction Sector', Germany
A workshop on 'LC3 - Potential for Resource Efficiency in Construction Sector' in partnership with EPFL and SDC. The objective was to bring together various stakeholders on the same platform and have discussion on contributions of LC3 towards achieving SDGs and towards resource efficiency in cement industry and mitigation of climate change. The workshop explored outlook of the cement industry with special reference to supplementary cementitious material use. Dr. Arun Kumar, President, DA gave a presentation on the key note address and Dr. Soumen Maity, Senior General Manager, DA gave a presentation on the development of low carbon and resource efficient cement, thereby introducing and explaining the developed new technology focusing sustainable goal.
Publication
India Green Economy Barometer 2017 Issue 2: Influencing Financial Flows
The report highlights the current metrics that the Government of India, state governments and businesses are using to track progress. It also highlights the limitations to current reporting, initiatives of alternative metrics of measurements, and actions/inactions by various stakeholders in adopting a more holistic and broad set of metrics that integrates progress on all three accounts - social, environmental and economic well-being.
Videos
trialogue2047 on 'Solutions for Solid Waste Management in India', Delhi
It is estimated that 62 million tonnes of garbage is generated every year by the 377 million people living in urban India. (Report of the task force on Waste to Energy, Planning Commission, 2014) However, it is not just the amount of waste generated that is an issue; even worse is the fact that more than 45 million tonnes, or 3 million trucks worth, of this garbage is untreated and disposed by municipal authorities every day. With this trialogue2047, we aim to explore possible solutions to the grave problem of unscientific waste management in India.
Phoolpatti Devi pursues her aspiration through TARA Akshar+ Programme
TARA Akshar+ is an ICT based Adult Literacy Programme, being run in more than 8 states. It has made about 2 lakh women functionally literate. This is the success story of Phoolpatti Devi, a TARA Akshar+ graduate from Uttar Pradesh.
DA in News
'Managing our Natural Resources for the Benefit of All'
In this article, Dr Ashok Khosla discusses the importance of using concepts such as resource efficiency, sufficiency & full-cost accounting to prevent possible irreversible changes in the biosphere th at sustains us.
This article has been published in the 'Mother Pelican: A Journal of Solidarity and Sustainability' on 1st October 2017. The Mother Pelican Journal publishes articles on global social/ecological justice issues, with a focus on integral human development.
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