Slowly the film medium also reached the villagers at their doorstep in India through a very clever medium called the mobile van. It became a prevailing tool. But there was a major hiccup; all these were communicated from the cities. The experts living in the cities would communicate from the cities about the issues in the villages. These expert views were very relevant and useful to them but they are not customised. The were not customised to cater to different people speaking different languages living in different conditions under different prevailing cultural systems.

Realising the shortcomings of the mass communication channels a support system was developed for communications dealing with development issues. Government extension workers trained in towns became the front-line communicators, repeating to farmers in their fields what they had just been taught in the towns. Posters, leaflets, and other publications were an important instrument used as a part of this approach. The approach was again very successful for some time especially for agriculture development. But, as the portfolio of development issues started growing, these methods started loosing their shine. Then after a point they ran into problems.

People refused to change their behaviour as soon as they were told how to solve their problems. They were nervous about planting exotic crops which they could not eat; piped water was used for washing rather than drinking and cooking because they disliked its flavour. Central planning also deprived people of ownership of local development plans. Development became the responsibility of the government. When a development system like the water pump broke down, farmers just waited for the workers to turn up to repair them rather than fix the problem themselves, believing that the system did not belong to them. If the workers failed to come, the system was abandoned.

The expensive top-down communication plans started to fail and the failure of the approach was noticed and voiced in the cities. Through various discussions, debate, loud protest, etc it became evident that a top-down approach was not sustainable. Mass media is a very power medium of communication but it alone cannot change behaviour. The reaction against the top-down communication approach gave birth to various participatory approaches. It was realised that successful participation of communities in finding solutions is possible when a dialogue is established between different stakeholders of the group. In other words, action may only be possible and sustainable by means of collective action.

The concept of development communications started evolving. Development communications is not about selling products but about communicating issues and changing behaviour. Behaviour change need ownership and people’s participation. For building ownership and enabling participation dialogue needs to be initiated. For successful outcome of the dialogue it needs to be between all the stakeholders in the group from communities to local decision makers. When it is said that a community is communicated about climate change and adaptation methods for facing the changes, it should mean creation of awareness leading to changing their behaviour. For example, the community will practicing methods that save water, use new seeds that need less water, change their farming methods, etc.; all these are about changing their behaviour which they themselves have to do. For, why would anybody change his or her behaviour if they are not convinced about it or if it is not planned out with them? Even when he is convinced about the benefits of the behaviour changes why would he practice it if he is not confident that it will be endorsed or supported by the other stakeholders? For example, a farmer in Bundelkhand is convinced about the use of different variety of seeds and use of sprinklers in his field but he would may invest in these new practices if he is aware that there are schemes of government which will financially support his investment and there is a market for the new variety of yields.

As soon as these conclusions were reached by communication experts, they started developing and practising participatory methods based on dialogue for communications. When all stakeholders participate in planning an action it gives people real control over their lives and environment. At the same time, the people acquire problem-solving skills to acquire full ownership of development activities or programmes - two important elements which contribute towards securing the sustained development of their community.

For the last 27 years Development Alternatives is working in one of the most difficult place of the country named Bundelkhand. Located in Central India, Bundelkhand is one of the poorest and backward regions in India - drought-prone with dwindling natural resources, severe water scarcity, few livelihood options, gender discrimination and poor economic growth. Eighteen out of the last 30 years it has faced recurring and long droughts, attributed by meteorologists to climate change. These are playing havoc with the lives of 21 million poor and marginalised people of this region.

However, vulnerable communities are not yet convinced about adopting sustainable adaptation measures due to the inappropriate nature of the awareness efforts and cynicism towards adaptation measures without immediate benefits. Assessments by the Indian Agriculture Research Institute in New Delhi has also shown that the yields of wheat, the prime staple crop of the region, will be reduced by up to 25%. This is likely to further exaggerate the existing problems of food and livelihood insecurity, poor health and migration along with breaking of social support systems. Communities clearly have a weak capacity to manage climate threats, as also highlighted by vulnerability assessments conducted by Development Alternatives.

While efforts at the state and other government levels are ongoing to address climate change threats, it is not being accepted by the communities. Attemps at making the community aware of climate change and the necessity for adaptation is still met with low interest levels. This is partly due to the inappropriate nature of the awareness efforts and partly due to the cynicism that has developed among the communities towards all the so-called sustainable solutions which ask them to change their lifestyle.

The adaptation methods are obviously developed by experts and are beneficial but when these were made, most likely the communities were not consulted about their choices, their beliefs, their knowledge and their preferences. Perhaps there was no dialogue between all stakeholders for designing a collective action. The changes that were expected from the communities will change their lifestyle, change their traditional practice and methods. This cannot be done if the communities don’t own it or the other stakeholders don’t facilitate these changes. The whole environment has to be conducive for changes to happen. There is an obvious need to prepare such vulnerable communities towards behaviour changes. New means and ideas of reaching out to them are thus required to propel them towards adopting sustainable adaptation measures.

Realising this need Development Alternatives launched the Shubh Kal campaign for communicating climate change awareness and preparing communities for adaptation and mititgation. Shubh Kal is a continued initiative of Development Alternatives to bring to the immediate attention of the entire community of Bundelkhand the risks of climate change. The drought cycles are becoming more frequent and the weather is becoming increasingly unpredictable in this region. There is an urgent need for action from all stakeholders to combat the rapid changes in livelihood, food, water and energy security. For getting the community to understand the climate risks, become aware of how it is impacting their development and the possible adaptation and mitigation measures the Shubh Kal concept needs to be communicated for influencing them towards behaviour change. The Shubh Kal concept indicates a Better Tomorrow by having and exercising the ability to handle climate risks through adaptation and mitigation practices at the grassroots level. Influencing policy makers at different levels is equally important to make these changes sustainable and replicable. Currently, the campaign is being implemented through a project called …funded by the Swiss Development Agency for Cooperation.

New methods of communication were developed and innovated where the mass media and its popular format is used differently for communicating critical issue like climate change adaptation. Development Alternatives has been awarded a very prestigious award for innovation in climate risk management with multiple benefits by World Bank - Development Marketplace 2009. The innovation in the project is adapting contemporary mass media technology for communicating critical issue like climate change adaptation to the rural communities. In the prevailing situation of the region of Bundelkhand, new means and ideas of reaching out to the communities are required to propel them towards adopting sustainable adaptation measures. A rural version of the popular Reality Shows will be designed as the communication vehicle. The programme will run on the existing Bundelkhand Radio jointly managed by the community and DA and the Video Resource Centres run by TARAhaat, an ICT affiliate of DA supported by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

The show will be based on infotainment and edutainment, tapping aspirations and the desire of the audiences. The outcome of this is expected to be:

• Positive behaviour change towards climate change adaptation measures which will led to improved adaptation capacity amongst Rural community and related Stakeholders in Bundelkhand

• Cadre of change agents of women and youth that influence the rural community to adopt the climate change adaptation measures

• Adaptation measures are providing multiple benefits to rural families

Another important reason for making communications participatory is ‘women’. Many development issues are women-centric - either they are the beneficiaries or they are the change agents. The communication requirements of women in rural areas are different from those of men. This because rural women do not have equal access to information, for reasons such as their restricted mobility outside the home, lack of education and, in some cases, men’s control over information and media. Here strategic dialogue needs to be initiated between stakeholders and communication messages need to be repackaged in forms that are comprehensible to rural women, adapting it to their understanding and their perception. Special attention should be paid to selecting the communication channels that are most appropriate for women and to producing materials in local languages – street plays, narrowcasting of radio programmes, etc. Because women are involved in many aspects of rural life, their traditional knowledge systems are complex and holistic. These have be known for preparing awareness messages and dissemination of knowledge to them. These women have to be co-opted for any behaviour change and this is possible only through discussion and knowledge sharing.

Communications are no longer just simple transfer of information. Development communications is now about interventions to trigger changes aimed at encouraging people’s participation through multi-stakeholder dialogue. The emphasis on interpersonal and traditional methods is encouraged as also the development and use of this communication method, which had been largely ignored till now. Folk theatre, folk-songs, speech, and group activities with dialogue at the heart have become important and effective channels for participatory communication.

Large-scale national communication activities are set aside in favour of small, localised, and intimate programmes. Community Radio which is a smaller community based version of the large scale city based radio stations, broadcasting on low-power transmitters owned by communities have become a popular medium for bringing about change. It provides a platform for dialogue between community, decision makers, government, market experts and other practitioners while reaching every household and yet retaining the aspiration value of a radio station.

On October 23, 2008 Development Alternatives launched its first community radio at TARAgram Orchha, Bundelkhand. This is jointly managed by the organisation and the rural communities of Orchha. Over the last three years, Radio Bundelkhand has become both the information centre and the entertainment hub of that area. It has created awareness through various radio programmes about many issues ranging from basic needs, empowerment, climate change, natural resource management, skill development, literacy, entitlements, etc. Different radio formats are used from discussion programs to radio jingles to radio drama for capturing the attention of the communities. From the feedback the radio programmes received and the interactions the community reporters have with the community the change is visible. The community members are very proud of the station and acknowledge its role in bringing change in their lives. Through this effective medium community now share good practices, knowledge and their understanding about various issues.

The new convergence model of communication gives importance to participation and equity of information sharing for action. Dialogue has a very important role in participatory development communication; it enables dialogue between multi-stakeholders for collective action in order to resolve mutual problems for themselves. For the sustainability of any behaviour change initiative it is important for the development organisation to initiate dialogue and encourage participation. q