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Bunker Roy: Learning from a barefoot movement
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Bunker Roy: Learning from a barefoot movement

A Journey from Privilege to Purpose: The Barefoot College Story

Introduction to a Life-Changing Experience

  • The speaker introduces a 45-year-old love story focused on the poor, living on less than one dollar a day.
  • He reflects on his elitist education in India and how it nearly derailed him from his true purpose.
  • Despite having a promising future as a diplomat or doctor, he was drawn to experience life in a village.

Encountering Poverty and Its Impact

  • In 1965, he witnessed the devastating effects of the Bihar famine, which profoundly changed his perspective on life.
  • Upon returning home, he expressed his desire to live and work in a village, leading to disbelief from his mother.
  • His mother questioned why he would abandon lucrative opportunities for manual labor like digging wells.

Founding the Barefoot College

  • Inspired by the extraordinary knowledge of impoverished communities, he decided to establish Barefoot College for the poor.
  • Local elders advised against hiring anyone with formal qualifications; only those who had practical skills should be admitted.
  • This unique approach led to redefining professionalism based on competence and community service rather than academic credentials.

Redefining Professionalism

  • Professionals at Barefoot College include traditional roles such as water diviners and midwives—skills often overlooked by mainstream society.
  • The college operates under principles inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's lifestyle: simplicity, dignity of labor, and community focus.

Innovative Learning Environment

  • At Barefoot College, there are no written contracts; participants come for challenges rather than monetary gain (limited to $100/month).
  • It fosters an environment where failure is accepted as part of learning; teachers learn from students and vice versa.

Building Community Trust and Recognition

  • The first Barefoot College was constructed in 1986 by unqualified architects who received recognition but returned an award due to skepticism about their capabilities.

Barefoot College: A Model of Sustainable Development

Solar Electrification and Community Empowerment

  • The Barefoot College has not experienced any leaks since 1986, showcasing the reliability of its solar technology. It is fully solar-electrified, relying on 45 kilowatts of solar panels installed by a Hindu priest with minimal formal education.
  • Food at the college is prepared using solar cookers fabricated by illiterate women, demonstrating their skill in creating sophisticated parabolic Scheffler solar cookers with remarkable precision.
  • The college provides 60 meals daily through solar cooking and employs an illiterate grandmother as a dentist who cares for the dental health of 7,000 children.
  • Rainwater harvesting systems collect water from roofs into a 400,000-liter tank, ensuring water availability even during drought conditions. This initiative addresses the issue of children missing school to care for livestock.
  • Night schools have been established for children unable to attend daytime classes due to domestic responsibilities. These schools teach practical skills such as democracy, land measurement, and animal care.

Innovative Educational Approaches

  • Children aged six to fourteen participate in democratic elections within night schools, electing a prime minister who oversees various ministries like education and health.
  • A twelve-year-old girl elected as prime minister attended the World's Children's Prize ceremony in Sweden but remained unfazed by her surroundings, attributing her confidence to her leadership role.
  • Puppetry is used as an educational tool in areas with high illiteracy rates. Characters like Jokhim Chacha serve multiple roles including mediator and problem-solver within the community.

Expanding Solar Technology Beyond Borders

  • The decentralized approach to electrifying villages has spread across India. In Ladakh, women expressed how solar electricity allowed them to see their husbands' faces during winter months.
  • Lessons learned from India were applied in Afghanistan where men were deemed untrainable; thus training grandmothers became the focus for spreading knowledge about solar technology.
  • Women trained through sign language became proficient in solar engineering within six months and successfully electrified their villages upon returning home.

Empowering Women Through Solar Energy

Training Women and Electrifying Villages

  • Three women have successfully trained 27 additional women, leading to the solar electrification of 100 villages in Afghanistan. This initiative highlights the power of community-driven solutions.
  • In Sierra Leone, a minister discovers a village powered by solar energy, led by two grandmothers. Their unexpected leadership challenges traditional perceptions about women's roles in technology.
  • The minister's surprise leads him to seek training for 150 grandmothers, emphasizing the potential of local knowledge and skills over external expertise.

Community Selection and Overcoming Barriers

  • During a selection process in Gambia, the speaker insists on choosing a specific grandmother despite community objections regarding her language skills and personal circumstances.
  • The grandmother's husband expresses concerns about her beauty and potential infidelity. The speaker reassures him that she will thrive through this opportunity.

Transformation and Success Stories

  • After training, the grandmother returns empowered, confidently addressing the press as if she were an experienced leader. Her transformation illustrates how empowerment can change lives dramatically.
  • The speaker humorously notes that upon returning six months later, the grandmother has moved beyond her husband's control, symbolizing personal growth and independence.

Conclusion: Local Solutions Over External Advice

  • The speaker concludes with a call to look for solutions within communities rather than relying solely on external organizations like the World Bank. Listening to local voices is crucial for sustainable development.
Channel: TED
Video description

http://www.ted.com In Rajasthan, India, an extraordinary school teaches rural women and men -- many of them illiterate -- to become solar engineers, artisans, dentists and doctors in their own villages. It's called the Barefoot College, and its founder, Bunker Roy, explains how it works. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate.