The Sharana Social and Development Organization is engraving a legacy of uplifting, educating and empowering the women and children of Puducherry, India.

Gabriel Green

Since its creation in July, 2000, Sharana has set its sights to working alongside individuals and families living in rural areas, slums and on the streets in and around the city of Puducherry, India.  The organization’s primary focus is set upon providing children from socio-economically disadvantaged groups, including low-income families, dalit–also known as ‘untouchables’ within the Hindu caste system–communities, or Irular villages, with the tools and support necessary to ascend to a more stable, prosperous future.

Sharana also attempts to take a holistic approach to development, using the skills, knowledge and abilities of its beneficiaries to promote community advancement. As their mission statement asserts, Sharana holds the belief that “all human beings are equal in rights and dignity, and everyone is entitled to food, clothing, and shelter.” The organization also has a firm belief that those who benefit from its programs should simply be given the tools necessary to help themselves and should not become dependent on its services.

In order to put this belief into practice, Sharana intends to and has ended several of its programs as soon as those who benefit from them become self-sufficient. In previous years, the organization provided a great deal more material support than it now does. However, as the needs were reduced or replicated by another organization or the state, Sharana has stepped back its provision of material support and now focuses more on what it calls ‘value addition’. This ‘value addition’ has come in the form of providing zero-interest loans to women in order to start small businesses, increasing educational programs for children  and other programs aimed at empowerment.

Today, the organization serves over 1,000 people, including 620 families, throughout 56 areas in the region.

A legacy of Social Entrepreneurship 

One of Sharana’s most successful and innovative programs to date has been the provision of zero-interest loans to 25 enterprising women and mentoring them as they use those loans to create small businesses. The businesses have allowed these women to access a sustainable source of income for themselves and their children. With this income, they have been able to escape from cycles of debt created by borrowing money at high-interest rates from money lenders. It has also provided them with a sense of independence, agency, self-esteem and confidence.

Amsam

Amsam received a interest-free 15,000 rupee loan in order to start her fruit stand. She now makes around 200 rupees per day to support herself and her children.

Parameshwari

Parameshwari opened her snack cart, where she cooks and sells fried plantains, fried fish and other items, after receiving a 25,000 rupee loan from Sharana.

Manjamatha

Manjamatha, left, was able to open a breakfast cart near the Puducherry railway station because of a 15,000 rupee loan from Sharana.

Latha

Latha, right, received a interest-free 8,000 rupee loan from Sharana in order to start a fish-selling business in Puducherry.

A legacy of education 

Sharana is helping to create the first generation of children in many families in Puducherry to advance to higher education. A number of these children had previously been required to stay at home and help their parents with their businesses, maintain the house and other children in the family, struggled to have a safe, comfortable and well-lit environment to complete their school and faced many other factors which prevented them from going to, or performing well in school. The after-school homework help program, créche and pickup/drop off program provided by Sharana has enabled hundreds of children to overcome these obstacles and excel in their studies.

Sharana means shelter

Translated from Sanskrit, Sharana means shelter or refuge. When I first came to Sharana, it not only felt like a shelter, but was accompanied by a humbling sense of hospitality and familiarity. In talking with Vandana, Sharana’s coordinator and the advisor for my and my partner’s brief internship, she spoke of an old South Indian tradition of the front porch of a home being offered as a resting place for weary travelers. If the traveler chose to take their rest at your house, it was considered an auspicious sign and a great privilege. Guests resting upon the porch would be treated as family; being given food and drinks in order to make them feel comfortable and at home. This was the treatment and atmosphere my parter and I were greeted with throughout our stint working with Sharana. There was never a moment that we felt like outsiders or as though we did not belong there. We were indeed treated as the traveler who landed upon the front porch of their home. We were treated as family. For that hospitality, generosity and kindness on expressed by all those at Sharana we are deeply touched and eternally appreciative.

By Jamie Nyqvist

A Peak Into SAMUGAM

In 2015, the United Nations set up a roadmap for sustainability marked by 17 global Sustainable Development Goals. As part of this agenda, several NGOs in India have been working hard (even before the goals were set, mind you) towards a more sustainable future. One of these NGOs is SAMUGAM trust (Social Awareness for Mutual Upliftment through Guidance and Motivation), registered under the India Trust Act since 1991. It is a community-based organisation that provides education and support for the gypsy community.

Bruno, an advertising producer and radio personality turned metaphorical “father” for hundreds of children, presented SAMUGAM trust to the group. He has been involved with the trust for 10 years now, building a safe space for gypsy children residing in Narikuravar Colony outside of Pondicherry. Bruno grew up within an Indian context and has always been close to the community he seeks to help. SAMUGAM began as a dream to provide support for children in impoverished conditions, but also as a way to support these children’s community as a whole.

The Pillars

The trust works under six pillars of development: JALY Home, SamuPlan, Livelihood Support, Gypsy and Tribal Communities, Leprosy Victims, and Revolving Goat Project. The ones that will be honed in on are the first three. 

SamuPlan is the “umbrella” plan that encompasses JALY Home and the Sewing the Seeds project. In essence, this pillar’s goal is to improve the communities that the children come from. By doing so SamuPlan provides for the educational and nutritional needs of the gypsy children with a goal of 100 percent literacy amongst the children in these communities.

JALY Home was established in 2008 as a day home and safe space for children. Since then, Bruno has built one home for girls that houses 70 children; a second home for boys is currently under construction. In 2015, JALY Home received recognition from the Indian government for its efforts to support and house 250 children in need. What is important to note about JALY Home is that Bruno intends to provide each child with opportunities that he or she would not have access to at home while also granting the children access to their parents. Bruno is passionate about what he does and explains that “every child has problems that they bring in.” He speaks of children who have traumatic pasts that are brought to JALY home, and these issues are addressed through psychologists and social workers.

Child development is not the sole way that SAMUGAM helps within these gypsy communities. The trust also focuses on vocational training through its Sewing the Seeds project, an initiative that empowers women by teaching them valuable skills such as sewing and screen printing that can be applied not only within the Sewing the Seeds project, but also in enterprises throughout India. Sewing the Seeds is a sustainable fashion project that works with the gypsy women to create eco-friendly products such as bags and necklaces.

Open Reflection

After spending time with SAMUGAM, I starting to ponder a few things. While the organisation in itself is an attempt to eliminate poverty in India by targeting an “at risk group of people,” there are several aspects of the organisation that led me to ask further questions, not about the intention of the organisation, but the direction in which it is moving. One of the red flags that immediately came to mind is their use of video as a tool for manipulating emotion. This is also prevalent in several other NGOs that are looking to fund their projects – so not an isolated incident. The common discourses surrounding these so-called promotional videos are that the children within them are helpless and are desperately seeking a saviour. In my opinion, these children are being dehumanised from individual thought and emotion and shown without livelihood. This concept is further propagated through individual sponsorship – telling individual “sad” stories of children in order to create enough empathy to donate money. The problem with this scheme is that it does not promote strength, independence and determination. Instead it propagates the idea that those who are below the poverty line are lazy, undetermined and have no future.

So rather than “promote” the vulnerable, I would flip that perspective and show how SAMUGAM actually empowers those who have been through his program and can attest to his intentions. Rather than enforcing negative stereotypes, the NGOs should walk their talk and show those potential donors that the child or adult they are sponsoring truly has the chance to be more successful in life through education and other fields.

While contemplating this revelation, I came across RADI-AID, an annual campaign that raises awareness of NGOs who utilise empowering imagery surrounding poverty and children. RADI-AID awards the best videos (as well as the worst videos) annually in order to challenge stereotypical perceptions around poverty and development. Each year the campaign invites filmmakers to provide share documentaries that portray dignity and strength, thus changing the way fundraising campaigns are communicated.

Don’t get me wrong, SAMUGAM represents an NGO with good purpose and intention striving to reach its goal of establishing a safe space for children. Unfortunately, its communications, particularly what is being communicated to those who donate, is not one that empowers those who live in the home. The active role Bruno has in these children’s lives is incredible and has potential for lasting impact on the sustainability goal to eradicate poverty through the SAMUGAM projects.

Image credit to SAMUGAM Trust

We went to the Chidambaram Temples and Mangroves on January 6th. The Nataraja Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva the god of dance. The temple itself showed a connection between spirituality, religion, and the arts. Just how much they are connected and the meaning behind them. It showed me and the group how much art is connected with not only Hindu culture but also Indian culture in general. The displays all 108 Karanas which is the basis of the classical indian dance Bharatanatyam. The current temple was built in the 10th century and you can see bits of the old 10th century temple and the renovations that are being made by contemporary artists. To me it’s quite interesting that renovation isn’t that big of a discussion because in the west when you see the Sistine Chapel or something that is considered to be a sacred piece of art it is always discussed in order to renovate it with the argument that the artists work shouldn’t be messed with, but in this case it is not about the artist it is about the story. When going in the temple we had a guide that explained all about the temple. The biggest thing I learned when experiencing the temple was that the idols of the gods are not necessary the gods themselves. It is a representation of the gods. the gods can go where they please and can come and go where they see fit. The statues are just representation of the spirits of the gods. When going in the temple it was a very magical experience, because meeting holy cows and having such a connection with them and then understanding why they are so sacred. When looking at them you see that they have personalities and maybe there is something magical about that animal.

When going into the temple it was an experience like nothing you would have before. To see the dedication to the religion is something you don’t really see that much in America. To see the people in the temple chanting and focusing and to see all of those people lined up willing to pay what little money they had for a blessing from a god. That just for a moment they would be touched for a moment by something that is beyond this world. In someways a visit to the temple is a space to really believe in magic. To see the belief and to see what belief and faith can do to people and what it does for people. Believing is the opposite of seeing, you don’t have to believe in something to believe in it or have faith in it, but all of those people lined up knew in their hearts that something was better than nothing and the possibility of a blessing coming through could be life changing. In some ways I feel like a blessing has been seen by those believers and their dedication for their religion and belief system is really a testament that being apart of something and the dedication and love you have for something brings people together and really does something for the soul.

Caring Cotton is a textile company that was started by Rhibu. It works as an agency for businesses outside of India to find sustainable and consciously dyed cotton. When manufacturers are looking to bring their brand more green friendly. The business focuses on textiles and defines itself as a fashion business. The brand also gives training to women in embroidery; continuing the idea of sustainability allowing women to earn money for themselves and their family. Giving women independence and new skills that can be passed down to generations. Rhibu has worked for 17 years to create relationships with artists and mills in India to keep her business going. The personal collaboration she has done with dyers and cotton mills in India gives her a unique position in the transport of cotton to Europe and the world. The business started in 2012 and has been a one woman job since then. Caring Cotton has become India’s second biggest exporters of organic cotton in India.

The company looks at where the cotton comes from and how the cotton is created in order to keep with their sustainable model. The company focuses on exporting rolls of cotton to make the transport as green as possible. When exporting the rolls of cotton they usually try to send it when the company is doing other exports; but when smaller brands are buying pieces of textile it is hard to avoid the issue of creating excessive greenhouse gas. Caring Cotton works with three to four mills; relationships she has worked to build over the last 17 years. Though she has worked for many years to create sustainable materials she has only been able to work with 1 house that uses natural dyes to dye their cotton. The cotton that she uses come from the middle of India. She is constantly working with the dye house to find new shades where you can create natural dyes.

When listening to the presentation I had many questions that I asked to the owner of Caring Cotton, but after the seminar ended I found myself wondering a few more things. Cotton is a natural substance that grows out of the ground. I wonder when did it happen that we started using synthetic cotton and what were the reasonings behind it? Something that is natural, that can create jobs for many people. Where and why is there a need for this industry of organic cotton. Why and when did cotton become inorganic in first place? Because I am from the south cotton to me is very accessible, you can walk down the street and pick some for fun. She said she ships her cotton mostly to Europe, but I’m wondering where it is shipped mostly. Why is India the main place where Cotton is being shipped from. What other places in the world have huge organic cotton industries. If cotton has to be shipped to other places can it actually be sustainable? Can organic cotton be curated within the homelands of the businesses that are using them? Do we really need to ship organic cotton places? And if so, isn’t that kind of counterproductive to ship things that we are trying to create that are good for the earth?

The Caring Cotton brand can be compared to the Upsana brand. The brand of clothing that tries to use sustainable cotton but admits to not being completely sustainable. Especially when using black dyes. There also isn’t a model of how to recycle or up-cycle and get rid of their clothes. To me there’s a thought of how the clothes are created, but not how they are disposed of.

Another thing I wanted to learn was difference between how and which the inorganic and organic cotton affects the farmers and the weavers process of creating the textiles. In Upsana’s presentation we talked about a bit how the farmers have a high rate of suicide. I am wondering if the Indian government has taken action about this? Is there a way to fix the issue of the cotton industry. Would it be beneficial to switch to completely organic cotton or would why has it been switched to mostly inorganic cotton? What has the biggest impact on the Indian people?

My main interests is how does the idea that inorganic cotton has become the norm. How in which, does that change the state of where we are in the world? The fact that for so many years we were using organic cotton, with unfair labor, but organic cotton non the less;and at this point in time we have decided to live off of synthetic cotton that stays on our bodies and absorbs to our skin. How in our human existence have we come to this?

Deaf Enabled Foundation

Ari Price

While a lot of Indian dances include beautiful storytelling through the hands, many deaf children in India still struggle to receive access to sign language and proper education. In the Indian Census of 2011, 1.3 million persons were listed as “hearing disabled.” They are faced with teachers in their youth who do not know sign language and do not make sure they understand all of the course material. However, in Pondicherry, adjacent to Auroville, there is one branch of an NGO which hopes to aid in the inclusion of Deaf adults in the Indian society through their programs in educational and professional skill building.

The Deaf Enabled Foundation (DEF) aims to achieve equal access for deaf people in every area of their lives. They are dedicated to work for the development of the Deaf community, enhancing the quality of life, providing educational facilities, promoting social and cultural awareness while working towards independence and barrier free communication for the Deaf.

I was lucky enough to sit down with a few students who shared their stories with me. One of which was Anusuya Ramasamy who will become a teacher for the Deaf Enabled Foundation in the near future.

“I grew up with hearing parents and a Deaf sister. I did most of my learning through reading and writing. Before, I was studying in a college with hearing people and struggling. That’s when I came to Deaf Enabled Foundation. They told me that I could go to St. Louis College for the Deaf. At this college, I still had many hearing teachers who were not fluent in sign language, but I was able to earn my Bachelor of Commerce degree. After I finished, I struggled to find work with all the barriers for the deaf in the Indian society. So I decided to enroll in the vocational training program at DEF to keep developing myself. I learned so much and improved my English and computer skills a lot. After finishing the program, I decided I wanted to become a teacher with the Deaf Enabled Foundation here in Puducherry and will soon complete my training!”

Stories like this show us that the work of NGO’s such as the Deaf Enabled Foundation can really aid in creating a brighter future and a sense of community. Almost everyone I talked to had told me about their great experience and the ease of learning through sign language rather than oral communication. Other students I talked to in the Hyderabad location are even working toward their master degrees!

Gabriel Green

Her Story

Margarita, founder of MGEcoduties, a.k.a. Probiotics House, started her presentation off with one of the most profound stories of all of the NGO introductions.

She made a made powerful introductory statement that “women are weapons in war”. She was referring to the mistreatment, rape, and abuse of women during wartime and highlighted that this plight and destruction is not ever addressed in the aftermath of war when considering casualties. I wondered what this had to do with probiotics.

She shared further that she herself had been a victim of rape and torture, and a prisoner of war for over 4 weeks. This experience resulted in extensive psychological and physical damage, that could not be healed with time or with treatment offered by professionals.

Despite the tragedies that Margarita experienced, she moved on to earn two graduate degrees, became the COO of Coca Cola South America, and was successful in the corporate world. How she came about founding MGEcoduties was somewhat accidental and resulted primarily from spiritual intervention.

She had already been to 66 countries and needed a vacation, a travel agency suggested that she visit India, starting in the South and then up to the North, unexcited, she agreed. She ended up in Auroville, a culture shock, as she was unfamiliar with the living conditions and closeness to nature and wildlife as she had been a corporate executive, use to luxury travel.

Margarita had been in Aurovillve for a few weeks, and would fall asleep in public places to be awoken by a presence and a tap on the shoulder, only to find that no one was actually there. She saw this as a spiritual sign, a sign that she should stay in Auroville. Her weeklong vacation turned into a 21 year long journey, and she has yet to make it to North India to visit the Taj Mahal.

Probiotics

Probiotics are simply as live bacteria and yeast introduced into the body for the stimulation of growth of microorganisms with beneficial qualities. 

According to Margarita, the top foods from which to obtain probiotics naturally are chickory, asparagus, onion, and beetroot.

Margarita stated that the human body is 90% bacteria, however, the human body is actually only made up of 3%  bacteria by body mass. Human DNA however is 90% synonymous with bacteria and about 10% non-similar DNA, every organism on the planet is +/- 90% the same in genetic code. Most of the genetic code is made up of regulatory regions for basic cellular metabolic functions, so this isn’t surprising. Though not directly stated, I think that she used this similarity as a defense for why microorganisms are one of the best ways to provide healing properties to the body.

She started working with probiotics in Auroville when she realized two major South Indian issues: a polluted septic system and too much plastic waste. She then began to produce household cleaning products that would clear the drains by getting “good” bacteria into the plumbing systems to help solve the water problem. Then, she moved on to soaps for the body, they smelled good and the soap would go down the drain when people washed themselves, therefore users would unintentionally and consistently contribute to solving septic system issues. However, these products were not enough. Margarita did not just want to solve systematic issues in plumbing, she wanted to use probiotics to solve issues in the system of the human body. After all, she herself had been suffering of physical pain from her past traumas. The development of the probiotic bracelet would follow this realization.

Margarita learned about probiotic technology through a Japanese physics professor, Dr. Higa, who worked with microorganisms and figured out how bacteria could survive in clay heated to 1000 degrees Celsius. This ability is astonishing considering bacteria stop reproducing at about 39 degrees celsius and start to die around 52 degrees celsius. Naturally, most of the proteins that make up DNA and bacteria denature at a similar point. She shared that due to this temperature dependent life cycle, powder probiotic pills which go through an extensive heating process are less effective and are generally placebos; liquid probiotics kept in cool environments are more effective. Dr. Higa’s inspiration to achieve his goal of harvesting and encapsulating bacteria came from top secret news from NASA that bacteria from the human mouth survived for years on the moon in a camera lens.

Margarita and Dr. Higa were able to capture and harvest probiotic bacteria, put it into clay beads through much processing, and then make the beads into bracelets to be worn by people to promote overall health. The clay material surrounding the beads protects the bacteria from UV radiation, which would kill the bacteria. The bacteria is collected only at the event of the Major Moon in the ocean between India and Sri Lanka, making the bacteria difficult and dangerous to collect. Why this particular bacteria is collected was not very clear. Once the bacteria is inside of the clay pods and made into bracelet form, they can be used for eternity, Margarita even suggested passing probiotic bracelets down through generations. Maintenance of the bracelet is simple; the beads should be washed with water and then placed in the sun to dry, the UV radiation does not get in, but infrared rays do and they allow the bacteria to “recharge”.

Her Message 

Maragrita has experienced personal healing from wearing her probiotic bracelet and using other probiotic products. While Margarita’s message is promote overall health through probiotics, she wants MGEcoduties to be recognized for its role as the organization responsible for clearing the septic systems in Auroville and for initiating a movement that caused Auroville to become 0% reliant on plastics and maintain a refillable and reusable system. She also wishes to share a message of human unity and equality, this can be seen in the organizational structure at Probiotics House, where everyone works on the same level and receives equal pay. While Margarita has been receiving partnership opportunities from large profitable corporations like Tata and Badger, she places her ethical and sustainable values over the potential for profit.

Overall, I think that the probiotic products provided by Margarita and her team are revolutionary and spiritually meaningful. However, the the science behind the product and how it works to effectively promote health is not clear. I do not understand how wearing probiotics inside of clay beads can have an effect on overall wellness. Also, Margarita did not explain the role of her partner Guidelma in the story, and it would be interesting to know more about their partnership. Her life story and ability to stay true to herself was very empowering. And so, for anyone looking to be the next head of Probiotics House, Margarita is in search of a worthy successor!

By: Shannon K. Henry

Cam Bartlett

“If you walked into a room flooded with water, would you first start mopping the water, or would you turn the tap off.” This was the question that Wasteless posed to us at the beginning of their talk to us on December 28th. Wasteless seeks to educate young students about their plastic use habits through fun, interactive activities. One of these methods is Garbology 101, which includes a number of illustrated games and activities. They provide this game for free for low-income schools in exchange for their feedback to improve the game. In this way their communication model is somewhat participatory and involves a dialogue between Wasteless and the communities they are trying to educate. They utilize a dialogic communications process—a process where the aims of a communication aren’t completely decided beforehand—to help shape their communications process. They also rely heavily on edutainment to keep children involved in lessons on waste management, using memory games and relay races to teach sustainable practices. Their communications outreach, at least as it was shown in their presentation, seemed to focus on Window 2 of the Jahari window: Wasteless’s hidden knowledge. This knowledge includes information about recycling practices and plastic use, as well as the harmful effects of some plastics on human health and the environment.

Wasteless seeks to mainly address three different Sustainable Development Goals. The first is 3: Good Health and Well-Being, and they address this by educating children and communities on the harmful effects of numbers 1, 3, 6, and 7 plastics on human health. This goal comes directly from the language in India’s Sustainable Development Goal 3: “By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination.”

Wasteless also seeks to address SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Throughout their presentations they emphasized the present and future states of the local communities through both raw and photoshopped pictures. The photo of them dining at the dump shows how out of hand and unsustainable current waste management strategies are in India, while the photo of the beach completely covered in trash elicited a response of alarm for the future of these communities and their beloved beaches.

What struck me most about Wasteless’s approach is the extent they were willing to do research to fine-tune their messages and games for children. They spent many extra hours testing their games to make sure their messages were received as they intended them. This led them to some insights. One of these insights was that children perceived the background color as contributing to the meaning of the cards in the memory game. However, I would have liked to hear more information about how they framed their communications, and if they used a social marketing approach to understand how to frame their information for the greatest impact.

At some times it can seem frustrating that the generation in charge isn’t doing enough to curb our effect on the environment and our local communities. Their response seems to be to hang their hope for change on the younger generations, who aren’t as set in their ways and are likely to adopt sustainable practices and bring them to their homes. With their outreach, Wasteless hopes that soon we can all collectively decide to finally turn off the tap.