Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Training workshop for tribal women Inaugurated to mark the World Environment Day


On 3rd June 2008 Barli Development Institute for Rural Women inaugurated a three day training workshop for 80 young rural and tribal girls and women from Dewas, Dhar, Jhabua, Khargone, Badwani and Indore districts of Madhya Pradesh. The theme of the workshop is "Reducing Carbon by Changing Habits” This work shop will conclude on World Environment Day 5th June

The workshop was inaugurated by Professor. Rakesh Trivedi, Environmentalist and professor of Zoology. He said Indore is known as one of the best education centres but Barli Institute is most amazing, being an incredible practitioner, where actions speak louder than the words. Knowledge is applied and has proved to be one of the best Institute for environmental management. He said that Barli is way ahead in reducing carbon and people should learn from here. He explained the meaning and ways to reduce carbon in a very simple way

Experiences of recycling shared by the members of staff, some who were trainees turned trainers. They showed the collection of used and discarded materials, turning them into new products.

Noori the tailoring trainer shared her a full range of eco-friendly products like small bags for mobile phones pouches to gift money/ornaments handbags, and purses, old greeting cards turned into book marks, exhausted dry cell batteries collected and artistically packed to make paperweights, glass holders for drinking hot tea, multicoloured mobiles and hangings all made of cloth scrap after training in cutting and tailoring and knitting etc and beautiful woollen embroidery on rice sacks which are turned into very sturdy and colourful carry bags etc..
Chanda Nikhare who teaches batik and block printing was so proud of showing the briquettes made out of waste paper and dry grasses etc that she uses for melting wax for batik printing, how fallen hair is turned into brushes for painting melted wax on fabric and how she heats the iron to press the finished work on the solar cooker.

Sunderbai from garden staff, showed at least a dozen of organically grown and solar dried vegetables like egg plant, cabbage, cauliflower, fenugreek and herbs like tulsi, turmeric, garlic, lemon grass and many spices, lintels and peas etc. She also shared how they grow all the vegetables and some grains to feed about hundred people throughout the year using, vermiculture, composting of vegetable peels, and other garden and vegetables waste, reuse of wash water and toilet water for irrigation.

Sharmila and Sagri, the solar cooks, explained in detail their cooking experiences in the Institute’s solar kitchen, how it is clean and smoke free, saves money, good for health and is carbon neutral. They also mentioned the use of smaller domestic solar cookers, water heaters and energy efficient light bulbs.

Barli Institute makes sure that as many products as possible are made using bio-degradable materials through innovation and an eco-friendly approach.

Professor A. A. Abbasi, former Vice Chancellor of DAVV University Indore while presiding over said it was the most rewarding experience for him to see the Institute that has created an environment with solar energy so efficiently used here and then the tribal women learn to use it and take to their villages. He commended the vision and dedicated and silent work of Mr. Jimmy McGilligan for his environmental training and untiring efforts is like that of Mahatma Gandhi.

Professor Shirin Mahaltai an economist said that humanity has abused the environment and now we must repair it by making people aware of protecting it. While we only observe Environment Day once a year, we actually need to protect and conserve the environment all year round. Environment Day draws our attention to the importance of the environment and how we have damaged it.

The Director of the Institute, Dr. (Mrs.) Janak McGilligan gave an introduction of the Institute history of the World Environment Day and its importance. She said the Institute has been working on environment education for 23years. She stated that the Institute does not use chemical fertilizers in its field, re-uses water, makes compost, and grows organic food and cooks food on solar for 100 persons during 300 days in a year. The Institute encourages everyone to use of solar energy in cooking. In 1992 Institute was the recipient of UNEPs global 500 Roll of Honour award for its work in the field of eradication of guinea-worms. This work was done in 302 villages of Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh. The objective of training rural women in environment is aimed at fulfilment of Agenda 21 and Millennium Development Goals.

The program was conducted by Mrs. Dhedi Bagdare and vote of thanks is given by Dr. Geeta Handa.


For More Information on Barli Development Institute for Rural Women see http://www.barli.org/