Subject: 5th Signs of Hope
Please see below an invitation to the 5th Signs of Hope talk being
organised by Kalpavriksh as part of its 20th anniversary year. You are
cordially invited. Apologies for cross-posting, and to those to whom this
may not be relevant. 

Ashish Kothari
Kalpavriksh
Apartment 5, Shree Dutta Krupa
908 Deccan Gymkhana
Pune 411 004, India
Ph. and fax: ++91-20-565 4239
Email: ashish@nda.vsnl.net.in
----------------------------------------

INVITATION		3 March, 2000

SIGNS OF HOPE 		    5
Presentations on environment and development

Dear friends, 

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Kalpavriksh's formation, we
invite you to the fifth of a series of presentations on environment and
development, with the common theme: SIGNS OF HOPE. 

As will be apparent from the series title, these presentations will focus
on the widespread, but under-reported work that communities, organisations,
and individuals are doing to protect nature and natural resources,
regenerate land and water, control pollution and ensure recycling, and
establish responsible governance structures. In particular, this series
will involve presentations by grassroots groups, with whom Kalpavriksh has
been involved in various capacities: in researching and documenting their
work, in providing needed inputs of information and networking, in
supporting through lobbying with various authorities, and in enabling
greater exposure to their work through the media and other means. 

We are happy to announce the fifth presentation in this series: 

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE, DALIT WOMEN, AND STORYTELLING IN ANDHRA PRADESH

By
P.V. Satheesh and four farmers of Deccan Development Society, Andhra
Pradesh
Slide Show by P.V. Satheesh

Date and time: 27 March, 2000, Monday, 6.30 to 8.30 pm
Venue: Vidyarthi Sahayak Samiti, 1182/1/4, Ferguson College Road, Shivaji
Nagar, Pune 5 (lane between HDFC and B.U. Bhandari showroom)

(The presentation will be in English; the farmers accompanying Satheesh may
speak in Telegu, for which translation will be arranged)

A brief description of the work being done by the Deccan Development
Society is given over-leaf. 

We would be very grateful if you could come for this presentation. The
speaker will take about an hour in total, and will be then available for an
extended open discussion. 

The Andhra farmers will exhibit and sell their organic food produce,
supplemented by an exhition and sale of similar produce from around Pune
and of Kalpavriksh publications. 


(Ashish Kothari / Anuprita Patel)

ABOUT THE TALK AND THE SPEAKERS 

For the last decade or half, development activists have been engaged in a
discourse focussing on Participation. Over the last five years, since
globalisation became a concrete reality, the question of 'control' has
become important. The world is turning itself into a big market place and
this puts national sovereignty itself under a cloud.  'Who is controlling
what is a refrain', especially in the areas of agriculture, genetic wealth
and natural wealth, which were the domains once controlled by local people.

The Deccan Development Society (DDS) started as a commitment of a group of
professionals to the people in the Zaheerabad region of Andhra Pradesh to
continue a rural development project which was abandoned by an industrial
house due to its own politico-economic compulsions. DDS started with the
objective to combine ecological and employment parameters to regenerate the
livelihoods of the people in the area through a string of activities done
in full consultation with and participation by the communities, especially
the women. An associated objective was to transfer people-oriented
technology to these communities. This included housing technologies,
permaculture way of organic farming etc. 

DDS works with Sanghams (village level groups) of poor women most of whom
are dalits. DDS has a vision of consolidating these village groups into
vibrant organs of primary local governance and federate them into a strong
pressure lobby for women, poor and dalits. The Society facilitates a host
of continuing dialogues and debates with the people, conducts educational
and training programmes to try and translate this vision into a reality. A
unique feature of the work is a film-making unit comprised of women from
the villages, who make films on local issues from their own perspectives. 

Over the past few years, farmers in this region with the help of DDS have
catalysed a widespread revival of sustainable farming, seed diversity, and
regeneration of forests. Of the four farmers accompanying Satheesh, who is
Director of DDS, the single male,  Jayappa, started off as a bonded
labourer and is now deputy chief of the DDS project in Zaheerabad. The
other three are dalit women: Algole Ratnamma is a winner of the
Vrukshamitra Award for catalysing the regeneration of 300 ha. of forest in
her village, while Humanpur Laxmamma and Chinna Narsamma are part of the
DDS video team. Laxmamma is also the seed keeper for the community.