1. Charter
The Sankalpa Research Center--Nadia (SRC-N) shall promote alternative development models and strategies for the development of appropriate technologies and promotion of products, processes and services in programs relating to environmental management; livelihoods generation through asset-based and market-creation approaches; renewable energy technologies; shelter technologies; information and communications technologies.
2. Who we are
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Brief Resume |
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The Founding President of Sankalpa Trust was the Poet Laureate, Late Shri Subhas Mukhopadhyay, who laid the foundations of the Trust and helped us to develop the founding principle of the Sankalpa Group —- the essence of sustainablity is morality. |
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Dr. Subhrankar Mukherjee is (a) the current President and Managing Trustee of Sankalpa Trust; (b) functions as the Director of SRC-N; (c) President of ARTS and a Founding Member of cMFS. He has a PhD in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from University of Missouri-Columbia, USA. He has more than twenty years of experience in administrative, senior management and consultancy positions in industry, academic and non-profit organizations. |
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Mr. Protul Sarkar is the Nadia Projects Coordinator and functions as the Executive Director of SRC-N. He is an Agricultural Scientist with several years of hands-on experience in coordinating rural development projects. |
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Mr Sunit Sarkar supervises the field work, collection and compilation of data, and office management. He has a post graduate degree in Economics from North Bengal University. |
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Mr Ratan Lal Singh supervises the civil construction activities for the various projects and the production of shelter products. He has more than ten years of executive experience in the field. |
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Mr. Tapan Hore supervises community and team building exercises; women and children empowerment programs and the promotion of gender sensitivity. He has an MA in Economics from University of Dhaka. |
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3. Where we are
The image below shows the ‘Google Earth’ aerial view of the Nadia project site and the surrounding local community, called ‘Ghatigachhi’, which indicates that the ‘Sankalpa Research Center’ is 1.1 miles by road from the National Highway, passing through Ghatigachhi.
Click image to view enlargement in About SRC(.pdf ~ 418 kb)
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4. What we do
Click image to view enlargement in About SRC(.pdf ~ 418 kb)
Sankalpa’s strategy for working towards total empowerment of rural communities is based on the pyramidal model for sustainable development shown above. Participatory practices promote total empowerment of rural communities (‘Sustainable Knowledge’) through the following four foundation-level developmental programs:
1. Sustainable Livelihoods: Provides the resources for employment generation, employing ‘Private Public Partnerships’ (PPPs) for the development of asset-based and market creation approaches.
2. Sustainable Energy: Facilitates dissemination of appropriate technologies for rural electrification and rural household and commercial energy requirements.
3. Sustainable Shelter: Provides for eco-friendly shelter products and services.
4. Sustainable Information: Provides Internet-based and IT-Enabled Services, and is the focal point for continuous improvement, dissemination of appropriate technologies and sustainable development.
It is believed that, besides poverty elimination, the ultimate goal of achieving the overall socio-economic development of rural communities, including primary education, health and hygiene, social networks, human rights, gender equality and social equity will be possible only after these four foundation level developmental programs have been firmly established and sustainably actualized in the target rural communities.
We have had the opportunity to validate this model in intellectual interactions with several serious practitioners of rural development, and also in our grassroots rural development programs. Although there are apparently many intervention strategies that are needed for all-round rural development, it appears that almost all agree that the “Livelihoods-Shelter-Energy” trio—with ICT as the binder that provides the depth for sustainability—constitutes the ‘primary colors’ of rural development, using the CMYK analogy for printing. If we have these three primary building blocks—held together in place by ‘sustainable information technology’—then it appears that we can produce all other rural development initiatives, including health, education, water security, and so on.
Please visit [http://www.sankalpacmfs.org/trd/index.html] for details of our ‘Total Rural Development’ program.
5. How we do it
In accordance with the above operational strategy, the Sankalpa Research Center is organized around the following projects, as listed below:
A. Livelihoods Center
Appropriate Technology Center
Arts & Handicrafts
Energy livelihoods programs
Shelter livelihoods programs
Spirulina Farm
B. Renewable Energy Center
Renewable Energy Training Center
Plug Flow Biogas Digester (PFBD)
Biomass Gasification Based Power Plant (BGBPP)
Floating type biogas holders (kitchen/agriwaste input)
Improved chulha
Pot-in-Pot Vegetable Cooler (PIP)
Hybrid Solar drier
Solar Photovoltaic devices
Wind energy
C. Building Center
Shelter Technology Training Center
Eco Kiln (VSBK)
MCR Tiles
Ferro Concrete Doors & Windows (FCDW)
Compressed Earth Block
Architecture
D. IT Enabled Community Center
Computer-based Training Programs
Appropriate Technology Network
Social Programs Network
Gramin Consultant
Multimedia Studio
The activities of these four sub-centers are graphically depicted in the SRC home page, and will be discussed in greater detail in the content pages.
6. Contact details
Contact Person: Dr. Subhrankar Mukherjee, PhD,MBA
Designation: Managing Trustee—Sankalpa Trust; Director—SRC-N
Address: P6: Cluster 2, Purbachal, Salt Lake, Calcutta 700097, India.
Mobile: + 91 94330 19821 ; 93392 59812
eMail: [subra@engr.colostate.edu] ; [subra@sankalpacmfs.org] ; [subhrankar@gmail.com]
Website: [www.sankalpacmfs.org]
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