1.    Introduction

Welcome to the Sankalpa Student Chapter of Sankalpa cMFS, a community of students affiliated to Society for Appropriate Rural Technology for Sustainability (ARTS). We aim to revolutionize rural development through the use of appropriate, scientific and socio-technical processes and methodologies.

The coalition of Moral Forces for Sustainability (cMFS) was formed in 2005 primarily to implement innovative and beneficiary grassroots programs for the development of the poor and under-resourced sectors of rural communities, by bringing the combined experience of coalition members to bear on the problems of the target beneficiaries. The application of Information and Communications Technologies for sustainable rural development is emphasized. Sankalpa’s cMFS aims at building a coalition of people with moral integrity and vision, who can nurture and sustain a program of grassroots activities for continuous improvement and upliftment in the standards of living and in the quality of life of the needy and dispossessed people, globally. To know more about the Sankalpa cMFS and the ARTS society click here.

1.1    The Sankalpa Student Chapter (SSC)

Very early into the program, Sankalpa cMFS coalition members realized that sustainable development will be catalyzed by a dynamic team of young and energetic minds, who can set and attain ambitious programs. That is the raison d’etre behind the formation of the Sankalpa Student Chapter, which aims at encouraging the younger generation, so that more and more young people become involved in grassroots development activities, especially in the rural sector.

The Student Chapter opens up exciting opportunities for experimentation and serious work for anyone with innovative ideas and who want to make significant contributions to our ongoing programs for rural development,. The Student Chapter provides a platform where all the young people can meet, discuss, debate critical social issues and implement their ideas…and empowers student and youth members to become the face of the change of the future society of India.

1.2    The Sankalpa Student Chapter Portal

A full-version wikimedia-based ‘Sankalpa Student Chapter Portal’ is in the design and development phase, and will be uploaded soon at [www.sankalpacmfs.org/student]. Please watch this space for further announcements.

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2.    Student Charter

We support the principle that nothing is impossible, that ordinary people can be motivated to perform extraordinary deeds, and that:

     (a)   All student members are equal and shall be given the respect which all individuals deserve;

     (b)   It is essential to believe, understand and analyze every viewpoint before taking any decision;

     (c)   It is impossible to achieve the DREAM until and unless all stakeholders, directly or indirectly affected by the transformation participate cooperatively in it and participatory practices must therefore be incorporated into ALL our development efforts;

     (d)   Establish organizational processes for equality of all participating students by promoting consensual decision making processes that gives importance to the viewpoint of ALL members;

     (e)   All solutions proposed to achieve the DREAM must be sustainable, replicable and scalable and must therefore be developed in such a way that the outcomes can be transferred to the target beneficiaries: the rural indigent population and beneficiaries of our efforts;

     (f)   Morality is the driving force behind sustainability and hence participating students shall set high ethical standards: high degrees of truthfulness, honesty and uprightness of character;

     (g)   We must first understand the needs of the indigent population before we can propose efficient and scientific solutions for them;

     (h)   All solutions proposed for achieving the DREAM must be practical and must be translated into reality with great commitment and due diligence;

     (i)   An interdisciplinary approach is needed to develop the proposed solutions by merging ideas from various streams for optimal developmental strategies; and finally

     (j)   The widespread dissemination of the movement amongst all students can be achieved through active forums for discussion and implementation of ideas;

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3.    About Us

We are a group of young minds who encourage and pursue rural development through a number of initiatives including Projects, Group Discussions, Internships and various grassroots rural development programs.

The Sankalpa Student Chapter is a partner to Sankalpa cMFS Programs and is integral to its development process.

3.1    Who we are

The Sankalpa Student Chapter is an evolving body and the current membership is listed at [].

The founding members of Sankalpa Student Chapter are:

Image	Brief Resume
	Abhishek Bhattacharyya      E-mail: mailto:abhishek.bhattacharyyya@gmail.com Founding Member since July 2007 and ‘Governing Body Member’ of ARTS, is a Govt. of India National Scholar and Jagadis Bose National Science Talent Search Scholar; has many leading international conference publications to his credit and received awards for best paper.     Click here for Resume
	Ayon Chakraborty      E-mail: mailto:jucse.ayon@gmail.com Founding Member since October 2007; is an undergraduate student in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Jadavpur University; undergraduate research interests include Pervasive Devices; has two publications in national level conferences. Click here for Resume
.	DETAILS OF OTHER FOUNDING MEMBERS TO BE ADDED

3.2    What we do

For conceptualizing, designing and developing our programs, we have adopted:

     (a)   The Sankalpa Pyramid Model for rural development discussed at [http://www.sankalpacmfs.org/src/aboutsrc/aboutsrc.html#4];

     (b)   The holistic community development/livelihoods generation model that is presented in [http://www.sankalpacmfs.org/ src/01liv/01liv.html#5]; and

     (c)   The ‘MAN Operating Model’ shown in [http://www.sankalpacmfs.org/src/04ite/04ite.html#5] for developing ‘Participatory Practices for Sustainable Development’ (PPSD); and

     (d)   The cyclical procedure for continuous improvement in design and dissemination of Sankalpa/ARTS Educational and Training Programs shown in [http://www.sankalpacmfs.org/src/04ite/04ite.html#6]

We are a part of the social milieu, reacting, responding to and facing events as the need may be. As such, we are open to suggestions from anyone about ongoing projects and ideas about the design, development and implementation of new projects.

Anyone having suggestions and ideas that they wish to explore are invited to visit the Sankalpa Forum at [www.sankalpacmfs.org/forum] OR write to the founding members listed below. To know more about our projects and upcoming events, please see Section 4.

3.3    How we do it

While offering our skills for development process support, the Student Chapter holds these five tenets to its heart:

§     Members offer support after developing a close relationship with other members of the Student Chapter. Trust needs to be built, and time must be spent together in order to establish a cordial atmosphere.

§     The problem being addressed must also be a problem of general concern. The focus must be on the relevant and most common issues in rural life.

§     Analysis is essential. Attempts must be made to discover the root of the problem. The solutions must be sustainable, replicable and scalable.

§     Every opportunity is a learning opportunity, and learning fosters change. This conscientious process must be carried out at every step and at all levels.

§     Adequate support must be obtained. The needs of the rural population must be experienced first hand before corrective measures can be planned, designed, developed and implemented.

Anyone who wishes to volunteer their services, or who wishes to join the Sankalpa Student Chapter are encouraged to download and fill the 'Membership Form’ at [www.sankalpacms.org/src/student/membership.pdf], and send it to us by mail.

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4.    Projects

The following projects have been identified for further work: (Please watch this space for new announcements on the progress of existing projects and the adoption of new projects)

4.1    Precision Agriculture (PA)

Develop the means to enhance farm-based and site-specific crop management systems, taking local conditions into account. Of particular interest is the impact of PA on the reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. For details, please download a whitepaper at [www.sankalpacms.org/src/student/pa.pdf], entitled “Precision Agriculture for Natural Resource Management and reduction of Green House Gas emissions through Sensor Networks”, by Abhishek Bhattacharyya and Subhrankar Mukherjee

In the initial phase of the project, student members shall conduct an extensive user survey to determine and educate the small and marginal farmers of the region and have an in-depth understanding of the needs of the farming community of the region. For data collection, Shockfish node manufactured by Semtec is proposed to be utilized. It has a MSP430 microcomputer and a Zemix Radio operating in the 868 MHz ISM band with a transmission range of 1.5-2 Km. For communication purposes, it is proposed to use 4m. GI tubes with Linx antenna and RG-58 SMA connectors. Solar powered nodes are a future option of the project.

4.2    Telemedicine and ‘Mobile Health Clinic’ Project

Develop telemedicine services in tandem with providing ‘Mobile Health Clinic’ to the village community, which could bring in a revolutionary conjoint service delivery program, from the point of view of program effectiveness. Open source software for managing a telemedicine program is already available, and which has already been experimented with in Nadia/Calcutta. The student members will develop and establish the protocols for implementation.

Sankalpa’s network partner for delivering reliable and inexpensive health care for our rural development programs is Dr. Jacques Verré, Dental-Surgeon, Auroville, who has perfected a new universal concept called “Zero Concept”, applied in dentistry. Student members will attempt to adapt Dr. Verré’s mobile programs which need only the barest of infrastructural facilities—even possible under the shade of a tree, at the receiving community, as shown in the images, although more firm structures would be welcomed.

As in the case of the community radio project, the target community members will be helped to develop a no-frills “Health Clinic Chapter”, where a mobile team of nurses trained in Dr. Jacques Verré’s universal concept can go around delivering meaningful and sustainable health care services, which can be progressively learnt by the members of these sub-groups over a period of, say, one to two years, so that these health care programs can be institutionalized and made sustainable in the long run.

4.3    Light sensing for optimized street lighting system

In order to conserve electricity and provide optimal illumination, a system is being developed that will measure the ambient illumination and operate the street lighting system optimally within the compound.

4.4    Spirulina/Integrated Energy and Health System

Spirulina production, the current project in progress in collaboration with Simplicity Farm, Auroville, is a food supplement combining the vitamins, iron and many other micronutrients that the body needs. Student members shall focus on implementing the ‘Integrated Energy and Health System’, which will involve separating the CO2 from biogas for use as a resource for producing and improving the yield of spirulina.

4.5    Multimedia center for the ‘girl-child’

In other words, the facility should be set up in such a way that the children -- especially the girl child -- should be able to enter and intuitively get started almost immediately, without the distraction of too many instructions and guidance from elders. This regime may appear to be difficult to achieve at first; however, if the total multimedia system design is made properly, the facility's objective may actually be realized quite easily. For details, please download a proposal [www.sankalpacms.org/src/student/multimedia_gc.pdf] submitted to Sabera Foundation in September 2004, with the subject heading: Multimedia Facility for children -- 'Plan of Work' .

4.6    Community Radio

The community radio (CR) system is one of the most effective tools in rural areas, to communicate in an inexpensive and direct way. When the station grows in experience and skill, local production of news and communications on technology, health or education-related programs, capacity building programs and other segments of interest to the target community can begin.

The student community will initially work on the following aspects of CR Systems:

     (a)   Cost-efficiency in terms of investment—both for those that run the station and for the audience;

     (b)   Develop the language and content—ideal for illiterate and marginalized people;

     (c)   Discover how to reinforce local practices, traditions and culture;

     (d)   Develop programs for sustainability though active community participation.

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5.    Internships

SANKALPA Student Chapter announces an exciting internship opportunity for interested students from any discipline wishing to contribute effectively to rural development. We are open to any project the student would like to pursue under the Sankalpa banner, provided it is feasible and has a measurable impact . The final outcome of the project must be documented in the form of a report and must attain the quality of being published in a reputed peer-reviewed journal or a leading international conference.

We are open to applications from students of any discipline: the sciences, management, engineering and arts, at any time of the year. The proposed project must demonstrate an underlying objective in line with founding principles of the SANKALPA society. As an example, students of science/engineering can propose novel methods or build tools for rural development while students from the arts faculty can investigate the effect of introducing social interventions and change management in a developing rural community. Students, of course, are always welcome to come up with their innovative thoughts.

If the proposed project is stimulating, we shall connect the students with leading experts in the field and shall attempt to provide them with the necessary resources to carry out their work or implement it in the form of a final finished product. Appropriate local travel stipends will also be provided, if necessary. Students may also apply as a team.

Interested students can send in their applications in the form of a brief abstract demonstrating their idea along with their resume to the coordinating student members:

Abhishek Bhattacharyya     mailto:abhishek.bhattacharyyya@gmail.com

AND/OR

Ayon Chakraborty     mailto:jucse.ayon@gmail.com

OR use the contact information provided in Section 7.2.

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6.    Events

6.1    Student Chapter Events

Please watch this space for new announcements.

6.2    ARTS Workshops and Training Programs

The members of Sankalpa Student Chapter actively participate in all workshops and training programs that are organized by ARTS. The pedagogy includes the following techniques to conduct the training programs.

     (a)   Lectures/interactive sessions;

     (b)   Visits to spirulina production site;

     (c)   Case studies/group exercises;

     (d)   Training support materials/handouts

     (e)   Power-point presentations/videos

     (f)   Guest lectures.

Upcoming events: A series of two-day workshops and training programs shall be conducted by Society for Appropriate Rural Technology for Sustainability (ARTS) to be held in Kolkata/West Bengal in the fourth quarter of 2009, as follows: (Please watch this space for new announcements on the progress of existing events and the announcement of new events)

Please download the flyer on the Spirulina workshop at [www.sankalpacms.org/src/01liv/ spirulina_flyer.pdf] – cut out and fill the ‘Nomination Form’ and mail it to us to register your expression of interest in attending these Two-Day Training Programs.

6.2.1    Spirulina Workshop for SHGs

This workshop is for the benefit of Self Help Groups (SHGs) in urban poor & village-based communities. The contents of the program include:

     (a)   Introduction to Spirulina.

     (b)   Health and societal benefits.

     (c)   Production processes:

§     Conditions for growth;

§     Laboratory essentials;

§     Harvesting;

§     Drying, packaging & processing.

     (d)   Study and review of ‘Integrated System’ for sanitary and energy systems in an urban slum/rural environment.

     (e)   Project planning and report preparation.

     (f)   Visit to production site:

§     Hands-on training exercises;

§     Culture preparation.

6.2.2    ECO KILN Workshop for SHGs (a.k.a. VSBK or Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln)

Workshop on Modern, Sustainable, Eco-Friendly Fired Brick Making Technology. The contents of the program include:

     (a)   Introduction to Eco Kiln technology.

     (b)   Eco Kiln model and features

     (c)   Production processes:

§     Eco Kiln principles;

§     Process flows;

§     Firing process;

§     Process control.

     (d)   Study and review of ‘Integrated System’ for sanitary and energy systems in an urban slum/rural environment.

     (e)   Project planning and report preparation.

     (f)   Visit to production site:

§     Hands-on training exercises;

§     Study of Eco Kiln structure.

6.2.3    BIOGAS Workshop for SHGs

The workshop programs on modern, sustainable and eco-friendly Biogas Technologies will cover (a) Plug Flow Biogas Digester [PFBD] and (b) Floating-type Biogas Holder [FTBH]. The contents of the program include:

     (a)   Introduction to biogas technology.

     (b)   PFBD model and features (c) FTBH model and features

     (d)   Production processes:

§     PFBD & FTBH principles;

§     Process flows;

§     Gas cleaning processes;

§     Biogas storage.

     (e)   Application areas

     (f)   Biogas lamps

     (g)   Project planning and report preparation.

     (h)   Visit to production site:

§     Hands-on training exercises;

§     Study of PFBD & FTBH structure.

Please visit [] for registering your expression of interest in attending these Two-Day Training Programs.

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7.    Contact details

7.1    Student Chapter Contact Persons:

Abhishek Bhattacharyya     mailto:abhishek.bhattacharyyya@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 9433049251

Ayon Chakraborty     mailto:jucse.ayon@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 9432220132

7.2    Institutional 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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