vknardep_Nov_2010

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Echoes of EcoGross National Happiness (GNH)

In this issue:

• Gross National Happiness• Energy Revolution through

NABARD-RIF• The Happenings – I

• The Happenings-II

• Know Sustainable Technology

• Our Publication

• Visions of Wisdom

…Nothing can be done unless it is propelled by happiness.Everywhere you will find

happiness is the object of every kind of aspiration, activity, desire or enterprise. …You must know

what happiness is. It is this that is the propelling force behind

everything in creation…Happiness is plenum,

happiness is completeness,happiness is the totality,

happiness is in the Absolute.

-Chhandogya Upanishad

Happiness : the basis and its

dimensions

November, 2010 Vivekananda Kendra- nardep Newsletter Vol:2 No:9

Service to humanity is the highest form of worship – Swami Vivekananda

At the core of GNH is collectivehappiness, which has severalcharacteristics. Over thecenturies, happiness has beenrelegated to the private realm,while provisions of many othergoods and services of publicnature were brought to the fore

of the public realm. These goodsand services have even begun tosubstitute collective happinessas ends in themselves.

Like the concept of justice,happiness is a public good, andalthough it is experiencedsubjectively, happiness isinfluenced by a frame ofreference. In that sense it ispartly relative to a person’sexperiences with respect toothers – and with respect to thepast.

However, and more importantly,it is relational in character.Happiness is more relationalthan relative because the qualityand depth of relationships withothers influences our happinessfar more than a comparativepossession of a commodity. Itreaches beyond the pleasure-threshold of commoditypossession.

If happiness is more relational thanrelative, having resilient and deeprelationships and designing theappropriate type and range oforganisations that breed suchpositive relationships, is a crucialissue.

Within the last century, the worldhas become more urban than everbefore, with almost 50% of theglobal population living in urbansettings. As our social networkstransform from small, ruralsettlements into a more urbanlifestyle, there is an obviousdislocation and breakdown ofcommunity and social life – and thevalues that underpin communityvitality.

Through GNH, we have toregenerate the social heartbeat ofthe community – one of theessential foundations of happiness

– and reconnect individuals backwith the community. This has hugeimplications on urban settlementplanning vs. rural rejuvenation,with more emphasis on the latter.

(Karma Ura :Director of theCentre forBhutan Studies.)



Be the change you want to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi

NABARD-Rural Innovation Fund triggering

Energy Revolution: Wealth from WasteThis month…

Green Health Home at VivekanandaPuram functioned for 9 days andtreated 180 patients.

Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra – nardep, November, 2010 Vol. 2 No:9

The Wise Man believes profoundly in silence - the sign of a perfect equilibrium. Silence is the absolute

poise or balance of body, mind and spirit. – Wahpeton Santee Sioux (Native American Chief)

Rural Innovation Fund (RIF) of NABARDis a fund designed to support innovative,risk friendly, unconventional experiments

in Farm, Non-Farm and micro-Financesectors that would have the potential topromote livelihood opportunities andemployment in rural areas.

In 2009 Vivekananda Kendra – nardep

took up the RIF in order to bring Shakthi-Surabhi bio-methanation plant to thefarming community. It is a technology

developed by VK- nardep to cater to the

energy needs of rural women communityin a sustainable way using kitchen wastes.

The RIF project aimed at field-testing 100units of 1 cu.m. “Shakti Surabhi” modelbiogas plants in different geographicallocations, climatic conditions and by usingdifferent input materials that would providealternative fuel for cooking gas fromkitchen waste.

The proposal seeks to disseminate thebio-methanation plant that is better suitedto individual households. Since thenseveral awareness programmes havebeen conducted from village to village at

women gatherings, Self-Help Groups and

Water and

Sanitation …

This was followed by invitation of theparticipants to Technology ResourceCentre for hands-on-demonstrationand training. This in turn is followedby installation of the bio-methanationplants for the willing participants.

Shakti Surabhi, the Bio-methanationplant works on similar principles oftraditional KVIC type biogas plantwith a few modifications and comesin two designs: both portable andfixed. The portable unit is entirelymade of fiber glass material. Theseplants have a user-friendly designand suited for both urban and ruralenvironment.

Once installed in various householdsdifferent feedbacks started pouring inwhich helped the technical personnelto design the maintenanceguidelines.

Further the hands-on-maintenance

experiences demonstrated by the

VK- nardep personnel to users also

become part of their learningexperience.

The advantages of Shakti Surabhi isnot only that it economizes cookingfuel but that it turns waste to energyand through slurry as input tobackyard horticulture, it converts itinto wealth. Thus it disposes wasteand domestic pollution problem. Withcontinuous interaction with technicalresource persons and camps, theusers particularly house wives find itsimple and easy to handle.

This is an ideal backyard Bio-Methanation plant which makes theenvironment pollution free and givesrural household biogas from kitchenwaste. NABARD thus has in ShaktiSurabhi a very successful and holisticRIF programme

• Tested water from 14 wells inKanyakumari Dist – programmeof Central Ground Water Board,Chennai

Done with DST

core support

A human being is part of the wholecalled by us universe ... We experienceourselves, our thoughts and feelings assomething separate from the rest. Akind of optical delusion ofconsciousness. This delusion is a kindof prison for us, restricting us to ourpersonal desires and to affection for afew persons nearest to us. Our taskmust be to free ourselves from theprison by widening our circle ofcompassion to embrace all livingcreatures and the whole of nature in itsbeauty.

- Dr. Einstein



Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra – nardep, November 2010 Vol.2 No:9

We cannot hope to either understand or to manage the carbon in the atmosphere unless we

understand and manage the trees and the soil too. – Freeman Dayson

• Motivation Training was conducted by

the VK- nardep team for the Dept. Civil

supplies and & Consumer Protection,Chennai at Technology Resource Center,

Kalluvillai. Two batches attended it. Thefirst was from 19

thto 21

stwhere 25

persons attended. The second was from26

thto 28

thof November and 18

participants benefited.

• Shri.M.Malik Feroze Khan, I.A.S.,Commissioner of Animal Husbandary &Veterinary Services, Chennai visited ourTechnology Resource Center on 16

thfor

seeing the Azolla cultivation technology

This month… Networking

Azolla Camp Participants sharing their joyfulcamp experiences

Sri. Gopalji distributing certificates to the participants of theMotivation Training camp for Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies andconsumer rotection De artment

Training Programme on Azolla in progress at TRC of

VK- nardep

A Panel of Shakti Surabhi – Displayed at IITFNew Delhi exhibition on “Clean and Energy

Efficient Technology Products and Services



Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra – nardep, November 2010 Vol. 2 No: 9

One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, 'What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?' – Rachel Carson

• Training programme on Shakti Surabhi Bio-methanation plant was held at TRC, Kalluvilaion 22

ndof November. 13 persons attended

and the resource persons wereShri.V.Ramakrishnan and Sri.G.Vasudeo.

Training programme was held under (RIF)NABARD, Chennai.

• VK-NARDEP team participated and exhibitedpanels and model of the bio-methanationplant at IITF Delhi with the help of CAPARTThe theme was “Clean and Energy EfficientTechnology Products and Services” Theexhibition was held from 14

thto 27

th

Nov.30,000 visitors visited our stall.

Happenings: This month for SustainableAgriculture

• Workshop on “Azolla Technology” wasconducted by Animal Husbandary Dept.,Govt. of Tamilnadu, Chennai at TRCTechnology Resource Center, Kalluvillaifrom 11

thto 13

thof this month with 32

participants. The resource person wasDr.P.Kamalasanan Pillai and his team.

VK- nardep Panels and live model of ShaktiSurabhi at IITF Delhi exhibition.

Renewable Energy This Month…

A Panel on Shakti Surabhi – Displayed at IITFDelhi exhibition on “Clean and Energy

Efficient Technology Products and Services”The stall was sponsored by CAPART, New

Delhi.

At the VK- nardep panel at Delhi CAPARTexhibition on “Clean and Energy Efficient

Technology Products and Services



``


"Until you do what you believe in, you don't know whether you believe it or not." – Leo Tolstoy

People usually consider walkingon water or in thin air a miracle.But I think the real miracle isnot to walk either on water or inthin air, but to walk on earth.Every day we are engaged in amiracle which we don't evenrecognize: a blue sky, whiteclouds, green leaves, the black,curious eyes of a child -- ourown two eyes. All is a miracle.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

How to feed the future humanity?How to make development sustainable?

Some of the best publications on the subject for layman and

professionals alike are from VK - nardep.

Contact: The Secretary, Vivekananda Kendra - nardep.Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari-629702

Tamil Nadu

Phone: 04652-246296 Email:[email protected]

All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is therefore the onlylaw of life. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying. Therefore love for

love's sake, because it is law of life, just as you breathe to live.

– Swami Vivekananda

This month… Shakthi Surabhi

6 Shakti Surabhi plants were commissioned thismonth under RIF scheme of NABARD, Chennai

How Shakthi Surabhi© tackles

the waste-disposal problem in amulti-faceted way:

Alternative fuel for cooking gas

Waste disposal - very good for biodegradable waste managementsystem

Hygienic - no odor and flies

Arrests green house gas

Digested outlet slurry is good asorganic manure

To Install a

Shakthi Surabhi ©

Contact us



Echoes of Eco - Newsletter, Vivekananda Kendra – nardep, April 2009 Vol. I No: 2

If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you'll come to understand that you're connected with everything. – Alan Watts


From Our

Publications

Two Scenarios: Red

Future of a Blue Planet

Where Water Matters

Water is the most basic resource onwhich all life on this planet isdependent. However with increasinghuman population and unsustainableways of water usage, water is fastbecoming a scarce resource.

With water becoming scarceresource human conflicts areincreasingly getting centred aroundthis precious resource which we

have been taken for granted.

However one organization tooknotice of this and started efforts torectify the situation and alsorejuvenate an age old systemthrough community effort. Towardsthis end a village in the arid district ofRamanathapuram in Tamil Nadu waschosen.

This small book details the workdone by Vivekananda Kendra in

the Muthukulathur block ofRamanathapuram district (TamilNadu).

Madurai and Ramanathapuramdistricts of Tamil Nadu had themaximum number of traditionalwater harvesting tanks in the state.Yet Ramanathapuram districtbecame popular as the worstdraught hit district of the state.

After close study of the differentfactors regarding the waterproblem, among the variousalternatives, Vivekananda Kendradecided to tap traditional sourcesof roof water harvesting andremodelling of the Oorani forsolving the drinking water problem.

The book describes graphicallyhow Vivekananda Kendraachieved this; how Kendra tappedinto community voluntary servicesto revive the Oorani and throughcommunity’s physical labor to

maintain it so that during thesummer also the people can havequality drinking water.

Every year the Oorani ismaintained by removing of theaccumulated silt, cleaning the sandof the filter bed and minor repairingof side wall if necessary. The bookalso explains how this approachalso worked wonders for the socialharmony of the village. Forexample, the book documents,

how in two villages warring groupscame together and participated inthe revival and maintenance ofOorani.

The book has good illustrationsand a bibliography also.

Where Water MattersPrice: Rs 10/-(subject to change)

Secretary VK- nardep Kanyakumari -629 702Year: 1996



Vivekananda Kendra – nardep, Kanyakumari-629702 Phone:91-4652-246296 www.vknardep.org

Modern man no longer regards Nature as being in any sense divine and feels perfectly free to behave towards her as an overwhelming conqueror and tyrant. – Aldous Huxley

Maybe we have enough technology

to save the planet but it is notenough because the people are notready. This is why we need to focuson the other side of the problem, thepollution of the environment not interms of carbon dioxide but the toxicatmosphere in which we live; somany people getting sick, manychildren facing violence and despairand committing suicide.

We should speak more of spiritualpollution….With the collective energyof fear, anger and despair. Wecreate an atmosphere andenvironment that is destructive to allof us. We don't think enough aboutthat, we only think about the physicalenvironment.

… it is possible to live simply andhappily, having the time to love andhelp other people. we willdemonstrate to the people and bringabout an awakening so that peoplewill abandon their course ofcomforts. If we can produce a

collective awakening, we can solvethe problem of global warming.Together we have to provoke thattype of awakening. One Buddha isnot enough, we need to have manyBuddhas."

Life on this planet has existed now

for almost four billion years. Duringthat time, of course, there havebeen a number of extinction crises,when large numbers of specieshave suddenly disappeared fromthe planet. We're going through aperiod that looks like a majorextinction crisis, but it's differentfrom any other situation that hasever existed in that it is beingdriven by a single species. We're inan absolutely unprecedentedsituation.

All over the planet, our species hasbecome so demanding that we aredestroying habitat of other species.It's not just the tropical rain forests,it's the temperate rain forests,wetlands, coral reefs, grasslands.… A very conservative estimate atthe present time is that at least fiftythousand species of plants andanimals are going extinct everyyear. That's over six species anhour vanishing forever.Our grandchildren certainly are

going to live in a world that maysee up to fifty percent ofmammalian species gone, certainlya quarter of all bird species gone.This is, from a biologicalstandpoint, absolutely catastrophic.

The Problem The Thinking The Living

- Thich Nhat Thich Nhat Thich Nhat Thich Nhat

Hahn H a hn Hahn H a hn Buddhist

We will never harm or exploit or

damage or denigrate someonewho is our friend. We will receivethe gifts given to us by our friendswith thanks and gratitude. We willreturn our own gifts to our friends.Everything we receive from natureis a gift; whether it is food, water,sunshine or anything else;everything is a gift. This is thesymbiotic relationship which equipsus with humility, wonder andreverence. Nature is not there tobe plundered or exploited rather itis there to be cherished andcelebrated. I call it "ReverentialEcology".

The moment we accept that all lifehas intrinsic value, we begin toexperience a profound feeling ofreverence towards all life andbegin to experience the beauty, theintegrity, the exuberance, thegenerosity and the economy whichholds the entire web of lifetogether. In place of controlling,owning or possessing we begin to

participate in the process of theintricately woven web of life. Weare no longer masters or stewardsof the earth rather we areparticipants and co-creators of theearth.

- D avid Suzuki D avid Suzuki D avid Suzuki D avid Suzuki Environmentalist

- Satish Satish Satish Satish

K u m a r K u m a r K u m a r K u m a r Environmentalist

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