Medicinal plants cultivation in Himalayas - visit from Agarwal Foundation

Ms. Hillary Gumbar of The Agarwal Foundation visited Pragya's field endeavours in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India. Pragya has been working with the rural communities to promote cultivation of medicinal plants as a sustainable livelihood option in the high altitude Himalayas. Women's groups and Farmer Experts are being facilitated in various districts to undertake cultivation and to prevent wild harvest of these rare and endangered plants.

Ms. Gumbar recounted her visit on her Blog ("Tales from the field").

Reaching out to people in flood hit Jammu & Kashmir

Pragya is currently working to respond to the needs of the affected people in the Himalayan state of Jammu & Kashmir that has been devastated by one of the worst floods in 103 years. With our field officers coordinating efforts from Srinagar and Jammu, Pragya is reaching out to flood-victims in Jammu, Reasi, Kulgam, Srinagar, Pulwama, Budgam, Anantnag, Baramulla and Bandipora districts, which are among the worst affected. (View map)

Our sincere thanks to Aarti Drugs Ltd., Agility India Pvt. Ltd., Amdocs Information Security, BP Foundation , Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd, Crompton Greaves Ltd, Godfrey Phillips India, Happy World, Hitachi India Pvt. Ltd., Indian Cultural Exchange - Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd-IndiGo, Jet Airways (India) Ltd, Paul Wurth India, Perfetti Van Melle India Pvt. Ltd, SpiceJet Ltd, Vestige Marketing Pvt. Ltd., Young Managers Forum - JK Lakshmi Cement ltd. and all individual supporters who have helped us reach out to those in need. 

Thanks to our supporters, we have reached 9954 items of hygiene kits, 282 packs of baby food, 914 nutrition-packs for children, 102 medicine kits and bulk quantities during health camps, 13332 kg food grains and spices, and 330 ltr of cooking oil,8287 packs of ready-to-eat food items, 1949 blankets, 160 sets of utensils/emergency lights, 2148 ltr water and 22040 water purifying tablets, 914 warm wear kits for children, so far. Current efforts are focused on addressing needs for warm wear before winter sets in. (Read more about our outreach)

To join our efforts, please write to: research@pragya.org or call +91 9810188066.
(More information)

DEISPI workshop for educationally backward districts in India

The multi-stakeholder consultative workshop on DEISPI (Dynamic Education Information System for Planning and Improvement) ~ An Education Management & Information System for Tribal, Border, Hilly, Forested (TBHF) Districts in India was held on 5th November 2014 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi,India. The workshop was supported by USAID under the 'All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development' initiative, and was conducted by Pragya India. The event shared the learnings from the successful piloting of DEISPI with stakeholders in other educationally backward TBHF districts across India, as well as at the national level, and facilitating its uptake and implementation. The event sought to draw together national, state and district level institutions, governmental and non-governmental, involved in education delivery, with particular focus on TBHF districts, as well as educationists concerned with education policy, research, teachers' training and curriculum development to fine-tune the EMIS.

Along with the Guest of Honour, Prof. Peter Ronald deSouza (Senior Fellow - Centre for Study of Developing Societies, Board Member - NUEPA) and Distinguished Guest Dr. Huma Masood (National Programme Officer - Gender & Education, UNESCO), the workshop had participation from institutions involved in education delivery, with particular focus on TBHF districts as well as educationists concerned with education policy, research, teachers’ training and curriculum development. Participation was elicited from national and international institutions such as NUEPA, ACER, SSA Missions and State Education Departments, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Institutions (SCERTs, SIEs, DIETs), District Education Departments and institutions hailing from TBHF districts. The event also provided the opportunity for key stakeholders from the 11 piloted districts, to share their experience and concerns in implementing DEISPI. 

The participative process brought out the need for modification in DEISPI Tools / Process / Methods of data collection and dissemination in TBHF districts across the country. Recognising that all TBHF districts are not alike , the participants of the workshop were divided into 5 working groups: TBHF with positive socio-political status, Border/peripheral TBHF, TBHF with chronic poverty, TBHF near mainstream economy and TBHF with significant socio-cultural barriers. The Chairs presented the results of the deliberations at the end of the session. (Glimpses from the event)