Bahá’í World/Volume 29/The Barli Development Institute for Rural Women
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[n Madhya Pradesh, India, the
Barli Development Institute is assisting rural women through programs that combine practical training and moral education.
PROFILEZBARLI DEVELOPMENT
INSTITUTE tor RURAL WOMEN
Despite its advances in the more than 50 years since the end of British colonialism, India still faces tremendous problems. The country is crowded with a billion people, and more than a third of them live in a condition of poverty, unable even to afford a proper diet. In the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, one of India’s “sick states,” these social and economic factors are especially pronounced. The Bahá’í community in Indore, a region within Madhya Pradesh, sought some means of remedying the health of its peoples and uplifting their spirit. In the Bahá’ís’ Vision, the best way to improve lives hinged on the empowerment of people. They saw the conditions as being caused by more than simple economics, but rather as result of psychological, social, and spiritual problems.
A large part of the solution, in the View of the Bahá’ís, hinged on the advancement of women in the region, whose position as the first educators of each successive generation makes them invaluable to the successful revitalization of the society. Changes in their attitude would then serve as a catalyst to the other members
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Of the women’s communities, including their husbands, parents, and children.
In 1983, the Barli Development Institute for Rural Women (BDIRW)1 in Indore was established with a Vision of initiating improvements in the socioeconomic conditions of the tribal communities in the districts around Indore. Among rural women in the state there is a less than four percent literacy rate and they are Victims of traditional attitudes and practices that relegate them to a secondary place in Indian society; for these women, empowerment means things like learning to read and write, fostering a sense of self—reliance and self—worth, and understanding the importance of their own spiritual life.
“In India, as is well known, women are generally treated as second-class citizens,” said Dr. Táhirih K. Vajdi, who helped to found the Institute and is a professor of economics at the University of Indore. “The woman is seen as someone to look after the home and bear children. But at the Institute, they receive a lot of love and attention, and come to understand the principle of the equality of men and women.”
“We try to imbue them with self—confidence,” said Dr. Vajdi, “so that they know they are very important as individuals, and that they can play an important role in improving their own homes and helping their villages to grow and develop.”
The seeds of the project were planted in the 1960s, when Hand of the Cause of God Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir purchased a building and some surrounding land in Indore for use by the Bahá’í community. Partly due to the low participation of women in Bahá’í activities in the area, early efforts began to assist the tribal women in Indore though experimental programs in income generation and health education.
F ormal inauguration of the project occurred in 1983, when guidance from the Universal House of Justice recommended that socioeconomic development projects be integrated into the regular
' It was originally called the Bahá’í Vocational Institute for Rural Women. The name Change coincided with the Institute’s application to become an officially recognized non-governmental organization.
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The Barlz' Development ‘ lnstitutefor Rural Women _ in Indore, India. ;
pursuits Of the Bahá’í community. During the first few years of the operation, focus was primarily on developing income—generating skills, but it has since grown and developed a comprehensive curriculum that offers women in this region knowledge and a variety of skills to improve their own lives, as well as those of their families and communities.
By 1988 the school had finished the first phase of its development, which consisted primarily of the establishment of the Institute’s physical infrastructure and the operation of training programs. While funding for the program comes almost exclusively from voluntary contributions from the Bahá’í community of India and Bahá’ís around the world, some assistance in establishing the infrastructure came from the Department of Science and Technology of the government of India, the government of Madhya Pradesh, the Council for the Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), the New Era Foundation, and individual contributions.2
The second major phase of the Institute’s development began in 1990 with a proposal to the Swedish International Development
3 Other organizations that provided support and funding include the Canadian High Commission, the Australian High Commission, the World Community Foundation, Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Mottahedeh Development Services, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), War 011 Want, and UNICEF.
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Authority (SIDA) funding agency. Through this proposal, the institute began to diversify the training it offered by initiating a continuing education program, establishing a boarding school for tribal and rural girls, and continuing as a training center for Bahá’í community development. Preparations for the third phase of development are being finalized, which will see the evolution of the Institute into a non-governmental organization in 2001.
The Institute operates on a six-acre plot on the outskirts of Indore, where it runs its residential course entitled “Community Volunteers,” which combines training in practical skills with the development of spiritual qualities. The course stimulates change by encouraging each individual to acquire an awareness of her own innate worth and to develop practical abilities.
The vocational aspects of the program include literacy training and the development of income generating skills like cutting and tailoring, weaving, basic computer skills, machine knitting, embroidery and fabric design, growing and marketing vegetables, and making herbal shampoos and various other household items. These skills, which help the women to earn a living and assist their families, are not only important because of their impact on the economy, but they are also an important step in encouraging the confidence and independence of the women. Health and nutrition are also stressed, along with pre— and postnatal care, which is especially important due to the high rate of infant mortality in the state.
“Although literacy, vocational, and health training are essential, we believe that one of the most important things we do at the Institute is to help these young women recognize their full potential as human beings,” said Janak Palta McGilligan, director of the Institute. “This is where the element of moral education comes into play.”
To accomplish this goal, the women take part in personality development classes, which help them to develop leadership, consultation, and organizational skills, and to become active decision-makers. They are taught sensitivity to social development issues and the importance of individual responsibility for
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social progress. They also learn communication skills such as public speaking and the principles of consultation, which help them to recognize their self—worth and to develop self-esteem and self—confidence.
All of their training, whether it be the immediately practical principle of using clean water, or long-term goals, like assisting in the health of the environment, is based in their study of the Bahá’í writings. The systematic study of these writings gives the participants a firm moral and spiritual framework upon Which to make improvements in their lives and the life of the world.
The women are taught the principle of equality between men and women as part of the curriculum, and are encouraged to share all of their training with their families and communities. The issue of equality is one where having a basis in the Bahá’í teachings is especially important, because the resistance confronted is so longstanding. But with their training at the Institute, the women are able to study passages such as this, from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: “Know thou, O handmaid, that in the sight of Baha, women are accounted the same as men, and God hath created all humankind in His own image, and after His own likeness. That is, men and women alike are the revealers of His names and attributes, and from the spiritual Viewpoint there is no difference between them.”3
Because the women experienced resistance to such ideas, the Institute began couples training, for married couples or those about to be married. The courses are either conducted on the BDIRW campus or in the communities themselves and deal with issues that often corrode marriages, such as lack of mutual partnership and communication, and with problems such as alcoholism and domestic Violence.
Beyond individual development, the importance of assisting society and participating in a greater world is emphasized. Environmentally sound agricultural and energy practices are sorely needed in India. Care for the environment is presented as a spiritual responsibility and is given in the context of sustainable
3 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selectionsfrom the Writings Qf‘Aba'u ’l—Bahd (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1997), pp. 79—80.
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development, care for resources, and service to the community. The trainees learn through gardening and tree planting projects the means of sustaining the soil, including composting, vermiculture, and the use of biodegradable materials.
In the gardening programs, they learn how to grow and maintain the plants in the garden. The practicality of this is immediately demonstrated, as all of the fruits and vegetables for the Institute’s meals are provided by the community gardens.
Solar box cookers are used in the preparation of meals, and solar storage batteries allow the use of solar cookers even past sunset. A full solar energy park is planned for future installation, making the Institute ever more self—reliant while addressing the need for environmentally sound energy practices.
Commemorations Of the United Nations World Environment Day, International Women’s Day, and International Literacy Day are a part of the women’s training. These commemorations reinforce the lessons of the Institute While orienting all of the training in a global context. Last year, a two—day training workshop called “Environmental Millennium—A Time to Act” was held for World Environment Day. The workshop, in June 2000, focused on land and water diseases caused by pollution, the effects of deforestation, and environmental changes due to pollution.
Two six-month “Community Volunteers” courses are offered each year for 25—30 participants. Since its establishment, the Institute has trained more than 1,500 women in two hundred Villages. Future plans are for the Institute to increase the number of trainees in each session to 60 and to extend the current six—month program to a full year. Eventual expansion of the programs to other areas of India is planned.
Those women who complete the Community Volunteers course have the opportunity to be trained as community facilitators or to be assisted to continue their formal education through India’s Open School system. The BDIRW has been accredited by the Indian government as a National Open School, an autonomous body of the Ministry of Education. The most promising trainees are encouraged to continue their education through the National
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Open School system, and 75 percent pass the National School Exam. Because of their raised awareness about the importance of education, more and more women have started sending their children to school.
In 2000, 26 graduates from the Institute entered the Open School. Of these, half were illiterate prior to their training in the BDIRW, and all but two had previously dropped out of school. Twenty-three of them passed the November exam and graduated from the Open School.
One of the ways the BDIRW follows up on the progress of its graduates is through the publication of its monthly newsletter, Kokz'la (Nightingale). The newsletter, now in its ninth year, includes news, opinions, and stories of Institute graduates, as well as announcements of upcoming courses, educational messages, and songs in a local tribal language about various development themes. To prevent them from falling back into illiteracy, they are encouraged to write postcards to the Institute.
“We have found that, indeed, when these women return to their Villages, they affect their entire communities,” Dr. Vajdi said. “They bring back new ideas about health and hygiene. They promote the importance of educating children.”
For years the Institute has placed special emphasis on teaching Villagers about the prevention and eradication of guinea worm caused by contaminated water. When the program began, 752 people were infected and more than two hundred thousand
f, i _-._
Participants in the Community Volunteers program doing agricultural work at the Institute.
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were at risk. By 1992 the district was completely free from guinea worm. That same year, the Institute was awarded “The Global 500 Roll of Honor” by the United Nations Environment Program for outstanding environmental achievement, specifically in health education. The recent surveys of the Institute’s progress reveal that more than 95 percent of the graduates now use safe drinking water and are using their income generation and related skills; 46 percent are involved in entrepreneurial or small business work. Many of them are growing and selling vegetables as a means of self—support. They have raised the immunization rate of children in their communities from 26 to 67 percent, and the number of women going for regular health cheek-ups has also increased. More than twothirds now include leafy vegetables in their diet.
Another way the women contribute is by returning to the BDIRW as facilitators, continuing the cycle of learning. All the trainers Of the Institute were once trainees and are well aware of the challenges that women in the region must face, but these problems are being addressed in a systematic way by the Institute’s
‘3 ‘2‘ i gate; tftéiéwfi i ‘ ‘
Speakers at a symposium he] by the BDIRWon the role of voluntary organizations in educating rural and tribal women. 0n the left are James McGilligan, manager of the BDIRW and
Janak Palta McGilligan, director of the BDIR W.
‘ ‘h 1.. I ~*H
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grassroots programs. Even the women who do not return to be come formal trainers are training people in their own fashion. By making the lessons they have learned a part of their daily lives and serving as living examples for their families and communities, they offer a glimpse of the difference that can be made.
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