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AID Orissa - An Unfolding experiment in rural development |
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Nestled in a beautiful locale surrounded by rolling hills in Ranadevi village lies the 3.9 acre campus of AID-Orissa. Inspired by Gandhian ideals people work in harmony with the eco-system to practice rural arts and technology.
As we entered the campus on a winter morning, volunteers were digging up a nearby pond. We walked by rows of organically grown paddy and vegetables, like radish, eggplant, tomato, onion, spinach, cucumber and banana, thriving on 2 acres of land, with water pumped from a well and soil enriched with organic material from three compost and two vermi-compost pits.
The campus is dotted with trees; under one such tree lies Appanna's corner. Appanna, a creative potter from the nearby Begusala village, conjures up designs with his fingers giving various shapes to a lump of clay rotating on a wheel. Appanna's earthen pots and household items have spurred local people and businesses to move away from plastics.
Local tailors and tribal girl trainees from the neighboring Rayagada district run the tailoring unit, producing 15 different designs of khadi garments, including some unique and fashionable products, like hooded jackets, nursing kurtas, and onesies for children, finding takers in local Indian markets and abroad. AID Orissa plans to add spinning and handloom units, which will enable a complete in-house production of cloth.
Nirveek Bhattacharjee is a biomedical researcher in Seattle. He visited several rural projects of AID over the winter.
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