BIJA VIDYAPEETH

International College for Sustainable Living


Sustainable Living is an art perfected by communities the world over living in harmony with the earth, her various manifestations and her creatures. Sustainable Living nurtures the universe - a delicate web of interdependence of a myriad life forms and species through mutual cooperation and symbiotic functioning of democracy.

Globalisation of the monoculture mindset is destroying this art through fragmentation of identities, with competition replacing compassion and uniformity driving out diversity.
The Bija Vidyapeeth is an attempt to restore the art of Sustainable Living through an experiment in International Living, where people of all cultures live, cook, eat and learn together the inestimable value of diversity and organic living from one another .
The Bija Vidyapeeth is based on the Navdanya Biodiversity Conservation and Agroecology Farm. Nestling in the foothills of the Himalayas and the Sivaliks, spread over 8 acres and about 10 miles from Dehradun, in the newly formed Himalayan state of Uttaranchal the farm brings alive the diversity of plant life essential to survival in the region. The Navdanya farm has conserved over 300 varieties of rice and diverse varieties of pulses, millet, amaranth and vegetables.
The Bija Vidyapeeth offers a unique insight into the tenets of sustainability and deep democracy through interactions with the foremost intellectuals of our times and communities whose survival is intrinsically linked to sustainability in an ambience that reinvigorates our vital link with nature, promotes contemplation and enquiry and dynamic action.
In order to enhance the quality of interaction amongst participants, we are limiting their number. For each course, the first 25 people to register will be enrolled.
 
 

Courses in

EDUCATION FOR EARTH DEMOCRACY


Holistic Science
January 11-31, 2002

Faculty: Dr. Brian Goodwin, Dr. Santosh Satya, Dr. Vandana Shiva, Mr. S.K. Das, indigenous healers and ayurved doctors

During the 20th century, biology made great progress in identifying the components of living systems, from genes to ecological communities. But there were few guidelines on how to reconstruct the coherent wholes that characterise the essence of living beings.

Reductionist biology has two major consequences - one on the science itself, and the other on indigenous science and knowledge systems. In a purely scientific context, some basic principles about complex adaptive systems and the emergent order they display have been arising within the sciences of complexity, which reveal a dynamic of the living state that is, paradoxically, both ordered and unpredictable. This has significant implications for attempts to control and manipulate life through biotechnology and management, and points to an emergent science of qualities.

Reductionist science also sees living beings as ends in themselves rather than as part of a complex, shifting ecological community, co-producing with nature. The technologies and knowledge systems built through such co-production are devalued by reductionism and treated as archaic. However, these systems provide the cutting edge for new growth even in the reductionist system.

The course will describe and explore the new life sciences and the lessons for responsible action that arise from them. The first five days will be spent in Delhi with Brian Goodwin in the morning. The afternoons will be given over to activities such as meditation, recycling paper, music, learning about using space ecologically, that help foster awareness of the ecological basis of our life.

Participants will then travel to Dehradun to the Navdanya Biodiversity Conservation and Agroecology Farm where Brian will continue the dialogue while students learn about sustainable agro-systems and the value of diversity - both for sustainable food systems and for holistic health. The participants will travel in the Himalayas, to meet and learn traditional concepts of holistic health and healing from indigenous healers and practitioners of ayurveda.

The course includes a stop at the Shivanand Yoga Ashram while returning to Delhi.

 

Sustainable Cities
March 3-23, 2002

Faculty: Herbert Girardet, S.K. Das, A.G.K. Menon, Kathy Goldsmith

Accelerating global urbanisation has brought with it the crises of poverty, ethnic and racial violence, crime, homelessness and environmental degradation. Today, few cities are actually able to provide their citizens with even the most basic amenities. Besides this, globalisation is creating the phenomenon of "global cities"--cities that are geared towards attracting foreign investment, even when this comes into conflict with the need to alleviate poverty and protect the environment. With the rapid growth of the urban poor and the lack of a viable infrastructure to protect the interests of the people and of nature, newer, more people-oriented models of development are needed.

This course, conducted by Herbert Girardet, will consist of three sections. The first will provide an overview of urbanisation today and how it links to human migrations and current global environmental impacts. After this, participants will visit villages in and around Dehradun to gain a clear understanding of the realities of village life in India today and of urban-rural migration and its causes. The third section will be taught by both Herbert Girardet and Kathy Goldsmith. Participants will travel to Delhi to study its history, its current growth, and its environmental and social problems.

As a special addition, this course will include classes in nature painting taught by Barbara Girardet.

COURSE FEE:
FEES FOR THE THREE WEEKS COURSE - USD 1000
(December 9 – 28)

FEES FOR THE TWO WEEKS COURSE - USD 750
(December 9 – 21)

FEES FOR ONE WEEK - USD 500
(December 9 – 16)  

Registrations and advance deposits (50% of the course fees) should be made at least 6 weeks in advance of the course.
While registering, please give us full details of your address, including email address, telephone and fax numbers, the details of the organisation you work for (if any), and a short note on your particular interest.

Deposits should be made through either Bank Drafts or International Money Order in favour of Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (Bija Vidyapeeth), and should specify the name of the applicant and the course being applied for on the reverse.
 

BURSARIES AND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR ALL COURSES:
A limited number of scholarships are available for students and individuals in exceptional cases. Applications for financial assistance should be made at two months before the course.



For more information on all courses, write to

Coordinator, BIJA VIDYAPEETH.

Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology

A-60 Hauz Khas, New Delhi, India

Tel: 91-11-6968077, 91-6853772

Fax: 91-11-6856795

Email: vshiva@vsnl.com / bijavidyapeeth@hotmail.com

Website: www.vshiva.net