Urban Independent
home | communities | workshop | artist's statement

East Wahdat Burning Man Barefoot College Leidsche Rijn Rural Studio
Main Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 presented as part of Consuming Places









What models did you look at while developing this project?

Starting fresh, the Barefoot College developed its own model:

The College has identified poor unemployed and unemployable youth living in the villages who have been rejected by the formal educational system and trained them as communicators. They have demonstrated that urban skills and experts are not required, thus making rural communities less dependent on the urban areas. This has given them self respect and dignity, kept them in the village, and prevented many hundred youth from migrating to cities. The educational qualifications of the hundreds of rural youth-both men and women-trained as “barefoot” professionals are so low (5th to 8th standards pas) that they would never ever get even the lowest government job.

As part of the training the College has ensured the importance of transparency and accountability in the interaction with rural communities. Public Hearings have been organized where demands have been put to village government officials asking them to explain in public how much money has come for development work in the village and where and how the funds have been spent. This has had a strong impact on the mindset of the village officials and politicians, and corruption and wastage has become a public issue.

The College has demonstrated that any villager, man or woman, with little or no educational qualifications can be trained to provide basic services to their own community. To be able to change the mindset of poor rural communities who have been made to feel that they cannot do it themselves is a tremendous contribution and less developed countries would benefit immensely from this barefoot approach of the College.