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		Sustainability It is a belief influencing all the thought and action of the Barefoot College that there is no difference between development and politics. The location of a rainwater harvesting structure, a night school, solar lantern is a political act. It is supposed to influence attitudes and stimulate the thinking process for the better. But if the vision is to be long term and it has to have staying power the community has to be a part of this belief from the very beginning-NOT brought in halfway to show cosmetic “community participation”. Thus in order to ensure the sustainability of these actions to last well after the Barefoot College has withdrawn, several moves have yielded encouraging results: In the 29 Gram panchayats (Village Councils) in the project area of the College 60 have been elected from the staff of the College. They are traditional night school teachers, barefoot architects, barefoot solar engineers . They will influence the thinking of grass root political leaders and village level government officials to use the funds wisely and be more transparent. Village Energy and Environment Committees (VEECs) have been functioning for the last 5 years in 8 States across the country monitoring and taking decisions on the solar electrification of their own villages. Village Education Committees (VECs) for the night school sanctions the salary of the “barefoot Teacher”, sees that he/she comes in time, purchases the teaching and learning aids takes all the decisions independent of the Barefoot College. Village water Committees have planned and implemented piped drinking water supply schemes without the help of any engineer. Since 1994 a total of 12 villages have been collecting a monthly contribution, montoring the frequency of the water when there is a shortage and making sure of the maintenance. Where does a Community Based Organization (CBO) get its mandate and legitimacy from? Not from the law or from the Government but from the community they serve. If this legitimacy and mandate is not received from the community the sustainability of the CBO is also suspect. One way of acquiring this legitimacy is to establish a working partnership based on mutual trust and equality with indigenous institutions and the existing political infrastructure very much like the Committees mentioned above. The other way of ensuring legitimacy is by the CBO being transparent and accountable to the community in whose name funds are being received. The first Public Hearing on the accounts and expenditure of the Barefoot College was conducted in 1998. Replication The Barefoot Approach of the College has been replicated in 20 different remote village locations in 13 States of India.(kindly see website). In all these locations the main thrust has been to develop the competence, confidence and capacity of poor people to take control of their own development. The process of demystifying technology and putting it in the hands and under the control of the very users has demonstrated that any rural poor man or woman anywhere in the world has the potential to be a barefoot professional and serve their own community. The initiatives that could be highlighted are: i) Barefoot Technologists Rural men and women with little or no educational qualifications have been trained to be barefoot drillers, hand pump mechanics, solar engineers, architects and masons. Hundreds of hand pumps have been drilled for drinking water. Piped water supply schemes have been planned and implemented by villagers themselves. Rainwater has been collected in schools for drinking by village masons. Men and women hav been trained as barefoot solar engineers. They have solar electrified several thousand houses in Ladakh in the Himalayas as well as 6 poor States in India. The Barefoot College is the only fully solar electrified College in India. ii) Barefoot Educators Unemployed rural youth have been trained as pre-primary and night schools teachers. Over 150 night schools are being attended by nearly 3,000 shepeherd boys are girls coming to school for the first time. All the teaching and learning aids for these schools are being fabricated out of waste by rural handicapped youth. This includes chalk, blackboards, sittiing mats, science teaching materials. A Children‘s Parliament supervises,monitors and administers the 150 night schools. iii) Barefoot Communicators Traditional communicators - puppeteers,street players- have proved to be more powerful communicators of social messages. Using live and interactive media more familiar with the poor than TV or newspapers the puppet team has influenced and changed the attitudes of many traditional and conservative communities on issues such as child marriage, bride burning, legal rights of women, equal wages for women and why children should learn how to read and write. iv) Barefoot Architects The 30,000 sq.ft Barefoot College was constructed out of low cost materials by a farmer who still cannot read or write. He was assisted by 20 village masons. It was fully solar electrified (40 Kws) by a Hindu Priest who has only done 10 years of rural schooling. Over l00 people live and work in this College campus. More than 110 geodesic domes (originally conceived by Buckminister Fuller) have been fabricated by village blacksmiths. The geodesic domes are used as night schools, libraries, a pathology laboratory, meeting halls for women and pre-primary schools.