Scouting and Documentation

Scouting and Documentation 

• To screen, document and verify the claims about these innovations through various networks of scientific and other institutional initiatives as well as through Honey Bee collaborators, existing databases and field visits.  

• To generate and experiment with material and non material incentive mechanisms for innovators and traditional knowledge holders. 

• To provide assistance in forging decentralized networks of inventors/knowledge experts to strengthen the Honey Bee Network. 

• To obtain Prior Informed Consent (PIC) of the providers of knowledge. 

• To share the innovations permitted by the knowledge providers to be put in public domain through Honey Bee newsletter and other media to enrich the repertoire of the local communities and informal knowledge experts and to support Shodh Yatras in different parts of the country.

Scouting and Documentation function has faced many other challenges such as communication with thousands of knowledge providers in local language, working with very small transient team of staff, pursuing with various collaborators about the need to improve the quality of documentation, getting their PIC, creating awareness about the National Register, networking with various state governments to create awareness about national campaigns, and matching expectations of Honey Bee network and NIF’s capacity to deliver with all its limitations. Information is disseminated to all the district collectors, MPs, and a large number of NGOs, educational organizations and other potential partners who can help us to discover the hidden genius of our society. The kind of traditional knowledge scouted by NIF is briefly discussed in Table A and some examples of creative traditional knowledge and contemporary problem solving are given in Table B.Scouting and Documentation function has also supported dissemination function so far by way of coordinating the media coverage of NIF’s activities by BBC world, NDTV, Zee, Star, Discovery and many other channels as well as print media see ‘NIF in News’.

Explanatory Note on Scouting and Documentation of Grassroots Innovations  

Initially about 100-120 stude

nt volunteers from various Gandhian institutions in Gujarat are selected every year by the Honey Bee Network for about two months during the summer vacation. They are given simple orientation training in small groups for scouting and documenting innovations and traditional knowledge. They are encouraged to appreciate the grassroots innovations created by their family members and neighbours in the village to begin with. The students are than asked to narrate some of their own experiences, which were interesting, intriguing or inspiring. By underlining the ones that we find counter intuitive or less obvious, we convey what we are looking for. The process of training gets demystified and the purpose of scouting becomes clear because the examples of what we are looking for are drawn from the scout’s own experience. The students then survey different villages. They also collect addresses of a few farmers who either know about the innovator concerned and/or have fields adjoining the fields of the innovative farmer. We write letters to these contacts later to have a first round of confirmation. Later, another student/field investigator revisits each site to avoid any error in the process. The best scouts are given prizes in the annual Honey Bee network meeting.     

ii) Organising Competitions for Scouting Innovations: 

Competitions have been organised in various parts of India among students and grassroots functionaries of the state government. Survey forms have been developed to seek brief information about the innovations scouted by the participants. Application forms, procedure and other details are explained through meetings in schools/colleges. Voluntary teachers coordinate such contests in their schools and ensure that students work in the spirit of fulfilling their curiosity to learn from informal knowledge experts in our society rather than to earn a small honorarium. For launching competitions among the grassroots functionaries, workshops are organised to explain the purpose of scouting campaigns, as well as to expose the participants about the earlier experiences in scouting. A committee of three persons evaluates the entries sent in by the participants and the winners are awarded prizes and certificates in network meetings. Some of the outstanding innovators identified through competitions are also honoured at such meetings. Many students and functionaries can participate in this activity. Revolving trophies are given to the best district official/development agency which scouts the most interesting innovations and traditional knowledge. We have not succeeded, so far, in institutionalising such a process in many states, but efforts are on. Though one finds that the same, or similar, traditional knowledge, and in some cases, even innovations, are recorded from more than one place, we do not discourage this. This helps us to learn about the capability of local communities and individuals to evolve similar solutions to same problems independently, autonomously and simultaneously. In some cases, such a knowledge or innovation may indeed have diffused from one place to another. Our experience so far has been that several innovations and traditional knowledge are discovered from unexpected quarters within a very short span of time through such competitions.

iii) Scanning of Old Literature: 

There are many visionaries and experts at the regional level who do not get due credit and recognition just because they did not publish their ideas in English. As a result, many times it so happens that we end up giving credit for ‘reinventing the wheel’. One of the purposes of scanning the old, vernacular literature is to bring these unaccredited knowledge systems to light. We have collected old books from civil society, old institutions and stalls, NGOs and vendors of old books. We are trying to reprint some of these books. Particular mention may be made of a book by Gangaben, who became a widow at an early age and published a compendium of 2080 formulae for self employment based on local knowledge, way back in 1898 in Gujarati language. 

iv) Agricultural and Cultural Fairs: 

Agricultural fairs are vibrant traditional institutions in rural India, where people assemble in large numbers, for religious or cultural celebrations. Honey Bee network members participate in such fairs by putting up stalls. Many innovative volunteers sometimes set-up and run these stalls. In addition, a computer for accessing Honey Bee database, posters, leaflets and other publications in local languages are kept at the stall. Many farmers, artisans, community leaders and professionals visit the stalls and get information about the innovations developed by other farmers. While accessing this knowledge base, they also share their own innovations with Honey Bee network members.

v) Shodh Sankal - a local network of grassroots innovators: 

To generate a lateral learning environment among the grassroots innovators, SRISTI has initiated the concept of Shodh Sankal - chain of experimenting farmers. The idea is to bring together experimenting farmers and discuss the results of trials that farmers have taken up on their own to solve various local problems. This discussion also enhances the esteem for local knowledge system. It is possible to generate `lateral learning’ among farmers by sharing innovative practices found suitable in one region with the farmers in another similar region after on-farm testing/trials, if necessary. This could help to speed up the process of technological change in regions where formal technology generation system has not been very successful, such as dry regions, mountainous regions and other disadvantaged areas. Even in less risk prone regions, it cannot be assumed that an innovative technology will diffuse on its own just because some farmers in a village have evolved it.

vi) Shodh Yatra (journey for exploration): 

Based on the experiences of several years, the network launched the concept of Shodh Yatra in 1998. The journey of exploration is organised on foot from one village to another for 8-10 days, covering a maximum of 250 kms during extreme summer as well as winter. Innovative farmers, artisans, students and scientists join the Shodh Yatra and walk with the objective of participatory learning and dissemination of information, as well as spreading experimental and inventive ethics among communities. Local experts, whether in traditional knowledge or contemporary innovations, are honoured at their doorstep in these villages. The Honey Bee database is shared with farmers in the local language through laptop computers and print publications. A mobile exhibition on medicinal plants, posters, artefacts, working models of innovations, etc, are used for making the presentation more relevant to the local context. Biodiversity contests are organised among children while recipe contests are organised among women in some of the villages (particularly with focus on such food recipes in which at least one uncultivated plant has been used).

 

vii) Scouting through Collaborators: 

Unlike the agricultural practices, the search for artisanal and farm machinery innovations is far more complex. One village may have several hundred farmers but only one or two artisans. To meet 100 artisans, one may have to survey 50-100 villages. However, over a period of time we discovered that social network of artisans is reasonably strong. Once we identified an innovative artisan or mechanic, we asked him to look for others of his kind. This process has helped in discovering many innovators.

viii) Scouting through Media: 

Many newspapers and magazines have written about the innovations and traditional knowledge recognised by Honey Bee network. Some of the innovators have approached us after reading about other innovators. This process is further strengthened through circulation of posters of competition among various institutions and stakeholders. A very small number of innovations are also scouted through Internet where existing websites (www.sristi.org, www.nifindia.org, www.nif.org.in, www.gian.org, www.honeybee.org, www.indiainnovates.com) of the network have popularised the missions of NIF and other collaborating institutions.

Practices collected from various sources reflect a variety of knowledge systems, problem solving approaches, sectoral areas of technology, and above all, a variety of ethical approaches to evolution and dissemination of local solutions. The technological solutions have been recorded from various fields such as agronomy, plant varieties, plant protection, crop production, soil and water conservation, farm implements, veterinary and animal husbandry, poultry keeping, vegetative dye, forest and other natural resource management, leather tanning, energy generation, transport, general utilities, farm and small scale machineries, household utilities, etc. The methods described above are complementary to each other and are some times followed together. The practices scouted or documented, irrespective of the methods used, are verified by writing letters to the innovators, followed by a personal visit from the team. Innovators are encouraged to correct the practices and interpretations are made from the information provided by them. Verified practices are stored in the computerised database with the names and addresses of the innovators, as well as communicators. If the same practice is reported from other sources without variation, the names of the other providers are also added in the same record. However, the success rate of a particular scouting method may not be the same at every place; it varies over time and space and, of course, the social group attempting to use these methods.

ix) Scouting through the Network:  

The network collaborators and coordinators of GIAN play a very important role in helping to attain a record of respectable number of innovations and traditional knowledge through their active involvement with the network. Our Collaborators and Honey Network Members form an integral part of the Scouting and Documentation process. Through their network of scouts and volunteers they provide us with the necessary reach into the interiors of the geographical regions where they are based, which we otherwise would have found difficult to reach, being based in Ahemdabad. From time to time we share our experience during various meetings of our network members and discuss new ideas, views and problems and make necessary incorporations/changes in the S&D process so that it remains updated and fruitful.

 

Examples of Innovative ways of solving local problems 

Presented below are select technologies from different parts of the country, some of which NIF has identified for possible commercial use. It is our contention that NIF’s National Register is more extensive than any such database, not only in India, but also anywhere in the world. (i)Mr. Mohammed Saidullah (64) grew up in a small village called Jatva-Jeneva (Purvi Champaran) of Motihari district, Bihar. “An inventor’s mind should be free; not bound with conditions”- a belief that has fuelled Mohammad Saidullah’s passion to develop multi-functional products such as the amphibious cycle, the mini tractor, key operated table fan, fodder cutter-operated mini water pump and others. He draws inspiration for his innovations from his experiences in life. His most interesting innovation is the amphibious bicycle, a bicycle that moves on land as well as in water; born as a result of his love for his wife, who got separated from him during a flood in Bihar years ago. His eagerness to meet his wife at that time made him an innovator and he devised an amphibious bicycle. His bicycle has the potential to be used in water and amusement parks for adventure sports, etc. He was recently profiled for the Discovery Channel Program ‘ Beyond Tomorrow’.

(ii) Mr. Usman Shekhani (53) hails from Kanker in Chattisgarh and earns his living through the repairing and sale of electronic goods. He has devised an Incense stick-making machine. Shekhani’s attempts at developing this device started in 2001. It took him more than two years to transform his idea into a feasible innovation. This device is inexpensive, easy to operate and easy to repair. The unique handy cutter consists of a wooden bracket, high-speed steel blades, adjustable screws and spring loaded pushing roller. This device helps in cutting a bamboo strip into five sticks at a time and thus improving the efficiency of stick making and reducing the cost per stick. This device can be used in remote areas where there is no electricity. The unique handy cutter takes full advantage of the natural qualities of bamboo and with it slices of varying thickness can be obtained. There is no maintenance cost and it is portable and the output is world
class.

(iii) Mr. Balram Saini from Pasiyala, Haryana is an Arts graduate. In his free time he assists his elder brother in his electronic devices repair shop. Saini has developed a pistol for firing crackers. He was quite disturbed by the news of mishaps caused by firecrackers during Diwali and once in 2001 when his nephew was injured due to a firecracker, he decided to develop a device to minimise accidents. He discussed the idea with his brothers and they encouraged him to develop a device. This fireworks remote control firing and securing system consists of an ordinary Infra Red TV remote control unit (transmitter), an electronic receiving unit, switching circuitry, relay switch, separate LED for each firework loaded, separate heating element for each cracker, a timer for switching current to each heating element and a LED, platform and attachment for holding fireworks/ crackers. This is a unique device and one of its kind solution for the Indian market. As it helps in maintaining a distance from the place of the ignition of the crackers, it saves the person who ignites the crackers from exposure to a very toxic mixture of gases, which contains more than eight kinds of metallic compounds that are hazardous to human health.

(iv) Mr. Nagarajan (47) lives at Usilampatti, a small village 40 km away from Madurai in Tamil Nadu. He has studied up to the ninth standard. M. Nagarajan has modified garlic-peeling machine and a lemon cutting machine significantly and these improved machines address the two-fold problem of the pickle industry, namely, inefficiency due to low degree of automation, and short supply of labour during peak seasons, which limits capacity. His machines have generated quite a bit of interest in India and abroad.

(v) Mr. Zahoor Ahmed Shah 28 years, is from Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, and belongs to a cattle-rearing family. He discontinued education midway but has elder sisters and a brother who are educated. Mr Shah discovered the treatment for asthma and a formulation for treating wounds. He discovered the wound healing treatment when his cattle were injured. He looked around and tried some plant extracts and his efforts were successful. When his entry was received about wound healing and asthma treatment, NIF sent him a more detailed proforma for additional information. He took the trouble of contacting a curator, Mr Z S Khan, at the Centre of Plant Taxonomy, University of Kashmir, and got this plant identified and attached to his certificate. This shows new emerging consciousness, not only about local traditional knowledge, but also the need to build bridges with modern science. Of course, this is one of those rare cases where a person has gone so far to get all the information. In majority of the cases, we get only local names and getting scientific names poses a tremendous challenge (particularly with limited human and financial resources at our disposal).

When the formulations sent by Mr Shah were reviewed, it was found that Verbena officinale (hamuk) had been used for wound healing in Hawaii and a company, Pacific Holistic, had already developed a commercial cream containing extracts of five plants, including this one. Similar was the case with regard to the asthma drug. But this does not mean that the research conducted by Mr Shah has gone waste and has no importance. It provides a lead for a very viable drug that can be made and used for local health at a low cost. It might even generate a small or large enterprise, if the same is used for developing a human and cattle wound healing drug.

(vi) Mr. Ram Abhilas organised an Adarsh Farmers’ Club in Budawas Jasra village of Allahabad and has sent some very interesting innovations and traditional knowledge. Given the uncertainty of the onset and quantum of rain in this region, farmers have developed a very interesting practice of embedding paddy seeds in moist balls of clay collected from the tank basin (very fertile) and drying it. There should not be too much moisture otherwise the seeds will germinate and get spoiled. If the rain is late or excessive, the crop grown through broadcast seeds or transplanted seedlings get affected adversely. In that case, the farmer sows the balls of paddy seeds and these give higher yield than broadcast and transplanted paddy. It is a relatively new practice developed with the help of traditional knowledge. It can be diffused mainly through non-commercial means. Mr Abhilas has developed many other practices, such as sowing coriander around chick pea (a practice also found in western Haryana to save crop from pod borer). The general belief that it is the smell of coriander that repels the pest has been found to be incorrect. The pest is controlled by the predators, which are attracted by the nectar rich crop coriander crop. In this case, the farmers did the right thing for the wrong reason. This happens sometimes.

(vii) Mr. Ausaf Khan from Bhopal has developed a formulation for asthma, which he picked up from his father. It involves a common plant and salt. Mr Khan bemoans that people use this treatment only when they are disappointed with the allopathic system (that is, when the case becomes chronic). TK has to look into another issue -- because he does not charge for this medicine, people do not trust it easily, an ethical dilemma about the way this knowledge system should be preserved and valorised.

(viii) Mr. Kanak Das, who lives in a village 70 km from Guwahati, developed a mechanism for reducing the effect of bump on a rider and also use the force generated on a bumpy road for transmission purposes. The faculty of the Mechanical Department, IIT, Guwahati, has taken it up for further analysis. GIAN-NE initiated a market survey of the product and four different models have been developed as a result. The mechanism is being tested for its utility with different models of bicycle available in the market.

(ix) Mansukh Bhai Jagani in Amreli has developed an attachment so that one can do ploughing, weeding, sowing, etc, with the help of an Enfield motorcycle; Bhanji Bhai Mathukia has developed a ten horsepower tractor. But he is being charged the same fees for testing that is charged of a large company like Ford or Eicher. Obviously, there must be some method in the madness of this kind which we cannot fathom. The same rule applies to any other technology developed by a farmer, or an artisan. Mr Mathukia has also developed an innovative check dam for water conservation in dry regions but can it be diffused on public media. No. Prasar Bharati will not provide ten minutes on the national channel for a series on India Innovates, lest Indian society becomes creative and makes life of mediocre mandarins difficult.

(x) Remya Jose is an engineering student from a village near Palkad, Kerala. When she was in class 12th, her mother fell ill. Her father is a cancer patient, and household chores, particularly washing clothes, were a major burden. What would most people do, cope with it some how. Remya invented a washing machine that also doubled as an exercising machine and costs only about Rs 1500. She is a brilliant girl, with extraordinary talent in extra-curricular activities, as well as in studies.

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