by Pancaratna Das
This January a group of devotee-led NGOs (Non Government Organizations), working for
sustainable development in village
The Sattva Alliance has been established to foster mutual
support, professional development, exchange of ideas, funding and joint
programs amongst these and other partner NGOs that share a dedication to
sustainable development with spiritual growth.
The founding partners include:
Food for Life -
Vrindavan led by Rupa Raghunath Das who, along with his team, have begun
development programs in neighboring villages with microcredit, education, water
supply, etc.
Venu Madhuri In Belgaum,
Sri Mayapur Vikas Sangha in Mayapur led by Pancharatna Das
and his associates, who have worked with programs in health, education,
livelihoods, and community development supported by grants from the UNDP, UK
DFID and other national and international funding agencies.
A special feature of these NGOs is that while working
through people-centered modes of development such as micro-finance, village
participation, village health and sustainable agriculture, these organizations
are also finding ways to integrate spirituality in their development projects.
In Mayapur, development field workers from both Hindu and
Muslim religious traditions meet to discuss their common values and how these
are important to sustaining development.
In Vrindavan, village workers have used traditional bhajan meetings
as a platform for forming women’s self-help micro-credit groups .
And, in Maharastra, development planners have incorporated vaishnava
principles of cow protection in planning an animal husbandry program.
While pursuing immediate objectives like reducing poverty,
ill health and other obstacles to well-being, these organizations work towards
a long term objective of development with both equity and spiritual growth.
The Sattva Alliance for Sustainable Development will help
these devotees and other like-minded persons to work closer together and to
mobilize resources cooperatively.
Sustainable development has become a rallying cry for people
everywhere who are concerned for the future of our planet. Although there are
wide variations in perception of degree, there is near universal
acknowledgement that the current mode and pace of development cannot be
sustained but would eventually lead to a meltdown of civilization as we know
it.
The proposed solution is “sustainable” development where
long-term management of resources and building people’s capacities takes
precedence over short-term gains and “patching up” of problems.
Development workers agree the ultimate goal of development
is certainly well-being for everyone. However, well-being can not be achieved
solely by material means but must encompass the entire range of human
experience physical, mental, social and spiritual.
Gradually people are beginning to recognize what Srila
Prabhupada long ago pointed out, that despite huge advancements in material
development in the so-called “developed” countries, there are actually
increasing deficits in the social and spiritual quality of life leading to
ill-being not only for those directly affected, but for others affected by the
ills that grow out of spiritual malaise.
In fact problems of violent crime, broken homes, drug
addiction, mental illness, etc. what to speak of environmental degradation are
in many cases increased by material development rather than cured.
Unfortunately, development policies and practices today
rarely make reference to spiritual development in sustainable human
development. Yet, without spiritual development the positive fruits of human
advancement in technology, commerce and culture can not be sustained for long.
With few exceptions, in the realm of development planners,
economists, etc. the primary focus has been on impersonal mechanisms and
infrastructure with little regard for the spiritual dimension of development.
Recognizing the essential role of human ideals in
sustainable development UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, stated that we
should seek to “put in place a new global ethic of global conservation and
stewardship.”[1]
Such an ethic can best be built on a foundation of spiritual
awareness by which human life is seen as ultimately meant for inner growth
rather than outward material consumption.
In a paper presented
to the UNED-UK conference on Education for Sustainable Development Paul Maiteny
writes:
“Spirituality can be defined as 'contextual (or holistic)
awareness'. It entails a sense of the interconnectedness of all things and of
relatedness with the wider systems of which human beings form a part. Awareness
shifts focus from the particular to the general; from knowledge of parts to
knowledge of the inter-relations between the parts and how they contribute to
the whole. It gives the ability to see 'the forest' as well as simply a 'group
of individual trees'.
Such experience gives rise to values that, in turn, shape
behaviour. A value can be defined as an enduring belief that a particular
outcome, and/or a mode of behaviour for achieving it, is preferred to another
one. Behaviour informed by spiritual beliefs will express value given to
relationships with other people and environments, service to others and
self-understanding as means of enhancing personal well-being and fulfilment in
ways that material consumption or accumulation cannot. A shift away from the
latter towards valuing non-material wealth will, ipso facto, contribute to
reducing pressures on external life-support systems.”[2]
There are three ways in which Sattva Alliance will link
spirituality with development:
Instrumental – Spirituality as an instrument for sustainable
development through building capacities within individuals and amongst
communities to address problems from a spiritual perspective and to use
traditional spiritual beliefs and practices to promote sustainability, care for
the environment, peace, cooperation, etc.
Consequential – Spiritual growth as a goal for development, e.g.
ethnic harmony where there was tension, a sense of stewardship where there was
exploitation, inspiration where there was despair.
Indicative – Spiritual awareness and practice as an
indicator of human development, complementary to purely physical indicators
like income, health, habitat, etc.
Sattva Alliance for Sustainable Development will encourage
and support development in which spirituality is an integral aspect as
instrument, goal and indicator.
The founding NGO partners of Sattva Alliance for Sustainable
Development are already active in many areas of development. Through Sattva
Alliance both ongoing and new projects will be developed and supported
Project planning is already underway for several initiatives
to be conducted jointly by Sattva Alliance partners in micro-finance,
micro-enterprise, village health, and sustainable agriculture and animal
husbandry(see appendix for a brief description of these projects). Other
projects under consideration involve village education, appropriate technology,
and safe water and sanitation.
In addition a special research project on the role of
spirituality in development is planned. This project will be conducted in
partnership with both development agencies, practitioners and academic
partners.
And, in practice, all Sattva Alliance projects will add to
the body of knowledge on this subject by maintaining professional modes of
monitoring and evaluation that include the role of spirituality.
Beginning in January, 2003 the Sattva Alliance for Sustainable
Development began operations in the
Along with the
Initially the NGO partners will be those represented by the
founding partners. Then, as
opportunities develop, the organization will establish relationships with new
partners, both in
The founding partners of the Sattva Alliance for Sustainable
Development are committed to develop the organization from their limited
resources. However, as India-based NGO’s there is little scope to contribute
financially to establishing a
Rather, initial seed funding for the organization must come
from
By utilizing the human resources of Sattva Alliance partners
and volunteers, the professional staff and overheads will be kept to a minimum.
In principle, Sattva Alliance will seek to keep administrative expenses to
within 20% of it’s overall budget leaving
80% for direct project expenses.
Anyone interested in participating in this project or who would like further information should contact Pancharatna das, Sattva Alliance for Sustainable Development, 27511 NW CR 241, Alachua FL 32615 Phone (386)418 3825, or email pancaratna.acbsp@pamho.net
Sattva Alliance partners have already established over 300
micro-credit groups called self-help groups (SHGs). In Mayapur,
This initiative would continue this work and further develop
it. The basic goals would be
1) capacity building of existing SHG's
2) expansion of SHG's in new areas (a total of about 500 new
groups)
3) development of a community-based micro finance
institution (MFI)
4) expansion of funds available for on lending to SHG's
5) working with SHG groups to promote literacy, health, and
livelihood development as well as spiritual growth
This project would also be coupled with a micro enterprise
development project that could include entrepreneurship development for SHG
members, training, etc.
The focus of the project would be poor and marginalized rural
women and the time frame for the project would be five years.
The overall budget for the project, implemented through all
project partners, is expected to be approximately $300,000 including a
revolving fund grant of $100,000.
The condition of impoverished people could be described as
like a hot air balloon which is tied down by many ropes and two big chains. The
two chains are lack of access to credit and lack of skills, while the ropes are
numerous other disadvantages like ill health, poor infrastructure, lack of
education, etc. If the two big chains are cut by providing easy access to
credit and basic livelihood skills than the upward power of the balloon would
break the smaller ropes.
The micro finance program provides easy access to
credit. Micro
enterprise development provides livelihood skills.
The basic components of this project are:
1) entrepreneurship training
2) training in specific skills like weaving, handicrafts,
kitchen gardens, etc.
3) a common service center providing facilities like
Internet access, design support, and assistance for marketing.
This project would also include an emphasis on the need for
using enterprise to serve God and community and to avoid exploitation and
destruction of the natural environment.
Sattva Alliance partners have already initiated several
micro enterprise projects which would be further developed and added to through
this initiative.
The overall budget for this project is expected to be
approximately $50,000 including a working capital grants of $20,000.
One of the great tragedies of modern development has been
the gradual demise of family farming and greater and greater alienation of
society from the land that nurtures and supports human existence. It is
imperative that the mistakes of
commercial agriculture in the developed world are not replicated in
developing countries.
Sattva Alliance partners will work together through this
project to promote what is known as LEISA (low external input sustainable
agriculture) along with sustainable, non-violent animal husbandry. A unique
component of this project would be revival and development of indigenous bovine
breeds and integrated use of ox power in all aspects of the farming and dairy
operations.
Initially the project would focus on research and
experimentation while exploring new markets for non-violent organic agriculture
and dairy products that could offset the loss of chemical-based farming
subsidies.
The overall budget for this project is expected to be
approximately $30,000.
For the last 5 years Sattva Alliance partner SMVS has been
conducting a village health program focused on reproductive and child
health. This program currently employs
20 village health workers and four health professionals.
In 2000 this project was incorporated into a pilot program
on Community Financing of Health funded by the UNDP. The aim of this initiative
has been to build the capacity of the village health workers to provide needed
services to their communities and to build the capacity of these communities to
directly pay for these services.
Although this has been achieved to some extent, there's still a gap
between the amounts that village beneficiaries can afford and the cost of
providing these services.
With support from Sattva Alliance fund-raising this program
will be continued and refined with an ultimate aim of making them
self-sustaining. The project can also be replicated with other Sattva Alliance
partners.
This project will also include a variety of specialized
campaigns for addressing specific health issues such as sanitation, child
nutrition, disabilities, and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS awareness and
prevention.
The overall budget for this project is expected to be
approximately $100,000 spread over three years.