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Honey bee publish details |
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Voices |
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Negotiating for Institutional Space: Informal Innovators from Formal Sector |
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Sanitary provisions made easier: Economic septic tank
atish Bhavsar is a pump operator in North Maharastra University. He is educated till the class tenth. In the year 1994, the Municipal council of Jalgaon discontinued the services of the sweepers to the residential areas. The people who had ‘tin latrine’ faced serious problem of cleaning it. For lower middle class and migrant population of Jalgaon living in congested areas, constructing a ‘septic latrine’ was difficult as it consumed more space and resources. This situation triggered an idea in the mind of Satish Bhavsar.
After years of research and experimentation, he developed a model of ‘Economical Septic Tank’. The toilet system as designed by Satish is very similar to that of any ordinary ‘septic tank’ except that it is cheaper than the latter. The common toilet consumes at least 70 sq ft space and warrants an investment of around Rs 15, 000- 20, 000. However, the toilet designed by Satish only takes 8 sq feet and can be constructed with an expenditure of Rs 4000. From construction point of view, the septic tank, as designed by Satish is made of cement concrete with a 3ft diameter and 3 ft height. At 2 ft height of the basin, commercially available seat made of China clay is mounted upon. The enclosure structure is made of iron rods and covered with plywood or softwood. The roof is made of metal sheet and the door is opened towards outside. It is an easy-to-clean system that needs to be cleaned once a year. The system designed for five persons can be tailor made to suit more people but then, it has to be cleaned more frequently. Satish has already helped 8-10 people in Jalgaon to set up and use the system.
Jayant Das: The Untiring Mind Replete with New Possibilities
Jayanta Das is serving as Sheristadar in the office of Civil Judge and Asst. Sessions Judge in the district court of Morigaon, Assam. Jayant is educated only up to class twelve. He has thought of an idea of ‘Geyser with the help of sun-light by using fused bulbs’. The fuse bulbs will be filled with water and exposed to sun rays. The hot water filled bulbs act like lens and they direct the sun shine towards the water tank. The concentrated sun rays boils up the water. This can be used as hot water for bathe. Jayanta Das has also proposed a system of obtaining germ-free drinking water with the utilization of sun rays. On the roof of a house, several reflectors and magnifying glasses are mounted upon. The sun rays are directed to the tank containing water through periscope and concave mirrors. The concentrated sun rays boil the water. This makes the water naturally germ-free. He also talks about the use of Kuji thakara (Garcinia morella) and Mati thakara (Garcinia sp.) in the treatment of blood dysentery. Slices of the fruits of this plant are dried in sun for some time. Then they are packed in airtight container. In the case of blood dysentery, a piece from the dried Kuji thakara (Garcinia morella) or Mati thakra (Garcinia sp.) is taken and put in a glass of water to be dissolved. The consumption of that water is supposed to cure blood dysentery. Apart from the above useful ideas, Jayant Das has sent over 120 ideas and traditional knowledge practices to National Innovation Foundation (NIF), highest sent by any individual innovator/ TK holder. Even if many of his ideas are not original or practicable, the fact that he has been regularly trying to stretch his imagination, deserves to be noted.
Carry the Microscope in Your Pocket: Bairagya Helps You to Do It
Chandra Kumar Bairagya is a retired school teacher in the district of Burdwan, West Bengal. He is a graduate in Life Sciences. Chandra has designed a ‘mini-microscope’ that is very light (weighing only 200-250 gm) and has a magnifying capacity of X450 to 675. Chandra designed this microscope in response to a real life problem faced by students: though the students needed microscope outside their classrooms for experimentation, but they could not carry it, because it was quite heavy and costly. The mini-microscope is 17 cm long and is made of gun metal. Compared to the stage micro-scope, it is short in length and can be carried inside the box of 3”x 7” size only. Chandra has also designed an ‘Arc with Multi-indicator’ to aid the students of Botany. The conventional simple arc indicator has a capacity of magnification only of ninety times and hence students of Botany will have to wait for several days to observe the growth of plants. Chandra’s arc with multi-indicator increases the magnification capacity to the extent of 60, 000 times and hence tiniest growth of the plant can be observed with it. He has also developed an integrated spawning pool-cum-hatching pool in response to the problems faced by the limitations of world famous Chinese hatchery. Working with the Chinese hatchery in his fish farm, Chandra realized that the existing system asks for two chambers - one for breeding and the other for hatching. The system also causes some inconvenience as the eggs are to be removed after breeding to the hatching pool and in the process of transferring the eggs, some of them are destroyed. The integrated spawning pool-cum-hatching pool designed by Chandra consists of a single chamber with modified accessories. This result in reduction of space, cost and time.
The Dilemma
Like Satish Bhavsar, Jayant Das and Chandra Narayan Bairagya, there are many more innovators who belong to lower rungs of formal sector with little formal education. They submitted their innovations to National Innovation Foundation (NIF) during various rounds of ‘National Competition for Scouting Green Grassroots Unaided Technological Innovations and Traditional Knowledge Practices’. However, NIF is constrained to honour them. NIF was set up with a clear objective to promote unaided grassroots innovations. It essentially means that NIF is mandated to honour and promote those innovations and traditional knowledge that have come from the innovators or traditional knowledge holders in unorganised sector. They may be less educated and may have got no support from formal sector in any form. This mandate of NIF restricts awards of any kind for innovations/ traditional practices that comes from the professionals or others in formal sector. The rationale is that formal sector not only provides avenues for its employees to forge links with centers of formal excellence or other institutions, acquire expert training and inputs but also gives a sense of material and physical security that may sustain the experimental spirit of a person. In such cases, innovations may emerge more easily. But then college educated farmers from unorganized sector like farming have been considered for awards. This means that the situation is rather complex. However, NIF is committed to support those people for whom innovations have come through struggle, trial and error and whose spirit of experimentation was not dampened by sheer material insecurity. Of course, during the first round of competition, innovations by the professionals were given awards; but like individuals, organizations also learn through constant self-introspection. After the first award competition, NIF has learnt that it’s primary and sole commitment is to the unaided grassroots innovators with no kind of connection to the formal sector. This doesn’t mean that NIF doesn’t commend or value the contribution of professionals from formal sector (infact, many of them can be mentors of innovators from grassroots level), especially people with less education and hailing from lower rungs of the formal sector. The very justification of the existence of NIF is determined by its identification with innovators and traditional knowledge holders at grassroots who have succeeded without any kind of encouragement from the formal sector. The effort of NIF to bring the unknown creative faces of India from the informal sector to the public limelight needs support from friends like Satish Bhavsar, Jayant Das and Chandra Narayan Bairagya.
The Possibility: Honey Bee Network Comes Forward
There is no doubt about the fact that some of the innovations received from professionals from lower rungs of formal sector are useful. However, they can’t be put at the same level with that of the unaided grassroots innovators. This raises a serious question about the space for innovators from the lower rungs of the formal sector. Undoubtedly, NIF will facilitate the linkage of innovations like mini-microscope or low cost septic tank with that of the relevant bodies, which support innovations from formal sector. However, there are many innovators for whom, furthering their innovations is not as important as ‘a pat on their back’. This brings into picture the role of Honey Bee Network and SRISTI. Honey Bee Network, supported so far by SRISTI and other collaborators has created space for innovations of various kinds including institutional innovations, educational innovations by primary school teachers, and innovations at the community level. The missing space for innovators like Jayant Das or Chandra Narayan Bairagya can be created with the active support from Honey Bee Network. SRISTI is seriously considering honouring such innovators with the ‘SRISTI Samman’ in the annual Honey Bee Network meeting. Hopefully, a gesture like this will enable the Honey Bee Network to maintain plurality in the innovation portfolio and inspire more and more professionals from lower rungs of formal sector to come out of morass of mediocrity and toy with the spirit of innovation. |
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 17(1) & (2): 28-30, 2006 |
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