Name |
Barefoot College |
Works on |
Providing education and professional training in multiple fields for welfare and development of local rural communities |
Type |
Non-profit |
Website |
https://www.barefootcollege.org |
Sector(s) |
Energy & Environment Water Education Technology Health Right to Information & Advocacy Art & Culture Gender |
Start Year |
1972 |
Number of Employees |
21-50 |
Offices in Cities |
Ajmer |
Projects in States |
Rajasthan |
Overview |
Works with the vision of developing villages by making use of traditional skills and knowledge of the local villagers. To achieve its vision, it follows the approach of combining traditional skills and experimental learning to create solutions which can be implemented at the village level. Its activities are focused on providing skill-based training to local girls and women and achieving sustainable development through their equitable contribution. Developmental solutions are offered in the field of solar power, education, professional training, advocacy and water. In the education sector, its activities are focused on development of leadership skills in children, especially the girl child. It aims to provide quality education to children from economically disadvantaged, isolated communities through interactive and practical learning. The Balwadi (rural creche) programme allows working mothers to provide a safe and engaging learning experience for their children while they are at work. Its Solar Bridge School initiative provides interactive and practical education to children through night schools powered through solar energy. The Day School programme provides regular primary education to children. Its Bridge Transition School initiative provides supplemental education to children who have not been previously enrolled in regular schools and allows them to achieve a similar level of education as their peers. Through its solar power initiative, it provides training in solar electrification and also offers solar lighting solutions, parabolic solar cookers, solar water heaters and solar powered water desalination equipment. Through rainwater harvesting, construction of dams and water desalination plants, it aims to provide fresh and safe drinking water to local communities. Neer Jal is its water mapping website which helps local communities in mapping, controlling and managing water resources which are in scarce supply in a State like Rajasthan. Through its professional training programme, it has provided training to individuals from local communities in multiple fields including midwifery, medicine, solar engineering, health, nutrition, hygiene, communication, technology, finance, legal & civic rights, micro-enterprise skills, reproductive health, self awareness and environmental protection. Its advocacy initiative aims to empower women and ensure equal access for everyone to basic facilities like energy, education, water, health and sustainable livelihood. It has formed SAMPDA, a network of rural grassroots organizations, which works on development of effective solutions for addressing community needs. It also organizes Mahila Mela, an annual gathering to protest against gender based violence. Through its college campus, it works on ensuring better health and developing essential life skills in members of marginalized indigenous & tribal communities. Hatheli Sansthan is its artisan initiative which hosts an online shopping store for textiles, accessories and gifts handcrafted by local women artisans with the aim of supplementing their income. Through its efforts, it has been successful in educating 7,000 children every year with more than 75,000 children trained in night schools, saving more than 4,000 grams of carbon emissions, installing more than 18,000 solar systems in households in multiple countries, providing more than 1500 schools and communities with safe drinking water, harvesting 99,000 liters of rainwater, training more than 250 doctors, providing employment to more than 500 artisans, and partnering with more than 80 NGOs in various countries. Apart from India, it also has operations in Liberia, South Sudan, Zanzibar, Senegal and Burkina Faso. |
Primary Office Address |
The Barefoot College, Tilonia, Via Madanganj |
City |
Ajmer |
State |
Rajasthan |
https://www.facebook.com/BarefootCollege/ | |
https://www.linkedin.com/company/barefoot-college/ | |
https://twitter.com/barefootcollege | |
YouTube |
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbPEPiOQ_ru4mNSnm6PglKQ |
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FCRA Reg. # |
125410009 |
Contact |
Send a direct message to Barefoot College |