India

LEARN MORE

BOOKS, WEB SITES, VIDEOS

BOOKS

AGENDA FOR A NEW ECONOMY: FROM PHANTOM WEALTH TO REAL WEALTH
By David Korten (Berrett-Koehler, 2009). Korten suggests how we might replace the phantom-wealth Wall Street systems with a living-wealth Main Street system that is responsive to the needs and values of ordinary people.

THE END OF MONEY AND THE FUTURE OF CIVILIZATION
By Thomas Greco (Green Press Initiative, 2009). Economist Greco demystifies money, banking and finance, and examines the role of money in disempowering—and potentially empowering—communities.

THE FUTURE OF MONEY: CREATING NEW WEALTH, WORK AND A WISER WORLD
By Bernard Lietaer (Century, 2001). Economist Lietaer explains how the global financial system works and the risks of a money system built on debt and interest.

GITANJALI
By Rabindranath Tagore (BookSurge Classics, 2003). His best-known collection of poetry, Gitanjali won Bengali poet Tagore the Nobel Prize for Literature.

YOU ARE, THEREFORE I AM: A DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE
By Satish Kumar (Green Books, 2002). A former Jain monk, ecological activist and educator, Kumar shares his understanding of the world as a network of diverse relationships.

ARTICLES & BOOKLETS

HIND SWARAJ
By Mahatma Gandhi (Navajivan Trust, 1938). In this seminal booklet, Gandhi advocates for swaraj, meaning “self-rule,” which stood for Indian independence from foreign domination.

THE LEADERS WE NEED ARE ALREADY HERE
By Nitin Paranjape (a Berkana Publication, 2010). This booklet chronicles the learning from the Berkana Fellows program in India, an experiment in creating self-directed learning. See accompanying film. Download booklet. (PDF, 13.8 MB)

VIMUKT SHIKSHA: RECLAIMING THE GIFT CULTURE
Manish Jain and Shilpa Jain, editors. Anthology of essays on Gift Culture produced by Shikshantar, 2009. Download booklet. (PDF, 922 KB)

Websites

FREEGAN
Freegans employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Visit site.

NATUECO CITY FARMING
This blog is a place for urban farmers to share knowledge, experience and skills. It includes a recipe for amrit mitti. Visit site.

SHIKSHANTAR
Shiskhantar works to catalyze radical systemic transformation of education. Its vision is to support swaraj (self-rule), Gandhi’s call for people to create their own models of development that are holistic, pluralistic, sustainable, liberating, collaborative, socially just and anticipatory.  Visit site.

SWARAJ UNIVERSITY
Swaraj University (an initiative of Shikshantar) is a two-year self-directed learning program that creates opportunities for young learners to develop the knowledge and skills they need to create green-collar enterprises and support healthy and resilient communities. Visit site.

UNCOLLEGE
Self-directed learning is a viable alternative to classical education. UnCollege invites people to design their own education, supported by a community of like-minded peers and mentors. Visit site.

Videos

CYCLE YATRA
Directed by Laheru Zaveri and Manish Jain in association with Shikshantar. Friends in the Swapathgami Network take a money-free bicycle journey into the arms of gift culture. Watch film.

THE LEADERS WE NEED ARE ALREADY HERE
This film chronicles the learning from the Berkana Fellows program in India, an experiment in creating self-directed learning. See accompanying booklet. Watch Part I (15 min) and Part II (13 min).