Name: Learning from a barefoot movement
Uploaded: 2011-10-17T15:08:51Z
Duration: 18 min 50 s
Description: In Rajasthan, India, an extraordinary school teaches rural women and men -- many of them illiterate -- to become solar engineers, artisans, dentists and doctors in their own villages. It's called the Barefoot College, and its founder, Bunker Roy, explains how it works.

Bunker Roy: Learning from a barefoot movement

Learning from a barefoot movement

In Rajasthan, India, an extraordinary school teaches rural women and men -- many of them illiterate -- to become solar engineers, artisans, dentists and doctors in their own villages. It's called the Barefoot College, and its founder, Bunker Roy, explains how it works.

Change spreads when knowledge is valued over credentials and communities trust their own wisdom. In rural India, so-called 'illiterate' women build solar cookers, electrify villages, and even serve as dentists for thousands of children. At Barefoot College, the teacher learns from the student, and certificates come from the people served, not from a piece of paper. Solutions that last are grown from within, not imposed from outside experts.