Radical Ecological DemocracyTowards a Solidarity Society

Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh

India’s Impressive Growth• One of world’s biggest economies, high growth

rates, amongst world’s richest persons, 800 million mobile phones, 150 million middle class …

… violence against nature, cultures, communities, and individuals!

‘Development’ = economic growth at all costs

Impacts: growing inequities, deprivation 1% richest own 50% wealth!!!!50-70% people still poor (600-800 million)

Structural roots of unsustainability & inequity

Centralisation / concentration of powerCapitalism State-dominated regimes Patriarchy Caste

Towards transformational alternatives

Resistance …

… is part of the alternative

India: alternative initiatives for well-being

Water

CraftsShelter

Food

Energy

Governance

LivelihoodsConservation

Village revitalisation

Urban sustainability

Learning

Health

Producer companies

Recipe for transformational alternatives: Key ingredientsEcologyPoliticsEconomicsSocial justiceCulture

Towards tribal self-rule: Mendha-Lekha (Maharashtra)

Informed decisions through monitoring, and regular study circles (abhyas gat)

All decisions in gram sabha (village assembly); no activity even by government officials without sabha consent

Conservation of 1800 ha forests, now with full rights under Forest Rights Act

Vivek Gour-Broome

Earnings from sustainable NTPF use (over Rs. 1 crore in 2011-12), and use of govt schemes towards:

• Full employment

• Biogas for 80% households

• Computer training centre

• Training as barefoot engineers

2013: all agricultural land donated to village, collective ownership

Towards participatory cities

Bhuj (Kachchh, west India):

decentralised control by the poor: water, housing, sanitation information-based empowerment for participation in city planning

(Hunnarshala, Sahjeevan, Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, ACT, Setu)

: Secure livelihoods through

producer companies / cooperatives (Khamir/Kasab textile coop, Kachchh; Dharani

farmers’ coop, Andhra Pradesh)

Maati Collective, UttarakhandWomen’s empowerment through ecosensitive livelihoods

(crafts, agr. products, ecotourism)

Village reconstruction: outmigration is not inevitable

Ralegan Siddhi and Hivare Bazaar (Maharashtra), Kuthambakkam (TN),

Kudumbashree (Kerala), Jharcraft (Jharkhand)

Changing urban mindsets on consumptionRooftop / backyard farming (>10,000

families in Bengaluru)

Organic, traditional food markets /fairs

Producer-consumer cooperatives

Not-for-profit shops (e.g. reStore, Chennai)

● Reviving traditional seed diversity● Creating community grain banks ● Empowering women/dalit farmers, securing land rights● Creating consumer-producer links (Zaheerabad org. food restaurant) ● Linking to Public Distribution System

Deccan Development Society conservation, equity, & livelihoods through sustainable agriculture

Dignified livelihoods for urban poor

Kagaj Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat

&

Swach

(Pune)

Alternative education: learning for life!(Gandhi’s formula: heads, hands, heart … & soul/spirit) Adharshila, MP Jeevanshala, NarmadaSECMOL, Ladakh Imli-Mahua, ChhattisgarhMarudam, Tamil Nadu Adivasi Academy, GujSwaraj University, Rajasthan Beeja Vidyapeeth, UttarakhandBhoomi College, Karnataka

Knowledge commons & democracy Technological innovations: pro-poor, pro-environmentmalkha cotton weaving, Andhra Pradesh Hunnarshala housing, Kachchh

Energy: decentralised, renewable, efficient (Ladakh solar; Bihar solar/husk; SELCO Karnataka)

Eco-swaraj: Radical ecological democracy (RED)

(Radical = going to the roots, challenging the conventional)

• achieving human well-being, through: ● empowering all citizens & communities to participate in

decision-making● ensuring socio-economic equity & justice ● respecting the limits of the earth

Community (at various levels) as basic unit of organisation, not state or private corporation

The dish that’s brewing…

• Diversity and pluralism (of ideas, knowledge, ecologies, economies, polities, cultures…)

• Self-reliance for basics (swavalamban)• Self-governance (swashasan)• Cooperation, collectivity, and ‘commons’ • Rights with responsibilities/duties• Dignity of labour (shram)• Respect for subsistence • Qualitative pursuit of happiness• Equity / equality (gender, caste, class, ethnic … sarvodaya)• Simplicity, enoughness (aparigraha)• Respect for all life forms • Creativity, innovation

Hey, don’t forget the spices!

Values & principles….

Alternatives from elsewhere in the world…

• Indigenous peoples’ territorial struggles and notions of well-being

– buen vivir: sumak kawsay (Andes), suma qamana (Bolivia), kume mongen (Chile)– ubuntu (S. Africa), umuntu (Uganda), ukama (Zimbabwe), eti uwem (W. Africa)

• Direct democracy/political autonomy: Zapatista self-governed region, Kurdish Rojava autonomous region, Venezuela’s consejos comunales

• Economic democracy: Factory take-over and democratic running by workers, Argentina, Greece, Turkey

• Europe’s degrowth & solidarity movements

Towards a sustainable and equitable society … 5 pillars

Ecological resilience and wisdom Conservation of nature, sustainable use of resources

Social well-being & justiceEquality between men/women, classes, castes, etc

Direct & delegated democracyDecision-making by citizens, accountable representative institutions

Economic democracyMeans of production in hands of producers, localised self-sufficiency, economy of caring/sharing

Cultural and knowledge diversityKnowledge as public resource, respecting cultural/ethnic diversity

Vikalp Sangams (Alternatives Confluences): practical collaborations, bottom-up visioning

Vikalp Sangams (regional / thematic)Timbaktu, Andhra Pradesh, Oct 2014Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Feb 2015Ladakh, J&K, July 2015Wardha, Maharashtra, October 2015

Energy, Bodh Gaya, March 2016

Upcoming: HP, Kachchh, Kerala; Food, Youth, Learning/education

www.alternativesindia.orgwww.vikalpsangam.org

• www.kalpavriksh.org

• www.alternativesindia.org

For more information….

Email: chikikothari@gmail.com