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Awareness-Demonstration Workshop

As part of the TIME-LEARN programme a one day “Awareness and Demonstration Workshop” was conducted on 25th November 2019 at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, SKUAST-Jammu RS Pura. The primary objective of the workshop was to involve local farmers and NGOs to make them aware of the program and disseminate and demonstrate appropriate technologies among them.

The workshop was inaugurated by the Vice Chancellor of SKUAST, Dr.K.S Risam. Farmers from districts Jammu, Samba and Reasi participated in the workshop which began with an exhibition of the latest technologies developed under different projects for improved production in agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry. The exhibition was an exemplary illustration of transfer of technology from lab to land. Dr. Subhash Nautiyal from HESCO briefed the audience about the TIME LEARN program. Ms. Juno Negi and Ms. Manisha Bisht from the Wildlife Institute of India (coordinating agency of the programme along with HESCO)were in attendance.

Mr. Santosh Watpade from IARI, Shimla discussed the importance of identifying virus-free mother plants in apples to increase its production and quality. Dr. Rajesh Srivastava and Dr.Sushmita Dadhich from Faculty of Agriculture Engineering-SKUAST presented a detailed account of the water conservation project being implemented by them under the programme. Dr. Rohit Rattan from WWF-India, Rajauri briefed about the critical topic of human-wildlife conflict and its different aspects, with ways to curb the same. Dr. Rajesh Katoch and Dr. Utsav Sharma from the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, SKUAST-Jammu, gave a comprehensive account of the economic upliftment of the locals through backyard poultry rearing, and use of hormonal protocols for improving dairy production. They also stressed on the importance of parasite control in poultry and dairy animals. Dr. Rakesh Kumar from HESCO gave a crisp presentation on the importance of increasing agricultural production, and value addition of local products for income generation. The workshop concluded with a healthy farmer-expert discussion on various issues pertaining to the field.

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India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019

The Wildlife Institute of India, and HESCO, as coordinating agencies of the DST TIME-LEARN programme participated in the National Social Organisations and Institutions Meet, IISF 2019, held at  Science City, Mini Auditorium, Kolkata from 5-8 November 2019. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) was one of the coordinating agencies of the meet. The focal theme for the year was "Transforming India:Building Grassroots Science Technology & Innovation (STI) Capabilities and Societal Developmental Models". 

The mission was to engage the science-oriented organisations & institutions, especially grassroots voluntary developmental organizations, in nation building through the intervention of science and technology, with an aim to deliberate on innovative ideas and technologies, methodologies and products developed by R&D institutions that are beneficial for the masses. The vision of the programme was to promote the various flagship programs of the government to reach out to the beneficiaries through a wide network of voluntarily developmental organisations working in the social sector.

Six zonal and other state-level capacity building pre-conference workshops were conducted to sensitise such organisations towards this objective. Ms Manisha Bisht from WII presented the poster, and standees highlighting the objectives, and various thrust areas of the TIME-LEARN programme. Brochures of the same were also displayed for the public for the dissemination of the TIME LEARN programme work.

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Field Work

GBPNIHESD, Srinagar

A brief meeting between Dr. Maikhuri (PI of the project, Enhancement of livelihood options based on locally available resources in disaster affected villages in Kedar valley of Uttarakhand) and Ms. Juno Negi (JRF, WII) was held at GBPNIHESD, Srinagar. Also present was Dr. Ajay Maletha (Project Coordinator), who briefed about the  project progress with around 80% of the project activities completed. As per the latest publications, photographs, as well as discussions, 306 persons have been trained in protected cultivation. 92 farmers  have adopted vegetable cultivation, and are earning an additional income of Rs.28,000/yr. Poly-house construction employed local labour, and using locally available materials (switched from iron stands to bamboo ones). 45 poly-sheets and 32 shade-nets have been distributed to farmers on the basis of willingness to grow vegetables and medicinal plants. Pilot demonstration on ‘genda’ (marigold) was initiated in March 2018. About 18 households promoted for large scale cultivation, and selling of the flowers to nearby areas including Kedarnath. A model demo (in 1 Ha of village common land) on integration of MAPs with horticulture as means of income increment has been established. 2.20 lakhs of MAPs seedlings have been raised; 0.90 lakhs of these have been distributed to the village institutions (Triyuginarayan, Tarsali, Jammu villages). 29 households have adopted large scale cultivation of Valeriana wallichii. A small nursery of 6 MPTs has been raised at  RTC for restoration/rehabilitation following restoration and agro-forestry approaches. 5 skill development training programmes (under DST TIME LEARN) have been conducted. Exposure visits of various stakeholders, viz, students,  army personnel, representatives from NGOs and government line departments have been conducted. A bio-processing unit has been set up at Triyuginarayan. Demonstration of packaging materials for easier marketing of the local products is also being carried out. Convergence with various schemes and institutions (Rural development scheme of  MGNREGS for cultivation of MAPs, training programme on fish farming with the help of Fishery Department, Govt. of Uttarakhand, financial aid from in-house and ICSSR sponsored projects, field visit by NABARD professionals) has been done.

Lamgara, Almora

A training on ‘Livestock disease and health practices’ under the project "Livelihood improvement and drudgery reduction through appropriate livestock technologies and biomass enhancement in Kumoun Himalayas" conducted in the month of February by CHEA at Toli village (Block Lamgara, Almora) was  attended by Ms. Juno Negi (JRF, WII). Mr. Girish Joshi,Mr. Narendra Singh Bisht, and Mr. Devendra Bisht from CHEA organised the training, and invited    Dr. Bhudhani for the same.A total of 42 villagers attended the training. Dr. Bhudhani discussed some common livestock health issues with the attendees, and shared information on the prevention and cure of the same using both medicinal and local practices,laying stress on the maintenance of a clean environment for the livestock. Livestock owners were encouraged to approach the hospital services from time to time. Villagers, including women, came up with their questions, and asked for appropriate advice on such matters. Women are organized into SHGs linked with banks. The training concluded with the distribution of general medicines and nutritional supplements for the livestock, with groups of 6-7 villagers receiving a package each. Later on, some villagers requested the doctor to inspect their livestock at their homes.A field visit was carried out in village Dhura Sangrauli (~3 km from Lamgara) by Ms. Juno Negi from WII. Mr. Joshi from CHEA, and the village sarpanch were also in attendance. A total of 25 water recharging pits, locally k/a khals (3m by 1m) and khantis have been constructed by local villagers in areas of 2 ha (Van Panchayat land). Planting of fodder grass (rye and broom grass) around the pits is in progress in some areas. The work has slowed down a bit due to insufficient labour.

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Sustainable Development Goals addressed by TIME LEARN     

DST TIME-LEARN SDG MAPPING pdf (156 Kb) 

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Technology Intervention for Monitoring Ecosystem

Livelihood Enhancement through Action Research and Networking (TIME-LEARN) Programme

Annual Group Monitoring Workshop (GMW) held on 3rd-4th December 2018 at Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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Awareness and Demonstration Workshop

As part of the TIME-LEARN programme a one day “Awareness and Demonstration Workshop” was conducted on 28th April, 2018. 18 voluntary organisations from different parts of Uttarakhand state participated in this workshop and shared their views and experiences on Technology Intervention for Mountain Ecosystem (TIME) programme. The primary objective of the workshop was to identify the gaps between technologies and their local applications.
Dr. Anil P. Joshi, Founder, HESCO inaugurated the workshop and highlighted the concept of the TIME-LEARN Programme for livelihood enhancement, drudgery reduction and economic empowerment of mountain communities of the three North-Western Himalayan states of India viz. Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Dr. Subhash Nautiyal, Project Co-ordinator, TIME-LEARN Programme presented a detailed overview of this programme to the various agencies working at grass root level. They were also motivated to submit project proposals related to socio-economic development of mountain community. Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Principal Scientist, HESCO and Co-Principle Investigator, TIME-LEARN Programme, shared his field experiences with other partner agencies during the workshop. Dr. Ruchi Badola, Scientist-G, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun and Principal Investigator of the TIME-LEARN project highlighted the issues related to drudgery of mountain women, their livelihood issues and possible technologies to improve their social as well as economic status.
Dr. R. K. Pant, Scientific Advisor, Himalaya Institute for Environment Ecology Development (HIFEED), Uttarakhand, briefed his experiences on promotion of ecotourism in Uttarakhand for livelihood enhancement and protection of our cultural heritage. Dr. R. P. Kala, Retd. Forest Officer from Bagwan Gramoudyog Samiti emphasized on NTFPs and commercial cultivation of medicinal plants as a livelihood option. Mr. Trilok Singh Bisht of the same organisation explained the technologies for commercial cultivation of Gynoderma lucidum a medicinal fungi for income generation.
The other speakers were Shri J. P. Maithani from Alaknanda Ghaati Shilpi (AAGAS) Federation, Chamoli, Mr. Rajesh Rawat, Paryavaram Evam Gramin Janvikas- Ek Pahal, Rudraprayag, Shri Anil Chandola from Bhartiya Gramothan Sanstha, Tehri Garhwal, Harish Joshi, HSPAVS, Chamoli, Shri Anil Nautiyal, Himalai Paryavaran Mahila Kalyan Samiti, Rudraprayag, Shri Vinod Khati, Nar-Nari Narayan Seva Samiti, Chamoli. Smt. Shanti Parmar, Sankalp Samajik Sanstha, Uttarkashi. Shri Bhagat Ram Rahi, Shradha Swayam Saheyeta Samuha, Dehradun, Shri Harshbardhan Nawani, Gramin Mahila Takniki Vikas Samiti, Chamoli, Shri Padam Joshi, Parvatiya Vikas Sanstha, Uttarkashi, Shri Raghu Tiwari, AMAN Organisation, Almora, and Shri Dwarika Semwal, JADI, Uttarkashi.
As part of the workshop a technology exposure visit was conducted in the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization (HESCO) campus where all the participants were shown various rural technologies related to fruit processing and value addition, fruit preservation, natural resource management, solar energy harvesting and products, Duksham (Steam cooker+ steam geyser), biogas and water harvesting techniques. A thorough discussion was held about each technology and the participants exchanged and shared their experiences regarding the level of success regarding the acceptability of these technologies among the mountain communities.
The issues discussed in the workshop mainly focused on agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, poultry, goatry, fisheries, bee keeping, biogas, utilization of biomass energy, soil and water conservation, water harvesting and recharging, disease and pest management, biodiversity conservation and management, non-conventional source of energy, connectivity in rural areas, etc. All voluntary agencies jointly agreed to work on these mountain specific problems and strengthen TIME-LEARN Programme focus areas. They also showed interest to work on specific problems of their areas and propose to SEED Division, Department of Science & Technology, for funding.

Dr. Anil P. Joshi at the inaugural session of the workshop Value Added Products made by HESCO, being displayed at the workshop
Demonstration of technology for the participants Commemorative photograph of the participants and delegates

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Planning & Execution Workshop

A two days Planning cum Execution Workshop of DST under TIME: LEARN Programme was held 22-23 May 2017 at Porta Cabin, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. The workshop was scheduled at 02:15 PM by registering workshop participants, PI’s & Co-PI’s of all 19 projects approved under this programme. The inaugural session was started 02:30 PM in which Dr. Savita, Director, Forest Research Institute was the chief guest of the function. Beside her Dr. Chander Mohan, Head and Dr. Sunil Agarwal, Scientist-E of SEED Division, DST, New Delhi, Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi, Founder of HESCO, Dr. G. S. Rawat, Dean, FWS Wildlife Institute of India, Dr. Ruchi Badola, Scientist-G/Convener, Wildlife Institute of India , Dr, Tej Pratap Former V. C., SKUAST, Jammu and Chairman of TIME: LEARN Programme Expert Committee, Dr. K. P. Singh Expert Member, Dr. K. G. Saxena Expert Member, Dr. Bhuvan Bhatt Expert Member, Dr. Rajeev Gulyani Expert Member, Dr. Subhash Nautiyal Co-ordinator and PI’s & Co-PI’s of 19 approved projects under this programme had participated in the workshop. Dr. Ruchi Badola had formally welcomed the chief guest and delegates. Dr. Chander Mohan Head of SEED Division had briefly emphasized on the SEED Division activities and TIME: LEARN Programme functioning and importance under SEED Division of DST, New Delhi. Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi founder of HESCO in this inaugural address briefly explained the concept of TIME: LEARN Programme and its importance for mountains. Dr. G. S. Rawat Dean, WII and guest of honor briefly discussed the past and present scenario of agriculture in mountains. He also emphasized on the difficulties and problems faced by mountain farmers in agriculture system today. Dr. Savita, Director, FRI in her address briefly discussed forestry, environment, and ecological aspects of mountain ecosystem and mentioned the cause of migration, gender bias and other basic difficulties faced by mountain women folk. She has also said that though there are large numbers of technologies available for uplifting of socio-economic condition of farmers on mountains but these technologies have not reached to the farmer. Therefore, lab to land/field transfer of technologies has to be promoted.

Before the opening of Technical Session Dr. Sunil Agarwal addressed all participants explaining the purpose of this programme and expectations of DST and society from implementation of these projects in Western Himalayan States (J&K, H. P. & Uttarakhand), the purpose of this workshop and future core of action for better understanding of the projects and developing network among different PI’s, DST and all stakeholders. Dr. Tej Pratap chairman of the committee had briefly given his comments about the ongoing TIME: LEARN program and explain the possible deliverables of various projects for the betterment of rural community.

After completion of project presentations the chairman and expert committee provided their personal views/opinions over all the projects and their functioning while emphasizing on need based projects, gender sensitive issues and technology transfer.


Annual Group Monitoring Workshop 2017

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