Q&A on Aaj Project

On March 17, 2003 Asha Pune conducted a site-visit to the Aajgaon project, and got back to Asha Princeton with some questions. Below are the e-mailed responses provided by Vikas (Asha Princeton Project steward for the Aajgaon project) to these questions.

From Vikas to Asha Pune volunteers, dated Sun, 20 Apr 2003:

We at Asha Princeton had realized the efforts taken by LKSS to provide this
vocational training to the local children when we decided to fund this project.
Since the Center was already running, we thought the initial budget for buying
an electric kiln and some equipment would be sufficient to make it
self-sustainable.  But, they faced 2 problems :-

1. They couldnt buy electric kiln due to electricity problem.
2. State govt. withdrew support for non-salary grant.
   This was a significant setback to the overall operation.

I called Mr. Bhise today at Pune and talked with him
for a while. He informed me that:-

1. The instructors have learned a lot but cannot produce quality items because
of the limitations of the current kiln. But, they do have the skills,
motivation and will power to stay in the center and make it successful.

2. Two of the instructors have returned from mumbai, where they had low-income,
12 work hours all 7 days job. So they are aware of the fact that staying in
Aajgoan Center is beneficial to everyone.

He requested me to support this effort for another year before we see the
results.

The kids parents will definitely look at it seriously 

* when their kids start making good ceramic items, 
* the Center becomes self-sustainable creating a livelihood for the community.
  
I would really appreciate if anyone from Asha Pune could talk with Mr. Bhise.

From Vikas to Asha Pune volunteers, dated Thu, 24 Apr 2003, in response to their questions:

Question 1: In the context of Asha-goals, why is this project being funded and what is this project going to achieve?

I hope my previous emails have answered this question.

Asha funding for this project could in principle be serving the following goals:
A) Support an effort/ experiment at exploring an alternative and viable vocation (apparently suitable for the local area). If successful, the project will in the future be training students in this viable vocation.
B) Vocational training (at this time-- not future) for students with the aim of giving them a means to earn an income.
C) An investment in reinforcing/ preserving the cultural/ art heritage of the area amongst students.

Case A is the only reason Asha Princeton had decided to fund this project. So let's totally avoid Case B & C for discussion.

It is clear that if the pottery center does the same as what local potters do (in terms of techniques and designs), then this center would probably not create a new and viable vocation. The local people are not very keen on pottery (as they know it) as a vocation for their kids.

Please read previous emails.

So, this pottery center needs to do things differently - in terms of techniques and designs. And this center is trying to do that. It also needs to show that the better pots can be sold profitably and that pottery is a viable vocation.

Pottery is not just making earthern pots. After the pot's are baked the first time, they undergo another process called Glazing, which adds lot of value to it. Probably, Sanjog may have seen some glazed pottery and can explain you better. Mr. Aajgaonkar is very confident about the fact that better ceramic items can be sold profitably.

(OK -- agreed that one needs to show that the pots can be sold at a good price but that does not mean that the pottery center needs to be self-sustaining.)

Teaching them fishing is better than giving them a fish to eat everyday. If we do not push them to become self-sustainable, then Asha/someone else will have to support them for the rest of their lives. Also, it's one way to ensure that the Asha money is not taken for granted. Especially now, after we all have realized that the previous plan for an electric kiln was not viable, it's more important that they have a better plan to become self-sustainable. We dont expect projects like Vasundhara's Science on Wheels to be self-sustainable, because it's a totally educational project.

- In this context, the pottery center needs to do an analysis of viability:
1) What are the new techniques they can introduce within practical limits?

As far as I know, the plan is to produce marketable ceramic items with bear minimum infrastructure.

2) What are the new designs they can introduce -- again within practical limits? (Clearly, we should not expect every piece to be a piece of art or expect future students to have special talents.)

We do not expect the Center to sell items made by students, because that will be child labor. The saleable items are made by their instructors who do it in their free time. The only art is Ceramic art, which is viable compared to drawing or painting. After burning the ceramic pots, they apply several glazes to it and fire it at 1100 degC temperature. This gives the color and adds value.

3) If a student is successfully trained to be a good potter, will he able to convert that into a profitable business considering all the initial investments etc. Are the projects of initial investments etc reasonable and within the reach of the local population? What will be his earnings vs his investment and what his risks?

LKSS made several requests to the local potters to join them. The local potters are not interested because they were betrayed by khadi gram-udyog people few years ago. a. Some govt. people from khadi gram-udyog promised to take their kids and give them best pottery & ceramic art training. This never happened. b. These local potters dont know anything about ceramic glazing and new methods. They are a poor community and never seen or experienced the outside world. Some of their kids do went to mumbai/pune, but just to do some odd jobs. LKSS thinks if the Center can show that this idea is viable, their kids will definitely form a cooperative society. Out of the 3 instructors, 2 have returned back disappointed from mumbai. Why? Because they had a 12 hr job, which paid them only Rs. 1100 per month.

4) One can train people to be technically sound but how much is the dependence on artistic talent (which is difficult to acquire and impart)? What will be the students market if (say) he is not very talented in designing new forms?

This is an underestimation. We dont expect any M. F. Hussein's here. Sanjog, can you explain what you saw there or do you want me to throw more light on it?

- Assuming that pottery is indeed a viable career, the Aaj Pottery Center needs to do the following:
1) Focus on introducing new techniques which local potters and their kids can adopt without un-reasonable investments on their part,
2) create/ identify potential buyers. Ofcourse, one can concieve of a commercial/industrial pottery unit (either belonging to some businessman or set up by the locals in a cooperative mode) employing the graduates of this pottery center, but that thinking is well beyond the scope of Asha's activities.

This is exactly what LKSS has in mind and that's one reason we decided to support them. When I visited Aajgaon first in March 2000, the Center was up and running without Asha's support, but LKSS was falling short of money to run it further. I saw students learning and items they made. (Picures on the website). They have identified potential buyers. One is Goa Handicrafts. A person called Manchekar is Aajgaonkar's student. He sells pottery & ceramic items and periodically provides some help in this project.

Question 2: Should Asha be funding projects exploring income-generation schemes (CASE A) or should be funding projects where the impact on students is more immediate? There is a risk in funding experiments on possible vocations --- Asha will be diverting from its primary focus of education.

Yes, this is an unprecendented case. Asha for Education has already broadened it's scope by saying "socio-economic change through medium of education". Many states claim 80%-90% literacy. Even Maharastra govt claims that for konkan region. It means people can write their name and count money properly, but is it going to help them earn a livelihood? How can it bring a socio-economic change in anyones life? Well, this question is a debateable issue. At the chapter level, sometimes if all the volunteers feel that the project is good, we decide to give them a chance.

Question 3: What are the parameters by which this project should be evaluated for success? What are their deliverables at the end of the project?

It's very hard to see any deliverables early in such project. The best thing would be to check if they are on the right path. One way would be to form a cooperative society and get loans for the infrastructure. We talked to some shops like "Ten thousand villages" who buy and sell items made from third world country artisans. They buy it only from cooperative society.

Actually, it would be better if these same questions are asked to Mr. Bhise from LKSS.