Three Stones make a Hearth: A theoretical model for rural skill development and capacity building at Anegundi, Hampi World Heritage Site

Published at Ramanand Arya DAV College, Bhandup (E), Mumbai for One Day International Conference on “Skill Development: The Key to Economic Prosperity

Abstract

It is widely known that heritage can support rural development in general- not just for tourism alone. The characteristics of rural tourism sector are best served by the joint management of a wide variety of resources, agents and enterprises. For any heritage conservation to take place in Anegundi, The Kishkinda Trust (TKT) believes that it must first and foremost benefit the people of Anegundi economically, culturally and socially. The following paper is a theoretical model for increasing people participation in heritage led rural-tourism, with its core emphasis on skill development and capacity building.

Paper

The Kishkinda Trust (TKT hereafter), led by Ms Shama Pawar (niece of Shri Sharad Pawar), works with grassroots communities in developing integrated systems for sustainable livelihoods, architectural conservation, crafts, and education through performing arts, etc., in the village Anegundi- a part of Hampi World Heritage Site. This paper is a part of Ms Pawar’s vision of holistic heritage led rural development and since the author had worked with TKT as a Project Manager on this model, sharing the views in an international conference might add fruitfully to the larger debate on skill development, especially in rural areas.

In a population of about 4000, TKT has touched a 1000 lives through its many programs- Crafts, Architectural Conservation, Maintenance of public spaces, Development of community spaces, Library and children’s center, Education through performing arts, Banana Fiber Craft, Organic agriculture and forest based products for daily consumption, shops and small jatras, Food Courts during events & Catering, Festival of ARTS, RiverTern Concerts, Moon light Santhe (Market), etc. These 1000 men, women, youth and children, reflect a deeper sense of commitment to values of community living and betterment, compassion towards heritage and conservation, and the historical importance of the space that they inhabit, along with meaningful and healthy means of living. As an intent to spread out the benefits of these sporadic activities in an even and deliberate fashion, so that the locals- the real stakeholders, earn their livelihoods while remaining connected to their homeland and culture, TKT built a comprehensive program for capacity building in the core areas of Architectural Conservation, Crafts and Design, Tourism and Heritage Management and Entrepreneurship, Administration and Management.

TKT does not want to merely to set up Anegundi as a tourist destination, but to infuse the vitality of the lost heritage and culture, to create a community oriented atmosphere and quality of life in the locals, which shall be passed on the visitor, domestic and international, thus making it an authentic and  rich experience.

By capacity building is meant inculcating the intrinsic importance of the value attached with the village and the site, training that will inculcate knowledge of the historicals of the place and tools to tap the economic and social potential of their location, per se, training them to run their businesses imaginatively and creatively in keeping with international standards.

Capacity Building aims to be carried simultaneously at the following levels:

Capacity Building in Architectural Conservation

In identifying about 27 houses and 8 public spaces in Anegundi, TKT wishes to renovate, reconstruct or redesign them for maximum utilization and future use. These ‘incubator’ houses shall be put to a variety of uses: project houses, administrative office, interpretation centre, guest houses for tourists, cafes, restaurants, bangle and mehndi shop, dhobi house, cyber cafe, crafts shops, saree & sarongs shop, child care center, spa and health resort, healthy foods bar and artist residency- to name a few.

Apart from generating livelihood, the masons and other artisans involved in the restoration of the spaces shall be involved in the capacity and knowledge transfer, as this shall be critical to secure the long‐term viability of the project. In this respect, a select first level of line in commands shall learn from professionals and participate actively in knowledge transfer.

The intent here is to create a living example of how conservation can promote other sub-sectors of the cultural industries such as traditional building arts and crafts, while serving as the ideal backdrop for promotion and display of the sectors such as performing and ritual arts, handicrafts, community living and heritage tourism.

Activities to be undertaken under the program

• o   Inculcate, through workshops and other exercises, the value and relevance of architectural conservation and heritage restoration
• o   Inculcate that such activities can bring economic prosperity to themselves and the region
• o   Train in imparting the much required technical skills
• o   Train in structured courses in carpentry, masonry, plaster, metal or stone-work
• o   Train in design sensibilities as a part of conservation and restoration
• o   Train in Management and Administrative support 
• o   Train in neighborhood planning initiatives and larger village planning
• o   Certify qualified people in the field of conservation

Number of people to be trained for over 202 days in a year

Category	Number	Name
A	10	Training in Architectural Conservation
B	24	Training in Masonry
C	6	Training in Plumbing
D	6	Training in Electrical
E	15	Training in Landscaping
F	8	Training in Carpentry
G	6	Training in Interior Design
	75	Total

Possible affiliating Agencies

Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority (HWHAMA), INTACH, Anegundi and Hampi Chapter, Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) and Independent Architects and Designers

Capacity Building in Crafts and Design

As a pioneer in Banana Fiber Craft, TKT has created, not only, such products, but incorporated them with other techniques such as weaving (with and without Ilkal woven fabric), stitching, embroidery, etc. To train local potential talent to design towards empowerment of the crafts and crafts persons, TKT identified the following areas:

I: Tailoring and Embroidery

Activity	Number of people	Training Days	Training Content
Crochet	55	10	Learning Techniques Skill Development & Practice
Tailoring	57	30	Stitching Garments such as frocks, blouses, skirts, shirts and trousers Skill Development & Practice
Lambadi Embroidery	35	20	Embroidery Styles Skill Development & Practice
Total	147	60

II: Rope Making

Activity	Number	Training Days	Training Content
Fiber Weaving	15	20	Learning Techniques Skill Development & Practice
Rope Making	50	10	Learning Techniques Skill Development & Practice
Total	65	30

III: Natural Fiber Products

Activity	Number	Training Days	Training Content
Banana Fiber Products	50	10	Learning Techniques Skill Development & Practice 2 Product Development
Bamboo, Palm and Coconut Fiber Products	40	10	Learning Techniques Skill Development & Practice 2 Product Development
Water Hyacinth Fiber Products	40	10	Learning Techniques Skill Development & Practice  2 Product Development
River Grass Fiber Products	40	10	Learning Techniques Skill Development & Practice 2 Product Development
Total	170	40

Possible affiliating Agencies

National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Shristi School of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore, National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmadabad, Indian Institute of Crafts and Design (IICD), Jaipur, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), DC(H) and Independent Designers

Community Capacity Building in Tourism and Heritage Management

With basics as ‘Good Host’ training to encourage friendliness, increase awareness of tourism and foster attitudes of “neighborliness” in front-line people to community capacity building and direct community engagement in development of learning skills and strategies that will allow indigenous communities to take advantage of new opportunities, community capacity building shall be a core process in the development and strengthening of local communities.

The locals will have the opportunity to attend practical sessions for Food and Beverage Service, Bed Making, Cleaning, Call Handling and Front Office Management and Communication. Training sessions will be organized in the places where they can learn through their actual involvement in the operations.

The programs shall be well organized, pulling together, and knowing what it wants to achieve through tourism; concerned about all the aspects of the visitors’ experience and the impact on local people and the environment, and committed to monitoring and improvement, as an ongoing process.

Activity	Number of people	Training Days	Training Content
Basics of Hospitality Management	95	5	Fundamentals of Housekeeping, Quality Management, Shopkeeping, etc
Housekeeping	95	10	Detailed training and study of aspects of Housekeeping
Culinary Management	95	10	Cooking food, Table manners, serving manners etc
Quality Management	95	5	International quality control and maintenance
Management, Administration and Book Keeping Training	95	10	Lessons in managing and administrating the place of interest, including book keeping
Total	95	40

Possible affiliating Agencies

Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Hyderabad and CGH group of Hotels, Cochin, Kerala

Capacity Building in Entrepreneurship, Administration and Management

In order to achieve managerial efficacy, it is important to achieve professionalisation of management amongst the community. The stakeholders shall be an integral part of the policy frame and procedural guidelines at the planning stage and in the regulation of the management performance towards achievement of its objectives at the control stage. Their entrepreneurial and managerial efficiency shall be enhanced by incorporating better career management methods and techniques through a process of continuous training and development.

The 27 houses that shall undergo renovation and reconstruction at Anegundi, shall be the symbols of businesses, independence and financial successes. One of the first steps towards making these business incubators a sustained source of income generation and a huge financial success and is to create ‘serial innovators and entrepreneurs’, who are habitual and compulsive in their passion for innovation and creating substantial new enterprise, through introducing new products, processes, or new service delivery systems. Furthermore, these entrepreneurs shall provide leadership in creating substantial forms of wealth - financial and/or social - from the new opportunities they identify, exploit, and grow into sustainable organizations.

Fundamental to the success of initiatives to develop entrepreneurs is a concurrent development of processes for identifying and developing ‘entrepreneur enablers’. The ability to enable entrepreneurship is the most critical component in developing the processes of coaching, mentoring, business generation, business incubation, and education to produce the necessary abundance of successful, world-class new ventures.

Process

• The capacity building exercise shall touch upon the following, in the least:
• o   Develop technical, professional and management skills for entrepreneurship and innovation
• o   Integrate new technologies and effective work methods into the routine functioning
• o   Transform ideas into businesses: promote the establishment of business incubators
• o   Identify potential areas of creation of income generating activities
• o   While promoting local potential, contribute to job creation and self employment
• o   Sensitize and train new entrepreneurs and communities to create profit making ventures with sustainable models, transforming ideas into reality
• o   Create mechanisms for flexible access to credit, including the development of micro-credit.

The teaching methodology shall include case studies, seminars, development of business plans, and guest lectures, etc.

Activity	Number of people	Training Days	Training Content
Basics in Rural Management	115	5	Rural structures and societies, understanding of political systems at grassroots level
Basics in Finance Management	115	5	Economics, Managerial Accounting and Finance
Basics in Marketing Management	115	10	Brand Building, Advertising, Sales Promotion, Direct Selling, Supply Chain Management etc
Basics in Human Resource Management	115	5	Role of Managers in organizations; essential skills of a manager; present challenges, Motivation; perspectives on motivation; linkage with performance, Interpersonal Communication etc
Agri-rural Business Management	115	10	Topics pertaining to local agricultural markets
Communication Skills	115	10	Training towards effective communication skills
Course in Entrepreneurship	115	10	Business proposals, business development, IT use etc
Total	115	55

Possible affiliating Agencies

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore

Conclusion

It is aimed that Capacity Building will be a dynamic process, with continuous feedback and monitoring that will allow for review and adaptation as needed to continue to be responsive to issues as they arise. At the end of the program, TKT had envisioned that:

This task force shall:

• ·         Become self dependent and self reliant entrepreneurs in their own might and right, in a very graceful way
• ·         Enable other keenly interested people towards crafts, design, entrepreneurship, innovation and management
• ·         Become instrumental in the replication of Anegundi model in other villages in Hampi WHS
• ·         Undergo further training at their own will, towards self development and contribute meaningfully to the site and landscape that they belong to
• ·         Become Brand Ambassadors of their region, landscape and culture in front of the world.