LEARNING SOCIETIES UNCONFERENCE 2012 JOURNEYS AND INTERESTS List #1 of 10 Sachin Desai Dhamapur, Maharashtra Syamantak (www.syamantak.

ak.org) My journey into the world of rural youth and communities was not with the intention to 'develop' them or educate them. I went to them to regain that which I had lost in the process of getting educated. To learn from them. Having escaped 'education' and 'development' they are still original and authentic and are holding on to the culture and world-view, which sustained them for centuries. I am convinced that despite of all the glitter, the five star cultures, consumerist hospitals and schools, culture of greater India is still in rural areas. Our soul resides in the soil of Mother Earth. Our education ought to be related to our mother earth & nobody should be forced to leave his village for bread, butter or consumerist education. None should be detached from Mother Soil for the sake of keeping body and soul together. We had, in days of yore, excellent architects, super human minds, amazing space walkers, all of them in villages and forests. None of the great of that time had to leave their villages for survival and go to foreign countries or cities for higher education. The birth of our first child led to question the value of leading our completely ontrack, build-your-business-at-any-cost kind of life. Inspired by vision of scientist turned educationist Dr.Srinath Kalbag. Would like to share some of the things I learn in Life on organic learning process, indigenous technologies,natural farming etc, knowing and understanding other's experiences Meenal Desai Dhamapur, Maharashtra Syamantak (www.syamantak.org) We remember school: We had to be there at seven in the morning, or else there were consequences. We were given homework every day. If we arrived to class after the late bell, there were consequences. If we didn't do our homework, there were consequences. This structure and set of consequences "trains" us and makes us conform to certain expectations. Children in formal school are on a rigid schedule. They have to be at school at a certain time; they react to the ring of a bell; each class is a limited time period. The material presented is set in stone, with no room for variation. We decided to break the confines around our childs minds. We do not use textbooks, workbooks, or any formal learning processes. Instead, we believe that life experiences will enable our child to learn everything she needs to know.This gave her more freedom to enjoy learning as a result our daughters mindset isn't stuck in the strict structure of the formal school system. Birth of our daughter Mrunalini led to question value of leading our completely on-track,build-your-business-at-any-cost kind of life.Inspired by vision of scientist turned educationist Dr.Srinath Kalbag,founded Non-Profit Organisation Syamantak. When we moved from Bhopal to Dhamapur, a small hamlet in Sindhudurg district (Maharashtra) in 2007, our idea was to create a proto-type education, a school that will be run by the students and for the students. Our curriculum was our day to hurdles we faced. The village mason, electrician who came to give their services

became our resource person for that particular day.In short span of time we got some extra-ordinary results from this organic learning system. Students evolved in this education system where there was no teacher - no supervisor. They innovated local technologies like the solar dehydrator, water pumping device etc.....through various community work like selling organic vegetables, vermicompost, constructing toilets etc funds were raised for the education. As against the donations received school gave services to the community valued and paid over the same period.This is about 40% of the recurring expenditure.This is not the profit made by us which can be used to cover the recurring expenditure; it is the amount paid for services rendered.The profit from this should be roughly 10-20%.This may not yet be measured as a good business model but it can certainly be seen as a positive effect of the investment made on education which is not only producing skills in students but also giving strategic services to the community and adding to the Gross National Product. Mrunalini Desai Dhamapur, Maharashtra Syamantak (www.syamantak.org) i dont go to school. i learn at home....i know how to make gadi-wafa for planting saplings and seeds,i know to make rotis,how to save cooking gas,how to make sev,how to take care of cow, I learn by sharing and with team work at Syamantak enjoy drawing,would like to play with every one Kokil V Poddar Bangalore Doing some freelancing content writing for a Hong Kong based firm and also Drawing Analysis wherein the person draws and I analyze about the person in terms of behavioral patterns and its effects on our life and if the person if open to guidance I assist in helping them make the shift within. Having been a rebel since the time I was born, started my spiritual journey when I was 16. Slept on it for the next 16 years until I quit my corporate job and joined a school in 2010 wherein my journey took a new path and I got into the mode of Self introspection. Shifted my view from negative to positive on a lot of aspects of life. Relationships changed and so did I. Scene change December 2011 post a few workshops and following the path.has spirituality made me weaker or stronger? Met my pattern of escapism again but this time taking me into a shell and avoiding people and situations compared to the earlier escapism of running away yes but emerging stronger and fighting and handling situations better. Currently also working on unlearning a lot of the conditioning that happens in our lives. Inspired by My brother Ashwin who is mentally challenged. The confidence that he has is amazing. Have been involved in Social work wherein I go as a volunteer for the mentally and physically challenged. Got to learn a lot from them. We easily give up if we fail once but they just refuse to. Its the 'Never say die' spirit that they carry without any inhibitions. Working on imbibing that SPIRIT. The Power of Pure Intent is also something I have been working on. I am also a part of the Tao Group of Co-evolve I am open to doing a demo of the drawing analysis.

Ankur PateL Ahmadabad Sun Energy Club (www.AnkurKPateL.com) I consider myself as Information Super Specialist. My own learning happened mainly as self-learning.I have learnt drama,laughter programs,film making and many other things by my keen interest & passion for learning. I am now closely associated with - Read India Read & Heal India Heal campaigns and did lots of un-learning. Trying to experiment "Pay As You Wish" for priceless knowledge I/We(in a team) share. I want to explore the following: Self Learning University Leadership Education from Childhood Creating Viral Campaigns to Spread Knowledge Sun Gazing is an ultimate physical & mental therapy. I would like to share the knowledge & experience with all. See: http://www.SunEnergyClub.com Rahul Dewan New Delhi - Ashoka Tree / Srijan Technologies (http://danceofshiva.wordpress.com) My internet social profiles say: "Entrepreneur/ Drupal, Open Source evangelist/ Green activist/ Pilgrim/ In pursuit of a purposeful life". I've been an entrepreneur for most of my working life. Have mastered the art of *delaying gratification* (even though it is beginning to hurt the financial planning for the family a bit), i've learnt to *live fairly frugally*. Actually, i've always had an intuitive pull towards frugal and sustainable living; about sharing and co-ownership; towards spiritual values. This pull led to a search for the divine fairly early on in my life, leading first to a crisis/depression, eventually resulting in a *search* for health, wellness, and a *deep seeking*. I still do not know what i am seeking; what i am after - so end up calling myself a *pilgrim, in pursuit of a purposeful life*. Yet i know where to look - sustainable farming, renewable energy, meditation, Gandhi, writing of life, travelling, photography, advocacy, a bit of coaching, employee-owned companies, and entrepreneurship. "Beyond Tech" is an initiative i've seeded at Srijan to help bring diversity and breadth to people. http://www.srijan.in/beyond-tech. This year my goal is to startup two more projects: a) invest in a large piece of land in the mountains alongwith Navin Pangti - with the objective of forming a base for experimentation with *BioChar* for increased organic agriculture productivity, for regenerating degraded forests around using "seedball sowing", and eventually creating a sustainable local economy with an element of eco-

tourism. b) create an e-commerce property to bring give market access for natural and wellness products to self-help groups and social communities around the country Devang Soni Vadodara - Amateur Astronomers Association of Vadodara, Balbhavan I completed my 10th SSc, failed in 12th HSc in main three subjects physics, chemistry and maths but passed in practicals of these subjects and in English and Computer. It was a learning procedure and were adventureous days for me. Then I took admission in Diploma in Chemical Engg. in which I was interested. Recently decided to not complete my Diploma Certificate course and have started learning by myself with a different way. I can do like any good person can do in his common life. I can continue with my, only certificate and only job targeted and violent and rigid way of Collage Education. But after a long time of thinking, I just leaved our traditional way of learning. I can see that it(? we call it learning) is a continuous process of any one's life. Im happy with what I done and I have so many challenges. It is an experiment I m doing on myself! Akshay Cherian Bangalore Career Craft Over the last 5 years or so I've been experimenting with various ideas on daily creativity among students, entrepreneurs and trouble makers in general. My introduction to the wild world of UN - everything has been through conversations with manish jain - still recovering, reflecting,re adjusting ;) In the context of learning, I am working on a learning community that is applying simple creative thinking to daily challenges we face as students/people. I personally have a love for quick and messy solutions/iteration/creative thinking/doing... Kiran Gulrajani Pune CoEvolve (www.CoEvolveWithKiran.wordpress.com) I love creating together with facilitators, social entrepreneurs, coaches, new world bringers, etc. Somehow, awesome souls have come into my life for us to evolve together. I have moved from IIT-HCL-XLRI-ITC- Pragati Learning before I started Eternale Learning in 2000. Eternale went thru a metamorphosis and is now CoEvolve. Being Real, Unearthing magnificence in people and communities, learning and of late, awakening have been my enduring passions. Been involved in Community of facilitators, coaches, social entrepreneurs, youth in areas of business, education, wellness and civil society.

The following questions I would like to explore: What does it take to manifest a vibrant learning community? How are we reinventing ourselves individually and collectively? Dola Dasgupta Delhi Delhi/Pune Homeschoolers (http://thouartthycreator.wordpress.com/) We are unschoolers. Myself (mom), Gourika (daughter), Ishaan (son) and we are each a person also....and in this together...learning without school and from life.....living each moment...some bitter some sweet...some pain some joy...laughter and tears...all in one..... Have been Learning without school...and self awareness through meditative practices and self healing.... I have only our life, its ups and downs and warm hearts to share with all... Want to understand ways to co-create more accepting spaces for people with different ways and means and life paths....

Gurcharan Singh Chani Chandigarh CEVA The process of learning and unlearning is continually happening with me. yet there are certain psychology blocks which i have to consistently keep removing. I am involved in theater, television and cultural activism. My quest is for devising and experimenting alternatives in theater and in films. Our focus is all community theatre and reaching out to people in non-conventional ways and means. Worked a lot in community theatre and community films involving communities in the process of creative expression and communication. I have also been involved in documentation of folk and tribal theatre. Would like to explore street theatre, folk theatre and community theatre - Would like to share about making of films on culture and heritage. Isabel Carlisle UK - Transition Network (http://www.transitionnetwork.org/) I grew up in London in the 1960s and '70s and attended very academic schools. I then studied archaeology at university (Exeter) and became an archaeologist abroad in Rome, Jerusalem, Sparta and Pompeii. I then fell into the art world, had children and lived in Florence (Italy) and Bonn (Germany). When both my daughters were old enough to go to school I found a job in London with The Art Newspaper. From there I became an art critic for the London Times and then an exhibitions curator at the Royal Academy of Arts. I left there in 2002 determined to take the arts into areas of social change and

challenge. This led to me setting up and running the Britain-wide Festival of Muslim Cultures that took place throughout 2006 with around 120 different events. It was a huge learning for me in the nature of fear and political power and how the arts connect us at the level of our shared humanity. In 2007 I decided to focus on climate change and the many challenges of this century (such as peak oil and economic contraction). I trained in Philosophy for Children and became an educator for sustainability, working with the old Indian fable of The Lawsuit of the Animals against Humanity. I deepened my unlearning on a 10-month course for educators at Schumacher College and then created a community of practice of radical educators for an ecological world view called Quince. I now live in Totnes in Devon where I am a Trustee of Transition Town Totnes and work for Transition Network on setting up their new education programmes. Experiments co-created 1. The Transition Town movement is itself a learning community and I am right at the heart of it in Totnes, the town where it began. We are experimenting all the time with growing food, generating clean energy, community investment, creating local businesses and livelihoods, building affordable eco-homes and much more. 2. I am part of the Transition Town Totnes education group and we are experimenting with using the Way of Council to run our meetings: I am very interested in what good collaboration looks like. 3. I am co-creating and project managing the blueprint for Schools in Transition with a number of very different schools in the UK as part of a pilot project. The aim is to embed schools into their places and communities by making visible the learning ecosystems within which they sit. The pilot schools will be networked together to form an action learning group. 4. I am co-creating and project managing the Transition Learning Journey, a one-year skills-based self-directed programme for young people who don't want to or can't afford to go to college or university. We will be supporting their learning in four main ways: mentoring and personal development; placements in Transition communities; apprenticeships to skills masters; a knowledge curriculum that looks at innovative problem-solving of 21st century challenges. I am excited to be taking the learning from this unconference back to my learning and unlearning communities in England. I hope I will be challenged on articulating the values that underpin my work. I would like to present on my projects of Schools in Transition and Transition Learning Journey. These are both blueprints with the potential for global transmission, transformation and experimentation. I am currently exploring the topic of exchange of skills for labour: how can we create "free" learning experiences for young people while gathering both "masters" and "learners" into a shared learning community.

Sanjyot Hardikar Pune Pune Homeschoolers Hello, I am Sanjyot. Have had a very beautiful life, enriched with a spectrum of

experiences. These have all led me to believe that one just needs to flow with the stream. Breath shallow, spread arms, close eyes, and just smile and float. Each moment is thoroughly felt with all intensity, by all my senses. Each experience takes me closer to my journey towards self discovery. Of course when i say i am on an introspective road, DOES NOT mean the introspection has led to any growth. No I am as screwed up as i ever was, the only difference is now I know that i am screwed up. Anyways, I am homeschooling my two boys, and they are helping me learn a lot, and unlearn even more....I am also a Spiritual hypnotherapist, and hypnotherapy is proving to be my best friend, in the past few months. Want to further explore different healing meditations and group healing. Andrew Alexander UK - Links with India (www.linkswithindia.com) After 35 years in teaching, the majority of which were spent in independent progressive informal schools, I took early retirement in order to develop the Links with India project with my wife, Maggie, who is also applying to attend the conference. The result of this is that we are running our first Learning Journey to India from 29th January to 13 February this year with a very small group. Also I am gathering material for a collection of essays I am writing on approaches to learning that have emerged from India and their relevance to the global conversation on education. I have taken groups of students to India and have travelled fairly extensively around the country with Maggie - it is through these experiences that I feel there is much to be learned from what is happening beneath the surface of the country. Experimenting with Learning Journeys to India - where adults from the West will be able to participate in discussions and observations with people who are working in the areas of sustainable living, education and social justice at a local level in various parts of India. Approaches to learning from India that challenge the Western dominated view of life and education. I see this as a tremendous opportunity to listen and learn. I hope to host dialogues exploring different approaches to learning. What is the role of the teacher? What is an effective parent? How do we grow in freedom? Maggie Alexander UK - Links with India (www.linkswithindia.com) I have spent much of my life bringing up my four sons and working with children in informal schools, both pastorally and as a teacher. Recently my husband, Andrew, and I took early retirement in order to develop the Links with India project. The result of this is that we are running our first Learning Journey to India from 29th January to 13 February this year with a very small group. My own experience of education was an unhappy one; born into a working class family there were no expectations beyond going to school because it was compulsory, and then most students joined the

workforce in factories. Having shown some ability I was 'trained' to become an office worker. My decision to become a teacher was from this knowledge that school was a very unhappy place and I thought I could make a difference. My experience as a teacher has been to see what damage schools do to young people, and how their creativity and freedom is stifled. Since leaving teaching, and alongside the Links with India project, I am currently working on a personal project writing about and photographing India. I am using the images I have taken and continue to take, alongside writing which is inspired by the incredible experiences and interactions I have had during many, many visits to India. I have taken many student groups to India and have travelled fairly extensively around the country with my husband, Andrew. In contacting the students long after their trip to India it seems that, in most cases, the outcome of their time there, where they were free to experience exposure to the culture and people without any imposed structure, has had an immense and abiding impact on them and the decisions they make in their lives. Along with my husband I have been developing a project called Links with India and we have created the first Learning Journey, which we are running in association with Schumacher College in Devon; it begins on 29th January and will finish on 13th February. The idea behind this project is to enable adults from the West to participate in discussions and observations with people who are working in the areas of sustainable living, education and social justice at a local level in various parts of India. The learning they gain from their experiences can be applied to their practices back home. Our website is: www.linkswithindia.com I would like to explore different approaches to learning: What does it mean to be a teacher? How do we overcome parental fear when all around are telling them that a 'good education', in the most conventional of terms, is paramount? What do we mean by freedom? How can it be achieved? Hema Bharadwaj Pune Indian Homeschoolers (http://thebharadwajshine.blogspot.com and http://thebharadwajknights.blogspot.com) Except for 3 (very long months) of pre-school for my older child we have never forced our children to go to school. They have the option if they choose it. Meanwhile we live rich, interesting, happy days. We follow our hearts. We believe kids walk, talk, read, write, learn whatever they please on their own schedule. The day that schools include farming, plumbing and carpentry as subjects... i might have a better opinion of them ;-) Through a lot of internal work and the direct healing-inspiration i get from Urmila Samson and Anne Ohman and her online Shine Group (besides many others) I am able to give myself permission to be who I am. I am able to love myself enough to listen to that internal voice that we all have. As I do this I am able to give my family space to be who they are. My eyes are open to the gifts that they came into this world to give and I am able to allow them to follow their hearts... basically get out of

their way :-) We soar when we go with the flow and stay connected deeply with our inner selves. And true learning seems to happen when we are able to stay true to our 'selves'. I seek to connect with people who want to honor their children, fully, exactly where they are. Urmila Samson, Divya Tate and I started the PuneHomeschoolers Google Group 3 years ago. We grew from there and moved into our new online home Indiahomeschoolers.com. Its an online National homeschooler's community. I love helping other homeschoolers and unschoolers. I love sharing our journey with others and hearing about other's paths. I'm keen to meet homeschoolers, unschoolers, people willing to live in peace with themselves and each other. I'd like to share our experiences so far with food, education and actually just living with each other as a family. Our health, physical and mental, has been helping me direct my internal energy and work. I connect sickness/physical ailments directly to our mental health/work. I'd love to talk about this with others. Would love to be a part of an artistic/crafty venture... maybe making seed necklaces, painting walls, creating bird houses etc. Navin Pangti Gurgaon Dolka I have never seen learning as a different entity but as an integral part of life. if there is love, passion and a desire to explore then learning seems to happen naturally. i have been sort of unjobbing for a decade to explore life beyond 9 to 5s and look out for viable alternate lifestyle options for our family though we have not reached any firm conclusions as yet. Becoming a parent further fuelled the desire to explore deeper and wider. Our one year long homeschooling journey has been an eye opener as has been the efforts to understand Gandhi, the man i grew up disliking. With each passing day i feel more and more strongly that there is so much for me to unlearn before i can truly focus on learning alone. While seeking an alternate lifestyle option, we are very actively considering migrating back to our place of origin, the hills of uttarakhand, as an active participant of the local community. as homeschoolers, we have been actively interacting with homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers to create an environment of interactions that is sustainable and fun. still exploring, still learning... I can share my experiences of the last one year, poems i have written and the art of storytelling which I have been trying to inculcate. The theme 'healthy lifestyles and healthy communities' is something which directly affects our actions, as a family, in next 1/2 years and these actions will have a very strong impact on the lifestyle we have been leading so far. In such a scenario, every experience, every idea, every thought, every dream adds value to our own and that is precisely what we seek to explore.

apart from that, we looks forward to interact with other homeschoolers, educationists, activists to understand their perspectives on education and exchange notes about our jounrey so far. i am also keen to meet lsc participants to understand the gandhian way of life, non-violence, natural farming, co-creation - things on which i could not focus much in the last lsc. Milind Rahate Pune Pune Homeschoolers We are homeschooling our two boys for the past 2 years. I have never been a person to question the norms. I go with the flow. But my wife feels very passionately about homeschooling. And I have decided to trust her completely when it comes to the childrens well being. so here I am, trying to be by her side, and learn a little more about her idealistic ways. Infact these many words are also too heavy for me to write and i have begged my wife to give me appropriate words to finish this paragraph!!!! Peter Bakos Andhra Pradesh Aid India Among the very few lucky ones... didn't actually have to do a lot of Unlearning as never learn't anything in school...Was diagnosed by the best as Dyslexic & unable to learn... childhood spent any time could sneak in wandering round the nearby "Aussie Bush" and learning from mother-nature and various guru's came across... eagerly learnt anything from Vehicle mechanics to biology and horse riding. Adolescence was a big learning experiment... associated with both "Hippies" & "Hells Angels" experimented with all types of drugs, a lot of time drunk, but at the same time practiced Yoga, reflexology and colour healing, organic gardening and various crafts including macrame, leather, wood, blacksmithing and gold smithing and lapidary . Worked as a site forman building 10 acre factories by day and eco activist at night, sabotaging logging machinery and spiking trees... many weekends spent riding 1000's of kms on Harley Davidson and Triumphs with masses of Hells Angels bikers... practiced natural healing and massage , grew and collected wild plant and herbs and concocted and administered balms and tonics... sailed tall ships and raced private yachts took people scuba diving on the outer barrier reef and co-discovered a new Nudibranch . sailed around the world on tall ships working as chief engineer, sail maker, rigger, radio operator and watch leader ... spent time in many different countries and learnt from many gurus both young and old ... from the children language, games and tales from elders many crafts, traditions and skills and mother nature Ying and Yang... injured lower back and confined to a wheel chair when tending to an injured and orphaned seal pup whilst engaged in dolphin and seal rescue on the Cornish coast of UK. Made life a little more interesting as lived on a old wooden yacht on an estuary. Tried hospital therapy as first treatment on suggestion of other rescue team but to no avail, written off as "Disabled". Managed to find a reflexoligst and Mctimney practitioners and took regular treatment... fit and walking within 6 months... after recovery joined a yacht delivery team on request of a longtime sailing friend... collected mega yachts from ports all of Asia and Europe and delivered them to owners next desired destination (people with too much money and to little time)... carrying out a few repairs on a yacht after being hit by hurricane on the trip and reinjured the lower back... took some local treatment but didn't help... owner flew down (southern spain) and took back to London for treatment... tried various treatments

including kinesiology, did wonders for the Dyslexia but lower back showed little improvement... a cornish sailing friend suggested Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville and linked some friends there ... Lower back responded quickly to the yoga therapy and massage and active & about within a month... started working with the local villagers around Auroville with a few of the members from the "GreenBelt" ... there were unending opportunities to utilize some of what was learnt and experienced over the years... returned home for a visit to family and friends after being away for 7 years or so... and spent some time volunteering on organic farms but after a letter from an NGO requesting to return and assist with their tribal livelihood program decided to pack and return and work with them... During this time was introduced to Aravinda and Ravi who were instrumental in establishing AID (Association for India's Development) , our project was funded and we soon joined the Aid-India team... latest guru is now our 3 year old daughter... and thats where we are today... Experiments - Revitalization and enhancement of traditional crafts and access to raw materials has been our major focus combined with activity based learning ...interlinking children and artisans so as they can learn from each other... creating appropriate village technologies and tools & most recently working on ecoawareness using multi media to reach farming communities and village school children, creating a documentary of the local flora and fauna ... the life-cycles and their co-existance ... initializing a village resource centre... Main Q's...ways to inter involve communities ?, reciprocal methods of Organic practice including crops, cropping patterns and techniques? , Appropriate print decimation ? Creating literature to reach illiterate ? plus many more.. can demonstrate/ workshop on creating and"Ezcooker" our low-cost method of cooking daily rice using 40% less environmentally destructive cooking fuel. (a bamboo basket strategically lined with insulation_ {residual heat cooking} )... Rushikesh Kirtikar Jalgoan, Maharashtra - Independent/Possibilities I am a very simple person from childhood, went to a 'good' school in my hometown, good college shifting from hometown to a better city, finally at present in Mumbai after completing my PG. There seems nothing special in my journey of life so far. The journey, more of formal education, was pretty smooth, neither big achievements nor failures. There was however a very small but significant addition in my life from 12th Grade. After reading an article in newspaper on Special Theory of Relativity, I understood of my tremendous interest in physics. Never I thought that there are so many mysteries in our everyday life. And I used to sit long on thinking on the unsolved mysteries of Nature that were beyond my physics understanding. Though I never took it in my formal education, reading on physics is still an important part of my life and have

helped me in a totally different journey. I began to think on problems from their root cause, not only physics but even social, though I never quite reached any solution. When I look back I find that my journey till now wasn't actually my journey. It was the society's journey of shaping a child. I find myself being a wooden log in a river carried by the river currents having no direction of its own. It would go wherever the river takes it. School being its important part. I don't know when and how it exactly started, but I began to think of education as the first step for change, for a revolution. From childhood, I was never happy with studying, with school and its education. The last bell of the school day was like a freedom from prison. And now one day by chance, I got an opportunity to do something on this. I worked on a small project to put my own ideas on education in practice with children. It was difficult for a person like me having no expertise and experience in this field trying to shape education. But I was lucky that I have less things to unlearn, and my way would be new because I don't know the other ways. I hope at least something of my work will be worth enough. The learning from the last conference was useful in many ways. Presently I am working on the same project on a full time basis, hoping to find what education is exactly and give something back. I am trying to create learning opportunities for children that emerge due to being a part of group and working together. Learning that emerges by organising oneself to achieve something, to achieve something that is of personal importance. It could be just a play, or a creative art activity. The process of working together on a particular task, has tremendous learning opportunities that just needs to be extracted to organise and learn further. I would like to explore the present methods in alternative education and how it is different and still better than the conventional methods. More than philosophy I am focused on methods as I have found that in spite having a good philosophy we haven't been successful enough to put it to practice and therefore couldn't spread the alternative education. I am interested in putting stalls/ workshop on toys that can be made by children from everyday available simple materials and every toy works on a certain science principle. It is tremendous fun, making and playing together. It provides learning opportunities in diverse ways and can be a very important tool to explore the world, physical and social and understand oneself if facilitated among children. Ritika Gulati Uttar Pradesh Freelancer A Delhi girl, lived in a protective environment at home till 12th Grade. Studied in Manipal(4years) hospitality management lived and loved the experience(s). Working for the last 4+years in the hospitality industry, now a freelance corporate trainer enjoying the journey of life. Want to share Training & Development related learning and unlearnings..

Wish to know and explore new ideas of life and society.. Saraswati, Sharadchandra and son, Anand Chavali - Pune Well our son(7.5yrs) doesn't go to any school. I don't know whether i'm homeschooling or unschooling or whatever in between or outside these range. Nor do I want to define it. I just follow my instincts and my child's. The most important thing for us is that we enjoy with each other. I'm still learning things and unlearning few other things and I know I have a looooong way to go. But I'm not tensed about it. I like to know that I'm evolving and my child and my hubby are helping me to do so and are patiently by my side. And ofcourse, pune-homeschoolers group have been making our journey smooth. When we took the decision of not sending our son, Anand, to school, we didn't even knew the word 'homeschooling'. We just decided 'ghar par hi padhayenge, hamara beta school nahi jayega'. Still we took the decision because it was my husband who gave me this idea as he had not gained anything from schooling, in fact he said it was totally futile. He calls school a 'jail'. And that gave me the confidence to start it with Anand. Later when answering concerned people's queries about Anand's schooling I came to know that people all over the world are doing it - EVEN IN PUNE. Then I joined the punehomeschoolers group and came to know about other flavours of 'Not sending to school'. When Anand was just 1.4 we joined a mother-toddler club. Although the playthings were nice but I didn't like the 'teacher' there. She once told me to make Anand sit in one place when we are reciting poem - "you will have to make him sit in one place". Imagine forcing a 1.5 year old to sit in one place when he doesn't want to. I quit the place. Then in later(Anand was 2+ yrs) we went to another 'good' school but on the second day itself, after giving my piece of mind to the principal, we left the school for good. Then many of the children from our society, of Anand's age, were going to another 'good' school. I landed there - talked to them - they gave me all the sweet talk and we took the admission there too! Upon insistence from all others and I was also was feeling a little odd, I decided that I'll give this school a real try. But we did not realize we are some other stuff. After a 3 weeks of bad experience we left that school too. And I and Sharad(dh) decided that thats enough, we are not sending our child to any school till he is 6 yrs old. It did not occur to us then that we can homeschool(or whatever else) Anand - we were not aware. Not to mention, in this period of one year we had visited many schools. But then in Dec same year, when Anand was 2.7yrs we got a flier that, close to our place somebody was organizing 'Winter Camp' for really small kids. I called her up and talked to her at length and decided that I'll take Anand for the camp there. For the first time(in anand's case), I really liked a teacher. Indeed she was a montessori teacher - I came to know that at the end of one week camp. She was a montessori teacher in UK and had returned back and was starting her school here. I didn't even know what montessori school is then but she explained it to me and then I searched

over the net too. Well, we enrolled there and Anand was the first child in that school. For many months there were just 3-4 kids there. So we were finally settled. When Anand was 4 yrs old and the new academic yr was about to start (Anand is May born) other parents started telling me that better take admission in another school which is till 10th std atleast because later I will not get admission in another school as this montessori school was only for 2.5 to 6 yrs olds. That time I took one bold decision(considering my awareness levels) that whether my son gets admission or not he is not leaving this montessori school. Even if my child does not get in good school, he will get in some school and finally whichever the school be, it will be me who will be teaching him, so it doesn't matter - as I've mentioned in several places before that we not aware of homeschooling concept and thought he has to be enrolled in one or the other school. When finally he was 5.5 yrs we were a little worried and upset and apprehensive about sending Anand to any other school. And then with my husband's initiative quit the idea of schooling Anand completely and were really at peace except for panic attacks on and off till I joined this group. Now Anand is 7.5yrs old and we have never regretted our decision of not sending him to a school. Pratibha Agarwal Janakpuri I have finished first year of my journey of unschooling with my son. Learning society group has helped me a lot in understanding my child and to take away some of my fears and to give some supporters and mentor and a list of friends. It was a great experience as i explored myself also a lot during this period as now i am more aware of my needs than earlier. I am enjoying my life completely after this journey. I am trying to create a community of people who understands children and life. I want to explore: 1. how much money matters in bringing up a child? 2. How about J. Krishnamurthy schools? 3. Do child really need company of one more child at home? if yes andif parents do not find that their need then?? 4. Want to invite people to work with me children.

Atul Abhyankar Pune - harmonyholistichut Since 1996 ever since i came to know about amazing possibilities with which a human brain is formed and that it is being far underutilized, my journey into helping children began. And it landed up in helping parents which eventually turned out to helping myself.

I conduct workshops for parents having children below six years by the name "Genius Babies Joyous Parents". Until i became a biological father myself in 2008 I continued to take up these workshops and kept on guiding parents to help their children. Since the birth of my baby I have been a dedicated happy, learning and growing father. My trust in my child Atulyayatri/s ability is absolute. It is helping me beyond anything. It is giving me strength to withstand all odds. I have started to understand the meaning of many words like creativity, enthusiasm,totality,truthfulness,focused,determined,energetic,learner, and many more in true sense by being with my child. All in all being with my child comes to me as my first choice and it comes effortlessly. I am a hard core parent. It is huge experience awaits the receiver to pour on. Teaching parenting also comes to me effortlessly. Otherwise a person who uses words sparingly, when it comes to parenting they pour like a flood. My experience with my child atulyayatri, has made me travel from being a taskmaster to being more realistic down to earth easy going and freely flowing individual. I have started accepting life more than ever. Not with that intention really but a lot of parents have come quite close to me and arti because we chose to be parents sharing our parenting journey from our hearts to parental who truthfully wanted to help their children. The "how" of bringing this quality(the parenting quality) to a large number of parents is perennial question that i keep asking and answering to myself, yet without an answer. I now have an intention to start a chain of preschools myself and tap the sensitive parents who are ready or are ready to have a real go at their task of being a parent. I would like to share my invaluable parenting experience with anybody interested to listen and implement, to rewrite their journiessss......... I think this form filling will go on for quiet sometime before we start or even conclude the learning societies unconference. Deepti Bisht Pangti Gurgaon I feel that learning is something which happens all the time though one may not be consciously aware of or involved in the process. It is just that we see it in different light during different stages of our life. In the current stage of my life, my learning is focussed towards playing the role of a mother, and since last one year - a homeschooling mother. I spend most of my time with my two daughters (7&9 yrs old). I depend largely on books for understanding various aspects of learning/unlearning. Last years LSC was a very new experience for me. It was very interesting though I was uneasy at times because I feel I am not very good at articulating my thoughts or sharing my thoughts in a group. Apart from homeschooling, me and my husband are actively trying to work out a plan that helps us migrate back to our roots in Uttarakhand and lead a village life as a local community member. I have also been contemplating working with children and

adults of our colony, where we currently stay, to create an active cultural space, though I have not been able to do much as of now. I can share my last one years experiences of homeschooling. Subsequent to the Bir conference, I have been actively reading about and discussing Tibetan Buddhism, healing, spiritualism and education with friends. This got me exposed to lots of new thoughts which I can share and discuss in small groups. Harleen Kohli Chandigarh - CEVA, Centre for Education & Voluntary Action (www.cevachandigarh.org) Harleen Kohli CEVA Centre for Education and Voluntary Action Chandigarh. My learning journey started in school when I joined the CPI. I was a part of the student group through college, worked in the women's 'front' :) and conducted adult literacy classes, was part of IPTA in Chandigarh. Left party, (but not my comrades). had an opportunity to work with a community theatre group. Was part of a very active feminist group "Shamshir" in Chandigarh. Both these experiences opened windows. Was a very painful time as I learned to journey through my shrieking searing anger; realized that i am only hurting myself and mis-communicating and all that. Realised it is not only about being a woman, its about an impulse that underlies the perpetuation of many wrongs. Writing concept and scripts for some documentaries ((women, green revolution, Punjab issues, art forms...) helped my search for articulation. However, the experience of organising the Kafla is embedded on a very deep level in me. For six years we journey for 10 days at a stretch once a year through different areas in Punjab with a book exhibition (the NBT van + other publishers mostly leftwing) and day long Bal melas in small towns and villages, performances prepared in workshops with the children of the area...meetings with writers, artists some of whom travelled with us...we journeyed seven times! Participated in the children's community theatre workshops was another experience, puppetry was next, micro-planning in DPEP, science literacy projects, teacher training... Looking back I feel that the most important outcome of this learning journey is the intense desire to figure out how to wean ourselves out of heirarchies (organisational, age, qualification, gender, skill...) and work as a collective. Somehow, through all the experiences, the glaring distortions created by hierarchies stood out and exploring collective functioning it seemed as the logical next step. More discomfort with myself, painful yet joyous, earth shaking and yet peaceful times. Working within the school system was a huge and difficult decision. Especially after interactions with several communities working in different ideas about learning. Thats what we are doing now...deep interventions, slow moving and still at the stage of figuring out things. we are working in the 'streets' - theatre, melas - also. Cultural action is what I would like to call it - starting from within the family. people - school teachers, students, children, families...women and men. What gives me joy negotiated learning; conversations; dialogue and doing things. :) What kind of personal change does it take to work as a collective is a question that all in our group are engaging with. We understand that in order to unpack the actual process in a teaching - learning situation in which there are some (or one) adults and some children, we would need to look at the how we as a 'learning' group deal with the 'differences' among ourselves.

we are trying to understand, come to terms with and find acceptance for, the complex dynamics of a school community and system. We are working with the idea of negotiated learning within the limits delineated by learning spaces like the street, classrooms, homes.. Plus the most important effort...finding and learning together with a group of people who are willing to take the journey towards the personal change required for working within this learning community. In the last year, in the period after the last LSC, we have experienced some successes in terms of seeing some doors open, some areas of the brain have experiences light, some theories have gained a surer ground. Both personal and group/community experience of change has been rewarding and enjoyable. I look forward to...building upon it. Have been weeding out hierarchical functioning within the organisation, family and growing circle of friends who 'understand'. keeping up dialogue and conversations in as authentic a way as I know how with people I work and live with. Sharing processes that crystalise learning with those who would stop and share. We are looking at more formal efforts at creating learning communities as part of the 'building on earlier efforts' process. This will take the shape of adding in more education institutions, teaching communities within and on the fringes of these institutions, individuals and families. I would like to gain clarity about my thoughts and intentions, and perhaps strengthen some ideas and intentions or alternatively discard some of them. I would like to widen my experience by learning about newer and better ways of doing. I would be happy to share my thoughts, insights and experiences of the last year. I am aware that working closely for deep change within the formal education system is something that some people are engaged in. It would be nice to add on to the conversations of last year. I would of course be very interested, in talking with anyone who has been experimenting with weeding out hierarchies - explicit, institutional as well as hidden and subtle in different kinds of groups of people. I would like to have conversations with homeschoolers about learning science and math process skills together with children and young people and about using language so as to heal as well as create a world.

Roy Jacob Kerala Kanavu My family is from Kerala in south India, but I grew up in the US. I got interested in Gandhian ideas during college, but soon ended up working in a big corporation as a software engineer, and got pretty much sucked up into the middle-class life. There was a split between the way I was living and what I believed in. Finally during the Iraq War, the split was too much, and I quit and came to India. Ive been living mostly in the Wayanad district of Kerala, doing organic farming and learning to live a completely different lifestyle, closer to the earth and more connected to the body. Learning/unlearning happens all the time...

Ive had visitors over on the farm, but now Im more interested in engaging with society more directly, especially through gatherings and camps where we can explore more harmonious ways of being and living. I also live next to Kanavu, a radical experiment in learning outside of classrooms. Im definitely interested in this topic of community, esp the question of how an alternative community can best engage society in addition to meeting its own needs. I might also try to do a workshop that explores assumptions we learn from our culture, without being aware of it. Sindhu Ramachandran Bangalore Simplifying Life (www.symplifyinlife.org) I have had an interestingly logic-defying life!! Graduated as an Engineer, then PG-ed in Fitness Management, and then got the entrepreneurial itch... started many things, but lost motivation along the way... had a lot of questions... made a Documentary Simplifying Spirituality, while searching for its answers - dots Im yet to connect!!! Around 2008 met some awakened souls... they helped me see the dirt.. decided to clean it, and clean it well... ever since the decision, the most amazing people, resources and support have flown in effortlessly and abundantly.... have given and received much....and yet, had difficulty trusting and accepting the how beautiful life is... last one year has been dedicated to re-inventing my relationship with money... and realizing its beauty... must say Im still in the process :) Right now searching for an introduction to myself, when asked.... I love delving deep into people's behaviours and intentions... passionate about reading, documentary film-making, dance and music, human body- anatomy and physiology, and depths of human connection... and Numerology-a la Dan millman style! Also dabble in writing when inspired (www.unboxedwriters.com - Sindhu Ramachandran) Inspired by the Tao Te Ching, The Buddha, Byron Katie (A Thousand names for joy), Robert Fritz (The path of least resistance), Lousie hay, Dan Millman... Online blogs...and everyone...each person I meet... For me, the biggest unlearning has been with respect to certain views on life, love and success - that were passed down by parents, and were not helpful. Some examples could be - need for perfection, duty and obligation, the world is a bad place, need for perfect physical form to receive love etc. etc. 1. Have been a part of many informal discussion groups, and formal learning communities like Tao of Facilitation with Kiran Gulrajani, Cortona India - Science and Spirituality conference 2010 and many more... 2. Have led focused groups on Silence - through silent meditation, "do-nothingmeditation" and discussions on the same in 2011... This has now evolved into The

Silence Project, which aims to understand the relation between Silence and human behaviour through interviews, discussions, short-films and more... 3. Have been a part of few start-ups - social entrepreneurial ventures and helped with vision alignment and inter-personal communication dynamics... 4. Last but not the least, have been co-creating my own life through experiments and exploring experiences with people, through travelling and otherwise Things I want to explore - 1. I would like to explore the minds of participating cocreators with respect to The Silence Project through 1 or 2 hour sessions - preferably everyday or at the least one day, or a 3-hour workshop - which may also be documented. The aim of the above activity being to get us in touch with Silence and Mindfulness doing and speaking nothing and just spending sometime with our minds - not instructing it to focus or concentrate, but just watching it lovingly, as if it were our best friend! 2. Another workshop that Id love to co-create would be to de-mystify myths about Spirituality (through screening a 40-min Documentary if possible and have discussions) and discover ways to be in touch with our spirit in the course of daily and worldly life - and not necessarily wait till retirement, or travel to Himalayas or escape to a forest! Prasad Dasgupta West Bengal - Majhihira National Basic Educational Institution (www.mnbei.org) I was born in a family of Gandhian freedom fighters from both paternal and maternal side. From my childhood I have witnessed activities of my parents and relatives for the cause of Gram Swaraj. My parents were in Wardha in early 40s and with the blessing of Gandhiji and Dr. E.W.Aryanayakmam, came to a remote & inaccessible village called Majhihira in West Bengal's tribal belt (then in Bihar) to propagate the idea of Nai Talim. They found a Buniyadi School here with 7-8 half naked, half starved children. Rest was the history (please visit - www.mnbei.org for detail). I was brought up in this very place with other boys and girls coming from nearby villages. We has an atmosphere of a true Gandhi Ashram shere everything was to be done by oursevels, including production for fooding livelihood. Later I went to Calcutta (KOLKATA) for higher study and completed my post graduation in Journalism from Bhavans and Calcutta University. Being a freelance reporter for few years, I traveled every nook & corner of rural Bengal and ultimately decided to come and join hands with my father in his Ashram in 1990 for promotion of Nai Talim (Buniyadi Education). Today we run a Buniyadi school in the Asram Campus with about 350 inmates and a Primary Teachers' Training Institute. The said school is directed to pursue the Nai Talim as enunciated by Mahatma himself. No govt. grant or recognition is sought 'cause we don't believe in this. Even today, the students and teachers do all their work on their own including craft education and production orientation. My parents are still alive at 98 and 88 and active & agile. They are still the guiding spirit of our

team. Learning communities are mainly from villages here and many of them come from tribal families. We experiment craft-base and production oriented education as was the focal point of Nai Talim. We can discuss a project proposal named "Nai Talim's Samgra Shiksha Yojana" which we have prepared to further our goal of implementing Basic Education suiting the needs of the contemporary reality.