Paper The inimitable David Mosse recently wrote a paper in World Development called Caste and development: Contemporary perspectives on a structure of discrimination and advantage. It is an important paper that looks at caste in its various dimensions—economic divisions based on occupation, political through systems of dominance and rule, and ideological which is closely linked toContinueContinue reading “Link Pack #11: Deep Work, Mindfulness and a Paper on Caste”
Tag Archives: Development
Link Pack #10: A desi dinosaur and a paper on development pedagogy
Book I have finally got around to reading Pranay Lal’s impressive book Indica: A deep natural history of the Indian subcontinent. Just halfway through the book but it is already something I wished I had to read in school – would\’ve made my geology, geography, biology classes so much more interesting. In case you aren’tContinueContinue reading “Link Pack #10: A desi dinosaur and a paper on development pedagogy”
Envisioning with empathy: Reflections on the Transformative Scenario Planning Methodology
Last month, my team organised and participated in a training workshop on a methodology called Transformative Scenario Planning (TSP). Aimed at envisioning and co-creating futures in situations that are seemingly stuck, cannot be resolved by one/few actors, and are complex and conflict-ridden, the TSP has been used across the globe from post-apartheid South Africa to democraticContinueContinue reading “Envisioning with empathy: Reflections on the Transformative Scenario Planning Methodology”
What\’s the difference between adaptation and development?
How do we differentiate between adaptation and development? Are development projects being re-branded to show that they are meeting climate change goals in a bid to attract funds? Or is adaptation just the latest fad; nothing more than development with a climate change hat on?Drip irrigation is ubiquitous in water-scarce Kolar. Photo by Chandni SinghAContinueContinue reading “What\’s the difference between adaptation and development?”
Book Review | The Adivasi Will Not Dance
Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar\’s \”The Adivasi Will Not Dance\” does not have the most poetic prose but it is raw and honest. This short story collection brings to readers stories from India\’s fecund yet ravaged lands — the resource-rich Adivasi-inhabited Jharkhand. Ten stories, refreshingly focussed on women protagonists (though that may not have been deliberate), portrayContinueContinue reading “Book Review | The Adivasi Will Not Dance”
Link Pack #9: Livelihoods and farming
Over the past seven years, I have been working in and researching rural areas. I have helped build water storage tanks, and sown medicinal plants with women\’s Self Help Groups in Himachal Pradesh. I have trained farmers in Arunachal to expand their use of wetlands to ecotourism, and examined why young Rajasthani men are openingContinueContinue reading “Link Pack #9: Livelihoods and farming”
Farming and the license to dream (notes from the CBA9 conference)
I am in Africa. After listening to stories of my mother catching a colourful fish in the River Kafue and of my grandfather driving from Nairobi to Lusaka in the 70s, it is finally my chance to see this inspiring, beautiful, and complex continent.I am in Nairobi at the 9th International Conference on Community- BasedContinueContinue reading “Farming and the license to dream (notes from the CBA9 conference)”
Book Review | Ancient Futures: Lessons from Ladakh for a Globalizing World
I just finished reading Ancient Futures: Lessons from Ladakh for a Globalizing World by Helena Norberg-Hodge. It is strange that it is only now that I finally read this masterpiece; six years since I first went to Ladakh and began my journey of academic inquiry and personal growth. Ladakh was the place I discovered my love for ethnographic studyContinueContinue reading “Book Review | Ancient Futures: Lessons from Ladakh for a Globalizing World”
Book Review: Reclaiming Development by Ha-Joon Chang and Ilene Grabel
Reclaiming Development was not an easy book for me to read. It made me uncomfortable in a way only a book aiming to question the status quo can. From the beginning, it grasped my attention in a bold, \’here is our argument and this is why it is important enough for you to listen toContinueContinue reading “Book Review: Reclaiming Development by Ha-Joon Chang and Ilene Grabel”
Link Pack #3: Social learning, climate change, new book on State regulation
Sustainable development through social learning: A new paper in Nature Climate Change posits that wicked problems like climate change can greatly benefit from social learning approaches because they foster iterative, collaborative and participatory learning. An open access version of the paper is here.Ed Carr\’s blog: I have read several of Carr\’s papers and was really gladContinueContinue reading “Link Pack #3: Social learning, climate change, new book on State regulation”
Chandni Singh 