What is knowledge? Can knowledge exist outside the formal education system? Is traditional knowledge acknowledged in the current education model? These are some questions to ponder upon… Yes, school is important for children socially, culturally and economically- but at the same time, certain aspects of the child’s life and culture is not represented in the current universal model of education. In order to bridge that gap, Keystone Foundation has been conducting programs like the village elder program since 2008 to facilitate the transfer of knowledge – specific to that area – from the older to the younger generation. Such programs allow for the children to ask their elders questions about life in the village outside their textbooks.
Village elder program at Aachakarai
In the current scenario, schools are closed indefinitely leaving many children free to actively participate in the village elder programs held in Sigur. Village elders are traditional healers, honey hunters, farmers, and NTFP collectors from different regions who are supported to take the children into the forest and explain about the local biodiversity. While the focus remains on biodiversity, the subject isn’t taught in isolation of culture and society. In fact, the stories give the children a holistic understanding of the links nature has with people and their practices. Unlike what is universally taught in class, the discussions that take place during these sessions are one of kind age old secrets of that particular area that are usually not found in books.
Village elder program at Vazhaithottam
The idea of conducting such programs is to prevent the loss of transfer of traditional knowledge from the older to younger generation. As aspirations change, this kind of knowledge looses it’s vigour in young minds. But during Covid it was interesting to see how children gathered in sheer numbers to listen to stories shared by the elders. Since April 2020, 15 sessions were held till date in Aachakarai, Vazhaithottam and Chockanalli.
In the above voice clip, Justin – Sigur field coordinator and Keystone staff- explains the topics discussed in each of the areas.
In the above clip, Velliamma- a village elder from Chockanalli shares her experience of conducting village elder programs in Sigur.
By Nayantara Lakshman
