Four Field Residentials
INDIA
From Sevagram to Arunachal Pradesh, India:
At Gandhi’s Ashram in Sevagram, you are introduced to the philosophy and practice of nonviolent social movements. You travel from this Ashram to Jamkhed and Gadchiroli, two of India’s finest grassroots health care systems. You then move to the mountainous northeast of India. Arunachal Pradesh has the greatest cultural and biological diversity of any state in India. To integrate the needs of people with nature, Arunachal Pradesh is establishing a network of biosphere reserves. Its planning strategy addresses six areas of need: resource inventory, social and environmental development, economic development, tourism, historic and cultural preservation, and education and training. Future Generations has sponsored field surveys and training workshops to help communities monitor biodiversity and benefit from the ecotourism potential of the region. Your class examines this community-based training and data-gathering in the context of India’s history of progressive social movement.
UNITED STATES
From West Virginia to Upstate New York, United States:
During this residential course, your class examines the dynamics of conflict, social change, and leadership. In particular, you study the three-way partnership of government, citizen mobilization, and research/economic expertise that led to the creation of upstate New York’s Adirondack State Park and New York City’s Central Park. These models rely on no federal funds. They integrate nature conservation with a balanced approach to development via innovative land use planning. They call upon the wisdom of local associations, industry, ecotourism, and state conservation agencies. You compare this with other conservation models in North American. You will also visit Future Generations energy self-sufficient headquarters on North Mountain, West Virginia.
PERU
From Cusco to Huanuco, Peru:
Peru introduces students to the process of scaling-up successes and creating cross-disciplinary synergies. Through national scale achievements influenced by Future Generations Peru they see how progress in health stimulates advances in microfinance and kitchen gardens, resulting in improved food security. In three sites, Cusco, Huanuco, and Lima, they meet municipal officials, community volunteers, technical advisors, and clinic personnel to learn how partnerships are transforming the quality and functions of community co-managed health centers. Throughout, they are mentored in hands-on group exercises, including questionnaire design and pre-testing, community surveys, focus group discussions, and data analysis.
NEPAL & CHINA
From Kathmandu Valley, Nepal to Tibet, China
The final residential synthesizes two years of learning with a focus on monitoring and evaluation and exploring the question: what does it mean to pursue sustainable development? Students present their practica and, using each other’s datasets, synthesize their cross-disciplinary, multi-cultural, and highly dynamic worldwide experiences. In Nepal, students observe and analyze the cultural, economic, political, and ecological forces influencing conservation and community development in Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park. On the other side of Mt. Everest in Tibet, China, they learn how sustainable development occurs under very different political and cultural contexts in the Qomolangma (Everest) National Nature Preserve.
Graduation ceremonies are held at the base of Mt Everest, at the Rongbuk Monastery, the highest habitation on earth, an appropriate place for “the highest degree in the world” – how to practice sustainable development. Alternative graduation sites have also been held in Bhutan and at the King's Royal Forest in Nepal.
