Jeevana Shaale, an alternative education model, aims to bridge gap between formal schooling and real-world needs 

Empowering village youth with practical skills through alternative education model rooted in traditional knowledge and sustainability.

Far from the hustle and bustle of modern life, where conventional education often overlooks practical skills, a unique initiative is under way to empower village youth with sustainable, hands-on expertise, as an effort to bridge the gap between formal schooling and real-world needs.

Located in Uligere village, about six km from Melkote in Mandya district and off the Melkote-Chinakurali Road, Jeevana Shaale – Life School – run by the Janapada Seva Trust, offers an alternative education model focused on traditional knowledge and skills.

Jeevana Shale caters to adolescents aged 14 to 18, and this initiative moves away from textbook-driven learning, with a focus on real-world skills that are relevant to the local needs and foster self-sufficiency, said Sumanas Koulagi of the Janapada Seva Trust, who has initiated the programme.

The trust was founded in the 1960s and is rooted in the concepts of non-violence, sustainability, and exploitation-free living inspired by the vision of Mahatma Gandhi. It has expounded these ideals for more than six decades through a slew of projects, and its latest endeavor, Jeevana Shaale, was launched in 2023.

“This is an initiative to create and acknowledge knowledge democracy where practical skills hold equal value to academic achievements. In the conventional education system, traditional knowledge is not recognised,” Dr. Koulagi said.

For example, farmers may not have a university degree, but their understanding and knowledge of farming is total, and they are still dubbed as illiterate. This is due to the inequality surrounding recognition of knowledge. And the new initiative is an effort to recognise the traditional knowledge, Dr. Koulagi said.

With seven students currently enrolled, and there are plans to expand the strength, the programme challenges the conventional belief that literacy, as defined by schools and universities, is the sole measure of education. It seeks to restore recognition to the vast traditional wisdom of various skilled communities.