Alternatives Courses and Decentres

[Chaitali_Chaudhari]

Hello everyone!

This is our first update.

About Us

Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group
Founded in 1979, Kalpavriksh is a non-governmental organisation engaged in environmental education, research, campaigns and direct action. Rooted in ecological sustainability and social equity, its work spans Alternatives, Environment Education and Conservation & Livelihoods.

Vikalp Sangam (Alternatives Confluence)
Vikalp Sangam is a collective process involving 90+ movements and organisations working towards grounded alternatives to current development models based on ecological destruction and inequality. The process facilitates documentation, outreach, gatherings and policy advocacy for a just and ecologically conscious society.

Project Overview

The project focuses on:

1. Creation of Alternatives Courses in multiple formats (online, institutional and in-person) to disseminate frameworks and practices for transformative development.

2. Establishment of Alternatives Decentres, physical hubs that document, share and incubate community-driven engagement.

Objective:
To build a collaborative ecosystem of institutions and transformation enablers that nurture co-learning, dignified livelihoods, democratic processes and climate-resilient responses to multiple, intersecting crises.

Ongoings

1. Alternatives Decentres

Milestone - Identification of 2 Decentre Partners

Progress & Outcomes -

• Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning HIAL (Ladakh): Visit completed; MoU at drafting stage.
• Sambhaavnaa Institute (Himachal Pradesh): Co-visioning note mutually agreed; site visit scheduled; MoU to follow.
• Preliminary outreach initiated with Timbuktu Collective (Andhra Pradesh).

2. Alternatives Courses

Milestone - Formation of Working Group

Progress & Outcomes
TALC (The Alternatives Learning Collective) formed with 25–30 members representing education and community institutions. Holds monthly meetings. (Annex: List of Members)

Milestone - Course Framework & Resources Developed

Progress & Outcomes

• Preliminary course template/concept note created based on Vikalp Sangam learnings.
• Resource documentation and Ethics guidelines drafted (living documents under revision).
• Sub-group to continue focus on online courses
• Two universities currently in discussion to integrate the course.

3. In-Person Course

Milestone - Partner Finalisation

Progress & Outcomes

• Sambhaavnaa Institute identified as host for a 1–2 week residential course in early 2026, aligned with their natural building work. Discussions underway to embed FOT (Flower of Transformation) from VS Framework as an analytical and action tool.

Performance Indicators

Indicator		Current Status
Partner Decentres Contacted		3 contacted (HIAL, Sambhaavnaa, Timbuktu - preliminary outreach)
Formal MoUs		1 in drafting (HIAL); 1 upcoming after visit (Sambhaavnaa)
TALC Group Meetings		3 completed

Constraints & Mitigation

Challenge	Impact	Mitigation
Correspondence with HIAL slow	MOU finalization may take time	We will continue correspondence towards finalisation of MOU; if it is seeming difficult this year, we will consider choosing another potential decentre

Planned Activities for Next Quarter

• Finalise and sign MoU with HIAL, complete visit and MoU with Sambhaavnaa.

• Conduct exploratory call with Timbuktu Collective

• Draft detailed concept note for in-person course (2026).

• Continue inputs to institutions designing alternatives courses as part of TALC forum.

[Chaitali_Chaudhari]

2nd Quarter Update - October, November, December 2025

Alternatives Decentres

Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Learning (HIAL), Ladakh

• MoU drafted and shared; discussions are ongoing.

• Some proposed areas under discussion include:

  • Integration of Alternatives, Flower of Transformation (FOT) and governance themes into HIAL’s fellowship curriculum, including a possible standalone module.

  • Co-development of immersion-based learning experiences rooted in Ladakh’s ecology, governance and community practices.

  • Knowledge exchanges such as guest sessions, information-sharing on conferences, and a possible annual Alternatives Decentre (ADC) Yatra.

  • Documentation of HIAL as an Alternatives Decentre for visibility on Vikalp Sangam platforms, subject to resources.

  • Youth exchanges, internships and action-research collaborations across ADCs.

  • A permanent or rotating exhibition and a curated physical–digital resource repository at HIAL.

  • A potential three-year collaboration framework with periodic reviews, subject to mutual agreement.

Sambhaavnaa Institute, Himachal Pradesh

• Campus visit and in-person discussions completed; MoU drafted and shared, awaiting response.

• All activities remain indicative and under discussion.

• Key areas being explored include:

  • Residential courses centred on the Flower of Transformation and Radical Ecological Democracy (RED).

  • Integration of RED and FOT modules into selected Sambhaavnaa programs.

  • Linking natural building work with hands-on learning modules on alternatives.

  • Positioning the campus as a “living classroom” for visiting groups.

  • Documentation, exhibitions and showcasing of participant outputs.

  • Establishing a curated physical and digital Alternatives resource repository.

  • Hosting exposure visits and participating in inter-ADC yatras.

Deccan Development Society (DDS), Telangana

• One exploratory call and one detailed discussion completed on existing courses and institutional vision.

• An in-person visit is planned in January to discuss potential MoU and deeper engagement.

• Preliminary discussions indicate alignment on:

  • Political education, climate change, agroecology, livelihoods and youth engagement.

  • Integrating Alternatives and Decentres frameworks into existing DDS training programs and exposure visits.

  • Priority themes such as dryland agriculture, rural economy, youth futures in farming, women-led livelihoods and political education in Telugu.

• Next steps include further discussions, possible exchange visits and drafting indicative MoU points.

Timbaktu Collective, Andhra Pradesh

• Awaiting availability for an exploratory call.

Desert Resource Centre, Rajasthan

• Exploratory email exchanges completed; an online exploratory call proposed for January–February.

2. Alternatives Courses

A. TALC (The Alternatives Learning Collective)

• Monthly meetings continued, focusing on clarifying TALC’s scope, ethics, priorities and ways of working.

• The collective reaffirmed its primary focus on higher/college-level education, with future possibilities in school and adult learning.

• The need for stronger outreach and dissemination beyond existing networks, particularly to youth, was identified.

• Members agreed on developing a thematic expertise directory to streamline collaborations and course requests.

• A proposal to form a small, rotating facilitation team to manage outreach and external requests was discussed.

• Processes for responding to collaboration requests (e.g., fellowships, youth programs) were flagged.

• Updates were shared on emerging courses and initiatives in urban ecology, planetary health, spiritual ecology and youth nature education.
  Eg - Learning from the Land - a journey into the living wisdom of Bastar. Curated by Bipasha Majumder

• Over the past few months, we have had many fruitful additions to the collective. A list of additions will be shared in an annexure over email.

B. In-Person Course (Sambhaavnaa Institute)

• A 5-day residential course is being planned at Sambhaavnaa Institute for late March or early April 2026.

• This course is being designed for urban youth and adults who are interested in or engaged with ecological living, sustainability and climate action, social and environmental justice, urban or rural transformation and work in or are connected to education, design, policy, community organising, alternative institutions or grassroots movements.

• A dedicated subgroup meets weekly to co-design course content, pedagogy and logistics.

• The course is being framed around urban life and the metacrisis, with ecological design as a core entry point.

• Emphasis is on experiential, participatory and creative learning rather than lecture-heavy formats.

• Key themes under development include urban ecology, food systems, energy, health, governance and caste and gender in cities.

• Action-oriented learning and individual/collective agency in everyday urban practices are central to the design.

• The concept note continues to be in progress and is being refined through iterative discussions.

• The registrations for this course will most likely open at the beginning of February 2026.

C. Online Course

• Initial discussions have begun on the next edition of the online course.

• There is agreement to offer the course once annually, considering capacity constraints.

• A tentative timeline of June–September 2026 is being explored

• A hybrid format combining online sessions with city-based experiential elements is under consideration.

• Existing course materials will be reviewed for reuse, and next steps include resource stock-taking, drafting a brief concept note, and identifying volunteer support.

[Chaitali_Chaudhari]

3rd Quarter Update - January, February, March 2026

1. Alternatives Decentres

A. Deccan Development Society (DDS)

• Collaboration advancing with DDS, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA); MOU likely to formalize roles across training, content and platform use.
• Grameen Academy (CSA-run) to host low-cost courses; need to simplify and adapt content (not just translate) into Telugu/Hindi.
• Facilitator training planned for this year; two-step, interactive model with multilingual core group.
• Training focus: Flower of Transformation, rights, governance, interspecies justice within Vikalp Sangam (VS) framework.
• “Livelihood Park” at DDS proposed as a skilling, enterprise and demonstration hub; early-stage but aligned with long-term rural transformation goals.

B. Desert Resource Centre (DRC)

• An exploratory discussion happened with the Desert Resource Centre (DRC) in January.
• DRC is a potential DeCentre within the Vikalp Sangam ecosystem, rooted in desert bioregions. The campus is located in Bajju village, Bikaner.
• Positioned as a knowledge and immersion hub linking land, life and living systems.
• Can anchor place-based learning through seasonal, long-term immersion in desert contexts.
• Strong fit with DeCentre philosophy: decentralization, community ownership and alternatives thinking.
• Opportunity to host fellows and yatras across desert ecosystems and partner regions.
• Could lead documentation and synthesis of desert knowledge systems and practices.
• Potential role in building bioregional knowledge within DeCentres network.
• Can catalyze desert-focused convenings and transnational exchanges.
• A visioning document is in progress

C. Timbaktu Collective (TC)

• An initial exploratory conversation took place at the Timbaktu campus in January when the Kalpavriksh team visited there.
• The team is currently reflecting internally on their capacity and potential role in the project, and will share an update once they’ve had the space to consider this further.

D. Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Leaning (HIAL)

• MOU shared with them
• Awaiting confirmation from HIAL

E. Sambhaavnaa Institute

• After some initial discussions, it seems this collaboration may not work out.

2. Alternatives Courses

A. In person Course

• A 5-day residential course on Designing for Life in Urban India: An Introduction to Ecological Responses to the Metacrisis was held from 3rd-7th April at the Sambhaavnaa Institute campus
• Organised by Kalpavriksh in collaboration with Sambhaavnaa Institute. Co-created by a subgroup of The Alternatives Learning Collective under the Vikalp Sangam process
• The course brought together 28 participants to explore ecological design as a response to interconnected urban crises through the lens of the metacrisis
• Examined food, energy, governance and care systems as regenerative and life-affirming
• Included talks, discussions, films, embodied practices, a walk to a hydropower plant and creative reflections
• Engaged with frameworks like the Flower of Transformation and grounded alternatives
• Focused on nurturing ecological relationships, ethical clarity and collective imagination
• Supported participants in translating insights into meaningful action and building community
• A detailed report is currently in progress and will be shared soon

B. Online Course

• Urban ecology course concept taking shape; builds on previous course with a focused theme
• Hybrid format finalized: online sessions + city-based experiential learning
• Tentative schedule for the course set for mid-November to mid-December 2026
• Session structure improved (weekday + Saturday) to boost engagement
• Concept note, resource mapping and facilitator identification underway
• Immediate focus: finalize concept, secure coordination and initiate funding outreach

C. TALC (The Alternatives Learning Collective)

• The collective met in January 2026, and discussed the possibility of having a facilitation team. But recent attempts to schedule TALC meetings have faced low availability and engagement.
• Core members emphasized the need for collective clarity (especially for future direction and funding), and we aim to re-initiate efforts soon after gauging members’ current levels of interest and availability.