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.