ILRD

(Recognised by the Karnataka University)

Philosophy

Young people are prepared to be leaders in any situation by virtue of being established in their own inner freedom and happiness. Their energies are channelised in this programme towards making villages self-sufficient, self-reliant, self-governing and progressive.

Students learn to serve the community initially by providing tuition for children and supporting educational activities. They progress to support many other cooperative activities with their own increased learning from the university and from other experiments around the world. They start an ashram and provide a place for the sharing of food weekly and daily. The whole accent is on developing from within as a community with minimal or no support from outside agencies and money. Many social and economic projects are instituted.

Logistics

Students are given stipend as well as free boarding and lodging during training.All our students are actively sought after by NGOs. This is a perfect place for daring students to live and learn.

R.S.V.K. is grooming leaders for developing Indian villages. The task starts with building grassroot leadership and individual responsibility among villagers for their self-sufficiency. This is accomplished by introducing SSY programmes.
Guruji understands that all economic and social development results from spiritual awakening and wholeness within.

R.S.V.K. ashrams are being set up in rural areas with about 30 resident teachers of SSY. They will be in charge of the development of villages in about 15 km radius (about 100 villages). Nature provides us with water, sunlight, land etc.; we should utilise these optimally to grow food, fuel, shelter, clothing and other necessities of life.

Students have been trained under Padma Bhushan Sri Anna Hazare in the various aspects of water and soil conservation, forestry development, sanitation, bio gas, natural agriculture without chemical fertilisers and pesticides, dairy farming, co-operative farming, agriculture marketing, food preservation and small industries for producing local requirements.

The students will act as catalysts for bringing people together to utilise all of their own resources as well as the available technologies in the world.Most of the developmental work is held up because of political interference, selfish government officers and lack of confidence in villagers to build greater facilities for themselves.

Ralegaon Siddhi, the ideal village created by Sri Anna Hazare, stands as an exemplary model. All decisions for village work are taken by the Gram Sabha and not by the government. All villagers’ food requirements are taken care of through voluntary contribution. Nobody drinks alcohol or chews tobacco in the village. No stray cattle grazes around the place. They grow 3 crops in a year, even with a supply of only 8–10 inches of rain. Lakhs of rupees worth of vegetables are exported.

One such Rural Development Project of RSVK has started with about 30 people in the Dharwad district. Each student is responsible for 3 villagers, with 30 teachers of SSY living together; thus, a high energy ashram is moulding the awareness and consciousness of the villages.

RSVK University's Rural Development Programme

"Our children go to village and stay there to set up a Gurukul. This is the model they go by -
They start by playing with children, talking to them, teaching them." - Guruji
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