pro-poor, pro-nature & pro-women.
| "Be the change you want to bring about." |
| -Mahatma Gandhiji |
| MSSRF was established at a time when humankind started facing serious ecological and social problems - growing damage to the basic life support systems of and, water, forests, biodiversity, and atmosphere; increasing poverty as well as social and gender inequity; rapid growth in human population resulting in reduced per capita availability of land and water; and explosive technological development coupled with high rates of unemployment, resulting in jobless economic growth. |
| All these factors led to MSSRF defining its research agenda in terms of sustainable development, rooted in the principles of ecology, social and gender equity, employment generation, and economic viability. The fostering of a pro-nature, pro-poor, pro-women, and pro-employment orientation to technology development and dissemination in rural areas became MSSRF's mission. If technology was an important factor in the past in increasing economic and social disparities and causing ecological harm, MSSRF's approach has been to enlist appropriate blends of traditional and frontier technologies as allies in the movement for economic and ecological well-being and gender equity. In the field of agriculture, MSSRF's goal became one of spreading an evergreen revolution based on sustainable advances in biological productivity. This emphasised the need to place efforts to increase crop productivity on the foundation of integrated natural resources management. |
| Chennai was chosen as the headquarters of the Foundation in 1989, both because of the choice of coastal areas for the initial research and training programmes and the generous assistance rendered by the government of Tamil Nadu in providing one hectare of land in the Taramani Institutional Area. Later, another hectare of land was granted in the same area, so that the campus of MSSRF at Chennai now covers two hectares. |
| The first activity of the Foundation was started in July 1989, in guestrooms of the Anna University and the Indian Institute of Technology, thanks to the unstinting support of the authorities of these two institutions. In April 1990, the Foundation moved to a rented building in Kotturpuram with three staff members: |
| Dr. Rajeshwari Mahalingam (now Dr Rajeshwari Anand), Mr. N. Parasuraman, and Ms. R. Radha. |
| The quotation from Gandhiji cited at the beginning has guided the activities of the Foundation right from its inception. Thus, while designing its building in the Taramani area in 1992, the first principle was that it should help to harvest rain and sun. Rain water harvesting devices were incorporated in the architectural design and a 20 kV solar photovoltaic system was installed to provide uninterrupted power supply to computers. Based on the concept that the building must itself be a message, greenhouses were put up at the entrance to grow plants which are threatened with extinction, so that enthusiasm could be generated in saving plants to save the future of our children. |
| MSSRF has operated during the last ten years on the principle of partnership with rural and tribal women and men. Consciously; the Foundation chose not to have its own experimental farm, but to work with farming families in their fields in a participatory research mode. It has considered the tribal and rural families working with its young staff members as partners and innovators, and not as "beneficiaries". The aim is to encourage young researchers to respect all knowledge, whether emanating from an illiterate or semi-literate rural woman or man, or from a Ph.D-holding scientist. It is this genuine partnership based on mutual esteem, between those whose wisdom grows from real life experience and toil in sun and rain and those with advanced academic training, that has given MSSRF its scientific strength. |
| The last ten years have been a time of adventure, in fostering a new social contract between scientists and the economically and socially underprivileged sections of rural society. The story of this endeavour is briefly captured in this publication. |
The writing of this narration was started by Mr. C. K. Ramachandran when he was heading the Budget and Accounts section of MSSRF. Ms. Gita Gopalkrishnan reworked the manuscript and edited it for publication. Thanks are also due to Mr. Peter of Reliance Printers for his commitment to excellence in get-up and printing and to Mr. K. Udayakumar for his dedicated photographic services. |
M. S. Swaminathan |