Sustainable Practices by Women in Rural India

Unit (5 lessons) developed by Neena Sarin and Rachna Nath (YHS Fulbright-Hays 2022)

Proficiency Level: Intermediate Mid/High

Time: 6×75 minutes; Age: High school or college

Objectives: Students will be able to:

  • describe  what women in rural India do in their day to day lives.
  • compare and explain how these rural women’s lives differ from their lives.
  • make connections about the interdependence of rural life with nature-based practices.
  • analyze sustainable ways of living that rural women have been following in their families for generations
  • express sustainable life suggestions and advice to others

Language and Function: Students can use:

  • relative-correlative clauses (जो… वह…, जितना… उतना…, जैसा… वैसा…, जब…तब…, जहाँ… वहाँ…)
  • the passive voice: past participle + जाना (बनाया जाता है, किया जाता है, समझाया जाता है )
  • a range of conjunctions (connectors) to form paragraphs: e.g.  और, जैसे कि,  क्योंकि, ताकि,  मानो, परंतु, किंतु 
  •  adverbial expressions for time sequence (पहले, अभी, सब से पहले, इतने में, उसके बाद, अंत में, इस के दौरान, उसी समय, लगातार)
  • subjunctive  in complex sentences (आशा है कि… + subjunctive, यह ज़रूरी बात है कि… + subjunctive, ताकि + subjunctive)

 Vocabulary:

  • Rural  ग्रामीण
  • Modern आधुनिक
  • Sustainable टिकाऊ
  • Practices प्रथाएँ f.
  • Methodology कार्यप्रणाली f.
  • To thrash गाहना
  • To harvest X की कटाई करना 
  • Traditional परंपरागत
  • Finger Millet रागी f.
  • Environment पर्यावरण m.
  • Water reservoir जोहड़ / पोखड़ m.
  • Conservation X का संरक्षण (करना)
  • Empowerment सशक्तिकरण m.
  • Cow dung गाय का गोबर m.
  • Rangoli रंगोली f.
  • Apain नैनीताल की महिलाओं द्वारा प्रचलित पारंपरिक कला
  • Jaggery गुड़ m.
  • Population जनसंख्या f.
  • Pollution प्रदूषण m.
  • Geography भूगोल m.
  • Climate जलवायु f.

Performance Task: Students conduct research and interview their mothers/grandmothers or any elderly women in their communities about sustainable practices they have been following. Students gather information in the form of videos, audios or pictures and write an article in their local newspaper to make people aware and possibly implement those practices  in their lives. The article includes:

  • A detailed description of at least  three  practices by their mothers/grandmothers or elderly women. Ask questions and respond to the questions using the relative clauses  and conjunction/connectors. For example,  जैसा… वैसा, क्योंकी, जैसे की
  • How is any of  the  above practices still being implemented in the students’ present day life ? Ask questions and respond to the questions using the relative clauses  and conjunctions/connectors. For example,  जैसा… वैसा, क्योंकि, जैसे कि 
  • Why is it important to use sustainable practices? Use words/sentences/polite requests  like आपके अनुसार क्या करना है / होगा / पड़ेगा/ मेहेरबानी करके / कृपा करके… दिखाएँ, समझाएँ; अच्छा होगा अगर आप … दिखाएँ, समझाएँ; ज़रा मुझे… के बारे में बताएँ
Intro Lesson 1: Sustainability (2X75)

1. The teacher shows the students a picture of women in a  rural village grinding rice using traditional practices and a woman in an urban setting doing the same but using an electric grinder.

Fig. 1a: a traditional woman using traditional methods to grind rice. Fig. 1b: a modern woman using a grinder to grind rice.

2. The teacher then asks the students compare the two practices and note down the similarities and dissimilarities of the two ways of grinding rice.

3. In two groups the students then brainstorm about other traditional practices they might know. The teacher supports the groups with useful vocabulary and phrases. The teacher addresses subjunctives and emphasizes the use of connectors (e.g. किंतु , परन्तु, ताकि).

4. The teacher introduces the concept of sustainability and shows pictures of some of the sustainable practices by people in different parts of the world. Source: https://www.sustainablejungle.com/sustainable-living/what-is-sustainable-living/

5. Then they participate in a debate about the advantages and disadvantages of traditional practices — one group is for and the other against their use.

6. The teacher leads the discussion of how in the  rural areas,  women have held a pivotal role in the household and agricultural  work and have been able to connect to natural practices.

7. The students, in groups, create a mindmap of sustainability. They do gallery walk to share and add one new point. The teacher provides ongoing feedback and support.

 Lesson 2: Pangot Village Kumaun: Apain Art (2X75)

1. The teacher shows the students sections of a video of Apain Art and asks students while viewing to fill out a table of two columns – activities and materials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA1JEPGtyK0

2. The teacher elicits and lists on the board ideas and guesses about the authentic apain art methodology from the students. The teacher also introduces passive voice: सुनना – सुनाया जाता हैं, आमंत्रित करना>आमंत्रित किया जाता है and expressions, e.g. चकित होना, प्रसन्न होना, ज्ञात होना, रूचि लेना)

3. The students work in small groups to discuss the ways Apain art is a sustainable way to mark any celebration and pass on traditional knowledge. Students use newly learned vocabulary and structures when sharing their ideas. 

4. Students then share their ideas with the whole group setting and add to the list the materials they use in creating रंगोली  or any such patterns during festive seasons.

5. The teacher then introduces the artist and her efforts to maintain the traditional culture but using modern methodologies. Video link: https://youtu.be/s96l9KqWzJw

6. In groups, students discuss three traditional designs of chowkies they saw in the videos. 

HW: The students create a poster and their own Apain art pattern (using participles करते हुए, करते करते).

Lesson 3: Dehradun: Harvesting and Thrashing (2X75)

1. The teacher shows the students sections of a video of thrashing raagi (finger millet) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq6klLuq8XQ&t=51s

2. The teacher prompts the students discuss how women use the traditional ways in thrashing finger millet/रागी .

3. The teacher shows the video of finger millet/रागी  thrasher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvkeHC2gSfw

4. The teacher supports the discussion about which one of the above methods is the most sustainable way of threshing finger millet and why. The teacher introduces relative-correlative sentences)

5. The students then work in pairs, turn and talk to their peers and discuss the workload of the women folks in this sustainable process of thrashing finger millet.

6. In groups, students write an essay on if the women should continue this traditional sustainable practice or they should find an alternative more effective way to do the same. (They write 8 -10 complete sentences using subjunctive, conjunctions and relative verbs )

Extended Activity: The teacher raises awareness that the folk songs are also associated with the traditional ways to thrashing rice/finger millet.

Lesson 4: Dahanu/Warli Tribe Sustainable Practices

1. The teacher uses the strategy “Four lessons or Four corners” . The teacher posts photos, videos, quotes in four corners of the room — specifically, the teacher uses photos and videos of rural women grinding rice, coating the floor with cow dung and mud, cooking using local plants and making wine out of jaggery.  In groups students to discuss and take notes on what they see/ hear/ read, then groups rotate and reinforce their notes and share them withe the entire group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRWcJvLZhjE

2. The teacher leads a discussion on how sustainable these household chores are. Grammar targets are addressed on the board. Students discuss, if the sustainable ways practiced by Dahanu women are truly sustainable or: 

    • They are harming the environment?
    • Should these practices be sustained across generations? Yes or No? Why?
    • Do the students see any gender specific role in these practices? Give specific examples of what they see and why they describe the roles as gender specific.

3. The teacher introduces Dahanu/ Warli geographical location using smart boards  and discusses its brief history using youtube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Y_Dt0auMA

4. Students write their opinions about how women have been playing pivotal roles in maintaining sustainable ways of livelihood in Dahanu/ Warli tribal community lifestyles. (They speak and write short paragraphs in complete sentences using subjunctive, conjunctions and relative verbs)

Students work on: 

      • aposter (one powerpoint slide)
      • a presentation
      • artwork with description.

Lesson 5: Alwar – Water Conservation/Agriculture 

1. The teacher introduces the topic with focus on the necessity of water in our daily lives. The students have a small group discussion and come up with ways that they use water in their daily lives. The students share their ideas on the teachers whiteboard. 

2. The teacher then asks the students what will happen if there is scarcity of water and discuss how this scarcity can happen. The use of conditional sentences is explained. Students respond in complex sentences using  क्योंकि, बर्बादी, जनसंख्या वृद्धि, प्रदूषण, अगर ऐसा हो तो)

3. The teacher introduces Rajasthan (one of the red dot areas in the 3D link above). S/he introduces passive voice (पानी का संरक्षण किया जाता है, जोहड़/पोखर की खुदाई की जाती है ).

4. The students watch the following video and explore the reason for the water scarcity in Rajasthan from the above four reasons given in point 2. They note down the passive verbs they hear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4PzqJfq0e8

5. The teacher then introduces “Stand In My Shoes” — an activity where roles are assigned to students to come up with ways to solve this water scarcity issue. Students use passive voice.

6. The teacher introduces “ Rainwater harvesting done in Rajasthan as one of the ways to conserve rain water for future use by using this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzBe6K7x-JU

7. The teacher introduces Anokhi (a local village women in Alwar, Rajasthan) and talks about how she learnt about water conservation and applied it to improve the overall lifestyle in the village.  

8. The students then work on their group white boards to write down three ways Anokhi and her adaptation to water conservation techniques have led the  better economical and sustainable ways of living of the village. (They use 10+ vocabulary words in the Unit, subjunctive and relative sentences to collaborate on the ideas)

Teacher notes for the answers to no 8:

  1. Less water
  2. Modern/ mixed Cropping
  3. Use of Sprinklers
  4. Women Empowerment
  5. Handing down practices to next generation
  6. Educating the village with these sustainable practices
  7. Crop rotation
  8. Use of proper manure
  9. Maximizing the yield in small areas. 

Final session (#6): Performance Assessment: The students are  tasked to make an infomercial on the impact of women in Rural India and their contributions to the betterment of the society through their sustainable practices.

Final Assignment: Students conduct further research and write an article.