Gramya Manthan
Begins at 9 AM on 18th February 2022 and ends at 6 PM on 27th February 2022
Applications for 13th Edition of Gramya Manthan 2022 are live. First Deadline: December 15, 2021 | Final Deadline: January 02, 2022.
We see the breakthrough for this is within each individual. Hence, Youth Alliance aims to intervene there but we don’t want to do it in the right and wrong paradigm, because that’s just in the head. We wish to take individuals on a journey of rediscovery – to find and speak their own truth, to listen to each other and build a common language. Journeys that engage the faculties of head, heart and hands.
Into its 13th edition, Gramya Manthan is a 10-day rural immersion journey which brings together 30 passionate change-agents from all across India. Organised twice a year, summers and winters in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh and Kutch, Gujarat respectively.
During the course of the ten rigorous days, we explore with empathy, the life of the village, while staying with the local communities. Through workshops, discussions and activities designed we deepen our individual and collective reflection. The essence is to take every Change-agent on a journey of self-exploration and imbibe a sense of service. This is nurtured by bridging the rural-urban divide and creating a space to observe, understand and learn the diverse realities of India with the aim to ignite the flame of curiosity in the participating youth about the complex actualities of life, as it comes.
Gramya Manthan is back after the pandemic-induced gap. Come, join us in Kutch as we venture deeper into indigenous wisdom, build capacity for conversations across differences and imagine transformative changes in our current development paradigm.
Program Details
| Day 1 | INDUCTION & COMMUNITY Creating a community of trust that enables each to bring forth one’s unique gifts. |
| Day 2 | FOUNDATIONS OF GMUnderstanding the idea of empathy and learning to work with it, throughout the program. |
| Day 3 – 4 | VILLAGE IMMERSION Stepping into the shoes of the villagers we understand their world, with both its privileges and challenges. Later, we juxtapose our understandings of rural life with our experience of urban life. |
| Day 5 | EXPANDING THE ‘I’ Here we venture out (or venture in) to recognise and comprehend the deeper factors that shape world. We challenge our assumptions and push our imagination to a vision of a more cooperative and just world. |
| Day 6 – 8 | SERVICE LEARNING For the next three days, we offer ourselves to server the villagers. The emphasis is not on solving, but on serving (sea) with empathy. We also learn to think deeper about systemic solutions to the challenges. |
| Day 9 – 10 | REFLECTION & CONCLUSION As we conclude, we reflect back on what impacted us the most and endeavour to create our own narrative. As a community we also seek to support participants who aim to work in the villages. |
| BEYOND GM The community becomes a strong support system, a foundation for collaborations and continuous feare of inspiration to live and serve the world meaningfully. |
Guidelines
Location & Weather : Temperatures vary in wide spectrum during day and night between 20 to 35 degree celcius. The upcoming edition will take place in Ahmedabad and Kutch, Gujarat.
Travel & Accommodation : Food, stay and all other mandatory requirements during the program will be taken care of. Participants will have to reach Ahmedabad by Day 0 night or early morning on Day 1.
Financial Contribution : Youth Alliance incurs a significant financial cost in each participant who comes for Gramya Manthan which includes costs of Facilitation, Program Design, Food, Accommodation, Transport, Material & Logistics, Mentoring etc.
We are a non-profit organisation aiming to meet costs. The cost per participant for 30 participants is 40,000 INR. The range of contribution is Rs 12,000 to Rs 36,000 to accommodate varied paying capacity of our participants and we fundraise the deficit. While the legitimacy for this form of experiential education is still building up in our country, we invite you to look at it as an investment in your own learning and leadership and enable your parents to treat it the same way. We believe that as we learn and grow together we take care of all those who offer us their gifts while also fostering a spirit of care for all the people in our communities.
Know more about the contribution model here
Eligibility
• Program is open to both Indian and International applicants.
• Participants in the age group of 18-30 years will be preferred. Applicants below or beyond these age limits will be duly considered on case-to-case basis.
