Samanvaya News Room

Samanvaya is moving again. For those who know us for long, we moved out of our home office a little over 5 years ago. Since then in the last 5 years, we have moved from the double room office at Perambur to the large office in Mylapore to the scenic one at Tiruvanmiyur.  It has been a great journey and much learning for all of us. Now as almost completing a circle, we are moving closer to the house where Rama and myself live at Velachery. This is primarily to make functioning lot more easier and comfortable. Our work continues as usual.  The new office will function from the address below starting from 19th January 2011. A small meeting has been organized for invoking good will and productive times as we move to this new office on the 19th morning. We seek your continued support and good will in the new office space.  Thank you and Wish everyone a Happy Pongal and Makar Sankaranthi, Ramasubramanian Chief, Samanvaya 15th January 2011 New Office: 'Jai Saraswathi',...

as the year 2010 comes to an end, a quick look back - ...the year 2010 started in a flurry of activity, none more significant for me personally than the release of "Param - Positive News" , a news letter with positive ideas, people and initiatives. it was released during the annual "Ennangalin Sangamam" meeting (which happens each year on the first Sunday of the year) in Chennai. Positive News represents the aspirations of several people, that, there ought to be a news journal dedicated to carrying positive news about whatever goes on all around. The release itself was a major event, with spontaneous team forming towards putting together the journal and several others coming forward to participate / pitch-in for the idea.  Editing Param through one of the intense time of changes in the office was tough, but, also rewarding in terms of its impact, the number of positive stories that it carried and highlighted the efforts of the small person, did matter to other...

In a small and beautiful gathering in Thenur village near Madurai, the Kapas brand of renewed Khadi was launched. The Madurai based CCD and Auroville based Upasana Studio came together to launch this brand in Madurai on Sept 22nd, the day Gandhiji gave up wearing elaborate clothing in the same town saying 'we should be able to make more Khadi for every Indian'. Ram from Samanvaya spoke on the occasion about the link between Madurai and Gandhiji and the historic relevance of the event. Several local Panchayat Leaders, farming leaders and women's groups participated apart from organic farmers, spinners and weavers who attended with their families. The event was chaired by MR Rajagopalan, Secretary of the Gandhigram Trust, Gandhigram and the first Kapas cloth was received by Swamiji from the Ramakrishna Tapovanam in Tiruvedagam

After seven years of Samanvaya Freedom Lecture, this year we have decided to not hold one around the Aug 15th. Not because we didn't meet anyone who is worthy of delivering the lecture, indeed we considered more than one. But, apart from the fact our strongest candidate refused on grounds of not feeling up to it, we also have not been too keen to pursue it. We feel if the concept has a validity such initiatives have to happen by themselves, sustain themselves...so, each year it has always been that we think of a speaker and invariably the speakers don't refuse and agree immediately. We have always almost had the person to Preside over also agree without a problem. The participation which is steady and small almost always is a loyal following.  In the last few years the Freedom Lecture has been organized in collaboration with others, this too is not our doing and what others have volunteered by themselves. So,  when someone refused to talk this year, we decided to see if we...

Both structurally and functionally Samanvaya has been undergoing several changes in recent times, we have not been able to update and sustain our online presence as a consequence. Soon, we will be in a position to have our online presence reflect our off line presence. Ram, 4th August 2010

Samanvaya Consulting Invites you for an experience sharing session On Evolving an Enterprise Management Programme for Rural Community Workers By Ramasubramanian & Jaishankar Date: 9th April 2010, Friday, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Venue: G4, H104, Sukhsagar Apartments, 3rd Seaward Road, Valmiki Nagar, TIruvanmaiyur It was six months ago that Samanvaya embarked on the challenging task of evolving and coordinating a management curriculum for rural entrepreneurs at the Sadhana Institute. The programme, Community Owned Social Enterprises (called COSE) has been initiated by CCD, Madurai to equip its middle level managers in rural enterprise management. The candidates are rural men who aspire to create and manage enterprises in villages. The three year programme provides them exposure to global organization of business, its philosophy and politics; knowledge on broad areas related to rural enterprise management and also hone their skills in enterprise management. The resident course is conduct...

Dear Mr. Ramesh, Understand the the GEAC is considering the commercial release of the controversial Bt Brinjal in the next few days. Kindly request your ministry to take a long term view of this impending disaster to our land and ensure that India doesn't succumb to every technological dump from others. For long we have suffered poisoning of our soil as a necessity in the name of food security, today we know better, our organic cotton and food are consumed by the 'developed' world whose salesmen knock at our doors for yet another poisonous product, and yet again in the pretext of providing us food security. Today, we know better. You have written about the benefits of GM way back when you were not a minister in your columns. But, I am aware that you have since becoming the Ministry in this Department started hearing out the environmental concerns seriously too. You may be aware that the 'solution' of Bt Brinjal is not for any 'problem', but, may cre...