Country: Nepal

BeeCause- Street Theatre, Object Animation

Aimed at improving communication methodologies between knowledge generators and knowledge seekers in the Greater Himalayan region, the project was to examine and promote the use of traditional media for passing on relevant agriculture and livelihood-related information to grassroots communities. Indigenous Media being a pilot project, Sanjay needed to exercise careful judgement in selecting project sites and partners that could provide representative samples of the regions of the Greater Himalayan region. Cultural attitudes, languages, currently used Indigenous Media and capabilities of local NGOs and institutions, were the basis for selecting partners and sites.

To showcase the effective use of indigenous media to disseminate complex scientific processes and matters, Sanjay built a team of young talented college students and wrote, designed, storyboarded, choreographed a street theatre production ‘BeeCause’.

Sanjay trained the team in acting, puppet playing and puppet making. Emphasis was given to the fact that these productions were also to be replicated in impassable villages of the Greater Himalayan region; thus, producing these with minimal use of props and ensuring that the props were to be easily sourced locally. The production was designed such that each member of the team got to play each role on a rotation basis, i.e., the lead actor became the director the next day and the accountant the next day and so on. This ensured total focus of the team and ensured the smooth running of the production in case of any member’s absence.

This creative technique also trained each member to go to several villages and be able to reproduce the theatre all by themselves with the help of local talent and resources.

Another pioneering technique of animating the props to impart otherwise technically complex processes was used for this presentation.

Design and Direction for Puppet Show- Step by Step

Aimed at improving communication methodologies between knowledge generators and knowledge seekers in the Greater Himalayan region, the project was to examine and promote the use of traditional media for passing on relevant agriculture and livelihood-related information to grassroots communities. Indigenous Media being a pilot project, Sanjay needed to exercise careful judgement in selecting project sites and partners that could provide representative samples of the regions of the Greater Himalayan region. Cultural attitudes, languages, currently used Indigenous Media and capabilities of local NGOs and institutions, were the basis for selecting partners and sites.

To showcase the effective use of indigenous media to disseminate complex scientific processes and matters about soil erosion prevention, Sanjay built a team of young local talented college students, and wrote, designed, storyboarded, and choreographed a theatre performance ‘Step-by-Step’.

Sanjay trained the team in acting, puppet playing and puppet making. Emphasis was given to the fact that these productions were also to be replicated in impassable villages of the Greater Himalayan region; thus, producing these with minimal use of props and ensuring that the props were to be easily sourced locally. The production was designed such that each member of the team got to play each role on a rotation basis, i.e., the lead actor became the director the next day and the accountant the next day and so on. This ensured total focus of the team and ensured the smooth running of the production in case of any member’s absence.

This creative technique also trained each member to go to several villages and be able to reproduce the theatre all by themselves with the help of local talent and resources.

The theatrical production was also forerunner in the magic of puppets being intricately woven with a theatre (humans acting). The shadow puppet brought in the huge advantage of time-lapse and possibility to visually present the technique of formation of a step farm.

Project Lead- Indigenous Media

A drastic turn of events had Sanjay competing with 300 candidates and being interviewed amongst five by the Ford Foundation to leads its pilot Indigenous Media Project in five Greater Himalayan countries. In two months’ time, Sanjay had to disassemble his established life and don the cap of a Development Professional, with pleasure, of course.

With the onset of New Media (i.e., usage of television, computers, and mobile phones) the communities were broadly beginning to be divided into haves and have-nots. Simply put, those with access to electricity and these new gadgets were at the front line of receiving new and useful information. However, those without access to electricity and new gadgets, most of whom were already illiterate or semi-literate, were increasingly being left behind. In effect, on the one hand, the world was developing leaps and bounds, and on the other, a large section of the underdeveloped population was being pushed back into the dark ages. Waiting for this section of the community to become literate and/or have access to new media would further widen the void. This alarming void needed to be addressed urgently.

Aimed at improving communication methodologies between knowledge generators and knowledge seekers in the Greater Himalayan region, the project was to examine and promote the use of traditional media for passing on relevant agriculture and livelihood-related information to grassroots communities. Indigenous Media being a pilot project, Sanjay needed to exercise careful judgement in selecting project sites and partners that could provide representative samples of the regions of the Greater Himalayan region. Cultural attitudes, languages, currently used Indigenous Media and capabilities of local NGOs and institutions, were the basis for selecting partners and sites.

Having selected appropriate partners, and visiting each of the project partners in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, Sanjay trained partners in creating Indigenous Media prototypes, visual communication, composition, storytelling, entertainment, problem-solving, acting, puppet making, prop making and directing and producing presentations disseminating livelihood and agriculture-related messages and processes.