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Making a difference
Nestling in the hills of Wayanad district, Kanavu teaches tribal children
to confront their past, their own identity - and also how to pass exams.
Kanavu
This school doesn't just educate, it helps retrieve lost tribal pride
Kanavu means dreams. Years ago, writer and social activist K. J. Baby
dreamt of setting up a school where tribal children could grow up in a
habitat beyond the clutches of landlords and settlers who held them in
bondage. Baby wished to reach into the recesses of the tribal psyche and
tap the talent genius of the community. Most of all, he wanted the children
of the forest to stand on an equal footing with the kids in the cities.
Baby and his wife, Shirley, set to work on realizing their dream. They
created a school out of a cluster of thatched structures standing on six
acres of land donated by a trust. And they christened it Kanavu.
Kanavu nestles among the rolling hills of North Kerala's Wayanad district,
which has a high concentration of tribals. With its innovative teaching
methods and visible impact on a crop of students drawn from the social
underclass, Kanavu is making waves and drawing the attention of authorities
who see it as a role model. The school discards conventional practices,
there is no classroom, no syllabus. "Our aim is to teach self-reliance
to these children who've no access to the opportunities offered by society
to a more privileged class of children. We want to prove tribal kids are
capable of learning the same skills as 'mainstream' children. For that,
we must first teach them to respect themselves", says Baby.
Overcoming the ugly legacy of a history of bondage is the first step on
that road. The children are taught to confront their past not through
textbooks but by invoking living examples drawn from the life of the community.
The next step is to initiate them into the process of skills development.
They learn music, painting, dance, theatre and martial arts. Tribal folk
songs and rituals form the core of the effort to reinforce their sense
of identity. Farming is integral to the process of picking up a traditional,
gainful occupation.
Baby says his school equips the children to sit for any of the competitive
exams 'mainstream' kids are trained for: "We don't follow a question-answer
format, but our children are grounded in the basics". Still, the
objective is not to produce a generation of students obsessed with passing
exams. The priority is to build the children's self-confidence and provide
avenues of self-expression. Coming from disparate tribal groups with a
history of mutual hostility, the children are taught to bond with each
other and rise above divisive tendencies. Essentially, Kanavu teaches
children to integrate the best elements of the community and enhance the
quality of life and awareness levels of the tribals.
These objectives are woven into the daily regimen. The school's 52 children
are divided into seven groups and are allotted chores like sweeping the
premises, cleaning toilets, tending the cows and preparing food for the
other kids. The day starts with lessons in Kalaripayattu, the traditional
martial art of Kerala, which is intended to erase the fear and sense of
insecurity that accompanies generations of brutal oppression. Training
in music and classical dance take up the post lunch phase, followed by
academic instruction in specific subjects (often provided by visiting
teachers). Scientific awareness is inculcated by stimulating interest
in the local environment, supplemented later by books, slides and pictures.
"This method is better than memorizing equations and theorems,"
Baby points out.
The school follows the "gurukul" system where teachers live
with students and receive no remuneration. And its song and dance that
literally sustains Kanavu. The students, with a formidable reputation
as performers of traditional tribal dances and folk songs, are much in
demand in neighbouring schools and even in elite social clubs as far away
as Thiruvananthapuram. The proceeds from the performance are just enough
for the school to balance its budget, but it's impact on the audience
that's more important. "Its an important form of cultural transaction,"
observes Alexander, physics teacher at the A.R. Nagar High School in Malappuram.
"We learn a lot about Wayanad and its tribals". Immersed in
song and dance on a bare stage, Kanavu's children are retrieving their
community's lost pride.
Their address:
Kanavu, Nadavayal P.O, Wayanad - 670 721, Kerala, India; Phone: 00 91
493 681114
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