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HoneyBeeNetwork|SRISTI

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HoneyBeeNetwork

How did it all begin? | Who are we? What are We Doing? | Who Are Our Members? |
FrequentlyAskedQuestion
HOWDIDITALLBEGIN?

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Itwasrealizedaround198889that,bothonefficiencyandethicalgrounds,theprevalent
mode of knowledge extraction from people, and dissemination among them, were non
sustainable.Thisknowledgeasymmetryhasbeenhistoric.Knowledgehasbeenextracted,
documentedwithoutanyacknowledgementtothesourceofknowledge.Thedocumented
knowledge has not been communicated to the knowledge holder for feedback. These
practices have not only impoverished the knowledge holders by pushing them further
down in the oblivion, but also have hampered the growth of an informal knowledge
system,thatisrobustinnurturingcreativity.Whiletherewerenumerouspublic/private
channelsfordiffusinginnovationsproducedinformalsector,similarchannelsfordiffusion
andvalueadditionofinformalinnovationswerenotavailable.Somuchsothatknowledge
richandeconomicallypoorpeoplecouldnotbenefit,particularlyinmarginalenvironments,
from the formal technologies, nor could they learn from the innovations, due to lack of
extensiveknowledgenetwork.Peoplesknowledgehasbeenutilizedinsomecasesfor
developingvalueaddedproducts.Inmostcases,thebeneficiariesofvalueaddedproducts
were not the same as the providers of the knowledge. Thus the knowledge asymmetry
reinforces the subsequent asymmetry in communication, power, benefit and reward
sharing. The benevolence of the knowledge providers becomes the source of their
impoverishment.
It was to overcome this ethical and professional crisis that the Honey Bee Network was
born some sixteen years ago. Honey Bee is a metaphor indicating ethical as well as
professionalvalues,whichmostofusseldompractice.Ahoneybeedoestwothingsthat
weintellectuals,oftendontdo.Itcollectspollenfromtheflowersandflowersdont
complainanditconnectsflowertoflowerthroughpollination.Similarlyourinnovativeand
ethicalapproachtoknowledgeextraction,oursincereattempttobuilduppeopletopeople
communication and our commitment to let reasonable benefit be shared with the
knowledge holders, qualifies us to identify ourselves with the great metaphor of Honey
Bee.
WHOAREWE?
HoneyBeeNetworkisacrucibleoflikemindedindividuals,innovators,farmers,scholars,
academicians,policymakers,entrepreneursandnongovernmentalorganizations(NGOs).
ANetworkhavingpresenceinmorethanseventyfivecountries,whathasmadeHoneyBee
Network tight knit and efficiently functional is its philosophy. Honey Bee signifies a
philosophy of discourse, which is authentic, accountable and fair. The Network has been
wovenaroundthreebasicideals.TheNetworkbelievesthataknowledgesysteminorder
tobecomesustainablehastobebothjustandfair.Hence,whilecollectingknowledgefrom
the knowledge holder, the Network has made it a norm to acknowledge the knowledge
provider with name and reference, if otherwise not desired by the knowledge provider.
ThisparticularpracticehascomehandyinprotectingtheIPRoftheknowledgeprovider.In
the second place, the source of knowledge i.e. in the case of Honey Bee Network, the
traditional knowledge holders and grassroots innovators must be acknowledged, if
otherwise desired so by the knowledge holders themselves. Finally, any proceed that
accrues from the value addition of local traditional knowledge and innovation a fair and
reasonable share must go back to the knowledge holders. These have been the guiding

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principles of the Network, which are fundamental to the functioning of the network and
constitutethemajornonnegotiablefortheNetwork.
WHATAREWEDOING?
Overthelastsixteenyearsorso,theHoneyBeeNetworkhaslivedtheveryspiritofthe
philosophythatitholdssodearly.Moreover,theactionsthathavefollowedthephilosophy
havegrownandmaturedoveraperiodoftimeandtheirtrajectoryofmaturationhasbeen
based upon the strong realization of the essence of the philosophy. Honey Bee
Newsletter, the creative mouthpiece of the network, is published in seven Indian
languages (Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Oriya) other than
English. The very logic tells that any documentation and dissemination of local and
traditional knowledge and innovations in English, certainly connects us globally but
alienates locally. Living out the concern, the regional language versions reach out to the
thousandsgrassrootsknowledgeholders,whootherwisewouldhavebeenalienatedfrom
the benefits of knowledge, they themselves contribute in the first place. Acknowledging
the very source of the traditional knowledge, the Honey Bee Newsletter and its regional
versions carry stories of the local ingenuity with the consent of the knowledge holder.
Anothersourceofacknowledgingthelocalgeniushasbeenpreparingthedatabaseofthe
traditional knowledge and grassroots innovations and Honey Bee Network, over the last
twenty years has documented more than 1,00,000 ideas, innovations and traditional
knowledgepractices.HoneyBee,truetoitsmetaphor,hasbeenthesourceofpollination
and crosspollination of ideas, creativity and grassroots genius, without taking away the
nectarfromtheflowerforever.
WHOAREOURMEMBERS?
ThejourneyfortheHoneyBeeNetworkhasbeenbothadventurousaswellasinsightful.
However,morethananythingelse,thejourneyhasbeenmutuallyenriching,thankstoall
the partner organizations, who constitute the Honey Bee Network. Following are the
institutionalcollaboratorsoftheHoneyBeeNetwork
1. Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions
(SRISTI)
2.NationalInnovationFoundation(NIF).
3.GrassrootsInnovationAugmentationNetwork(GIAN)
4.SEVA,Madurai.
5.Pritvi
6.PEDES,Kerela.
7.InnovationClub,Orissa.
8.NetworkofGramVidyapeethas.
Besides the institutional collaborators we have individual collaborators from Jammu &
Kashmir,Rajasthan(Mr.SundaramVarma),HimachalPradesh,Uttarachal(Mr.Kamaljeet)
andPunjab(Mr.JanmeyajayJhol).
FREQUENTLYASKEDQUESTIONS
WhocanbethememberofHoneyBeeNetwork?
Honey Bee Network is open to people belonging to all the walks of life. Our network
consistsofpeoplerangingfromacademicianstofieldpractitioners,fromresearchscholars
to grassroots innovators, from technical professionals to green agriculturalists. Any body
withastrongcommitmentfortheimprovementoflocalknowledgenetwork,innovations,
grassroots creativity, conservation of biodiversity, natural resource management,
augmentationofinnovation,intellectualpropertyrightsetc.canbethemembersofHoney
BeeNetwork.
WhyshouldyoubecomethememberofHoneyBeeNetwork?
Indiaisthefourthlargesteconomyintheworldandenvisionstobecometheglobal
knowledgeleaderby2012.However,thisisunfortunatetoseethattheentirepreparation
tobecomeglobalknowledgeleaderhasonlyencompassedtheformaldomainsof
knowledge.Unearthingthehugereservoiroflocalknowledgethatlieswiththetraditional
andgrassrootsknowledgeholderscanhelpIndiafastenthepaceofachievingthestatusof
knowledgeleaderandacreativesociety.Youcancontributeinyourownway:
Ifyoufeelthatlotsofpoorpeoplearesopoornotbecausetheycannotthink,but
becausetheirideasandinitiativesdonotgetspaceforexpansionandfulfilment.
Ifyouthinkthattherearemanydreamsthatyouhadwhichyoucouldnotfulfilin
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yourlifebutwouldlikeotherstofulfilthemsoonerratherthanlater.
Ifyouwanttoinvestingreenideaswhichinvolveriskbutmayhelpsocietyaswellas
ourlivesifsuccessful.
Ifyouyourselfhavesomeinnovativegreenideaanddonotknowwhotocontactfor
makingitgrow,generatewealthandmakethisworldgreener,fairerandmorehumane.
Ifyouareascientistortechnologistandcanpursueresearchyourselforguideyour
studentstoaddvalueinlocalknowledgeandinnovations.
Ifyouareanentrepreneurwhowantstoscaleupsomeotherinnovator'sinnovation.
IfyouareascientistwhocanaddvaluetotheexistingactivitiesoftheNaturalProduct
Laboratoryandincubationprocessesoftheinnovations.
Ifyouareapolicymakerwhonomoreenjoysstiflinginitiativeofothersandinstead
enjoyshelpingothersgrow.
Ifyouareateacherwhocanpersuadeyourstudentstotakeprideinscoutingand
augmentinggrassrootsinnovationsandhelpliberatethecolonizedmindsoftheelite.
Ifyouareastudentwhoisinterestedinunravellingthecreativepotentialofthe
grassrootsgenius,identifyingthelocalinnovationsandknowledgeheuristics,obtainingthe
PICformsetcthroughresearchanddissertations.
Howmuchtime,canIgiveforHoneyBeeNetwork?
TimeiscertainlynotthecriteriaforjoininghandswithHoneyBeeNetwork.Whatmatters
istheburningdesireonyourparttotakeIndiastepforwardbyputtingthewholerangeof
issues pertaining to traditional knowledge, grassroots innovations, bio diversity,
entrepreneurshipetc.inperspective.Ifyouarestayingabroad,youcandisseminatethe
local knowledge and unique practices of your region and make it an innovative and
knowledge rich society. Your time contribution may range from one day a week to one
hourperday.Youcanalsothinkofgivingcertaindaysperweekorafewmonths.Timeis
yours,soisyourcommitment.
HowcanIbecomethememberofHoneyBeeNetwork?
Youcancertainlysignintheguestbookwithyourproposalofvolunteering.However,you
canalsowritetousdirectlyatinfo@sristi.orgformembershipqueries.
DoIhavetopayforthemembershipfees?
No,therearenosuchmembershipfeesforjoiningHoneyBeeNetwork.However,wewould
certainly look for a member, who is contributing to the mission of the network in a
meaningfulway.However,forsubscribingtoHoneyBee,thenewsletter,youhavetofillup
the subscription form. Even if you dont want to become the member of Honey Bee,
stillyoucanwritetousaboutyou.

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