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his was supposed to be just another semester. Just another elective to dear and get out of the way. Just another day in the life of an Archie. Or so we thought.

Sustainable Development end Participatory Planning were two totally different terms. Most of us were clueless as to what they reolly rneont .. What we didn't know was that this was going to be a pilot elective that would bridge the two terms ond at the same time, bridge two very different institutes from two extreme corners of the globe.

With the help of our Principal, Prof. Ravi Hazro, and our el~dive professors, Suhos Goonkar and Amit Paroshar, we began what would be culled the 5ustoiMbie Development elective. A group of 8 students from the fifth Year doss mode up thi'S efective batch.

As part of the elective submlsslon, we were divided into 3 groups and were asked to identify 3 areas of study wherein public participation regarding the RPG - 2021 took place. The places chosen were Sanquelim, Santo Cruz and Parra. We were required to collect various base drawings (satellite imoges,

67 / Agkrili 2009

existing village maps, survey drawings, proposed settlement plans, etc.) in order to get an idea of each place. A questionnaire on the Regional plan was also prepared by us, which would fvrtheraid us in getting more informotion and differen·t points of view from various people in the planning ~eld (architects, plenners, Panchoyat members, Communidade members, activists, social workers, etc), Before getting on with the interviewing process, a presentation about the planning process in India and Goo was conducted by Edgar Ribeiro which proved to be very useful and informative to us.

At the some time, we were reqvired to attend a series of 5 web conferences between our college and the PRATI team. We learnt that a collaborative Visioning and Participatory planning. Workshop would be conducted in Agonda in order to prepare a framework for future Sustainable Development for the village. This would guide the village community in preparing a complete plan and assist in formulating strategies to achieve envisioned planning goals. The

PRATT team was in the process of collecting ground detc from Agonda and simultaneously analyzing it in order to present to the Agonda community in Jonuery 2010. Some of the presenters included Mr. Edgar Ribeiro, Ar. Dean D'Cruz, Mr. S. f. Puttarcju, Father Maverick from Council for Social Justice and Peace! etc. The web conferences allowed for easy interaction between the PRATT students and the participants at GCA.

What started out as an elective

for us at college, turned out to be a very valuable and Informative phase in our college lives. This waS a new and exciting e.xperien(:e; something we had never done before. We hope, this will be the first of manyl

We were grateful for being given an opportunity to interact with the PRATT team. We hope that the work initiated will help inAuance the Agonda Panchayat and the Agonda Community to come forth with more suggestions to improve their village.

~ Oriana Fernandez:

"Ihls was an epoque meeting ... o great exercise for the way forward of settlement plant through public participation, addressing the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment. "

- Edgar Ribeiro

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WASTEWATER

AND RESIDENTIAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DESIGN GUIDELINES

Thursday, Z January. Dtg Thme

he third day of the workshop focused on Wastewater and Residential Solid Waste Management and Design Guidelines. The moin objective of this workshop was to create awareness omong the people of Agonda. It started with issu$s related to Wastewater and Residential SOlid waste which the Agonda village is facing. The stvdents from Pratt Institute made the people aware by making them understand the problem. They 01$0 presented some examples from around the world about how the Issues of wastewater and re.sidentidl50lid waste can be solved. This worbhop involved each and every individual present to participate in solving the issues. related to wostewater and residential solid

waste management. The wastewater ifltmogement team gave a talk on how the waste water from toilets, .inks, basins etc. could be managed and reused For cgriculhJral purpose. rhe s(ll,d waste from the toilets Ululd be reused by adding layers of soUto conv(lrt to compost and used

s fertili~ers For fields.

The residential solid waste management issues WQrE! related to dry and wet waste from individual households. The dry waste is baSically non biodegradable waste such as plastic, glass. etc. while wet waste is biodegradable waste from kitchens. The peaple were more

concerned about the dry waste along the cocutol edge, which was due to tourist activity. The village people came up with solutions regarding residential solid waste. The residential waste should be collected separate~y as dry and wet waste. The dry woste should be collected from the village by the panchayats. While the wet waste should be collected and taken to a site which has oomposting unit, which will compost wet waste into manure to be used for agricultural purpose.

The des'ign guidelines gtoup creoted awareness of i$51)1)$

regarding preservation of the natural and built environment. The people wanted to preserve the present natural and built environment. In (I way the people guided themselves for thejr future development. The people were noW aware of the issues and how they could be solved. Active participotion from each and every individual made the issues Qlear and the people were involved in di$cussions to solve these issues. The Pratt Institute Planning team and Goo College of Arc;hitecture team guided the people of Agonda to solve the

issues. - Sarang Hal

Aokriti 2009 / 70

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Results of SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS

.... Safe and peaceful ... Naturally beautiful .... Good lifeslyle WEAKNESSIS

=Peer utilities

-Insufficient medicel facilities ... Poorly maintained roads "'Pollution and gorbcge

<»-Lack of community fccilities and services

OPPORTUNITIES

-PI!)Inned and proper coastal development

=Petenfiel lcccl workforce "'"Farming and ogriculture promotion

-Sustainable tourism THREATS

.... Outsider employment and land ownership

""Political hurdles and lack of transparency

.... Unregulated tourism .,..Beach Erosion VISIONING

.... In 2030; Agonda will ...

"'"Be a beochfront ecmmunlty with self-sufficient parking that respects the environment Clnd provides fair OI>CElSS to booth residents and visitors .

.... Be a healthier-community with full access to a pharmacy and government hospital, with permanent doctors, built on the current medico! center site. "'+Ieve wider better-maintained, pedestrian-friendly roads

71 I Aakrili 2009

respecting the coastline Clnd in compliance with RPG 2021.

.... Be a self-sufficient, green community with wen-managed and integrated fCici'lities that address Aeondq's, energy, wcsteWoteF Clnd water supply growth needs, AGONDA'S FARMLAND CHALLENGES ~lmpendln9 potential conversion of farmland to other uses (tourism?) 07Asricultural Tencncy Act and land lying fallow

.... Small size of farms

.... Cost of rice not rising

... Yield and price of coconut has decreased

.... Insects (mites) affect coconut yield ....lack of labor and high labor wages

.,..Youth is not interested due to

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perception of forming and low wages and little lob sElcurity =Dependeney on other states for Food

=Prke of food increasing "'lack of water for irrigotjon <2' Stroy cattle

=Ieck of rneehcnizotlcn

FOCUS GROUPS GOALS/ SOLUTIONS ""Group 1 ... Farmlond Conservation Gools for Agondo

.... Conserve agriculture

.... Create/ maintain a consistent water supply

"'"Increase productivity by producing 2 crops per year "'Selliocol Agondo grown products at local AgondQ market (and other markets)

""Promote organic forming

""Seek government osslstonee to upgr~de farming technology and support small scale local farmers <?Group 2 - Problem Identification/ Solutions

?Improve labor pool

"-Problem: Wages ore tao high for laborers

qr;Solution: Improve technology to reduce labour ond increase yield CONSERVE AGRICULTURAL LAND oII'Problem: low yield and costs of production is higher thon profit ~Solution: Toke odvontoge of government schemes to acquire technology

*Solution 2.: Create a farmers dub/self help group

PROMOTE ORGANIC FARMING =Preblern; Hard work requir.ed to

farm organically and chemical fertilizers are

cheap/ fJ(jSY / Clvai.lable

... Solution: Improve motivation arid educate farmers about different organic forming technique~ through experiments

INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY/PROFITABILITY

.... Problem: Fertilization/use of chemicals Clnd unsoientifk plonting ... Solution: less reliance 011 chemical fertil.izen Clnd employ scientific planting techniques ""Solution 2: Increase profitobility by processing, packasins and valve addition (cashew plantdtion processing, packoginS, trading and systematic marketing)

Aakritl 2009 / 72

i'

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PARTICIPATORY PLANNING WORKSHOP:

AGONDA JANUARY 2010

Ina four-way partnership, Pratt _lnl6Me of New York, Goa College of Architecture (OCA), the Coundl for Social Justice and Peace, and the Panchaya.t of Agonda from South Goo collaborated to put together a participatory planning workshop for sustainable development in Agond(l, Despite challenges, the determined group managed to hCIVe five working web-meetings over the semester to exchange ideas and organize the workshop. The objective was simple; to gain learning experience and capacity buildins for the students, whIle being of value to the c{)mmunity. The students conducted the workshop professionally and were re<:eived extremely well by the community. Besides the workshop, the students had a meaningful international exc:hllnge of ideas, deyeloping new friendships, andtakinQ the time to joinrly visit the enchal'lting ButterRy beach on their day off.

RA. AICP

lEl mVQrmni@hotmail.cOlli

It is anticipated that by the middle of 2010, the Panchoyat of Agondo would be required to submit a Settlement Plan for adoption. Most likely the first written Pion may be as simple as documentation of existing conditions, identified problems, and needs sttltement. SUb~equ8n~y over time, as the community get'S trained ond sophisticated about the methods and tools for planning, their Plan may be amended to be more representative.

During the workshop in AgQfldo, an enthusiasfic and energetic: community participated in a SWOT analysis, which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses; Opportunities, and Threats. It gave a snap shot of Agonda endled to the ",ext exercise of developing a Vision for Agonda, setting the guiding principles. The partidponts Focu.sed on some previously identified topics: Tourism Assessment; Economic: Development Options,. Farmland Con$Grvation, Soljd Wente Managementl Waste Water Management, Cind Sustainoble Development Design Guidelines. The final day of the four·day workshop involved developing goals end recommendations which had to be SMART as in: Specific, Measurable,

Urban Concepts

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Achievable, Reoli$lic end Timely. It was importont to make the event fun ondlivl:lly/ keeping the P9tti.cil?~nt$ engaged with interGictive exercises and scheduled breaks serving refr~shments to keep the energy up.

Thill w.9rkshop represenfed on initial stage of 0 participotory precess, The Panchayat of Agonda, under the progressive leadership of Sarpanch JoV! Fernandez, seeks 10. keep the memenfurn goin!;! forward and would rely on key partnerships for their future ihitiatives. They are looking to the GCA to help, put together Sustainob!e Development De$ign Guidelines which tlmong other things would need to

inoh;de: be~t 'practices Qnd rnscsures FOr site .

development, soil aresjon control, storm water manQgement, native landscaping, $19nage; environmentally appropriate street lighting, protection of turtle nesting habih;:It/ beoch ~ccess; be~ch lTiainteli~m!Ze, streetfurnitul'0, ond contextual oi'chitecturol design covenants.

It is Ewident th<!lt professional students CIn,d instiMe~ can be a tremendous qsset for communltles. We may all look beck ot this as c historic time 'in India. when the ConstitutioMI Amendments 73 and

7 4 empower~d the Loc'll Governments to formul.ate their own Plolis. The students.from GCA ~nd P~att Instil()te had a glimp~e into this' formC1tiv~ period, 1.1 is inspiring to witness the collaboration of so m~ny dedicoted inclividu1:lls in Goo working to ensure the proc.es~ succeeds. Recdlling Mohatma Gondhi's words 'Be the Chonse'! it seem5 the people engaged

in the process today 'Are the Change'. .

Sometimes a deco-de hea to pas; before planners can see the results of their lebor ond policies, none the less it is immensely grdtifyingto see the chan9~ take efFed. Par Communities hGwever it is imperlcnt to experience a sense of accomplishment and expe~ience some successes in the short term to build their level of confidence in shaping their own Future. Planners Can hE;llp guide priorities in a woyfhm the lOW-Go$! meosurss con be implemented cs early Ciction projects " ~the low hOr:lging fruits!. The studsnts end participcmts from Agonda engaged in the workshop. whole he.artedly llPorking s~veral note worthy recommendations andided~. In Victor Hugo's words "There is notHing. more f1lQwerful than idE:!(l whose time has come", •

75 I A-akriti 2009

Amit Purushar Vililing Faculty, yea

r8'J Illlli!.purusllur05@g"lfiil.colll

Goa College of Architecture was part of a pcrtlcipotory planning workshop with the Pratt Institute, NY in Goa during the second holf of 2009 end the beginning of 201 O. It was a unique workshop in many respects, especially as on institution from the other side of the world was speor-heodlnq such an event in Goa. It wcs speeicl also because it was inspired and built on the events of the lost few yeors in Goo which witnessed unprecedented oworeness and activism on port of the population of Goa in matters rhct affec;ted them directly and whot were notified in the recent regional plan. It was essentially an exercise in fadiitoting planning to emerge from bottom-up.

The l>ignificance of this workshop is related to the 73rd and 74th Consfitutlenol Amendment in India which sought to bring govemonce to the locallev;I by empowering the 'third tier' of local self . governance" the ponchoycts and wards. Needless to say use of self governonce needs experience and on occurnuloticn of practices. That is where lay the significance of this workshop on participatory plonning - in introducing known practices in porticipatory planning, introducing 'plonning toolkits' and in practicing with the local pcrrlclpants these very instruments.

The process of collaboration started off in August with CI series of web sessions between GCA and Pratt! which typically lasted three to four hours. A slrnultcneous effort was made to make 0 detailed survey of the villages to Formulote a detoiled profile of the villages. It culminated in the group from Pratt Visiting India at the end of December 2009 and conduding the workshops ill Participatory planning with the people of the Village of Agonda in south

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kshi VOI'!:mciw Ii represented Prof cllang with her students (lylBr Caruso, Aline FClder, Meenci ratline Dione Horori Cherern, George MClvrog'eorgis, Donn Mcloughlin, Michelle

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Mot Jorrlf.:S RCIU5se, Mcmn Schloss, Marc: Shovitz , Alexander Sommer, Asma Syed j Somuel

pere1-, ~ 'I Jessica White) while Suhos Goonkor and Ami~ Pcroshor along with students relle~~~)~:,onkc,r, Goycltri Joshi, Soran~1 Ncik, Suscno Yelz, Jamila Sheikh, Oricno Fernandez} (_Abhil' ~e~l Goa College of Architecture, Signifir.:cmt contributions were mode by India's fonner

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(e~7 dly planner Edgar Ribeiro, Architect Dean D'Cruz, Principal of GCA Rovi Hozro, Fr.

chis , .k ~ CSJP; Jovi Fernandez - Sorponch, Agonda cnnonq others,

Movenc,

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. (I ernd those of the vilkige of Porro in north Goo, GOTha workshop ot Agonda was held cit the ,SI A,nne's , I S heel clnd wos the longer of the exercises 111 the

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fWD vllklge~, extendIng ovst fou;r dcys. The goal WCIS to

. facilitators to help the residents of Agondo

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formulate a sustainable visron Fo!' the~r Village end to

hel find common ground through this grass roots

I ~ning· exercise, The dsliverebles were leaving

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behind on institutionolized process 0 ongoing

participation in (loc'll) ploMing and 0 process of . mopping and making other informotioli available ond C1!:cessible constantly.

Typicdly each doy started with an introduction to the doys ectivities and the setting of the rules by which to abide to progress step by step towards conclusions lawards the end of the day. Four '[ocus groups! were forniulatedto narrow down the topics that could have become port of the plclnning process, These were 1. Tourism and Economic development, 2, Susroinoble Farming, 3, Waste wurer and solid woste management, ol'\dd, Design Guidelines for future developments in the village of Agonda.

Siudents helped fonnulote these groups with the pa~li,dponts Clnd to Finally form summaries of their °fJniOns, Th~ process of doing so went in the sequence ~d PU,tt~ng up olreody culled information; problem

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Ion Wit te pcrficipcnts, breok-out sessions

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., arrl!:lng end visioning, To this inforrnotion were

applIed SWAT ('d 'fy' h

O. .. . I entl. Ing t· e Strengths, Weaknesses,

PPortunilies d T·h· -) I' d ' f

gOO Is ., .. an. ireots anti YSIS one CI setllng or

~Iltll' ~slng SMART (Specific, Measurab10j Achievable, I,sthlc and Timely) methodologies.

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villag@s . I are techniques to create a plan for the

Cine to prOmote a sense of guordianship of such

a plan - which would become the bosis of future action in developing the village in the way the inhobitcrnts want it, The pion would then become 0 basis for action that would be both legol end constitutional. Edgar Ribeiro brought home the significance of the 'Word' as the unit of Accountable' representation and of this process of bottom-upplonnlnq as a wCly to bring the official to the people. He also brought out the significance of maps cs precise documents with measurable evidence that can be put in the hands of the public for continuous monitoring and the significance of using exectly mCltching mopping scales to facilitate

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planning at ecch level ( 1 :2000 at the wCird level,

1 :5000 at Ihe ponchoyct level, and upto '1 :50,000 scale at the district level and onwards). GCA offered to formulate a permonent technical support cell for the pcnchcyots to support this third tier of self governance with tech'lical expertise.

In conclusion what was truly extraordinary obout this event wos that it happened at all. It WclS putting in action the true deFinition of Democracy - a system that allows individuals to porticipote and influence the decisions that affect his life, in a tangible way. If it helped the pcrticipcnts reclize rhe tremendous power this process to change their lives it was worth all the effort that went into making it a reality, By coming in and participating they exercised and built up experience in what can be 0 1001 to fonnuldte their development as o community; Exercising control on the planning processes that affect their destiny was alwoys th€ir right, This workshop WOs a way to increase awareness of this right and to prepare the porflclponts to gain ownership of this process and to develop experience to value it and guard it with vigilance. •

Aakriti 2009 / 76