Capital Ideas

Lately we’ve studied quite a bit regarding the developments in Kerala that have been initiated at the local level in a variety of manners from education centers, water supply, and many others. It’s been an interesting look at the ways in which communities have responded to some of the issues regarding corruption, inaction and negligence in the larger reaches of government here. Due to legislative action in the 90s, there is quite a bit of power with the local governments and municipalities here to design and build their own projects for utilities and other services. By and large it has been hailed as a big success with regards to spurring action and growth within communities, and helping to improve the lives, environments and communities in these areas.

We’ve taken a look at several types of initiatives around this, from microfinance and women empowerment groups to sustainability activities involving rainwater harvesting and biogas generation. Though small in nature they have shown that it’s possible to implement these technologies on a localized scale. What will be interesting is to see if these small projects can prove to be starting points for larger movements to continue to address social and environmental change in Kerala.

In comparison, around India there have been some larger projects that require a heavier capital investment than the localized versions here in Kerala. Today’s paper had an article about a solar project in another part of India (I don’t remember which state) in which the solar panels will be placed above a canal. It’s a very creative idea that has the dual effect of minimizing the footprint of the solar panel farm since the canal can exist below it, and helping to reduce evaporation of the canal as well. 

It’s hard to know at this point the relative merits of each model without having more data, and even now I think only time will tell as India continues to modernize and face the realities of becoming and industrial nation. The localized movement of Kerala has spurred action where otherwise none would have occurred, but it also does not open the door as well for larger scale projects that can have larger more wide reaching impacts. Either way, movement in the right direction towards a more environmentally friendly India is a step in the right direction.