CULP represents a group of professionals dedicated to bring positive social change via affirmative action in the domain of education and development since 1998. CULP was incorporated under the Rajasthan Societies Registration Act of 1958 in February 2001 as a non – governmental, non-profit organization.
 

The Motivating Factors

The NGO was set up by the like-minded professionals who had the experience of working with large scale innovative projects in Rajasthan for universalization of elementary education through community based education for the mainstream government schools and alternative modes of education in structured way. It was felt that large scale projects ultimately led to uniformity and similarity while children and their contexts were diverse, keeping this view, the group visualized that they needed to create a model of learning which could viable with adaptation and contextualization of curriculum and giving the freedom of pace learning and passing on more and more learning responsibilities through peer group learning and individualized learning.

After about two years of struggle to sustain the group of individuals through field studies, evaluation studies, sponsored research studies and training inputs to different kinds of schools, the group built its own strength to get itself registered as an NGO. Within, one year of registration, the NGO made its presence felt and was identified for implementing the Pehchan Project supported by UNICEF and Jaipur District Administration to test its vision of education in a multi-grade situation for small schools with drop-out and non-starter girls in interior villages which demanded relevant pedagogy and preparation of teachers and development of learning material.

The following factors worked as motivating factors to set up CULP:

• Dream of working independently with gained experience about the ground reality in education of the children from deprived groups and create relevant models of learning in order to ‘make learning happen’
• Urge to experiment in education and take risk as a way to self-actualization and self-development
• Wish to actualize action research to improve own practice and keep self-learning and development dynamic
• Bringing the pedagogical aspects of classroom instruction to centre-stage
• To prove that quality of education lies in the ‘fitness of good’ based on inclusion and equity rather than standardization based on uniformity and similarity
• Urge to create space to serve society and education with human values and intrinsic demands of education as a soft science, thereby, set example for others as a lead NGO.

All this could be only possible by formalizing the group in the form of an NGO and vesting these dreams into an organization for their perpetuation.

CULP believes that humans, cutting across social strata, have innate potential for learning and knowledge acquisition. Access to proper environment and opportunities leads to unfolding of learning potential as well as acceleration in the pace of learning. CULP has deep conviction that the innate learning potential of the humans in general and the underprivileged in particular can be fostered and nurtured but requires adaptations and flexibility. The membership of CULP is open to anyone who is interested in socio-development sector and emancipation at the grassroots. Education forms the basis and genesis of liberation for humanity. As for grassroots, it is a strong factor leading to equality, social justice and is a fundamental right.

Vision and Mission

The vision of CULP is ‘Towards a learning and democratic society’ and its mission is ‘to make learning unfold and develop in an environment of mutuality and discovery’.

The objectives deeply embedded in the vision and mission of CULP are:

• To ensure appropriate strategies and management processes for information through assessment of educational and social realities
• To develop and disseminate diverse educational material
• To conduct innovation and experiments in the area of education and development
• To conduct action researches and undertake initiatives on current social issues related to development, environment, education and health
• To empower deprived sections of the society and woman for their development
• To organize people ,institutions, structures and forms as the need arises
• To build up learning environment according to the learners’ needs be it institutional individual.

Strategies

Over the years, the following strategies have been stabilized in the organization:

• Community mobilization and empowerment
• Gender equality
• Participatory action-reflection cycles
• Democratic management
• Faith in the learning potentials of people

Over the past decade, the organization has evolved and stabilized into the following work-components:

• Field Projects
• Training and Capacity Building Programmes
• Research and Studies
• Networking, Out Reach and Consultative Work
• Resource Material Development and Documentation

Thrust Areas

CULP has been working on the following areas for last one and half decade:

1. Education : Child Rights and Protection; Elementary education projects; Innovations and technical support; Curriculum and Teaching- Learning material development; Teacher education and training; Science and mathematics education and popularization; and Personality development and Value education.
2. Health: Interventions for HIV- AIDS prevention; Reproductive health; and Strengthening Routine Immunization.
3. Research / studies in social development sector.
4. Networking and Advocacy on policy issues related child rights and vulnerable social groups.
5. New Emergent Initiatives.

Reached Out Population

Operational Area: Rural & Tribal area of Jaipur, Tonk and 9 tribal districts of South Rajasthan (including Banswara and Dungarpur districts for direct interventions at grassroot level) and other 7 districts through Tribal Area Development Department (State Government).

Population reached-out: since its inception, benefitting about 4.5 lakh children and youth.