Walking Barefoot: The Tilonia Way

Celebrating the 50^th anniversary of multi-award-winning Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan, this book brings together many of the articles published worldwide about Barefoot for the first time. They were written both by, and about, the remarkable man who founded the College: Bunker Roy.

Basing his work on the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, Bunker has devoted his working life to bettering the lives of marginalised rural people. In 2008, The Guardian identified him as one of 50 environmentalists who could save the planet; in 2010, TIME listed Bunker as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Bunker advocates that marginalised people need control of their own lives, with self-respect and dignity through work, and writes about the real nature of rural development and what supports it, about professionalism, and the difference between literacy and education. He stresses the value of traditional knowledge, but also the need for innovation and experimentation. He writes about environmental concerns and shows how much can be achieved by ordinary, barely literate rural people, such as the mature women who train at Tilonia to become solar engineers.

Written between 1971 and 2013, the articles are snapshots from the Barefoot journey, illustrating changes in Bunker’s thinking, as well as how the many projects managed and owned by the rural poor after the College began them (clean water, literacy, health care) provide practical, ongoing support. A selection of additional media pieces, plus links to a number of videos charting the journey to 2023, are included, too.

Walking Barefoot: The Tilonia Way is a must-read for anyone interested in the story of one of the world’s most admired development organisations and the man behind it all.

Edited by Heather MC Malcolm with inputs from Aruna Roy

Publication Date: 21 July 2024 | 978-1-915855-06-0 | 358pp | Paperback and eBook formats will be available

Book Categories: Biography, History and People.