Anandwan
Encyclopedia
Anandwan literally, Forest of Joy, located near Warora
in Chandrapur
district in the state of Maharashtra
, India
, is an ashram
, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy
patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba Amte
. The project is run by the organisation Maharogi Seva Samiti, the Samiti's other projects are Lok Biradari Prakalp
and The Somnath Project
Baba Amte developed Anandwan to be a self-contained ashram (which could be described as "a kibbutz
for the sick"). Residents are self-sufficient in terms of basic subsistence through agriculture. Land fertility in the region has been revived and is maintained by using organic farming techniques and micro-water management. In addition, the ashram has various home-based, small-scale industry units run by the residents that generate income to cover additional requirements .
Baba Amte also shaped Anandwan as an environmentally aware community to have practices in place for energy utilization, waste recycling and minimizing usage of natural resources that might otherwise lead to their depletion.
Anandwan today spreads over 200 hectare
s and has two hospitals, a university, an orphanage, a school for the blind and a technical wing. More than 5,000 people are dependent on it for their livelihood.
For more information on Anandwan, see: Report on Anandwan
Warora
Warora is a city and a municipal council in Chandrapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. During the British Raj, the town was a part of Central Provinces, and was a coal-mining center.-Geography:...
in Chandrapur
Chandrapur
Chandrapur is city and a municipal council in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is also the headquarters of Chandrapur district....
district in the state of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, is an ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
, and a community rehabilitation centre for leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
patients and the disabled from downtrodden sections of society. It was founded in 1948 by noted social activist, Baba Amte
Baba Amte
Murlidhar Devidas Amte, popularly known as Baba Amte was an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of poor people suffering from leprosy....
. The project is run by the organisation Maharogi Seva Samiti, the Samiti's other projects are Lok Biradari Prakalp
Lok Biradari Prakalp
Lok Biradari Prakalp is a social project of the Maharogi Sewa Samiti, Warora involving a hospital, a school and an animal orphanage. It was started on 23 December 1973,by the social worker Baba Amte in 1973 for integrated development of Madia Gond...
and The Somnath Project
Baba Amte developed Anandwan to be a self-contained ashram (which could be described as "a kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
for the sick"). Residents are self-sufficient in terms of basic subsistence through agriculture. Land fertility in the region has been revived and is maintained by using organic farming techniques and micro-water management. In addition, the ashram has various home-based, small-scale industry units run by the residents that generate income to cover additional requirements .
Baba Amte also shaped Anandwan as an environmentally aware community to have practices in place for energy utilization, waste recycling and minimizing usage of natural resources that might otherwise lead to their depletion.
Anandwan today spreads over 200 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s and has two hospitals, a university, an orphanage, a school for the blind and a technical wing. More than 5,000 people are dependent on it for their livelihood.
For more information on Anandwan, see: Report on Anandwan