SRISTI

SRISTI (Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions) in collaboration with BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India) is organizing a three-week SITARE BIIS (Students Innovations for Translation & Advancement of Research Explorations-Biotech Innovation Ignition School) for validating, value adding and product development around grassroots innovations. 

The BIIS will try to develop solutions for grassroots applications for human, animals, and agricultural applications including herbal technologies, medical devices and microbial application. Learn more

SRISTI Innovations-BIRAC’s BioNEST is a business incubator, an entity funded by BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, Department of Biotechnology, Govt. Of India), where innovations based on ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking, traditional knowledge, innovations at the grassroots level, innovations by university students and even children are supported for successful product development and commercialization. 

We support innovations from both formal and informal sectors. The incubator caters to sectors like biotechnology, biological sciences, environmental sciences, food technology, medical science and technology, nanotechnology, pharmacy, rural development and allied areas. Learn more

The Children’s Creativity and Co-creation workshops empower children to not only identify and articulate their problems as well as that of socially disadvantaged segments, but also to find solutions individually and collectively. Involvement of children in solving the social challenges faced by them and others would help us mobilise the creative potential of children around the world. This might help in overcoming persistent social inertia in emerging and sometimes even in advanced economies.

The workshops aimed at tapping the dormant creative potential of underprivileged children who probably did not have the courage or opportunity or a platform to articulate their ideas. Likewise, children from relatively affluent families who received the award who have innovated in some areas were expected to come out with creative ideas in other domains as well. Learn more

Arkhiben was chosen as the community representative of SRISTI. Her expertise lies in keeping track of herbal formulations for pest control developed by people in her community, where she is regarded as a walking encyclopaedia. Her ideas lead to about 70-80 per cent success in pest control. 

Read more stories

Teachers as Transformers, by Vijaya Sherry Chand and Shailesh Shukla, Ravi J. Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, was the title of a volume brought out by UNICEF, Gujarat, in 1998 that presented the work of 30 outstanding teachers of Gujarat. 

This volume was the genesis of a search for outstanding teachers who, using their own intellectual resources, have managed to innovate and improve education in their contexts. The initial work was supported by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai. Three yearbooks of case studies of innovative teachers were brought out (2005-07). Learn more

The concept of Shodh Sankal (a chain of experimenting farmers) to generate a lateral learning environment among grassroots innovators was started by SRISTI in 1996. The idea was to bring together experimenting farmers and discuss the results of trials that farmers have taken up on their own to solve various local problems. 

The discussion also enhances the esteem for local knowledge systems apart from speeding up the process of technological change in regions where formal technology generation system has not been very successful – such as dry regions, mountainous regions and other disadvantaged areas.

The main objective of Social Innovation Fund (SIF) would be to provide mentoring, financial support, fabrication, validation, and value addition facilities in labs, fields, and R and D Institutions, part of HBN, for nurturing creativity in culture, education, technology and governance. 

Learn more

SRISTI INNOVATIONS, is a Non Profitable Company set up with the objective of strengthening the capacity of grassroots inventors, innovators and ecopreneurs in the area of conserving biodiversity and developing eco-friendly solution to local problems is engaged inter alia in the area documentation, experimentation, search, development and diffusion of sustainable technologies and institutions. 

Learn more

Every summer when there are holidays, parents are concerned about their children, particularly those who are not yet trapped in exam fever.  The college students look for internship, summer school or other activities to build their skills.  Some just want to have fun.  

Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions [SRISTI] and Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network [GIAN] are organizing several summer schools every year in collaboration with FAB LAB of National Innovation Foundation [NIF] at Grambharti, Amrapur. Learn more

Techpedia, an initiative at SRISTI aims at putting the problems of micro, small and medium enterprises, informal sector, grassroots innovators and other social sectors on the agenda of the young technology students across the country. For over last sixty years, India has not utilized much the technological outputs of millions of students. 

But no more. Can a knowledge society really afford to ignore the huge talent distributed in thousands of polytechnics, diploma and degree colleges of engineering, pharmacy, medical science, agriculture etc. Learn more