赤脚大学 另一番教育天地

Id like to take you to another world， and Id like to share a 45 year-old love story with the poor， who live on less than one dollar a day. I went to a very elitist， snobbish and expensive school in India， and it almost destroyed me. The whole world was laid out in front of me—everything was at my feet. I could do no wrong. Out of curiosity， I thought， Id like to go and live and work and just see what a village is like.

So in 1965， I went to what was called the worst Bihar famine in India. I saw starvation， death and people dying of hunger， for the first time in my life. It changed my life. I came back home， told my mother， “Id like to live and work in a village.” My mother was stunned.“What is this？ The whole world is laid out in front of you， the best jobs are laid out for you， and you want to go and work in a village？ I mean， is there something wrong with you？” I said， “No， Ive had the best education and it has made me think. I want to give something back in my own way.”

But then， I was exposed to the extraordinary knowledge and skills of the poor， which are never revealed to the rest of society. These skills are never identified， respected or applied on a large scale. I thought Id start a Barefoot College—college only for the poor. I went to this village for the first time. Elders came to me and said， “Are you running from the police？” I said，“No.” “You failed your exams？” They asked.“No” I said. “You didnt get a government job？”They asked. “No.” I said. “What are you doing here？ Why are you here？ The education system in India makes you look towards Paris and New Delhi and Zurich； what are you doing in this village？ Is there something wrong with you that youre not telling us about？” I said， “No， I want to actually start a college only for the poor. What the poor thought was important， would be taught in the college.”

What is a professional？ A professional is someone who has a combination of competence， confidence and belief. A water diviner is a professional. A traditional midwife is a professional. A traditional bone setter is a professional. These are professions that exist all over the world. You find them in any inaccessible village around the world. We thought that these people should come into the mainstream and show that the knowledge and skills that they have are universal. It needs to be used， needs to be applied， needs to be shown to the world outside—that these skills are relevant even today.

So， the college works following the lifestyle and methods of Mahatma Gandhi. You eat on the floor， you sleep on the floor， you work on the floor. There are no contracts， no written contracts at least. You can stay with me for 20 years or leave tomorrow. No one can earn more than$100 a month. If youre looking to make money then dont come to Barefoot College. If you are looking for work and a challenge， come to the Barefoot College. That is where we want you to try crazy ideas. Whatever idea you have， come and try it. It doesnt matter if you fail. Battered， bruised， you start again. Its the only college where the teacher is the student and the student is the teacher. Its the only college where we dont give a certificate. You are certified by the community you serve. You dont need a paper to hang on the wall to show that you are an engineer.

Its the only college which is fully powered by solar electricity—all power comes from the sun. There are 45 kilowatts of panels on the roof and everything will work off the sun for the next 25 years. So long as the sun shines， well have no problem with power. The real beauty of it is that it was installed by a priest， a Hindu priest， whos only done eight years of primary schooling—never been to school， never been to college. He knows more about solar power than anyone I know anywhere in the world， guaranteed.

So this is a decentralizing， demystifying approach for solar-paneling villages， and so far weve covered India， from Ladakh up to Bhutan—these have been made solar-powered villages by people who have been specially trained. We went to Ladakh， and we asked this woman—this， in minus 40°C， you have to come out of the roof， because theres no place， it was all snowed up on both sides—and we asked this woman， “What is the benefit of having solar electricity？” She thought for a minute and said， “Its the first time I have been able see my husbands face in winter.”

We also went to Afghanistan. One lesson we learned in India was that men are untrainable. Men are restless， men are ambitious， men are constantly mobile， and they all want a certificate. All across the globe， there is this tendency of men wanting a certificate. Why？ Because they want to leave the village and go to a city， to look for a job there. So we came up with a great solution： train grandmothers. Whats the best way of communicating in the world today？ Television？ No. Telegraph？ No. Telephone？ No. Telling a woman.

So we went to Afghanistan for the first time， and we picked out three women and said，“We want to take them to India.” They said，“Impossible. They dont even go out of their rooms， and you want to take them to India！”I said， “Ill make a concession. Ill take the husbands along as well.” So I took the husbands along. Of course， the women were much more intelligent than the men. In six months， how did we train these women？ Sign language. You dont choose the written word. You dont choose the spoken word. You use sign language. In six months they became solar engineers. They have gone back and solar-paneled their own village.

We went to Africa， and we did the exact same thing. All these women sitting at one table from eight， nine countries， all chatting to each other， not understanding a word， because theyre all speaking a different language. Yet their body language is great. Theyre speaking to each other and actually becoming solar engineers.

I went to Sierra Leone， and there was this minister driving around in the dead of night and he comes across this village. The minister goes into the village and says， “Well whats the story？” They said， “These two grandmothers…” “Grandmothers？” The minister couldnt believe what he was hearing. “Where did they go？” he said. “Went to India and back，” they said. The minister then went straight to the president and said， “Do you know theres a solar-powered village in Sierra Leone？”The president said， “No.” Half the cabinet went to see the grandmothers the very next day. “Whats the story？”After hearing their story he summoned me and said， “Can you train me 150 grandmothers？” I said， “I cant， Mr. President. But they will， the grandmothers will.” So he built me the first Barefoot training center in Sierra Leone. And 150 grandmothers have been trained in Sierra Leone since.

Ill just wind up by saying that I think you dont have to look for solutions on the outside. Look for solutions on the inside. And listen to people. They have the solutions for you. Theyre all over the world. Dont even worry. Dont listen to the World Bank， listen to the people on the ground. They have all the solutions in the world.

Ill end with a quotation by Mahatma Gandhi. “First they ignore you， then they laugh at you， then they fight you， and then you win.”

我想引领你们去认识另一个世界，想与你们分享一个持续了45年的与穷人缔结的“爱情故事”。我所指的这些穷人是那些每天靠不到一美元维持生活的人。我接受过印度的精英教育，这种教育既势利又昂贵，它差点儿把我毁了。曾经，我的整个世界都已经安排好了，所有的一切都唾手可得。我不可能会走错一步。然而，出于好奇，我想去乡村看看，在那儿住，在那里工作，看看村庄里是什么样子。

因此，在1965年的时候，我去了比哈尔，那里正在闹饥荒，是印度史上最严重的一次饥荒。我生平第一次看到了饥饿、死亡和因饥饿死去的人们。这件事改变了我的一生。我回到家后，对母亲说：“我想到村庄里居住和工作。”听了我的话，母亲简直要晕了过去。“你是怎么了？你的整个世界都已安排好了，最好的工作也安排好了，而你却要到乡村去，还要在那里工作？我说，你究竟有哪里不对劲？”我说：“没有什么不对劲，我接受了最好的教育，它让我能思考。我想以自己的方式回报社会。”

当时，我见识到了贫困人民所拥有的超乎寻常的知识和技能，而这些从来都没有被吸收到主流体系中——从来没有被认同、被尊重，以及大规模地运用过。于是我想到了要建一所“赤脚大学”——一所只对穷人开放的大学。我第一次去这个村庄。村里的长者们走过来问我：“你是逃犯吗？” 我说：“不是。”“你考试不及格？”他们问。我说：“不是。”“你没有应聘到政府的工作？”他们问。我说：“也不是。”“那你在这做什么？到这里来干什么？印度的教育制度让你们这些人都朝巴黎、新德里和苏黎世看齐；你在这个村庄里要做什么？你是不是有什么问题而不愿意告诉我们？”我说：“不是，我是想办一所只为穷人开放的大学。穷人们认为重要的东西都将在这个大学里面得以体现。”

究竟哪些人是专业人士？专业人士是那些既有能力、信心，又有信念的人。一个探测水源的人是专业人士。传统的接生婆是专业人士。传统的正骨师也是专业人士。世界上到处都有专业人士。你可以在全世界任何一个人迹罕至的村庄里找到专业人士。我们认为这些人应该进入主流社会，并向世人证明，他们所拥有的知识和技能是能广泛适用的。这些知识和技能应该为人所利用，被人所采纳，并展示给外面的世界——即使在今天，这些知识和技能也是可以大有作为的。

于是，赤脚大学成立了，其运作遵循圣雄甘地的生活和工作方式。你得在地板上吃饭，在地板上睡觉并在地板上工作。这里没有各类合同，至少没有书面合同。你可以和我呆在一起20年，也可以明天就离开。没有人一个月可以挣100美元以上。如果你是为钱而来，那么你不要来赤脚大学。如果你是为了工作和挑战而来，那么欢迎你来到赤脚大学。赤脚大学是一个你可以尝试疯狂想法的地方。不管你有什么样的想法，尽管来尝试。如果你失败了，没有关系。一切打击受伤，都无所谓，你可以重新开始。这是唯一一所教师即学生，学生即教师的大学。也是唯一一所不颁发学位的大学。你所服务的社区会证明你的价值。你没有必要在墙上贴一张纸去标榜你是一个工程师。

这是唯一一所完全使用太阳能电力的大学。所有的电能都来自太阳。学校的屋顶上有45千瓦的太阳能电池板。接下来的25年里，一切都靠太阳能驱动。只要阳光明媚，我们就不会有电能的问题。但是，值得一提的是，这些都是由一位祭司，一位印度教祭司安装的，他只接受过八年的初级教育——从未上过正规的学校，从未上过大学。但我保证，他比我在这个世界上认识的任何人都更懂太阳能。

所以，我们已经将太阳能电力村庄以一种民主推广、去神秘化的方式覆盖了从拉达克到不丹之间的整个印度地区——所有这些村庄的太阳能方面的技术支持都是由在赤脚大学里接受过培训的人来提供。当我们来到拉达克的时候，我们问这位妇女——在零下40摄氏度的时候，你不得不从屋顶上走出来，因为那里没有地方了，两边都被雪压住了——我们问这位妇女：“你从太阳能发电中得到的好处是什么？”她想了一会儿然后说：“在冬天里我第一次看见丈夫的脸。”

我们前往阿富汗。在印度，我们得到的一个教训是：男人实在是“孺子不可教也。”男人们不安分守己又野心勃勃，他们的流动性非常强，一心想要一纸证书。在全球范围内都存在这样一种趋势：男人想要一纸证书。为什么呢？因为他们想离开农村去城市里找工作。所以我们想到了一个好办法：培训祖母。当今世界上，最好的通信方式是什么？电视？不是。电报？不是。电话？也不是。最好的方式是把信息告诉一个女人。

所以我们第一次前往阿富汗并挑选了三名妇女。我们说：“我们要把她们带到印度去。”他们说：“不可能。她们连大门都没出过，而你却想把她们带去印度。”我说：“我做点让步吧。我会把她们的丈夫也带上。”于是，我把她们的丈夫也带上了。当然，这些妇女显然比她们的丈夫要聪明得多。在六个月的时间里，我们怎么培训这些女人？肢体语言。既不选择书面语也不选择口头语，只使用肢体语言。在六个月的时间里，她们可以变成太阳能工程师。然后等她们回家后，她们就能用太阳能照亮自己的村庄了。

我们去了非洲，也做了相同的事情。所有这些妇女坐在一张桌子旁边。她们来自八、九个国家，都在聊天，彼此听不懂对方讲的话，因为她们都说不同的语言。但是，他们的肢体语言非常丰富。她们聊着聊着，实际上已经成了太阳能工程师。

我前往塞拉利昂，在那儿，一位部长在夜深人静时驾车四处转悠——这位部长碰巧路过了这个村庄。部长走进这个村庄，问道：“嘿，这是怎么回事？”村民说：“这两位奶奶……”“奶奶？”部长不敢相信自己的耳朵。“她们去哪儿了？”他问。“她们去印度然后又回来了。”村民答道。这位部长直接把这件事情告诉了总统。部长对总统说：“您知道塞拉利昂有一个被太阳能电力照亮的小村庄吗？”总统说：“我不知道啊。”然后第二天，半个内阁的人都来看这两位奶奶了。“事情是怎么一回事呢？”听完故事原委后，总统把我叫来，问道：“你能给我培训150个奶奶吗？”我说：“总统先生，我不能。但是，这两位奶奶可以。”所以，总统在塞拉利昂建起了第一个赤脚培训中心。150个奶奶已经在塞拉利昂接受了培训。

最后，我想说，你没必要去外面寻找解决办法。就在当地寻找。倾听人们的建议。他们有解决办法，且就在你眼前。他们遍布全世界。甚至不用你操心。不要听世界银行说的，听听脚踏实地的人们怎么说。他们有世界上所有的解决方法。

我想引用圣雄甘地的话来结束我的讲话。“最初，他们忽视你，接着嘲笑你，然后向你宣战，但是最后，你会胜利。”