STRC is developing a knowledge network to provide S & T based techno-social development solutions to the underserved section of the society using ICT as a tool. Web based Community Interaction Platform (WCIP) would act as a centralized system intended to provide socio-technical assist to address queries of communities and provide workable solutions with the help of a range of supporting components strategically weaved in to the WCIP platform. This aims to serve as a distance education tool in the background, where a group of individuals (farmers, artisans, women groups, farm labors, vaidu community, NTFP gatherers, etc.) are encouraged to interact with each other and hold open discussions about their common concerns, challenges, and prevalent traditional practices.

STRC as an Entrepreneurial Support and Business Facilitation Centre encourages local youths including women, to get in to forest and natural resource centric income generating activities around Aquaculture, Bamboo Craft, Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFPs) and Agri-allied activities. STRC facilitates establishment and growth of small businesses in form of Primary Processing Units for commercially important NTFPs, Common Facility Centres for bamboo craft, Ornamental Fish Rearing Units, Fish Seed/ Feed Marketing, High Value Vegetable Cultivation etc. and to ensure such small initiatives to take root, become best practices or replicable models for scaling up and have access to better markets. STRC also trains young entrepreneurs on the basics of legal aspects of small businesses, business cycle and related technical knowledge and provides seed funding support.

STRC is engaged in creating an R & D ecosystem within the University fold to become a hub for applicable Research and incubation for faculties, students and researchers through its ‘S & T Applications Scheme’. In house R & D for minor tools, an Aqua-One Centre as a ‘One-Stop-Shop’ to provide hands-on technology solutions in aquaculture and a Model Production Unit for innovation in bamboo product prototypes are some of the efforts within STRC, while Demonstration Plots for good agriculture and sustainable harvesting practices, Common Facility Centre for preliminary bamboo craft and installation of Portable Carp Hatcheries for fish seed production, would act as field level R & D platforms. Focus is on collaboration with research agencies and universities for R & D and incubation in rural technologies. The root lies in understanding and identifying technology needs in rural livelihoods. STRC to expose itself to available technologies and co-create technologies which can be customized or tweaked to suit the local needs. STRC plays the role of a technology facilitator to ensure smooth transfer, hand-holding and adoption of such technologies in the context of Gadchiroli District.

STRC is focused on developing sustainable education programs as it remains symbiotically linked to GUG. The driving principle is to create a professionally trained and motivated human resource and applicable research to influence the overall character & quality of development of the region. To realize this goal, STRC is rolling out diploma courses (Bamboo and Other), short term training and certification courses such as collection and sustainable harvesting (NTFP), capacity building program such as Farmers’ Open School and Environmental Education for School Children. We are also developing cross learning/ knowledge exchange programs (Internship/ Fellowship/ Visiting Experts).
Enabling the community with required knowledge and skill through training and capacity building for optimum resource utilization leading to informed livelihood choices. Local youths to be capacitated to become technology facilitators and ‘change agents’ to help smooth dissemination and adoption of low-cost rural technologies such as harida decorticator, bamboo harvester, manual weeder, soil-testing kits etc.

Local youths to be capacitated to become technology facilitators and ‘change agents’ to help smooth dissemination of simple and low-cost technologies such as harida decorticator, bamboo harvester, manual weeder, solar drier, oil expellers, soil-testing kits, portable carp hatcheries etc. STRC is in a position to provide need-based training and handholding support and generate focused group awareness in this aspect. Focus is on smooth dissemination of identified technologies, capacitating selected youths to play the role of facilitators/disseminators and on-field demonstration through STRC’s Mobile Demonstration Unit (MDU).

STRC can play the role of a Technical Nodal Centre or as a Consultant Partner and even co-create, design and evaluate techno-social programs for local government in collaboration with counterparts like KVK, District Agriculture and Fisheries Dept., MSRLM, Zilla Parishad, ATMA, MAVIM etc. STRC would play its part in technical aspects of the project formulation while respective govt. counterparts and local NGOs implement those programs. STRC may also mobilise some district level funds to play the said role Focus is on constituting a Scientific Knowledge Group comprising of experts in Plant Science/ Taxonomy, Fishery, NTFPs, Rural Technology, Enterprise Development & Marketing, and large-scale techno-social project management to support this.

The increasing and fruitful use of Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) is being recognized and acknowledged world over as a tool for development and empowerment. In this day and age, use of ICT in creating community interaction platforms in underprivileged and underserved areas would serve us well. This would address the goal of creating a knowledge network and database to know about best practices in the field of S & T Development through ICT and simultaneously can work on making technology accessible for various interventions in the region. Focus is on developing a Data Centre along with a DigiLib to consolidate usable data for STRC and agencies/institutes and other user groups seeking to work for the development of the region. It would be supported by the Web Based Community Interaction Platform (WCIP) and a robust MIS.

As part of the core mandate, STRC is striving to create a template for a sustainable education ecosystem. STRC will be introducing multiple diploma and certificate courses along with Farmers’ School, Web based Community Interaction Platform (WCIP) and Environment Education in schools etc. to create a cadre of appropriately skilled youths. Aim is to go beyond the regular vocational slant and to develop a knowledge and technology enabled workforce. Focus is on to one-year undergraduate diploma in Bamboo Enterprise and Design from this academic session through Gondwana University, Gadchiroli, to collaborate with institutions such as IRMA, IIFM, NIRD/ MANAGE and TISS to introduce certificate courses of 3 to 6 months duration in Sustainable Harvesting Practices for important forest produce, advance cultivation practices, post-harvest management and supply chain, among others.