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 is striving to create an R & D ecosystem within the University fold to become a hub for applicable R & D 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 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 in on collaboration with research agencies and universities for R & D and incubation in rural technologies.

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.

STRC as an Entrepreneurial Support/ Business Facilitation Centre is developing small scale sustainable businesses in Bamboo Craft, NTFPs, Agri-allied and Aquaculture. STRC has begun to play the role of business facilitator by providing entrepreneurial support to trained artisans to start with and to ensure such small initiatives to take root and become best practices or replicable models for scaling up. Gradually would move to similar efforts in community level NTFP marketing (through Primary Processing Centres) and Aquaculture (through Ornamental Fish Rearing Units, Fish Seed/ Feed Marketing etc.). 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. Focus is on to develop business templates for Bamboo Craft, NTFP Marketing and Fishery products in collaboration with Social Alpha and with MAVIM at local level to develop women entrepreneurs.

STRC as a Scientific Collaborator is engaging with regional/ national resource agencies, institutes and universities. Further scope of meaningful collaborations with research laboratories, ICAR institutes and Universities to collaborate on specific research needs are being explored including appropriate technologies for enhancement of rural livelihoods. Focus is on collaborations for general scientific research in local plant medicinal and aromatic plants resource, bio-technology, tissue culture, chemical analysis of plants, introduction of new species etc. Similarly, specific institutional collaborations for project level research and funding is to be sought with Agharkar Institute- Pune, TKDL- New Delhi, FRLHT- Bangalore, NFDB- Hyderabad, NMPBNew Delhi, CIFA- Bhubaneswar, TRTI- Pune, IIFM- Bhopal and FRI- Dehradun etc.