The Sage of Barefoot CollegeThe Sage of Barefoot College

This episode of The Green Interview features Bunker Roy, founder of the only college in the world "for the poor, built by the poor, managed by the poor and controlled by the poor." Open only to people with no formal education, Barefoot College in India marries traditional knowledge with new sustainable technology, creating fresh approaches to health and sanitation, rural employment, sustainable energy, and ecological conservation. Its students come from more than 20 Third World countries. Roy is also the founder of the Global Rainwater Harvesting Collective, which provides Asian and African villages with clean, drinkable rainwater for schools, libraries, hospitals and family planning centers. His work illustrates what might be called the ecology of positive action. His focus is education, but what Barefoot College does in the field of education impacts health, technology and communication, and the environment.