Documentation Alliance Francaise d’Ahmedabad 2017

Boomerang Festival

Boomerang was a two month festival by Alliance Francaise d’Ahmedabad in collaboration with Architecture with Differ- ence, demanding reflection and thinking on sustainable living through various domains and arts. The objective was to better understand the need for sustainable development, finding local solutions all the while exploring the roots of the current global scenario. The festival was organized in context of COP 21 and French President’s slogan of Make World Great Again.

Taking forward the stand of India-France partnership on Climate Change, this festival was a collaborative feat of many institu- tions, people, organisations, and companies who came together with Alliance Française d’Ahmedabad to present a thought prov- ing two months long festival. Sustainability being a vast topic, we focused on its two main aspects in each month.

September 2017| Food and Agriculture October 2017 | Urbanism and Sustainable Living

Through different fields and going back and forth in history and future, this was an honest attempt to find the way forward in our neighborhood for a sustainable environment.

Presented by Alliance Francaise d’Ahmedabad in collaboration with Architecture with Difference

Curated by Khayal Trivedi and Abhijeet Chandel

Presented by

in collaboration with

Partner Institutes September 2017 Sustainability in Food and Agriculture

Inaugural | Sustainability in India Panel Discussion 8th September 2017

The discussion exploring through conversations nally and externally made sense to him. Abhi- the length and breadth of the subject in past, jeet Chandel, carried an alternative and more present and future by bringing people from differ- practical approach to sustainability in cities, by ent fields and marking a way forward. Amongst the finding solutions in often ignored systems and panel we had Dr. Patrick French, Author and His- settlements like the slums of India. Other topics torian, Purvi Vyas, Professor and Organic Farmer, like Technology, Individualism vs. Collectivism Francois Bouderlique, Banker turned Eco-Farmer made its way through the audiences. in Kutch, Abhijeet Chandel, Founder of Architec- ture with Difference. Khayal Trivedi moderated the As the discussion diverged between different discussion. domains, a platform was set with a wide con- text. It is on these ideas that the events and Dr. Patrick French invoked the importance of sus- conferences that followed, were aimed at. tainable education systems. Being newly appoint- ed the Dean of Department of Arts and Sciences, Audience: 70 people Ahmedabad University, he elaborated how sus- tainability as a subject and method be introduced in education. Purvi Vyas reflected on organic farming and collectively approaching the problem of food as a society. Francois Bouderlique car- ried a more spiritual and intrinsic approach to the problem, being in balance with nature both inter- Conference | Organic Farming By Purvi Vyas, Professor and Organic Farmer 9th September 2017

Purvi Vyas reflected on the cycle of food production, manufactur- ing, processing, distribution and waste management by essential- ly, cities. With facts and figures she threw light on the unsustain- able system that we’ve been following in past few decades which is simply worsening the effects on climate and biodiversity around. In the rapid globalization, the knowledge of local, traditional prac- tices to grow local crops are being lost. Purvi elaborated how the Purvi Vyas during her conference Green revolution turned red in India, and what our fight against the GM crop is about. The interaction with the audience evoked the small steps which each one of could take in our daily lives to educate people around us. Urban Farming Workshop Audience: 65 10th September 2017

The quest to know the earth, what it is made of, how to grow a plant, under what conditions, the process, the importance of it, and the happiness of the same brought 30 of us together in a workshop, as we learned how to farm our terraces and balconies with what and in which season. Participants: 25 Rencontre with Francois – Former Banker, Now Farmer 15th September 2017

Francois Bouderlique talked about his journey from being a banker to now a farmer in India, the challenges he faces at his Eco farm near Bhuj, working together with the local communities, his future plans regarding organic farming, permaculture, and much more. He isn’t alone in making this paradigm shift. The India like its past has to be in its villages and that turn shall come again as cities saturate.

Organic Food Fest Café | 15th – 17th September 2017

Boomerang Festival in collaboration with the Cafe Rock Concepts at Alli- ance Francaise brought few local and completely organic dishes. The food festival made us realise how difficult the period of September could get for organic food, and that the economic conditions in the market are still not suitable for the same. Footfall: 150

Café Philo | Sustainability CineClub Screening | Darwin’s Nightmare 16th September 2017 22nd September 2017 We brought the topic to people in an informal setting while having organic Darwin’s Nightmare is a 2004 Austrian-French-Belgian documentary film written food. As we discussed various aspects of the topic which were discussed and directed by Hubert Sauper, dealing with the environmental and social ef- in the past few days, we realized that to practice sustainability in India in fects of the fishing industry around Lake Victoria in Tanzania. It premiered at the current times is difficult and has many challenges. The economy driven 2004 Venice Film Festival, and was nominated for the 2006 Academy Award for market doesn’t allow us to reverse our order. When the fight is of the sur- Documentary Feature at the 78th Academy Awards. The Boston Globe called it vival, these movements take a backdrop. How to find your way through “the year’s best documentary about the animal world”. The film was a part of the this? People from different backgrounds reflected on the same. Boomerang Festival at Alliance Francaise d’Ahmedabad. Participants: 22 October 2017

Urbanists, Architects, Researchers, Environmentalists, Engineers, met to discuss and decode functioning of the cities over two weeks and six sessions to elaborate on various pillars of ‘a smart city’ under Boomerang Festival. When the entire country is talking about developing more and more smart cities, it was important to take a step back and understand the city we’re living in first. This talk series was organized in equal partnership with Architecture with Difference. The talk series was the highlight of the festival as it brought many stakeholders, organisations, institutes and firms together under one umbrella.

5th October | “Where the Two Worlds Meet, Technology and Nature” Mr. Sylvain Martino, CEO of Citelum India, working on public lighting and sustainable development. Mr. Kedar Champhekar, Program Coordinator at CEE on Green cover in urban landscapes.

6th October | Towards Renewables and alternatives Mr. Pranav Mehta, Chairman of National Solar Federation of India on Future of Solar Energy in India and following him, Mr. Hasit Ganatra, co-founder of Re-Materials, who is working on making alternate high quality and economical rooftops in low income settlements.

7th October | “Heritage Preservation, UNESCO for Amdavad, what next?” Debashish Nayak, Director of Centre for Heritage Management, with Mr. Manuel M.D Las Heras, Spanish Architect. This panel was curated by Rocio Conesa, Spanish Architect in Ahmedabad

8th October | Sustainable Stories from Iran, Netherlands & India Mr. Narendra Mangwani (India), Ms. Lisette Kompagne (Netherlands), and Mrs. Mehrnaz Amiraslani (Iran)

12th October | Sustainable Urban Planning and Design Mr. Bimal Patel, Managing Director at HCPDPM, Bobby Desai, Director of Design at HCPDPM Curated by Marie Pla

13th October | It’s not all Junk! Ashish Agrawal founder of Paryavaran Mitra who is working on women rag pickers and Sanjeeta Singh Negi from Daily Dump also working on waste management and recycling waste.

Where the two worlds meet, Technology and Nature 5th October | Talk

Panelists: CEO of Citelum Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Sylvain Martino on Public Lighting Kedar Champhekar from Centre, Programme Coordinator from Centre for Environment and Education, India on Green Cover in Urban Landscapes

Talk and Discussion: Mr. Martino highlighted the importance of not just creating renewable sources of energy but also saving energy before we head to a major crisis. The most amount of energy that can be cut is through lighting. Uniquely LEDs could cut down a major portion. The challenge for the corporates as he admitted is how to achieve the no- tions of sustainability while keeping their business models. Kedar brought to attention various case studies of green spaces and bio diversities in cities of India. For example Ahmedabad and Gujarat concerning its water man- agement system, Bangalore in regards to its burning problem of lakes drying up and Guwahati and its relation with the river Brahmaputra. Biodiversity in plants and animals is disappearing from the cities rapidly. The spread of langoors in the country has considerably reduced. Amidst this scenario, Kedar shows how a residence society in Ahmedabad changes things for better by creating a green area.

Towards Renewables and Alternatives 6th October | Talk

Panelist: Mr. Pranav Mehta, Chairman of National Solar Federation of India on Future of Solar Energy Mr. Hasit Ganatra, Founder of Rematerials on Finding Alternatives

Talk and Discussion Mr. Mehta with his experience threw light on global perspectives, targets and pol- icies. The governments are acting and the prices of the solar panels are dropping rapidly. According to him, in a matter of few more years the panels will be accessible to most of the people. His is a top-down approach to problems and has played an instrumental role in getting policies passed with the government. Hasit Ganatra, in his approach contrary to Mr. Mehta, is moving his way from down to up. With the reuse of materials he created a cheap and realistic roof for the slum dwellers in Ahmedabad. His solution is practical, economic, and consumes the least energy by recycling. An argument came his way to use traditional methods like mud. However, Mr. Ganatra stands his ground presenting a different perspective of the market – which is more practical and market driven. If we have a solution even though temporary, why not use it, because that too is necessary for the change. Heritage Preservation, UNESCO, what next? 7th October | Talk

Panelists: Debashish Nayak (Director of Centre for Heritage Management - AU), Mr. Manuel de las Heras, Spanish Architect from Madrid and Ms. Rocio Conesa, Architect also from Spain, moderating the panel.

The discussion moderated by Ms. Conesa brought out a very interesting contrast. Mr. Nayak, has worked for years in the domain of heritage management and preservation in Ahmedabad. He played an instrumental role in making the list of heritage monuments in Ahmedabad, preparing the dossier for UNESCO and much more. With his expertise, he threw light on the amount of work that has been done in this field in past few years, and how the old city has always been a sustainable model. Today, government is changing laws, Havelis are being restored, and more and more awareness is being created in the city. He reflected on the importance of preserving these structures and traditions and making them sustainable.

Manuel on the other hand had a more practical and contemporary approach to the problem. He was against the idea of romanticizing the past. It is important to think about the practical, economic conditions of the society. As he put, “a carved wooden frame would probably cost a lot against the same frame in concrete. Why not then use contemporary techniques to preserve the essence of the past. After all our actions have to be sustainable even economically.” Manuel also brought the discussion to creating heritage for the future, which is also our responsibility. With such parallel approaches, the discussion boiled down to defining what new, what is old, what heritage and what is worth preserving? By heritage do we mean only the building but also the culture?

Sustainable Stories from Iran, Netherlands & India 8th October | Talk

Speakers: Mrs. Mehrnaz Amiraslani, Iran Ms. Lisette Kompagne, Netherland Mr. Narendra Mangwani, India (UrbScapes)

The intention of bringing 3 architect/planners from 3 countries was to see dif- ferent perspectives and how each one of them deal with problems local in their country.

Lisette elaborated on the water management system in Netherlands, how the country resolved its fight against water by building canals, bridges, constructing land on the sea etc. She talked about the very perspective with which a Dutch approaches a problem, and how they’ve mastered their techniques using land and water.

Mrs. Mehrnaz brought her love for public spaces from Iran to India. After settling in India she started engaging with communities of Ahmedabad, like the Hol- lywood Basti (Slum dwellers) and people living around IIM. With her students she started bringing small changes in their neighbourhoods by creating corners to sit, decorating walls, places for interaction depending on their needs. She stressed on an inclusive approach to sustainability in cities.

Narendra showed the links of our tradition, culture and religion with sustain- ability, as to how these models pre-existed in India from centuries. The rapid urbanization and expansion led us to copy languages from different parts of the world, uniquely the West. The apt approach to move forward would be study all the systems, but also distinguish what is suitable for the particular environment and what is not. He took the example of Jaipur, his case studies showed how the city was constructed in a very sustainable manner, and how the same needs to be done in all major cities. Urban Planning and Design 12th October

Panelists: Mr. Bimal Patel, Managing Director of HCPDPM Mr. Bobby Desai, Director of Design, HCPDPM Ms. Marie Pla, Research/Writer

HCP Design and Project Management Pvt. Ltd. (HCPDPM) provides professional services in Architectural Design, Urban Design, Urban Planning, Master Plan- ning, Project Management and Interior Design. They are one of the renowned firms in the country, having done many projects of massive scales like the Sabar- mati Riverfront Development and Kankariya Lakefront Development.

We were honoured to host the directors of the firm who with the writer/researcher Marie Pla threw light on how urban planning differs from architecture and the parameters involved in designing a city at such a scale. The discussion also touched the topics of by-laws and how they limit many things in creating spaces. The discourse was a peep into the difficulties of the profession for layman.

It’s not all Junk! 13th October

Speakers: Sanjeeta Singh Negi, Daily Dump Ashish Agrawal, Paryavaran Mitra

Discussing on the topic of waste management which is an enormous issues in all major cities of India, including Ahmedabad which has tons of kilos of waste resid- ing inside the city now. Amidst the failing measures by the government we invited two organisations working for the same at different levels for a talk.

Ashish Agrawal from Paryavaran Mitra (Friends of the environment) is on a hum- ble endeavor to empower rag-picking women in a holistic manner while focusing on their dignity and respect. They currently empower more than 250 women, recycle tons of waste, reduce the carbon footprint of the city and plant trees.

Sanjeeta Singh from Daily Dump targets the waste produced at the source itself, in societies and houses. She helps create awareness how to separate waste, recycle organic waste by cheap methods and products etc. Interaction with both the speakers made the audiences reflect on the problems they face in their societies and residencies and how they could collectively change things bit by bit from home.