Coding for underprivileged girls in Thar desert; remote school-cum-economic centre making dreams come true

In a remote village near the desert town of Jaisalmer is a female-only school, called the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School. Alongside it is a women’s economic centre, that will promote entrepreneurship in local women, and also act as a museum, a venue for performances, and an art gallery showcasing regional handicrafts including textiles.

Chaitanya Raj Singh Bhati, who is a social entrepreneur from Jaisalmer and has been a part of the desert school project, said, "The project has been going on for a long time, but it was hampered due to Covid. We decided to do this in 2017. The design was finalised in 2019."

Diana Kellogg Architects, located in New York, designed the school. The school was constructed by local artisans using hand-cut local sandstone, found typically in the Thar desert. The oval-shaped structure of the school is distinctive and has garnered much attention from architecture enthusiasts. The building can resist temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius and requires no air-conditioning even in peak summer temperatures.

Bhati said, "I never knew that a school of such a design could be made. We just wanted a basic school where we could impart education. But, we were just overwhelmed to see this project come alive."

The school is located close to the village of Kanoi in a rural part of Jaisalmer. Around 400 girls can attend the school from kindergarten to the tenth grade. The school's mission is to educate and teach women in traditional trades, including embroidery, weaving, and art. The complex known as the "Gyaan Centre" consists of three structures, including the school, the Medha Hall, which is a library, and a women’s economic centre.

"The school opened for students till fourth grade in July, we have 60 students now, we want to expand the strength to 400 till the class tenth, once we have a sufficient number of teachers," said Bhati.

The school follows the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum, but it’s rather unique in the aspect that it intends to teach these young girls coding from a very early age.

When asked about maintaining the quality of teachers and how they plan to attract talent in a remote area, Bhati said, "To be honest, that has been a struggle. No one really wants to come and live in Jaisalmer."

The school uniform was designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee using Ajrak, a regional printing method, but, “the process has been taken forward by this local designer called Santosh Rathi using locally sourced material, mostly from Jaisalmer and Barmer," adds Bhati.

On being asked about how they intend to sustain the school in the long-term, Bhati said, "Women's economic centre will be an income-generating source. We have collaborated with the Rajasthan government to plant berry trees to make them an added source of income. The school building itself has been made a tourist destination, there is a provision of tickets to enter the premises, during non-school hours, and on weekends."