Thread by @Nithin0dha

One way to think of our developmental & sustainability challenges is to consider India as ~30,000 clusters of ~20 villages each.
Clusters are like organizations, & today aren't self-sustaining since revenues are less than what they pay for goods & services. This has to change 1/9

Today, most of the income generated by these clusters eventually ends up going back to the larger cities. This is because we consume food, goods, & services from outside the cluster even when they can potentially be produced within. 2/9

Young people with higher income potential move to larger cities because the local clusters tend to be economically unviable, which creates a vicious loop.

This not only hurts local clusters but also adds pressure on the infrastructure of larger towns & cities. 3/9

Clusters not doing well has many second-order effects. The loss extends to long-term asset quality, health and nutrition, the breadth of livelihoods, and overall capacity and control.
4/9

~70% of Indians live in villages. We can only do well if these ~30,000 clusters do well economically and socially. For this to happen, we have to prioritize local production and consumption.

So not just #MakeInIndia, but also #Goinglocal. 5/9

This requires a radical rethinking of development and sustainability by the entire bureaucratic machinery. They have to help clusters become self-sustaining organizations that produce and generate revenues locally, reducing their outside dependence on goods, services, & more. 6/9

We don't realize it, but the carbon footprint of transporting food, goods, products, and services is massive!
Going local will likely also help in the fight against climate change.
Clusters not doing well is also the main reason why our cities are choking. 7/9

This thesis has evolved over the last 2 years at @RainmatterOrg thanks to @zenx & team.

To think through this, we're collaborating with the government, social organizations, storytellers, and, most importantly, clusters. Each village is different; there's no magic bullet. 8/9

Even as @zerodhaonline, we have nudged most of our team (over 60%) to move out of large cities & hopefully add to the economy of the 30,000 clusters.
If you are someone who is thinking through these issues, you can check out rainmatter.org & grove.rainmatter.org 9/9