Through my association with the motivators of River Valley Technologies, I have come to meet people who believe and live by some of the principles that we in SEWA uphold though we sit at two opposite ends of the economic spectrum. This working relationship – of the women of SEWA running the canteen at their very modern, high tech and ecologically friendly campus and them training these women’s children in LaTeX and creating jobs for the otherwise marginalized, is indeed a challenge.

I got into this relationship reluctantly as the software industry in India has created a nouveau riche class aping the west. The SEWA members generally run canteens for local people on a no-profit no-loss basis, very basic indeed and we felt we would not be able to cater to the needs of the software class. But on meeting the River Valley team and getting a glimpse of CVR’s vision, I was happily surprised to find them fully committed to free software and creating a democratic and transparent company with a high standard of work ethics. It’s a down to earth, no nonsense approach but with mutual respect and time to smell the flowers.

SEWA now has no regrets and we hope this relationship remains dynamic and grows in ways that we can learn how to create a more just and harmonious world.