Most of adult learning in rural setting falls under the rubric of non-formal education which can be defined as any organized, systematic educational activity carried on outside the framework of the formal system to provide selected types of learning to particular subgroups in the population.Formal systems are highly organized and based upon selective entry dependent upon prior success, with content built around a fixed curricula, and with termination or graduation based upon external standards set by a teacher, organization or governmental certifying body. Non-formal education, in contrast, is flexible, open to anyone, with content dedicated to concrete issues for application in day-to-day life in short, a continuous learning process highly relevant to the immediate environment. At its best, it is founded on a participatory and interactive approach with farmers becoming partners and key actors in their own development projects. The emphasis is placed on sharing of knowledge between technical experts and rural people. The process begins by listening to rural people and a shift to farmer-led identification of learning and training needs through critical reflection based on practical experience. Knowledge sharing among researchers, communicators, extensionists, educators, and farmers thus recognises the importance of indigenous knowledge bases as a priori conditions to examining how new research recommendations might best fit into them, and before grafting on new technologies.

Dr. Madhu Shreya has been researching the creative and cultural industries for the last fifteen years. While currently an Associate Professor at Private College in the Karnataka, she has also taught business classes to graduate students in cultural management, art and music programs at Banglore.