India’s ancient, forgotten stepwells

Stepwells—often hidden in plain sight in India's arid regions—are ancient, indigenous water structures. Typically, they are open subterranean constructions, with steps leading deep into the ground, where water can be collected and stored for use the year round.

Stepwells were particularly useful in dry Indian states like Gujarat and Rajasthan, where the water table can be buried "ten storeys or more underground."

Born out of sheer necessity, the most basic stepwells were innovated and constructed first between the 2nd and 4th centuries A.D. Through centuries, however, the designs became increasingly sophisticated and aesthetically elaborate.

But these deep, often decrepit, structures are now disappearing.

Thirty years ago, when Chicago-based journalist Victoria Lautman travelled across several Indian states with a dozen architects and designers, she encountered one such structure.

Just outside Ahmedabad, in the western Indian state of Gujarat, she saw the "the ground opened up," Lautman recalled. She was at Rudabai Vav (vav in Gujarati means stepwell), in the village of Adalaj.

Lautman visited India several times, but it was not until 2011 when she decided to pinpoint on a map India's obscure stepwells—and visit them. "They don't announce themselves," she said. "Today, they could be next to a shopping mall or at a popular tourist spot, and you wouldn't know about them."

For instance, a stepwell, called Agrasen Ki Baoli (baoli in Hindi means stepwell), is located right off New Delhi's commercial district of Connaught Place. The stepwell is 60-meter long and 15-meter wide, and has as many as 103 steps.

"In the last four years, I have seen 120 now in seven different states," she said. Her goal now is to publish a book and a map of India's disappearing architectural marvel.

Here are some of the photographs of stepwells around India, sourced from Lautman's personal collection.

Takht Baoli, Narnaul, Haryana.

Rani ki Vav, Patan, Gujarat.

Rajon Ki Baoli, Mehrauli, Delhi.

Neemrana, Rajasthan.

Mukundpura Baoli, Narnaul.

Mertaniji ki Baori, Jhunjhunu, Shekhawati.

Mertaniji ki Baori, Jhunjhunu, Shekhawati.

Mahila Bag Jhalra, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

Kundvav, Kapadvanj, in Gujarat.

Helical Vav, Champaner, in Gujarat.

A destroyed stepwell at Fatehpur, Shekhawati.

Dada Harir Vav, Ahmedabad, in Gujarat.

Chand Baoli, Abhaneri, in Rajasthan.

Ambapur Vav, Gujarat.

Ujala Baoli, Mandu, in Madhya Pradesh.

Over 13.5 million children can’t go to school because of wars in the Arab world

The heartbreaking image of three-year old Aylan Kurdi lying face down washed up on a Turkish beach has triggered an international foreign policy re-examination of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa.

Over 13.5 million Arab children have also had their futures thrown into jeopardy over the past four years because they cannot go to schools according to a new report entitledEducation under Fire. Across nine countries in the region, UNICEF researchers found that nearly 9,000 schools are out of operation because of political instability and intractable armed violence.

“A lot of the schools are out of use because as they are sheltering displaced families fleeing from conflicts”. “Sometimes up to 9 families are sharing a classroom. This is because a lack of alternatives when it comes to refuges”.

Touma also noted that schools have been actual targets of armed strikes where children and adults have died on site, most graphically exhibited in Gaza last summer where oneUNRWA school was shelled by Israeli strikes killing 15 and wounding 200.

“We have also seen schools that have been taken over by different parties in different conflicts that have been turned into military bases or they have been turned into detention centres. They have effectively become prisons, we have seen this in Syria” she added.

The report contains testimonies from teachers and students who have been intimidated and witnessed their family members’ deaths. Yet, paradoxically it also notes amid the carnage that some schools are functioning in areas controlled by Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant (ISIL) with a revamped curriculum and terrifying restrictions for female students.

Sudan ravaged by decades of conflict and forgotten in media coverage of regional conflicts had the highest number of kids outside of the classroom with 3.1 million children not attending school regularly.

“People are going on these dangerous boat trips because they are seeking better opportunities for their children” Touma explained against a backdrop of images circulating of refugees from the Middle East crossing into European countries such as Hungary and Austria.

“There are a number of consequences on why need to put children back into school. Families don’t want to send their children out on the streets to make a better living or to join armed groups because of a lack of choices”.

There is a hopeful note though with children even under duress having a thirst for knowledge where 20% of the region’s populations are between the ages of 10-19. Jameela, a Yemeni teacher quoted in the report said, “I have seen children trying to write on the ground because they want to learn so much”.

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South Africa’s economy is facing headwinds, but these five sectors could help stabilize it

Amid the recent global economic slowdown and persisting domestic challenges in the country, South Africa's economy contracted by 1.3% in the second quarter of 2015,edging closer to a possible recession in the next quarter.

It is no wonder South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, was reported to have described South Africa's economy as "sick." It was an acknowledgment the current state of affairs could no longer be business-as-usual.

On Aug. 31, the global consulting firm McKinsey published a report detailing five priority sectors that could help boost economic growth significantly and increase employment opportunities in the country:  advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, natural gas, service exports, and agro-processing.

McKinsey estimates these five sectors could have a combined impact on GDP of R1 trillion ($87 billion) by 2030, creating 3.4 million jobs in a country battling with poverty and rising unemployment, now sitting at over 25% in the last quarter.

While McKinsey's report may provide insights on the opportunities that exist in the five chosen sectors, exploiting these opportunities could be challenging.

Take manufacturing, for example—a sector which could contribute R570 billion to GDP by 2030, according to the firm's estimates. But as of the second quarter, South Africa's manufacturing sector, which contributes 17% of South Africa's GDP, was in recession. The sector's travails are mostly tied to the country's electricity crisis and labor tensions, which have crippled other energy-intensive sectors in the country.

Too many plans, too little action

Earlier this year during his state-of-the-nation address, Zuma outlined a nine-point planto accelerate the economy. A cursory look at Zuma's plan–along with others like South Africa's National Development Plan—shows that McKinsey's "big five" priority sectors are already on the government's policy radar.

Nic Borain, a South African political analyst who consults for BNP Paribas Cadiz Securities, tells Quartz it's clear that South Africa is not short on ideas on for economic reconstruction, but that rather, the country lacks the requisite political will to implement them.

"I'm not sure that there is anything new that can be said about what needs to be done. The reality is that we have let the basic elements, like good governance, infrastructure and developing a working labour regime, slip. This—coupled with policy confusion and investor uncertainty—has made it harder for us to move out of our low growth cycle," says Borain.

Another political analyst, Daniel Silke, who is the director at Political Futures Consultancy in Cape Town, says that South Africa needs to become more innovative and proactive to battle for its place in the world economy.

"Investors—both global and domestic—will move to countries and regions that provide more favorable investment climates," he says. "Given that South Africa's economy is historically dependent on the extractive industries, there is a special burden that lies on us to become more innovative and competitive."

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