The idea for The CHIRAG Environmental school for rural children is rooted in the values of sustainable development and democracy. The design for the school evolved from a participatory design process where the school community, village chiefs, education workers, students and parents participated in co-creating an ideal rural school.

In a workshop conducted by Dr. Sudeshna Chatterjee, participants talked about their experiences with existing schools in the district. Working in four groups, they came up with a design program. Through a consensus building process using the ideas from all groups, a concept for an ideal rural school was developed and agreed upon.