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Feature: MDGs in Practice

*S. Sathyanand, Project Executive, Centre for Development Communication, Madurai.

Kamatchi is a rainfed farmer in Sengapadai village ofThirumangalam taluk of Maduraidistrict. She is a member ofKaliamman Uzhavar khulu promotedby Rainfed Farming DevelopmentProgramme of DHAN Foundation inThirumangalam location for the pastfive and half years. She has availedvarious fund support, credit facilitiesand various programme activitiesimplemented through the group.

Kamatchi and her family

Kamatchi lives along with herhusband and two sons who have gotmarried some three to four years agoin Sengapadai. Her husband worksas a load man in Madurai. Her eldestson had recently joined the army, andher youngest son lives with hisfamily and takes care of farmingactivities apart from renting theirbullock cart. She has two grand-daughters and a grand-son. They alllive separately. Her daughter gotmarried some five years ago, andlives with her husband separately inthe same village. Kamatchi’shusband, who is working as a load-man, meagrely contributes to thefamily; he doesn’t give money to thefamily and doesn’t involve in farmingactivities. Kamatchi takes care of thefarming activities alone with the helpof her younger son.

She is a small farmer whocultivates around 6 acres of land, ofwhich she owns 4.5 acres of land,and remaining 1.5 acres of land was

Turning the Tide: Enabling Poverty ReductionS. Sathyanand*

leased, in which she had beencultivating for the past 10 years. Outof this, around 3.5 acres is typicalblack cotton soil, in which shecultivates various rainfed crops. Inthe remaining 2.5 acres of land, shecultivates paddy in one acre of landand has planted dryland horticulturein 0.75 acres of land, the irrigationsource being the farm pondconstructed under the project. Shegrows neem and fodder sorghum,in the remaining plot of land for hergoats and cattle. She has twodraught animals, two calves, andseven goats with few country fowls.

Background of project area -Sengapadai village

Sengapadai is a typical rainfedvillage situated in Thirumangalamblock of Madurai District. Most ofthe villagers are dependent upon

rainfed agriculture as the majorlivelihood. Farmers grow a varietyof rainfed crops in this black soilarea. Crops like cotton, black gram,green gram, sorghum, senna,coriander, cowpea, varagu, redgram, and different kinds ofvegetables are grown in mixedcropping pattern; few farmers alongthe river bed grow paddy at a smallscale. Income is also supplementedby rearing goats, sheep, and cows.

Irrigation sources are verylimited or non-existent as there areno irrigation wells or tanks locatedin the village. The groundwater hereis saline, making it totally unfit foragriculture. The existing waterharvesting structures (ooranies,ponds) are all used for domesticpurposes only and cannot be usedfor irrigation. Hence, the farmers

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have to totally depend on rainfall foragriculture. The North-Eastmonsoon that starts in the month ofSeptember decides the fate ofagriculture.

Vagaries of monsoon and lack ofeffective coping mechanism amongthe rainfed farming communitymakes the rainfed farming loose itslustre as viable livelihood for many.Lack of suitable financial services

further pushes the rainfed farmersinto poverty traps. In the last twodecades, there has been large scaleincrease in fallow land, selling ofonce-cultivated rainfed lands,diversifying to other non-farmlivelihoods especially among theyouths like construction work, andmigration to nearby cities likeMadurai, Tiruppur, etc. Few familieshave left agriculture and permanentlymigrated taking up hotel business.

Towards the mission

Given the situation, DHAN Foundation, with its mission of enabling the poor communities towards self-reliance and poverty reduction, initiated its Rainfed Farming Development Programme (RFDP) in Sengapadaivillage. In realising this mission, RFDP programme is working with the shared purpose of making rainfedfarming a viable livelihood. In order to achieve the purpose, the programme addresses the various rainfedfarming issues with various development components viz., land development component, crop productionenhancement component, soil health enhancement component, livestock development component,supplementary income component and risk mitigation component. DHAN Foundation is the projectimplementation agency (PIA) NWDPRA (National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas) in theproject area.

Kaliamman Uzhavar khulu

The Kaliamman Uzhavar khulu was started on 5th August, 2003. There are 17 members in the group. Out ofthe 17 members, only three members were land-owners cultivating some 2 to 4 acres of rainfed land. Otherswere landless, and were cultivating on leased and on savi system (a traditional system where landlords rent theland to landless on yearly basis for an amount of Rs.300 to 500). Most of them have to dependent uponusurious money lenders for their credit needs.

There has been significant change among the group members, after joining the group. Every member of thegroup had availed credit facilities through the group for household expenses, consumption needs, and topurchase goats, sheep, cattle and milch animals.

They received interest free loans to purchase land, and to get land on lease. Now, out of the 17 members,seven members have purchased land availing loan amount of Rs.10000 each (out of the 8, 7 were landless);four members are now cultivating land for lease; and seven members are cultivating land on savi system basis.

Prelude

It is rare to find a women farmertaking up farming activities. It isusually the male counterpart whodoes most of the farm works, but itis not the case with Kamatchi. Herhusband, doesn’t contribute to thefamily, and doesn’t get involved inany of the farming activities. AsKamatchi says, “He never even oncestepped on the land for farming.”

Rainfed agriculture plays an important role in Indian economy. In India 58.53 percent of total net sown area(141.4m.ha) comes under rainfed lands spreading over more than 177 districts. Nearly fifty percent of thetotal rural workforce and sixty percent of cattle heads of the country is located in the dry districts. In TamilNadu, out of 7m.ha of cultivable area 2.46m.ha is occupied by rainfed agriculture (NRAA Publication 2008).Ramasamy et al (2001) has classified thirteen districts of Tamil Nadu as dry districts. In Tamil Nadu aboutninety percent of the coarse cereals, ninety percent of pulses, eighty one percent of oilseeds and sixty ninepercent of cotton are grown under rainfed conditions. Besides the above mentioned facts related to economicimportance, rainfed farming is important for the nation in terms of bio diversity and nutrition. In spite of thevarious benefits the rainfed farming is on the decline over years.

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Also, the land is in the name ofKamatchi that she inherited from herfather. Her husband belongs to thenearby village, and he had settled inSegapadai, his wife’s native village.He doesn’t give any money to runthe family, and wastes the money ondrinking. The family is solely run byKamatchi and the income she earnsfrom the farm and from the incomethat she earns as agricultural coolie.

Due to the lack of support fromher husband, Kamatchi has to takecare of both her family and farmingactivities all alone. She educated herfirst son up to 12th standard inThirumangalam, and her youngerson studied up to 10th standard; herdaughter didn’t attend high schoolfor she supported her mother to dohousehold chores. While her eldestson studied in Thirumangalam, heryounger son used to help her infarming activities, after returningfrom the local school, to cultivatethe land and to irrigate the paddyfield, which he continues to do tillnow. She was unable to enterpriseherself due to lack of support,financial and emotional, by formalor non-formal means.

She says, “… one has to walkfour to five times to their house (thewell-offs and moneylenders) to geta loan for urgent needs. They didn’ttrust us for we are from Kallarcommunity, and even if one couldget a loan it was at the rate of 5 to10%.” She was also unable to investin her livelihood activities so as toincrease her farm income. Uzhavarkhulu turned out to be the helpinghand for her.

In the 2.5 acres of land, in whichshe constructed farm pond, shecultivated paddy in some half an acreof land in which she was only ableto take some ten to twelve bags ofpaddy. She could store only one footof water in a natural depression inher land, and has to irrigate the fieldmanually using traditionalmechanism. In another one acre ofland, she cultivated neem andsorghum, while the remaining oneacre was left fallow in most of theyears. From 2002-05, there wasdrought in the village, making therainfed farming even worse.

A Ray of Hope

It is during this period thatKamatchi joined the KaliammanUzhavar khulu (uzhavar khuludenotes rainfed farmers’ groups)

with a bit of hope in her heart. Shejoined this group promoted byRFDP-DHAN Foundation on5th August, 2003. The group hashelped her meet various consumptionneeds and livelihood investmentneeds by supporting her with timelycredit facilities and watershed funds.

Initially, the group members,including Kamatchi, saved fiftyrupees per month. Slowly andsteadily, the group started to grow,so did the members of the group.

It is to be noted that, fromAugust, 2008 onwards, they startedsaving Rs.100, so did Kamatchi. Dueto the sudden demise of the treasurerof the group, she also took up theleadership role as the treasurer of theuzhavar khulu from May, 2008onwards. The uzhavar khulu gavethe much needed support that sheso long yearned for. It provided herwith credit facilities and variouslivelihood supports. The groupproved to be a safe platform to save,to access timely credit services, andto be supported by various livelihoodinterventions.

An Array of Achievements

As of today, she has a totalsavings of Rs.5600 in the group, and

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Benefits of the work

Before the farm ponds weredug, the 2.5 acres of land was notproductive enough. She cultivatedpaddy in half an acre of land,which she irrigated manually. Inanother one acre of land, sheplanted neem, and did sorghumcultivation; the remaining plot wasleft fallow. In 2002-05, there wasdrought in this region, and she wasunable to take an assured crop. Asmentioned before, she was able tostore only one foot of water, andcould take only some five to sixbags of paddy. But things startedchanging, once she constructedthe farm pond and store water.

With the first farm pondconstructed in 2006, she was ableto harvest 14.4 lakhs litres ofrainwater, which was otherwisenot possible. The second farmpond was constructed recently,and she is yet to realise the benefit.With this she could irrigate anotherhalf-an-acre of land.

In the first farm pond, shecarried out fish rearing activityboth years. But due to theoverflow, the fish escaped throughthe outlet. She wants to continuefish rearing this year also, andhopes to get a good harvest.

Table No.1 Activites in Kamatchi’s land

had availed a total loan amount ofRs.70,191 from her group, with aloan outstanding of Rs.21,360. Aspart of NWDPRA project, an amountof Rs.54,146 was invested in herland from the watershed fund. Itwould not have been possiblewithout the presence of DHAN.

A. Watershed activity

Two farm ponds wereconstructed in her land to harvestthe rainwater. An amount ofRs.52,646 was invested to constructthe two farm ponds; Rs.34,250 forthe first pond, and Rs.18,396 for thesecond pond were invested over aperiod of two years. She says, “Forso long, I used to think ofconstructing farm pond for storingwater to cultivate paddy; but it nevergot materialised. Only now it wasdone.” In 2007-08, an additionalRs.1,500 was invested to plantdryland horticulture crops like

guava, sappota, amla, tamarind withJatropha as live fence.

The table no.1 shows the kindof watershed activities done inKamatchi’s land, the year and dateof work, and the total investmentfor each work along with hercontribution. A total of Rs.54,146was invested, for which shecontributed a total amount ofRs.11,750 both in money andlabour.

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B. Loan portfolio

Through her group, she availedvarious institutional credit facilitiesviz. from banks (State Bank of India,Sengapadai), SGSY loan(Swarnajayanthi Gram SwarozgarYojana), KDFS (KalanjiamDevelopment Financial Services,Madurai), RFCC fund (RainfedFarming Coordination Committee,Thirumangalam), WA-RFSengapadai Watershed AssociationRevolving fund, and from the internalgroup fund.

The figure 1 shows thepercentage distribution of the loans

Table 2. Impact of the watershed activities

Percentage distribution of the loans availed byKamatchi from different sources

Source: Cash book of Kaliamman Uzhavar khulu and Member pass-book of Mrs.Kamatchi

Fig. No: 1

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availed by Kamatchi from differentsources. Loan from the bank andKDFS were received at an interestrate of 24% p.a., while RFCC fundand watershed revolving funds werereceived as interest-free loans forlivelihood activities. The SGSY loanwas also availed at 24% p.a. with25% subsidy component.

“In earlier days, none of thebanks cared us of our credit needs.Now, the bankers they themselvesinvite us to take loan from theirbank, for they know our group’scredibility and discipline, and trustus,” says Kamatchi. And these loanswere used for variety of purposes.

The figure.2 shows thepercentage distribution of thedifferent kinds of purposes forwhich Kamatchi had taken the loan.It shows a mix of needs for bothconsumption purposes and forincome-generating activities.

It is to be noted the nearly 65.4%(Rs.45910) of loan is used forlivelihood activities:

1. 38.3% (Rs.26,910) forlivestock development topurchase goats and a milchanimal,

2. 21.4% (Rs.15,000) to purchasean acre of rainfed land and topurchase oil engine, creatingfarm assets, and

3. The rest 5.7% (Rs.4,000) forvarious farm working capitalrequirements like FYM (farmyard manure) application, andseeding and weeding expenses.

Recently, she has takenRs.12,000 to construct farm housein her land. She has already boughtconstruction materials; the work is

yet to be completed. Apart from thisshe has taken a variety of loans forvarious consumption needs likemedical expenses, marriageexpenses, outside debt redemptionand household expenses.

Benefits of the loan facilities availed

1. With Rs.26,910, Kamatchipurchased goat and milchanimal.

a. She purchased goats andstarted maintaining aregular stock of 15 to 20

goats with the help of loanavailed. This, in turn,helped her to faceuncertainities, absorbshocks, and able to payoff her debts by sellinggoats. Kamatchi said shewas able to recover fromthe shock; thanks to thegroup, she againpurchased goats from theloan availed from thegroup.

b. She also bought a cow formilching purpose. She

Percentage distribution different kinds of purposes for whichKamatchi availed loan

Fig. No: 2

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kept it for one year, andsold it. Some one yearbefore, she bought twocattle with her ownmoney.

2. With the help of group loan,

a. She was able to purchaseone acre of rainfed land,in which she cultivatedmaize last year, andvaragu and red gram thisyear.

b. She also purchased oilengine with the help of thegroup loan adding anothervaluable asset to her farm.The time of purchase wassignificant, in the sameyear when the farm pondwas dug. So, she was ableto use the water harvestedin the successive season.

3. Further, time and time again, shehad also taken loans for working

capital requirement of her farmactivities.

4. Construction of the farm houseis in progress.

Livelihood outcome

In the past five and half-years,Kamatchi found that little spark thathad major changes in her life andlivelihood. The various interventionactivities resulted in the followingoutcomes in the lives and livelihoodof Kamatchi and her family.

Table 3. Showing the crop produce and income from the farm in 2002-03 and 2008-09

The table above shows an incremental income raise of Rs.18450 per year from the farm. This would mean68% increase in farm income.

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Table 4. Showing the net worth of the assets

Similarly, there has been a significant increase in the net worth of the asset holding. An addition asset worthRs.96,146 was created, with an increase of 147.9% in total asset value.

Table 5. Total income and expenditure, with net income from farmingand allied activities in 2008-09

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The various livelihood strategiesadopted have made possible thefollowing livelihood outcomes.

Increased income• Brought more area under

cultivation• Brought more area under

irrigation

Reduced vulnerabilities andrisks• Increased land holding

size• Increased food security

by increased paddycultivation

• Crop diversification withcultivation of drylandhorticulture crops

• Reduced vulnerabilities torisks – insured in humanlife insurance programme,and also insured goats

• Reduced dependency onmoney lenders andincreased access tomainstream financialinstitutions

Increased fixed asset holdings,and asset value appreciation• Conversion of rainfed to

irrigated land• Purchase of land• Invested in farm assets like

oil engine• Purchase of livestock -

goat rearing and milchanimal purchase

Impact of the work

The Rainfed FarmingDevelopment Program (RFDP) ofDHAN Foundation had increasedKamatchi’s access to institutionalcredit facilities, and reduceddependency on money-lenders.There has been an increased

awareness and anincrease in socialrecognition being front-runner in her leadershiprole. She speaks tobankers to get loan forher group, “Now thebankers approach us bythemselves, for we haveshown ourtrustworthiness,” shesays.

With the additionalincome from the farm,she had further investedin purchasing a pair ofcattle, and a bullockcart; she also planningto complete her farmhouse, for she had thegained confidence toface the future. This shows apositive trend in moving towards afarming-based livelihood options,which was once a not so dependablesource of income.

Way Forward

Kamatchi now hopes to purchaseand rear a pair of milch animals. Shewants to deepen her first farm pondfrom 1.5 to 2.0 metre, and this yearwants to rear fish in both her ponds,of course, without letting themescape. It is also planned to constructa supply channel so as to capturethe overflow discharge from thefirst pond to the second pond.

Apart from this, she put forthfew demands that need to beimplemented by the organisation.She wants the office to supply farminputs like seeds, fertilisers throughthe group by buying quality seeds atwholesale rate. This could reduce theper kg cost of seeds for the farmers,and farmers also can avail betterquality seeds.

She also proposed another ideato the organisation. DHANFoundation has newly introducedmaize crop and has also procuredthe farm produce providing a fairprice and fair means of trade to thefarmers. Kamatchi said that the localtraders create ‘syndicate’ amongthemselves and fix prices whichprevents the farmers fromnegotiating for a better price. Shesuggested that it would be useful, ifDHAN could procure and markettheir farm produce, just like maize.Obviously, this would ensure a fairmeans of trade and farmers couldget fair price for their produce,thereby more income.

Through the support rendered bythe uzhavar khulu, and with the bitof hope in her heart, Kamatchiproved it could be done – to moveout of poverty with a sustainablesource of income. She is now abeacon of light, and a source ofhope, both for her own villagers andthe community at large.

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Practitioner’s Diary

* Dr. Mahanthesh H K, Faculty, Tata-DHAN Academy, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

This article is the story of myexperience with JalaSamvardhane Yojana Sangha (JSYS)project in Pavagada taluk ofKarnataka. Working for thisprogramme (Vayalagam Foundation)for six and a half years has been animmense learning experience inrealizing the needs/priorities of thepeople, analyzing the deliverymechanisms to the grass root, andfinding ways of achieving the singlemost change required fordevelopment-positive attitude. InPavagada, 41 tanks have beenrenovated till June 2008. Besides thepeople of this block, we have beensupported immensely by seniorDHANites and JSYS staff.

As we all worked for thisprogramme, and saw the results, itwas only natural to give priority tothis work. Perhaps no otherGovernment programmenecessitates people’s participation aselaborately as this programme, andhence perhaps the sustainability ofthis programme is most assured.The description starts with thephysical force (team) who hasworked for this programme withpassion. Further it describes thelearning experiences in triggeringchange. The special role of peoplerepresentatives and trigger personsis explained.

Catalyzing Collective Action - Pavagada Experience

Dr. Mahanthesh H K*

Team

Who shall do this work? Whoseresponsibility is this? In Pavagada,one good thing that happened wasdeputing a team of professionals forthis work. It was essential that somepeople work for this programmeexclusively so that they can giveenough time that this work demands.My team was, from the beginning,made to work quite differently thannormal hierarchical set-up. It workslike a family. There is a trust, firstof all. Everyone knows that theprogramme is a difficult one involvesdedication and hard work, andtherefore those who are in it are notout of compulsion. My team had adetermination of steel. When weapproach a village, they are not sure

as to how many times or for howmany months, we may have tointeract with those villages/villagers.But we are positive. We have theskills-technical, inter-personalcommunication…we are equipped.We know of the trigger/potentiallytrigger persons in the village. Weknow that someone from the villagemust imbibe the passion to continuethe work in between their visits tothe village.

This core team, designated asCluster Facilitation Team (CFT)worked in those villages [68 villages]which had to be tank renovatingvillages by March 2003. The staffwas motivated, then, not by carrotsor sticks but by projecting thisprogramme as a sole opportunity for

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us all to improve our image. Initialtwo to three months we spent inobserving the people, buildingrapport with them and gainingconfidence from them.

Once the goal was clear, and therewas motivation, then, as we allrealize, there were many ways toachieve it. The programme has beena learning experience inexperimenting with different modesof communication to bring about apositive behavioral change. Werealized that rapport must be struckwith the village at the first and eachstep. When we started thisprogramme, the first principle thatwe followed was that our mindsethad to change first before we steppedout to change the mindset of thepeople. We constantly remindourselves that if we go to the villageto do ‘enabling’ sitting on inevitablyunequal platforms, nothing muchwould be achieved. Hence a verydeliberate attempt was made to entervillage leaving our ‘master degreeclothes’ out. The village employees,in the course of their work, do notget to meet rather the people do notget to see them all in the village. Byall, we necessarily mean includingthe economically and sociallybackward. The crux of thisprogramme is that because we haveto promote a level institution villagegoal, all in the village must beinvolved. A village accountant/Anganwadi teacher may not havereached out to all in the village.Usually, there is no forum in thevillage to discuss the common issuesof the village. There are GramSabhas, but usually to select fewindividual beneficiaries...and henceinvolvement of all people of thevillage is rarely achieved. Therefore

we spent about one month to twomonths developing rapport with thepeople. This was a time not topreach, but to listen. PRA exerciseswere conducted in the villages, andcorner meetings at sheet, one-to-onedialogues were held to have a betteridea of the village in general, and topick up from there as to what wouldtrigger change in that particularvillage.

Rapport building continuesthrough the process. It only getsstrengthened with time. Thishappens through small gestures likeaddressing villagers as yajamanre,amma, anna by resisting efforts tofind faults with the village’s, andappreciating their good workimmediately.

Once rapport was built with thepeople, our manpower wasadequately trained so that they do notapproach the village with incompletesolutions. A ‘Technical Manual’,project implementation plan and an‘Inter-personal CommunicationManual’ were prepared for thedistrict. Trainings were more in theform of sharing experiences witheach other on a regular basis, becausethe hurdles faced in the programmewere more or less similar. Havingperfect answers to questions is amust before the village isapproached, as also the knowledgeabout when to reveal this informationfor best results.

We also ensured that thesevillages get to see an ideal selfinitiative village and see the changefor themselves. “Seeing isbelieving”. No amount of lecturesand discussions can clear doubts orchange minds as well as a visit to a

good village. This was also not easyto achieve. We would lure villagersto get to see some nearby religiousplaces and also show an ideal villageon route. Most often the visit had atremendous effect and villagerswould often take pledges/begin toplan even on their way back.

With repeated follow-ups fromour side, and continuous visits tovillages, our team began to achievepositive results. They wouldsometimes be pleasantly surprised torealize their potential. The love andaffection that they got on achievingthe result was enough not to just keepthem moving, but was alsoinspirational for others. Our teamemployees began to getstrengthened, as our roots in thecommunity began to spread. Thetrigger persons from the villagesbecame our best friends andcompanions. We happily realized thatofficials from other departments alsobegan to get involved and the reasonwas not too far to reach. Each oneof us has roots in the village, andrealizes the need for renovatingtanks, as also the complexitiesinvolved in triggering a positivebehavioral change in the village as awhole.

The ‘stories’ form an importantcomponent of our dialogues/lecturesto the people. Attention is not easyto capture, especially if thoseaddressing are demanding an actionfrom you! To drive home the factthat villagers shall have to workthemselves if they want to improvetheir village, I used to compares theirsituation to stray-dogs, who wouldrun after a car on seeing it, try tocatch it and then return empty-handed! [Not to be tried before

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rapport is developed with the villageand the village believes your genuineintentions for the village].

Bhashans [lectures] have theirlimitation. They are, at best usefulin initial IEC and environmentbuilding. To actually trigger changehowever, one to one discussion ona logical plane is required.

Tact is the word. Many a times,repeated Gram Sabhas, touring,PRAs and all workable appeals etc.had no visible effect on a village.There exists then a danger of gettingangry with the village and pushingthe programme on a down slide. Myteam spoke to the villagers in amanner that is both tactful, full ofjokes and with events villagers canrelate to, and the subtly moves on tothe subject.

There still remains a possibilitythat all our efforts at triggeringbehavioral change do not succeed.In such exceptional villages someveiled threats/or even gestures likenot accepting ‘food’/walking out etc.work. These are not practiced very

frequently by our team. But theremay be villages, which are unableto cross that critical line betweenintention and action. We spoke veryemotionally with them, telling themthat a good village like theirs, whichwe wanted to help out of the waythrough positive acclimatization,had cheated on us and we were veryhurt! We also issued a veiled threatthat because they had failed infollowing the principles. We mightconsider withdrawal of the same. Ireiterate that this strategy is to beused very selectively, otherwisesustainable results are unlikely.

Mindset cannot be changedforcefully! But yes, a shock issometimes required for people togive serious thought to an issue. Weused this strategy only in villageswhere we were sure that the villagehad already been convinced enoughof the change required but waslacking in execution for one reasonor the other, and after we hadworked long enough on all othertriggers possible. This strategy wasalso used selectively in ‘difficult’

‘rich’ villages, villages those are rich,and have seen Government schemescoming to their villages over theyears. Even if once in a while, thisprogramme has given an occasion toback-question back the communityon their responsibilities, participationand receptiveness. This is importantto shake off the village from itsslumber.

Behind these veiled threats/harshlanguage/insulting language remainedour love for the people. Our team usedto visit the village frequently, evenstayed overnight for many times hadbuilt rapport and a mutual affectionwith the village. This is what gavethem strength to speak to the villagein harsh language. How else would avillage allow my team to give themabuses such openly? I wonder if everthere has been an attempt made thisseriously in any other NGOs drivengovernment programme to involvepeople at such a large a scale. Butnaturally, it is a new experience forus as well as people. And afterreaching out sometimes it needs loudvoice for people to hear! Ends justifythe means!

Lastly, on the point ofsustainability of the programme, wefollowed three principles of successin village development. First, the‘leaders/key persons’ of villageshould leave their differences apartand come together for thedevelopment of the village as a whole.Second, any good work/project muststart from ‘self ’. Third, somesacrifice on the part of each personin the village-monetary, time, skilletc.-is required. There are examplesof villages who have done good worktemporarily but because the above

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three principles were not followed,the good work did not sustain.

Dissemination…

T N Betta committed to maketheir village number one in the districtto break the record of Kunahally ofneighboring taluk and they achievedit. The spirit of competition isimportant. In Karnataka, the successof using this strategy of competitionhas worked tremendously. Whethersuch a programme which seeminglywas entirely opposite to existingprogrammes where there was nosubsidy in this programme andsuccess had to be achieved byshramdaan, would succeed.However, competitive spirit provedto be a major factor for villages tocome together and work for theirown development. The pride thatresidents of tank villages feel makesneighboring villages envy them, andjoin the wave eventually. Thiscompetitive spirit also works at avery micro level that is within thevillage.

This brings us to discuss anotherimportant tool in scaling up-‘socialrestriction’. No law is as effectiveas social restriction. Rural areas stillform very compact societies whereeveryone is linked with each otherand the village intimately. In such aset-up, it is very difficult for a fewto oppose the village as a whole. Thispositive social pressure is inevitablefor any positive change that is to beeffected. In Hanumasagara, thevillage announced a social fine onanyone who does not turn up forshramdaan. These social restrictionssurpass any law in implementation.The social institutions of Gram

Panchayat and Gram Sabhas can bevery effective in implementing suchbans. This does not mean that goalis achieved by coercion. This onlysignifies that for the good of thevillage as a whole, if a few peoplefor their habit or convenience arewilling to take the village to ransom,there must be positive checks.Responsibilities must be adhered to.

Reaching out to peoplepsychologically necessarily requiresreaching out to them physically. Wehave, during this programme, beenwith the people from the times whenthey would not be interested [andeven avoid our teams!]; to winningover a few of them and working withthem; to be with them till the entiretank is renovated and sustained tofacilitate their development beyondtank renovation. Touring and nighthalts have been a regular feature ofour efforts. The night halts especiallyprove revolutionary, because that isthe time when all distances between‘us’ and ‘them’ dissolve andmeaningful discussions are held.Touring gives us, firstly, a first handknowledge of villages. Villages maycarry different images-developed

either by representatives, media orstaff- but going to each village givesfirst hand information about the‘character’ and everything about thevillage.

Rapport building with people’srepresentatives is the secondadvantage, as also knowledge abouttheir strengths, standing andintentions. Working with themimproves friendship with the ‘good’ones, as also resolves unnecessarysuspicions between them and us.They also realize we are workingwith good intentions in areas of theirpolitical interest and create a kind ofmoral burden/responsibility on themto join in spreading the message.

The best impact is on motivationof own staff. Those who are alreadyworking get a refreshing surge ofenthusiasm...and even those not yetfully involved tend to get involved.

We have a policy of halting intank villages with the entire team.This helps in first appreciating thework the village has done, and alsoexperience the positive outcomes-inthe form of comforts like ‘social

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unity “positive environment in thevillage with no false complaints/quarrels and other developmentalworks undertaken by the village withtransparency and efficiency-thingswhich are not possible by justpumping funds! This brings usfurther closer to people as well assensitize us all further to their needsand problems. Our faith in thecapacities of people is strengthenedand the love and affection that peoplegive us rejuvenates us for workelsewhere.

The surprising differencebetween villages [theirresponsiveness to programme likethis] is a matter for detailed research.For lack of a scientific research weonly make some speculations basedon experience and common sense.We have realized that poor villages[as also poor amongst the villages]adopt this programme much fasterthan rich villages. The poor amongstthe village, even if they have norepresentation/voice, are amongstthe first to realize the need for tankrenovation and work for it. Rather,

we have realized that an affirmativeaction by them towards their owntank and village brings to themadvantages beyond the obvious inthe form of other developmentalschemes flowing to them.

Local Officials (peoplerepresentatives)

The traders/ businessmen havenever and would never do thereligious class also would never takeup/work for these issues; the serviceclass has its limitations. The leadersalone therefore carry hope. Theinvolvement of people’srepresentatives is also interesting.There are no generalizations ofcourse. But some observations canbe made. First, the sane ones cannotafford to stay away from anyprogramme that is beginning tobecome a mass wave. Returns in theform of political gains or recognitionin the form of highest awards or adesire of more developmentalschemes flowing to the villageindirectly or a pure desire to maketheir village a model one attracts

people’s representatives to thisprogramme. Also, the very visibledifference, the programme brings inthe village in the form of outwardappearance of the village-appeals toone and all. Also, politics being basedon party structure, conviction of thetop-level leaders percolates down.One paradox is too obvious not totake note of. While on one hand,politics in a village is the biggesthindrance to the successfulimplementation of this programme,on the other, if this one hurdle isovercome by them; the sustainabilityof the programme is inevitable. I shallexplain how. In most villages, thereexist political factions. These aredays of many ‘leaders’ in a village,instead of olden days where thereused to be one or few elderly peopleto whom everyone in the villagewould listen to. And politics/ GramPanchayat elections are very closelyfought. The opportunity to obtainspace of people’s representation isvery constricted. Issues exist, butfor all the ills that have corrupted thesystem, the abilities to occupy thisspace have also narrowed. Now, anyattempt by any one faction to take alead in the programme is naturallylooked upon as the others as a furtherconstriction of their space and hencethe problem. Most of the peoplerepresentatives mention that thisprogramme, like no otherprogramme, has given anopportunity to people’srepresentatives to go to the people.This is one platform providingpeople’s representatives an immenseopportunity of mass contact.

We have found this programmea tremendous opportunity to look atpublic representatives from a close

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angle. The development of rapportis most essential to work in ademocratic set up effectively and thisprogramme is providing a uniqueopportunity for that. Firstly, we haverealized that an unnecessary distrustexists between the officers andpeople’s representatives...probablyany demand from people’srepresentatives is looked at withskepticism by the officers; and any‘no’ from the latter is considered bythe former as an example of red-tapism, insensitivity, inability tounderstand, and an overall negativeattitude. It is only through jointtouring etc. with them that oneunderstands to appreciate theirconcerns on merit and sensitivity.One reason is that the actual standingof the politician amongst the peoplehe represents becomes clear; andthis helps in better understanding ofhis demands raised on behalf of thepeople. We have realized, that but forthe involvement of lowest level[village] representatives, results arehard to achieve. This programmehas begun with the involvement ofsarpanches first who have turnedtheir villages into oasis of cleanliness.

At most places, it is the sarpanch,at other places it may be ex-sarpanch, up-sarpanch, an activemember of the Gram Panchayat,youth groups or other triggers withinthe village. But it is very essentialthat, after initial motivation, theremay be a few natural leaders fromwithin the village, who have the sparkand imbibe the programme and notlet the spirit go down. We realize thatthe potential of public representativesin convincing the people is muchmore than non government /government servants. It is almost

impossible to believe in the successof the programme but for the politicalsupport to it from the highest levels.They live amongst the people andonce they start a job, are more aptin solving numerous hurdles that canbest be solved only at the lowerlevels.

Women

Having realized the necessity ofa tank, and the urgency forrenovating it, the process of womenempowerment starts. It proceedsfrom a very basic level. The first stepobviously is to make women realizethat they must speak up for this verybasic necessity denied to them. Theself-help-groups are a veryimportant medium of bringingtogether women and giving themstrength to raise such issues. In mostvillages, SHGs take up this issue inthe village. The SHGs extendedinternal loans out of their savings torenovate their tanks. In Davadabetta,when the last 20 per cent of thevillage was reluctant to makecontributions, the SHGs of that

village owned the responsibility andfinished the task. Women arebeginning to take pride in thisaccomplishment. The work is muchbeyond the solution of a majorinconvenience of women.Symbolically, and otherwise, thestatus of women in such villages isimproving. There are some villageswhere the women pleaded in openGram Sabha that while theydesperately needed tank renovation,their men-folk were involved in liquorand did not care for their needs. Thisput village to much shame andproved to be a turning point for thevillage. The unity of women is givingthem strength, and this is turning tobe a compelling factor fortransformation of villages. Tankrenovation is only a reason…anOpportunity.

Of Outcomes

If we were to point out a singlemost important outcome of thisprogramme, we would mention theunleashing of positive energies of thepeople. The villagers tell with pride

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that the tanks once the place fornature calls of people,understandably, a blot on the villagehave now by shramdaan beenconverted into tanks again. Other‘dirty’ places in the village, whereno one in the village ever visited,have also begun to get changed. Thevillage small roads, where stagnantwater gave rise to many illnesses,are now clean because of placingthe soil by using the savings moneyof the tank. Young and old, men andwomen, rich and poor, all feel proudof the way they have transformedtheir village. It is their achievement.

The programme proves helpfulto provide an opportunity to peoplein the village to develop leadershipabilities in them. We first look forthese triggers amongst sarpanch/upsarpanch/ member of GP etc. Butin some villages, the sarpanchwould confide in us that if he tellspeople about this programme,people believed he had a vestedinterest in the same! The standingof each people’s representative inthe society thus becomes clear inthis programme as also his abilities.In such villages therefore we haveto appeal to all present and motivatethem that some of them should takelead in showing the right directionto the village. The process is thusparticipative, and hence likely to besustainable. Besides the core teamformed in the village of developmentpersons, every one contributes inrenovating the village tank and thevillage. From a painter who woulddo paintings on the subject tomasons of the village who would

work at minimal cost to a young poetof the village who would motivatethe village with his poems to ahandicapped boy who would assistour team with review on progressof work in all the villages

An indirect advantage, and a verymajor one, of this programme is thatour staff begins to visit, and evenstay in the villages where they areposted. No amount of coercioncould have made this possible, asbest as this programme. One, theyhave a reason now because theyhave a goal the achievement ofwhich necessarily involves people’sparticipation. Secondly, we feel thatthis kind of bonhomie betweenpeople and NGO is going to go a verylong way in better and moretransparent delivery of all otherservices. Whether it is education,health or rural water supply, theeffective and sustainable delivery ofmost services requires people’sparticipation. This is perhaps a biglacuna currently in delivery ofGovernment services. The end resultof this programme-in the form of apositive spirit in the village of havingovercome all obstacles and achievedsomething,

As community awakens to itsresponsibilities towards monitoringand participation in variousGovernment programmes, our workbecomes much easier, joyful andaccountable. The programme,because it necessarily involvesreaching out to the people and grassroots, helps to see theimplementation of other

programmes/schemes from closeangles. Invariably in Gram Sabha forthese programmes, we take reviewof parents’ involvement in educationand try to sensitize people towardssocial issues such as malnutrition.

Gyadikunte village provided us anexample that is so very hearteningand speaks volumes of an underlyingunity still prevalent in our villages,especially if it comes to an issueinvolving the village. This village isknown for Hanuman temple. Thevillage has a sizeable Muslimpopulation. When we addressed thevillage, and made them take pledgeto make transparent effort inrenovating the tank, we weresurprised to find a Muslim fellowtaking pledge of Hanuman to workfor the programme. If this sort ofrespect towards each other’s religionis developed through thisprogramme, we are very happy andproud to be involved with the same.

Way Forward

You are so special…Vayalagam(Tank) Foundation describes thework accomplished in Pavagadataluk of Tumkur district. Furtherscaling-up is required for remaining80 per cent. There are other thingswe can try-involve NSS students,religious leaders, or trigger personsfrom programme villages. Thestrategy may also have to be revised-experimenting with the concept oftriggering behavioral change bankingupon elements of peoplerepresentatives and women. It shallbe new learning, new experiences,new hopes and new achievement.

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Perspective

*M.P. Vasimalai, Executvie Director, DHAN Foundation, Madurai.

G iving Back to the Soceity: Social Entrepreneurship,Leadership and Trusteeship thatreminds us of the contribution ofgreat people for better humanity andmakes common people as changemakers. I would like to start withMr. Einstein’s quote “Everyday Iremind myself that my inner andouter life are based on the laboursof other men, living and dead, andthat I must exert myself in order togive in the same measure as I havereceived and am still receiving”.

It is so profound and highlyrelevant to today’s world. It compelsus to think and act for the society.

Gandhian Trusteeship

Mahatma Gandhi wroteextensively and practiced the theoryof trusteeship. It means, “Earn yourwealth but understand that yourwealth is not yours; what belongsto you is the right to an honourablelivelihood, no better than that enjoyedby millions of others. The rest ofyour wealth belongs to thecommunity and must be used for thewelfare of the comunity; wealthypeople should outgrow their greedand sense of possession, and tocome down in spite of their wealthto the level of those who earn theirbread of labour”. (Harijan, 1939,p.145). Mahatma Gandhi has addedfurther “Those who own moneynow, are asked to behave liketrustees holding their riches on

Giving Back to the SocietyTrusteesship, Social Entrepreneurship and Leadership

M.P. Vasimalai*

behalf of the poor. You may say thattrusteeship is a legal fiction. But ifpeople meditate over it constantly andtry to act up to it, then life on earthwould be governed far more by lovethan it is at present.... Absolutetrusteeship is an abstraction likeEuclid’s definition of a point, and isequally unattainable. But if we strivefor it, we shall be able to go furtherin realising a state of equality onearth than by any other method.”(Harijan, 1931. p. 376).

This is what need for moderndays’ social responsibility in spiritand practice. Now-a-days we aretalking about Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR), AcademicSocial Responsibility (ASR),Government Social Responsibility(GSR) and Individual SocialResponsibility (ISR). It is nothingbut ‘Trusteeship’. Do we understandand act on it? If wealthycorporations imbibe the concept oftrusteeship, then peace, prosperityand equality would prevail on earth.The Trusteeship concept is apowerful concept at individual,family, institutional and at societylevel to breed love and peace insociety. It would definitely reversethe present malady of the society aswe see today. “Approximately 50 percent of the World’s population has10 per cent of the world’s wealthand the richest 20 percent has 71.2per cent of world’s wealth”.

We are witnessing sweepingpower of state and it goes againstthe philosophy of trusteeship. In thename of globalisaiton, modernisationand development, the State isassuming more and more power incontrolling the lives of people,corporates, nature and all walks oflife. Here and now we need toremember and value the commentsof Mahatma Gandhi on State. “I lookup on an increase of the power ofthe state with the greatest fear,because although while aparentlydoing good by minimisingexploitation, it does the greatestharm to mankind by destroyingindividuality, which lies at the rootof all progress. We know of so manycases where men have adoptedtrusteeship, but none where theState has really lived for the poor.”(The Modern Review, October1935, p. 412)

Concept of Giving (dhaan) : Itis part of our culture. There aredifferent ways of giving for thebenefit of the poor:

Sampatti dhaan Wealth gift

Buddhi dhaan Intelligence gift

Samaya dhaan Time gift

Sarvasava dhaan Gifting everything

Shram dhaan Labour gift

People with compassion do anyof the above for the benefit ofhumankind. Acharya Vinoba Bhave,

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the first Sathyagrahi of MahatmaGandhi, made a significant experient- Bhoodan (land gift) in non-violentmethod of redistribution of land infifties and sixties of last century.Different religions follow differentforms of giving from one’s ownearning to the society. Humanitygrows with this philosphy.

Development Professionals :According to Webster, the term‘Profession’ means A Callingrequiring Specialised Knowledgeand often long and intensivepreparation including instruction inskills and methods as well as inthe scientific, historical, or scholarlyprinciples underlying such skillsand methods, maintaining by forceof organisation high standards ofachievement and conduct andcommitting its members tocontinued study and to a kind ofwork which has for its primepurpose the rendering of a publicservice.

It truly reflects the developmentdimension as the core purpose ofprofession. What do we see aroundus? Medical doctors, lawyers, andengineers make money by all means.

Social Entrepreneurship

When superordinate goalsbecome core purpose in one’s self,Social Entrepreneurship takes roots.They are seeds, not grains. Grainshave a utility to support life formsbut it has short life and purpose,while seeds has an eternal feature bybecoming a gene and an embryo tomany, many generations. SocialEntreneurship are seeds with distinctfeatures of:• Vision and Mission• High risk-taking ability

• High achievement motivation

• High relationship skills

• High persuasive communicationskills

• Strong belief system

• Sensitive to environment

• Both transactional andtransformative skills

Some of the seeds are hybridswhich give desirable impact in thefirst generation only, while some ofthe seeds are pure line selectionswhich provides continuousimprovement and stability in theirproductivity and impact. WhenSocial Entrepreneurs becomeleaders, they are impacting beyondgenerations. The concept of SocialEntrepreneurship and SocialLeadership are institutionalisedforms of society with certainty andquality.

Human potential is in dormantform when so called secured jobsare taken as livelihoods. Primacy oflivelihoods, comforts, family takesshelter in stabilised workenvironment and moves away frommeaning of life purpose forbetterment of humanity. When theprimacy is on the ‘cause’ andsuperordinate goal, it unleashes thehuman potential to unthinkable level.Many factors tie us with livelihoodsfocus. It needs an ‘extra effort’ or‘consicious effort’ to become a socialentrepreneur and social leader. It alsorequires different ‘mind set’ withalternate perspective and attitude.

Mr. David Bornstein, a journalistwho specialises in writing aboutsocial innovation advocates sixqualities for successful social

entrepreneurs, in his recent book,“How to change the world: SocialEntreneurship and the power of Newideas”

• Willingness to Self-correct

• Willingness to share credit

• Willingness to break free ofestablished structures

• Willingness to cross disciplinaryboundaries

• Willingness to work quietly

• Strong ethical impetus

We are seeing these qualities notonly with social entrepreneurs, butmore so with social leaders.

Social Entrepreneurship operateswith the core principle of triplebottom line. The foremost bottomline is social viability, social causewith equity and justice and it is non-negotiable. Second bottom line iseconomic viability of the initiative tosustain and grow. The third isecological viability or environmentalsustainability. These three aspectsare non-negotiable in the order ofpriority. Though it seems to be adifficult challenge, many socialleaders have managed, balanced, andsuccessfully demonstrated that it isdoable.

Community Entrepreneurship andLeadership

It is amazing to see socialentrepreneurship and socialleadership among poor. Substantialnational investments are alwaysprovided to the so-called educatedclass to work with society for itsbetterment. Though least efforts aremade for common people, theirnatural and spontaneous

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entrepreneurship and leadership areexpressed in an abundant way. Lifeexperiences and their livingenvironment mould common peopleas change agents. Many SHGspractice direct democracy and theirleaders allocate their time liberallywithout any remuneration. They doSamaya dan, Buddhi dhaan,Shramdhaan, and Sampatti dhaanwithout any hesitation. Communityleders give their efforts over yearswithout any expectation, primarilyfor helping neighbourhoods. Largescale selfless community leadershipkeeps the society not only alive andkicking but also liberated, enrichedand empowered.

They are committed withoutpayment; accountable withoutcontrol; systematic withoutsophisticated system; transparentwithout written information system;impacting qualitatively andquantitatively without substantialinvestment. Do we document thesenumerous unsung heroes or heroinesand unsung leaders? And what areour academic and reseachinstitutions doing in this functionalarea? There is a goldmine ofexperience available in every cornerof our country. If we do a systematicresearch on communityentrepreneurship and leadership, wecould develop a rich knowledgesystem guided by native wisdom.Profiling their motivation and valueswould throw deeper insights onprocess of mentoring and theirsignificant contribution.

Social Enterprise

Social enterprise bringsmutuality, synergy, collective actionand liberation from exploitation. If itis not done properly, negative aspect

of above qualities would emerge andruin the goodwill and confidence ofpeople. Hence extreme care shouldbe given when social enterprises areinitiated. Negative characteristics ofeconomic entrepreneur would beneutralised by social entreprise withsocial leadership.

DHAN’s Experience

The core philosphy of dedicatingone’s own life by ‘choice andleading a way of life’ fordisadvantaged people in the societyis the ‘soul’ of DHAN Foundation.It is a powerful form of giving backto the society. Young people areavailable and they are willing toexplore and to become ‘seeds’ forthe society. They may be few innumber in selected colleges but theyare also available in large numberswith educational institutions. Theyrequire mentoring and learning spacewith freedom and guidance. DHANhas a ‘model’ to identify and shapeyoung professionals to becomesocial entrepreneurs within fiveyears to make three thousand poorpeople’s life different, meaningful andtowards prosperity. Their creativityis unleashed by creating aFederation of Self Help Groups eitherwith women or farmers for theirown development. It is happening inlarge numbers in DHAN with theguidance of senor colleagues. Thereis a continuous learning beyondsocial entrepreneurship and they areprovided with ‘leadership’ space tolead a cause or theme. When aperson becomes clear about pupose,meaning of his or her own life,giving back to the society isautomatic. In fact, all of us in oneway or other contribute to thesociety. But social entreprenurhsip

and social leadership provide spacefor many to contribute. They are trulyvalue-loaded seeds with their pro-action to find right environment togerminate and to grow as mothers,grand parents and institutions.

A decade of conscious andrigorous practice of the followingphilosphy in DHAN Foundationcreated nurturing ground for socialentreprenurship and leadership.

• Mothering developmentinnovation for povertyreduction

• Mentoring by buildingprofessionals to buildcommunities

• Creating people identity bybuilding institutions forgenerations.

• Building partnerhsip betweenmainstream institutions and thepoor

• Upscaling for reach and impact• Grassroots practice and

learning to influencedevelopment policies

• Building leadership fordevelopemnt action

• Knowledge building and sharingfrom practice

• Nurturing philanthropy fordevelopment

• Initiating new social orderthrough people movements andcollectives.

Many institutions like DHAN arenurturing social entreprenuership andleadership and a wealth of experienceexists in our society. It would beworthwhile to document and sharethe experience beyond the NGOworld.

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Capacity Building

*R. Lalitha, Project Executive, DHAN Foundation, Thirunallar, Karaikal, Pondicherry.

Grooming leadership throughDhan Resource Centre

R. Lalitha*

Introduction

DHAN Foundation investsextensive energy to build theleadership of the people in theircollective bodies at different levels.It builds the capacity of leaders inplanning, organizing, conflictresolution, and guiding members.Finally these leaders, through theirleadership skills, facilitate effectivedemocratic practices at each of theirinstitutions. So far, DHANFoundation has been able to unleashthe leadership potential of thousandsof women and farmers in SouthIndia. Presently there are about35,000 women leaders the Kalanjiaminstitutions in various capacities andabout 2,500 farmer leaders inVayalagam institutions at variouslevels. In a typical Kalanjiam, withina period of eight to ten years, all themembers would get an opportunityto hold at least one leadershipposition, either at Kalanjiam (self helpgroup), cluster, or federation level.All DHAN Foundation initiatives areaimed at achieving grassrootsdemocracy over a period of time.

Selection

Leaders are selected based on theconsensus among the members. Ateach level, equal representation isgiven to the villages at cluster leveland to the clusters at federation level.Leadership rotation is another uniquefeature of the people’s organizationspromoted by DHAN Foundation.

The leaders are rotated once in 2 or3 years. They give way for the othermembers to become leaders.

Capacity building

DHAN Foundation stronglybelieves in enabling the communitiesto achieve self-reliance. Hence allits strategies of promoting people’sorganizations are centered onbuilding capacities to the leaders andmembers. A variety of capacity-building events are organized ondifferent areas of leadershipdevelopment, such as:

• Induction and orientationprogrammes to impart theconcept and structure of theinstitutions and roles of leadersat various levels.

• Training programmes toexplore the leadership valuesand qualities, to understand thegroup building, self-development, group dynamicsand effective communicationmethods.

• Exposure visits to encouragecross-learning of best practicesand new initiatives in locations,and conflict management bybeing involved directly inproblem solving

• Experience sharing by variousleaders and facilitation dialogueswith them to learn variousleadership traits and values.

DHAN Resource Centre (DRC)

DHAN Resource Centre is thetraining centre which is working forcommunity leadership development.It is giving a wide range of trainingto the community to become a goodmember and leaders to their groups,clusters and federation. Throughgetting training from DRC,community could get clearknowledge on their groups, clustersand federation. Especiallycommunity could get clearknowledge on leadershipdevelopment. DRC is playingimportant role in groomingleadership.

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Trainings through DRC

DHAN Resource Centre is givingtraining in various levels to theleaders. It is giving training to thegroup leaders, cluster leaders andfederation leaders.

• Through various trainingsleaders could get clarity on theirroles and responsibilities in theirgroup, cluster, and federation.The trainings are given to theleaders to know the bye laws,regarding the stages of clusterdevelopment association,financial management ofKalanjiam, cluster andfederation

• After forming the newKalanjiam, the basic training isgiven to the leaders andmembers.

• By asking questions, theanswers are derived from theleaders themselves for the alltype of questions. This enablesthem to brainstorm forsolutions.

• Interaction among members isenhanced by the groupdiscussions, and conceptclarity is given to members ontheir questions.

• By sharing experiences ofothers, citing examples, singingsongs, and telling case studiesof others, the explanation isgiven to the members

Exposures through DRC

DRC is arranging exposure visitsto the leaders and members. DRCbrings the people to other federationsto show their activities in group,cluster and federation level. Theyshow various initiatives other thanthe federation activities like business

activities, and other schemeactivities. In these types ofexposures, other federation leadersshare their experiences from theirown federation to the new leaders.

When hearing the experiences ofothers, people could get confidentand start owning their federation.Their eagerness level increases toachieve their goal. People get anopportunity to interact directly withthe experienced people. Then theycan ask questions with theexperienced people regarding theirdoubts. Through getting answersdirectly from the people they couldget clarity on their doubts regardinggroups, clusters and federation.

Classroom sessions

In the classroom sessions, thetrainers handle classes in differentmethods. They take classes throughlecture, drawings, games, stories,songs and case studies. Good andexperienced trainers handle theclasses. They draw some picturesto explain the concept. They explainwith the help of audio visual aids tofacilitate easy learning. Through allthese activities, the trainers enablethe leaders and people functionariesto come out with their own solutionsto the problems faced by them ingrassroots. To break the monotony,trainers conduct some useful gamesto think and act. Through tellingstories, case studies and singingsongs, trainers give effective trainingto the people. These types oftraining encourage the people tolisten carefully.

Organizing and celebrating events

Many events are organized andcelebrated in federations like clusterMahasabha, federation Mahasabha,

AGBM, Independence Day, Republicday, Movement day, and DHANFoundation day. The first preferenceis given to the leaders in these events.All the responsibilities are given tothe leaders to conduct the event.Then the ownership level isincreasing with the leaders. Throughthese events, people could knowabout their good performance of thecluster and federation. They feelconfidence for the growth of thepeople institutions.

Republic day and IndependenceDay is celebrated every year in DRC.In these events flag hosting is doneby the leaders. Leaders feel theirownership through these events.The leadership qualities increase withthe leaders, their involvement isincreasing. The leaders realize theroles and responsibilities.

Other works of DRC

• To develop the leadershipqualities with the members DRCis performing its role well.

• To select the ExecutiveCommittee leaders DRC helpsthe federation. DRC isgrooming the leadershipqualities with the leaders.Leaders could perform well intheir group, cluster andfederation.

• Through the training andexposures people get the powerto face the challenges andcome out from the challenges.

• DRC builds the confident levelwith the people to perform wellin the administration’sfunctions.

• People could feel freedom,ownership, and involvement toperform as a good leader.

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*U. Vellaiappan, Project Executive, DHAN Vayalagam (Tank) Foundation, T. Kallupatti, Thirumangalam Region, Tamil Nadu.

District Watershed committeenominated DHAN Foundationas a project implementing agencyfor restructured NWDPRA projectto implement the programme inVandari-Athipatti watershed. It is oneamong ten such projects during Xfive year plan in Madurai district.Vandari Athipatti Watershed issituated in Sedapatti block ofMadurai district and it is connectedin the enroute of Peraiyur to Elumalaimain road. The village is situated 12KM away from the taluk headquarters. This watershed hascovered 6 revenue villagesconsisting of 7240 people. Athipattiis one of the important revenuevillages out of six in Vandari Athipattiwatershed. Totally 900 families areresiding with 2500 peoples in thisvillage.

In this village have manyooranies, natural gullies and moreacreage of rainfed lands. Kannimaroorani is also one of the naturaldepression places in Athipatti villagein which gets water storage duringmonsoon period and benefits to thevillage for various purposesparticularly to meet the drinkingwater to all from its origin onwards.The beneficiaries of this ooranibelong to Athipatti village. This ooraniis used by the people for thedomestic uses, drinking water to thecattle’s, recharging bore well andopen wells.

Community in Action

Community participation in WatershedExperience of Vandari - Athipatti

U. Vellaiappan*

It is not serving directly to thepeoples for drinking water andprovides ground water recharge tothe near by bore well in which itsbeing supplying drinking waterfacilities to the village community till1999. The village peoples are mainlydepending on this oorani water fortheir drinking purposes.

This oorani situated in across theodai and its gets the water from thefree catchment area as well assurplus course of Udaikulam tank inAthipatti village. This oorani is alsocalled as Muniyandi/Oortugal ooranibecause the tank and excess landwater was diverted during monsoonperiod as seepage movement to theoorani with out having any checksor obstacle in front of the channel

inlet as well as outlet of oorani. Theoorani is situated enroute ofMangalrevu to T.Krishnapuram mainroad in west direction of Athipattivillage.

Over the periods of time the waterstorage capacity has been reducedin the oorani due to heavy siltationand lands are occupying with heavyjungles across the oorani bed at thesame time there is no obstacle forcheck the water for recharge. Thissituation was caused to reduce thewater level in the oorani bed andcreates negative implication ondefunct the water aquifer in the boredue to in arresting of recharging zonebetween the bore and oorani.

So the peoples were facingdrinking water scarcity from the

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period of 2000-2003 because theywere depending on this storage waterfor recharge of near by bore wellwas constructed by the villagepanchayat during the period of 1992.The people fetched the water fromthe near by well and reachedinaccessibility area to get the waterduring the time of scarcity. Thevillagers were unsatisfied about thissituation due to the defunct of thisbore well.

The Udaikulam vayalagam hasbeen approached the Vandari–Athipatti watershed association anddemanded the peoples’ desire on thedevelopment of oorani bed as wellas revival of defunct bore well. Thewatershed association wasconsidered the cautious matter andimportant issues on drinkingwater for 900 families in Athipattivillages.

The user group vayalagam ofAthipatti village has been decided andcontributed Rs. 4100 for withexpected assistance of Rs. 41,000

(forty one thousands) to take overthe proposed works are renovationof Kannimar oorani, formation ofinlet to avoid quick siltation andconstruction of check dam withweirs across the gully at the outletof oorani to store the waterthroughout the year and enhancingadequate recharging facilities of nearby bore well as well as open well inand around of the oorani.

With their expectation wasfulfilled by the watershed associationto the cost incurred for Rs. 41,000during the period of 2003-2004 andthe members contribution is retainedin the corpus account of watershedassociation for further maintenancein coming period of years.

After renovation of oorani, theoriginal water storage capacity of theoorani is being ensured and thehappiest movement in thecommunity is continuing among thevillages due to get back their desiresto break the issues on drinking waterproblem.

The expected impact of the work is:

• Ground water recharge of nearby bore well as well as openwells have been rejuvenated fordrinking purposes andagricultural purposerespectively

• Certainly 900 families with1200 peoples in vadakkupatti ofAthipatti village got benefitingthrough drinking water usage.

• Now the 1200 Peoples are nothesitating for their drinkingwater because they gotassured water supply throughout year.

• Access to the water fordomestic uses and drinking forcattles also

• Storing the run off waterefficiently

• At present the oorani is with thesurplus weir structure. TheKannimar oorani is also situatedacross the stream which leadsthe water from the Udaikulamtank and the western freecatchment area. So provision ofthe surplus weir is not onlyresults in storing of morequantity of water but alsoreduce the speed of the waterby act as a check dam.

• There are 5 near by open wellsgets the increased level of watertable to cultivate the successfulcrop of every year by 5 farmerswith 20 family members.

• The village community as wellas government officials areeagerly appreciating this workto have completed in minimumcost with quality manner.

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Event

* M. Santhanam, Team Leader, Centre for Facilitating Philanthropy, DHAN Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

It was in August 2008 when I was assigned to take up my new rolein Centre for FacilitatingPhilanthropy, I was also indicated tobe the Event Manager for MaduraiMarathon – 09. Further, the targetswere to raise one crore as funds anda lakh people participation. My firstreaction for this was ecstasy; amega event would require pooling ofall my strengths and resources withthe coordination of all stakeholdersfor smooth conduct of the event tomake it a resounding success!

It was made clear that this is alsoone of the main fund raising eventsby our centre. I must admit that Iwas initially very apprehensive butnone-the-less confident to put up agood show true to DHAN’s wellestablished tradition. MaduraiMarathon – 09’s theme, asannounced last year, was quitelaudable: “Run to be Free fromAnaemia”. This theme enabled meto get the various stakeholders’identification very simple andsmooth.

As Mr. Vasimalai, the ExecutiveDirector of DHAN Foundationenvisaged, fund raising was split intotwo - for the conduct of the eventand for the ‘cause’. DHAN hadalready entered into a Memorandumof Agreement (MoA) for piloting aproject to bring down the levels ofanaemia in adolescent girls andpregnant women with the StateHealth Society – Tamil Nadu in 5blocks. Hence we had no hesitation

Madurai Marathon 2009M. Santhanam*

to approach them for collaboration.Thanks to the good offices of HealthSecretary – Tamil Nadu, and MissionDirector, State Health Society ofTamil Nadu, they readily agreed tocollaborate for this noble cause. Withthe stamp of a ‘governmentprogram’ for Madurai Marathon –09, we went about meticulously toseek fund support with variousagencies, both in government,private and corporate sectors.

As I was in Chennai, access tothese agencies was not much of aproblem. We solicited the support oflike-minded institutions, with adetailed presentation on DHAN’sexperience in conducting similarevents in the last two years, its reachand impact. Madurai Marathon – 09’sobjectives and the various eventsplanned were clearly defined andvarious support options bothfinancially and materially wereprovided to all.

TANSACS, Tamil Nadu Tourismand BSNL readily agreed to fund ourprogramme besides Tamil NaduPharma manufacturers Association.

It was the State Health Society –Tamil Nadu that immediatelyresponded with a fund allocation ofRs. 4.5 lakhs, and to our surprise,also released the amount well inadvance of the event. Our teamfinalized the date, venue, logo, andtarget community for participation.We decided to have it on a workingday rather than on a holiday sincewe expected better turnout ofstudents’ fraternity. Individualprogram-wise likely numbers werealso deliberated and task force/anchor teams constituted well inadvance. The students fromdifferent educational institutions bothin private and government side wereidentified and letters to the school/college principals were sent inadvance seeking their whole heartedcooperation for spreading the theme

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on ‘anaemia eradication’. TheMadurai Corporation Commissionerwas indeed very supportive for ourcause and had no hesitation agreeingto various demands from our side.He gave the consent to useThamukkam grounds, agreed toadvise the students to participate enmasse for the event, and also agreedfor publicity support for the event.

As the event is targeting youth,we approached the Rajiv GandhiNational Institute of YouthDevelopment, Sriperumpudur. Thedirector was impressed with thecause and agreed to support us inthree ways: to bring out a bookleton Anaemia, to support organizingvolunteers’ training program, and tohave campaigns in villages fordissemination the messages onanaemia. With this support we kick-started our campaign in the villagesthrough the Centre for DevelopmentCommunication (CDC)’s FolkloreResource Unit. It was a goodexperience to convey criticalmessage in a very passionate methodfor easy reach to the target audience.The volunteers’ training also wassimultaneously started by drawingvolunteers from various institutionsincluding NSS and Nehru YuvaKendra.

The conduct of the event was amajor task on hand and in order toachieve the expected participation,committees were formed and anchorpersons were identified. For the‘Walk for cause’ event, membersfrom Kalanjiam, Vayalagam, andother programmes were listed outand members from federations wereenumerated. For ‘mini-marathon’event, the schools and college teamswere meticulous in contacting theconcerned for en masseparticipation. The response fromsome private schools was indifferentas they felt that their students willhave to concentrate only on studies.I am lost for words when I thinkabout their attitude towards ageneral-awareness issue. However,with the support of corporation ofMadurai, a respectable number ofstudents’ participation was expected.The city colleges also had assuredgood numbers but their participationwas practically nil for the ‘mini-marathon’ event. Similarly separateteams were formed to get the desirednumbers of other events like the‘Half marathon’, ‘senior citizens’walk’, ‘differently-abled walk’, and‘Roller’s skating’. The half marathonwas originally planned for men;subsequently, as the District Sports

Development Authority also wantedto join us, a separate event wasplanned for women also.

Proper advertisements thru’ radiojingles and the press; flex hoardingswere erected in vantage locations inMadurai to give the event therequired publicity, which again wassupported by BSNL and MaduraiCorporation. As part of thecampaign, Sivakumar of CDC hadarranged for a press meetinginvolving the local Deputy Director(health services). The event waswidely covered in all press, and thetheme also was significantly broughtout.

At this time, suddenly ElectionCommission of Tamil Naduannounced the Thirumangalamconstituency bye-polls on the verysame date when we had planned tohave the Madurai Marathon 09 i.e.on 9th Jan 09! Quick rounds ofdiscussions lead ourselves to believethat it was not so relevant to us atMadurai and decided to have theevent as per our original schedule.

Subsequently with Kodai FM, aprogram to sensitize the theme wasbroadcast on a Monday for an hourunder “Vanavil”. A gynecologistworking with us in SUHAM hospitalanswered the queries on anaemiarelated ailments and on my partclarified DHAN’s objectives andvarious themes and also stressed onparticipation in Madurai Marathon 09by all section of society. I understandthat 21 districts is being catered byKodai FM and nearly 2 ½ crorepopulation listened to its broadcast.

The Day was fast approachingand suddenly a call from HealthSecretary, Chennai suggestedrescheduling the event to a later date

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owing to unrest in the constituency.This was quite unexpected andMr. Vasimalai suggested postponingit to 22nd Jan, 2009 after Pongal. Wethought that this postponement shallgive us more time to pool all ourresources and reschedule all ouractivities.

Once again letters to variousagencies were sent informing themon the changed date. All schools andcolleges were also advised and policepermissions for the changed datesalso sought for. However someschool students were not properlyinformed and they had come to thevenue on the 9th Jan, 2009!

As usual, drawing and essaycompetitions were organized inFatima College on a Sunday, and agood number of studentsparticipated. It was so nice of theFatima College authorities whorendered all possible help to us forthis event. All DHAN Foundationvolunteers made neededarrangements for the event.

The philanthropy team workedtirelessly for the logistics of the eventwith the able guidance of all seniorDHANites. Mr. Vasimalai spared noeffort to coordinate all concerned inorder to make the event a success.The District Collector also readilyconsented to inaugurate the events.

The half marathon, for 21 km,and rollers skating was flagged offby 7:00 by P. Seetharaman, theDistrict Collector, V. K. Siranjeevi,BSNL General Manager,M. P. Vasimalai, Executive Directorof DHAN Foundation, andB.T.Bangera, Managing Director ofHi Tech Arai from Thamukkamgrounds.

Walk for a cause was flaggedoff by 7:20 from Madura College bythe Madura College Principal, T. V.Krishnamoorthy and Ms. Chinnapillaiof Kalanjiam Foundation.

The Mini Marathon was flaggedoff by 7:30 by Director of PublicHealth, Dr. Elango, DeputyCommissioner, Mr. Dinesh PonrajOliver, SE, Madurai Corporation,Mr. Sakthivel and Fatima CollegePrincipal, Sis. Fatima Antony.

Walk for the disabled andsenior citizens was flagged off by7:45 from race course by DGM ofIndian Bank, Mr. Kathiresan.

The participants of all the eventsreached Thamukkam grounds oneafter the other by around 9:00. Therewas a colourful cultural programmeto entertain the participants at thestadium. A few participants andwinners shared their experience forthe massive audience. Indeed,Thamukkam Auditorium wasbrimming with people from allsections of the society in Madurai.

Mr. Santhanam, Event Managerof Madurai Marathon gave thewelcome address. Mr. SeetharamanI.A.S., the district collector ofMadurai in his special addressspoke, “to create a healthy world byencouraging sports among studentsand public”. Prizes were distributedto all winners by the districtcollector, Director of Public Health,Dr. Elango, Ms. Chinnapillai andother guests. Prizes were alsodistributed to winners of essaywriting and drawing competitionsconducted on the theme.

Dr. Elango, in his address,emphasized the importance ofawareness about anaemia especially

for adolescent girls, pregnantwomen, and lactating mothers.Anaemia is seen in more than 80 percent of women. This marathon eventshould create a big change especiallyby taking nutritious food and iron-rich foods. The Government isgiving Rs. 3000 to pregnant womenbefore delivery and Rs. 3000 afterdelivery. If women make use of theRs. 6000 for taking nutritious food,both child and the mother will behealthy. The birth weight of everychild should be above 3 kilograms.If birth weight of any child is below2.5 kilograms, the possibility of infantmortality is high. Infant mortality isseen only in human beings. Each oneof should resolve to reduce infantmortality rate.

Mr. V. K. Sanjeevi, GeneralManager, BSNL, said, “MaduraiMarathon has created awarenessabout creating an aneamia free worldespecially for rural public. I am happyfor BSNL is also a part of the grandevent. Ms. Chinnapillai shared theimportance of being healthy and freefrom anaemia. Mr. Solai M. Raja,Advisor, TNSDA, Mr. K. Jayamani,Regional Sr. Manager, SDAT,Madurai were present in the stageand Mr. P. Krishnamoorthi compiredthe stage event.

Mr. Santhanam, Team Leader,Centre for Facilitating Philanthropy,DHAN Foundation, Chennai, TamilNadu proposed the vote of thanks.

Finally all the events unfolded onthe 22nd January, 2009 as per ourplan and without any untowardincident, DHAN positioned the eventwith the message going across toaround 50,000 people of Madurai!!Jai Ho!!!

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Folklore Matters

* K. Muthaiah, Folklore Resource Unit, CDC, DHAN Foundation, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

Folklore team’s journey to createaneamia free world

K. Muthaiah*

DHAN Foundation organizedMadurai Marathon – 09 tocreate anaemia free world. Toincrease the reach of awarenessfolklore resource unit (FRU) ofCentre for DevelopmentCommunication (CDC) planned toconduct cultural shows in variousplaces.

A three-day schedule wasprepared by the team. On the firstday the story for the street-play andcomposed few songs. The teampracticed both street-play and songin the successive two days. In theconcluding session, We receivedinputs to improve after seeing thetrial performance.

The journey of creatingawareness on anaemia touched 50villages of 11 Kalanjiam federationsin Madurai rural and urban area wasmade successful with thecooperation of concern federations.A team of 10 folk artists made theirmission possible in mobile theatrewith audio-video facilities. The teamreached the venue half-n-hour aheadof time and made door-to-door visitand invited them to the venue bygiving a notice prepared for thepurpose. The programme wasinitiated with a “Thappattam”receiving and greeting song.Kalanjiam leaders of that village wereinvited and they gave the inaugural

address. Welcoming song,‘vandhanam ayya vandhanam’ wasfollowed by ‘va va yosikka venum’,a song on anaemia awareness weresung. Then, there was a mockinteraction between two teammembers revealing numerous factsand figures about anaemia. It wasfollowed by a ‘Karagattam’.Successively the street-play wasperformed at duration of 20 – 30minutes. The street-play details thereasons, symptoms for anaemiaamong adolescent girls and pregnantwomen, it also throws light as waysto combat the deficiency of iron andovercome the disorders. There aresongs about ante-natal caresandwiched between mockinteractions with volleys of vitalinformation. The programme wasclosed with anaemia awarenesssongs, ‘naama nalla vaazhavenum…’ and ‘anbaana ammamare’. After the programme wasover, the feedbacks from theaudience were collected.

Impact and feedbacks

Sivakami from Kottaimedu says,most of our villagers believe insuperstitions. If any one falls sick,they are taken to spiritual people andapply holy ash and believe it wouldheal. They consider spending formedical care is an utter waste. The

street-play vividly showed suchsuperstitions belief(s) may costvaluable life. I am confident thatvillagers who saw the street-playwould act wisely to undergo medicalcare when they fall sick.

Prema of Idayapatti says, theentire programme emphasized ontwo things. First, the girls must bemarried only after 18 years. Suchadolescent girls should regularly takeiron tablets as a supplement tonutritious foods. Second, thepregnant women’s do s and don’t swere explained in detail with thescientific facts.

Pavithra of Idayapatti shared thatshe learnt what happens when Hblevel goes down and its cause andsymptoms, to adolescent girls,pregnant women and lactatingmothers. She also got knowledgehow to overcome the problems bytaking iron rich vegetables, fruits,greens and iron and folic acid tablets.

Sellapandi of Thethoor wasexcited about her learning from ascene in which the doctor explainshow to find out the Hb level and byincluding green leafy vegetables,eggs and fish the Hb level can beincreased. No one should havesuperstitious belief(s) to overcomehealth problems.

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Development Tools

*Tata-DHAN Academy, Development Institute promoted by DHAN Foundation, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

Transect walk is an importantparticipatory rural appraisal(PRA) method. It is one of thedevelopment tools usually done in thebeginning preceding most of thetechniques, because many of thethings observed during this processwill initiate many discussions and itwill be helpful in triangulation whenconducting other techniques. It givesthe learners an overview of thevillage and its surroundings byobservation and throughconversation with the villagers. “Itprovides a cross-sectionalrepresentation of the different agro-ecological zones and theircomparison against certainparameters including topography,land type, land usage, ownership,access soil type, soil fertility,vegetation, crops, problems,opportunities, and solutions”, saysShanthi Maduresan, a developmentpractitioner. It is also useful forbuilding rapport with people; bywalking in and around the village, thelearners get the chance to meetpeople and make their presence feltin the community. This methodhelps a lot in collecting informationabout any location. By this methodone can get the idea of inside as wellas outside of village. This depicts aspatial dimension of people realities.In this method people roam insideas well as outside the village forgetting a cross-sectional view of thevillage.

How and why a transect walkshould be conducted?

A transect walk is a highlyeffective method for gathering

Transect WalkPDM 8 batch students of Tata-DHAN Academy*

information. In this technique, thelearner goes to common placeswhere people are gathered in largenumber like a tea stall. After a briefinitial informal interaction andconversation, the learner casuallyrequests the people to give a tour oftheir community. Then with anyonevolunteering, the learner tours thecommunity and the village periphery.This method is useful as it providesan opportunity to learners to be ableto spend a long time with the peopleof the community and establish arapport with them. As they walkthrough the community, the peopleof the community act as guides andfamiliarize the learner with thelocations in the community and theplaces important to them. It helps toidentify areas of focus, assets of thecommunity, factors that may proveto be a hindrance, etc.

We are going to describe transectwalks conducted by two teams, onewith a microfinance focus, and onewith a health focus.

Transect walk with microfinancetheme (Upputhurai)

We went to Upputhurai village ofTheni district, Tamil Nadu to focuson microfinance aspects. Thetechnique helped us to learn aboutthe village dynamics. Theobservation and the objective isbased on finding out the resourceswhich contribute to the income ofthe people and the occupation andcritical observation of other spatialdimension of the resources. It is alsoto observe the utilization of land andthe productivity, and the potential

future providence or threats on thelivelihood, agriculture, andenvironment.

Since the villagers go to the fieldto work during the day it wasplanned to conduct early in themorning when there will be peopleavailable to walk along around thevillage. In the night, the team chartedout the schemes of the transectwalk, and brainstormed about theplan on how to conduct the event,and what things to be considered inrelation to microfinance. The teamdecided to look on the aspects ofresources which are available in andaround the village which can generateincome for the people, and keenlyobserve resources whether theseresources are well utilised. Also, tolook at the land and its productivity,the types of crops planted and themarketing facilities available to themand the utilization of resources.

Early in the morning we went tothe te