grassroots march 2016.pdf

8/18/2019 Grassroots March 2016.pdf

1/10

USHA RAI, Kanha, Madhya Pradesh

First-generation learners

emerge from neglected

forest villages 3

March 15 , 2016 - Vo lu me 8 I ssue 3

I N S I D E

A joyous girlhood, ful-

lled life as a woman 2

How improved livelihoodscan save forestsProviding sustainable livelihood optionsfor people living around the ecologicallyvital landscape around the KanhaNational Park in Madhya Pradesh is

becoming a reality in 175 villages where,with enhanced incomes and greaterawareness on the need to conservethe green cover, communities arebeing weaned away from dependenceon forest resources. It is time that theCentral and state governments recogniseand honour such environment-friendlyvillagers living in forest corridors

P h o t o s : U R

Since 2009, two NGOs –

Foundation for EcologicalSecurity (FES) and

PRADHAN (ProfessionalAssistance for DevelopmentAction) – have been workingwith households on the forestfringes at the Kanha National park in Madhya Pradesh to livein harmony with nature, withimproved agricultural practices,kitchen gardens, poultry, shing,livestock care and more moneyin their pockets. The target is toreach 12500 families by 2018.

All the 175 villages are in theKanha-Pench forest corridor, richin biodiversity—ora, fauna, saland teak forests interspersed

with meadows and water bodies and home to one of thelargest concentrations of tigers,leopards, gaurs, barasingha, cheetal and abundant bird life.

It is not possible to save as well

as improve the contiguous forestcorridor of 16000 km, withoutimproving the earning capacityof the people living around it,says Sunil Kumar, director ofthe Royal Bank of ScotlandFoundation, which is supportingcommunities in conservation ofcritical ecosystems.

The two NGOs, working inMandla and Balaghat Districts,have dierent approaches tocommunity work. Fortytwovillages have been identied asthe weakest links in the Kanha-Pench forest corridor with thedanger of the narrow greencover disappearing under human

and cattle pressure. Six of thevillages are in Mandla Districtand 60 per cent of the populationis below the poverty line and,till NGO intervention, seasonal

migration was a ritual to staveo hunger.

FES has been working for

three years with the 65 familiesof Khuksar Village of Mandla, just 10 km from the Khatia Gateof Kanha National Park. MistarSingh, the village mukhiya (headman) and Yogesh Patel,a farmer, point out that thoughmost of the families have twoto 10 acres of land, 12 familieshave no land. With FES support,villagers have come togetheras a group to discuss their problems and nd solutions.Digging wells, drawing waterfrom village ponds and with newimproved farming techniquesimparted by FES, instead of onecrop they are now harvesting

two a year and are able to saveRs 20000 to Rs 25000.

Some villagers have foundwork in the resorts around thenational parks. Instead of lookingto the forests for rewood, theyhave started growing bambooand Jamun trees with money provided by FES. They havefenced their agricultural eldsfrom wild boar and deer and aregrowing turmeric and gingerwhich keep wildlife at bay.The o-season migration hasdropped from 80 per cent to 10 per cent, says Yogesh Patel.

FES acts as a bridge betweenthe village community and the

forest department and in someareas like Niwas, where the landholdings are really small, haveasked for community forestrights. Other demands includeconversion of a small areanear their village into a sacred

forest, community involvementin joint forest managementand replacement of an old

transformer so that they havemore assured electricity. Allthe issues are to be addressedat the next quarterly meetingof the steering committee ofstakeholders.

Poultry farming too has gota boost with introduction of thelarge Giriraj and Vanraj breeds.The eggs and chicks hatched are bigger. The Giriraj and Vanrajchicks weigh 3 to 3.5 kg asagainst the desi (country) chicksthat weigh just 1.5 kg. As against10 families in poultry farming,there are now more than 30families breeding the improvedhens and nding a market in

the many tourist resorts aroundKanha and Pench.

Bagaspur Village with 52families came under the wingsof FES just a year ago. Withacute water shortage, gettingtwo crops a year was not possible, so drip irrigation has been introduced and everyonecontributes for the irrigation afterdiscussion at the village welfarecommittee. There are 109 dripirrigation pipes and the women’sgroups are using them to growtomatoes, the local spinach,gourds and beans, some ofwhich is sold in the local market.Simultaneously, the villagers are

collecting cow urine and using itas a bio-pesticide. To solve thewater shortage problem, thereare plans to construct a checkdam on the upper catchment of

An extraordinary school

proves to be a ‘real

blessing in their life’ 8

Lifting the curse of child

malnutrition 4

Marginalised groups

learn to demand what

is rightfully theirs 6

Surmounting challenges

to lead a green

revolution 7

In the cold desert,

women battle water

woes and keep going 9

There is a water tank on each acre of land cultivated.

Villagers looking keenly at a micro plan. Continued on page 2

Yes, nutrition services

can indeed be

successfully delivered 5


2/10

March 15, 20162

FOCUS

SHOMA A. CHATTERJI, Kolkata

A joyous girlhood, fulfilled life

as a womanAn NGO working in the villages in South 24-Parganas District in West Bengal, gives new direction to the livesof girls and women, deprived of the means of earning a livelihood and trapped in a system where marriageis considered the only end-goal

Shantana Haldar is 21 yearsold. She is well on her wayto realising her dreams –

putting her interest in embroideryto good use. Life changed forher, thanks to Jeevika – an NGOoperating in the cluster of 64

villages in South 24-ParganasDistrict, West Bengal.Jeevika, which means

‘livelihood’ in Sanskrit, has beenworking to promote the rights ofwomen and girls in the villageshere, where daughters are stillconsidered a liability. Marriageis central to the lives of the girls,from their own points of view,and also those of their parents.The focus is on being mouldedinto ‘good’ wives, where theadjective is an endorsement oflooks, rather than educationalachievements, skills, or eventhe ability to adjust and adapt tosituations and people.

Parents of dusky-hued girlsare even more harassed thanothers, as they will need to givehigher dowries to get grooms forthem. Given such obsession,child marriages are a way of lifein the villages here. Parents want

to get their daughters marriedo at the earliest and, often, thegirls themselves, thanks to the pressure on their parents, takematters into their own hands andelope. Either way, they foregoschooling and other training,

which could have given thema source of income, if not self-suciency. They nd themselvestrapped in situations where theyare dependent on others, andhave no choice but to put upwith the abuse, indignities andviolence meted out to them.

The priority is the promotionof women’s rights across all itsinterventions by challengingand changing widely-practised patriarchal discriminations thatrestrict the empowerment ofgirls and women. The self-helpvocational training programmesare currently centered on high-quality embroidery skills. “I have

just completed my embroiderytraining. I had always wanted tolearn embroidery and I now feel Iwill be able to practise my skills better and translate my dreamsto reality,” says Shantana. Butthe actual focus goes beyond

<

<

P h o t o : J e e v i k

a T e a m

Continued from page 1

mere income generation. “Itis about working together todevelop practical skills and raisethe social status of these womenand girls that will ultimatelyempower the employees in theirown communities for the rest

of their lives,” says a brochuredistributed by the NGO duringits recent Anande KanyakaalCarnival held in Kolkata.

Jeevika had long beenworking on the issue of violenceagainst women and girls. Butthe interventions were largelyrehabilitative, in the sense thatresponses were made after anincident of violence had alreadyoccurred. In 2011, the NGO began to work on the area of preventing violence altogether.

And it was then that earlymarriage of girls came up asone of the major root causesof violence. And so began

interventions on the issue of preventing early and childmarriages in its operational areathrough regular campaigns onthe self-help groups of SwayamSampurna, a micronancefederation run by women,

The carnival selling handcrafts and embroidery work at Manovikas Kendra compound, Kolkata.

targeting girls and boys in localschools, local self-governmentocials and other stakeholders.After having worked withadult women for more thantwo decades, it began directinterventions with girls. Thefocus of the eort is more inalignment with women’s rights

than on promoting child rights.Currently, about 10000underprivileged women andgirls are beneting. The thrustnow is on the revival of craftsof Bengal that have goodinternational market worth and

can be created with minimumexpense. The focus is onkantha embroidery, high qualitytailoring and hand-embroideredgreeting cards, stockings andchopstick holders.

Gauri Duari, a 20-year-old beneciary, sums it all up, “Ihave been working here for two

years. I enjoy the supportiveatmosphere. I have been able tolearn a lot of skills. The moneythat I have earned has helped mesupport myself and my family.It has certainly made my lifeworth living.”

42 villages. The local coal andwood red stoves or angheetis are also being redesigned formore energy release and lesssmoke.

Women are at the forefrontin villages looked after byPRADHAN in Balaghat. The5000 families, most of who arein and around forest corridors,have been practising since 2009organic farming with seeds procured from the Beej BachaoAndolan.

Each village has four tove women’s self-help groups(SHGs) with 10 to 15 memberscontributing Rs 10 to 20 for theirnancial security and small loans.The SHGs come together atvillage-level committees (VLC)to discuss village developmentand their contribution. TheVLCs amalgamate as clustersto discuss social issues anda federation acts as the over-arching body.

return in the market. The womenhave learnt vermi-composting aswell as how to make leaf manurecalled agniastra.”

With micro plans drawn upfor the entire area, the villagersare now growing paddy, wheat,gram, peas and not decimatingthe forests. With a seepage tankon each acre of land, enlargingthe space between paddyseedlings and using naturalmanure, 40 quintals of paddywere procured from two acresof land. The seepage tanks notonly provided regular supply ofwater but ensured ground waterrecharging.

There was no electricity in thevillage till 2013, so the women’scollective pooled in resourcesand made many trips to the oceof the collector to get power.Dwarka Didi, who was awardedin Delhi for her exemplaryagricultural yields, nally metthe Congress president and putforward the village’s demand for power. “She assured us power

in two months but within sixweeks the electricity poles wereup,” she recalls.

Liquor production in thevillage has stopped and thereis less violence in homes. Ofcourse, the men still go to themarket and consume liquor, saysDwarka. A street theatre groupof 20 women, trained by MediaMatters and the VananganaGroup of Mahila Samakhya, gofrom village to village to talkand enact plays on violence andgender issues. Taking loans fromthe SHGs, every house in thevillage now has a motorcycleand there is no need to walkto the market. Through SHGloans, bualoes are bought andmarriage expenses met. Theinterest on the loans is just 50 paise for Rs 100.

In another village, Takabarra inBalaghat, which has 67 familiesand women SHGs since 2009,three women have bought 1.5 tofour acres of land, all registeredin their names. Hemlata, in

addition to land, has boughta two-wheeler, a TV set andconstructed a toilet. Two womenof the village have been trainedas vets and they vaccinate theanimals and know how to handlethe major ailments of the 2500desi chicks in the seven adjoiningvillage. Pushpa, educated tillClass 9, is the pasusakhi or vetof her village.

Like the women of Sawarjhodi,the SHGs are empowered, canwrite applications for toilets,hand pumps, pension, BPL(below poverty line) cards andmeet ocials of the districtadministration. Forty seven biogas units have been set upin the villages that PRADHANservices. Bore wells that drainthe underground water in thevillages are being phased out andseep tanks constructed. Thoughgrazing of cattle in the forestsis still a problem, discussionsare on options like stall feedingand growing cattle fodder in thevillage.

Women’s empowerment isthrough improved livelihood,health camps and linkages withgovernment departments. Theyhave been trained to do street plays for gender sensitisation ofthe men by Mahila Samakhya.Articulate and self-assured theycan speak to collectors and otherocials about the village needs.

Dwarka Didi is an activemember of the SHG in hervillage as well as the vansamiti or forest committee ofSawarjhodi, a forest villageunder the Mohgaon Panchayatof Paraswada Block. Recountingthe growth of the SHGs and thevillage over the past six years,she says, “Earlier, we livedin thatched huts and our livesrevolved around the jungle. Wecollected forest produce to makeropes and sell in the market to buy food. Now we get enoughfrom agriculture to feed ourfamilies and sell the surplus inthe market. Organically grownvegetables also get a better

How improved livelihoods can save forests


3/10

March 15, 2016 3

First-generation learners emergefrom neglected forest villagesIt is only in the past five years that Kodakarai’s children have a middle school to go to. The place is in TamilNadu’s Ayyur Reserve Forest area in Krishnagiri. Thanks to proactive implementation of the RTE with a littlehelp from two NGOs, the Indian Council for Child Welfare and Nanhi Kali, and land donated by villagers freeof cost, the school now has sections till Class 8 as well as a newly opened primary school a few hundredmetres away

SIBI ARASU, Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu

“Gooood mooorningSaar,” a bunch of40-odd children

chorused as we entered one of theclassrooms at the GovernmentMiddle School at Kodakarai, acluster of villages deep inside the

Ayyur Reserve Forest in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri District.

Nestled inside the hillsof Krishnagiri, to reachKodakarai is to drive up fromDenganikottai, the taluk (subdistrict) headquarters 33kilometres away, cross the forestcheck post after 20 kilometresand take a kucha (rustic) roadfor the past 10 kilometres ofthe stretch. Any semblance of basic medical or other essentialservices are available only atthe taluk headquarters. I washere on 19 January, to observethe eectiveness of the Rightto Education Act (RTE) in

the remote region and howeducation was changing thesevillage hamlets

While a horde of children isnot an uncommon sight in anyschool, it is only in the last veyears that Kodakarai’s childrenhave a middle school to go to, asopposed to having to commutethe distance to the taluk headquarters on a daily basis.In the last ve years, through proactive implementation ofthe RTE with a little help fromtwo NGOs, the Indian Councilfor Child Welfare (ICCW) and Nanhi Kali (an organisation that provides primary education to

underprivileged girl childrenin India) and land donated byvillagers free of cost for settingup the school, Kodakarai now boasts of a middle school thatgoes up to Class 8 as well as anewly opened primary school afew hundred metres away

While these may seem likeminor improvements for a statewhich boasts a literacy rateof 80.33 percent, this is still agiant step for the tribal clusterof villages where any kind offormal education was only adream. The school has beenrunning since 2011.

Earlier, classes did not extend

beyond the Fifth Standardand one had to travel far tostudy further. There is nodocumentation for how manyactually did attend the school, but there could not have been

many, considering the dicultyin doing so.

Kodakarai, which includesseven major village clusters(Keel Kochavur, Mel Kochavur,Karisithapanur, Kadur, Kari-marathur, Schedule Tribe

Colony and Dhottiyur), is hometo 600-odd families with manyof the families having at leastfour children. A tribal sub-groupof the Lingayat Community, the people here consider themselvesIyer because of their staunchvegetarianism. The Irular,Schedule Tribe community arethe primary residents of thesehills. The people here grow ragi,rice and broad beans, apart fromrearing sheep and cattle. Bothcommunities speak a dialectof Kannada and Tamil mixedtogether, which people in therest of the state nd dicult tounderstand.

While there was a school building for over a decade here,it was seldom visited either bygovernment-appointed teachersor by students, who found theirtime better spent in the nearbyforests. The prevalence of childmarriages has also preventedmany of the children fromcontinuing their education.While the NGOs are workingat combating the practice, it isnot entirely gone or as Lakshmi Narayanan, an education ocerwith ICCW told me, “done ina more hush-hush way thanearlier”.

It was only in 2011, whenICCW intervened by settingup a bridge school for Class 6students, since at that time thevillage school only went up tillclass ve, that things startedlooking up. Along with the NGO’s assistance, the teachersalso made serious eorts tostall the alarming dropoutrates. “Here, some child wouldsay they can’t come tomorrow because of a village functionand that would be the end ofit. I wouldn’t see them comingagain to school ever again,” saysA.R. Gunasekaran, who has been a teacher for 17 years andis the current headmaster at theschool.

The functions last for weekor a few days and coupled with parental indierence, oftenresult in disrupting the routineof the children. The school now

has 220 children up to Class 8,and they are supervised by threegovernment-appointed teachersand two ICCW-appointed sta members who are from thevillage. The nearby primaryschool has around 55 students

overseen by one teacher and asta member appointed by NanhiKali. While this is inadequatein itself, the situation now is atremendous improvement from2009 when there were only 80children enrolled in the schoolaccording to an evaluation reportreleased by ICCW in 2014.

ICCW has also tried to placesome of the children at residentialschools in Denganikottai andAnchetty for their Ninth Standard but more often than not they havereturned, unable to cope with theculture shock or the language barrier. In the schools, theinstruction is in Tamil. There is

no plan to address the linguisticgap. The children speak theirdialect outside school. Inside,they learn to read and write inTamil.

“Kodakarai’s people are verydierent to people below. Thechildren who go from here feelcompletely out of place andend up coming back many atimes,” said Narayanan. “Butin the latest batch of students,a couple of them are trying tocontinue through and we hopethey stick on. One of the girlsfrom the village, S. Suseela,has even gone onto nish herBEd and is working in Chennainow.” He added, “We think sheis an inspiration for the others.”Suseela’s story, of studying tillClass 12 at Thali and attendingcollege in Krishnagiri is a rareexample of success in Kodakaraiand one the students hope toreplicate.

There are plans to extendthe school up to Class 9 in thecoming few years. For the people here who have sus-tained themselves on growingragi, avarakkai since forever, theschool is proving to be a crucialrst step towards a connect tothe world that has so far eludedthem. The promises of a pucca(proper) road in return for votesthis coming election has also got people’s spirit up here. “Whenwe were young, there was noway any of us could even dreamof studying till more than fth

standard,” says M. Basappa, along-time resident of the village.“My children are studying now,we have sent our eldest outsidefor his Ninth Standard and if hewants to study till 12th or evengo to college, we’ll support

him,” he added.In the past two years, 26

children have completed theirschooling till Class 8. Of them,six have gone onto Class 9and one boy is completing his11th Standard. M. Basavaraju,whose son Murthy is in theSixth Standard, says, “Whenwe were children, there was noschool to speak of here, let alonetill eighth.” Basavaraju, likemany others in the village is aseasonal farmer. “While we loveour village, in today’s world,you need education. I hope my

son nishes school properly andmaybe even goes to college,” hesaid.

Leaving the middle schoolin Kochavur, I asked one of thechildren, Sithamma, who was inthe Fourth Standard, what she

wanted to be when she grew up.Standing up in a demure fashion,she replied with certainty, “Iwant to be a doctor saar.”

(Courtesy: The Caravan. This articlewas produced with assistance fromVoice for Children, a PII-UNICEF

fellowship.)

A classroom that is neat and clean, children well-attiredand eager to learn.

<

The seventh edition ofthe Laadli Media and Advertising Awards forGender Sensitivity 2014-15 (southern and westernregion) was announcedrecently. Marianne Nazareth was one of the winners. Herstory in the February 2015issue of Grassroots, ‘Howsolar lamps brought homemany rays of sunshine’ won her the award in theBest Feature – Magazinecategory. Altogether, 52 winners were shortlisted from1200 entries. They wereawarded for highlightinggender issues and concerns

Grassroots story fetches award

through their work in theprint, web and electronicmedia. <

February 15 , 20154

MARIANNE DE NAZARETH, Bengaluru

How solar lamps brought homemany rays of sunshineThosewho livein India’s cities arepretty selfishwhen they grumbleabout power cuts,whenin ruralIndiamillions managewithkerosenelamps andnoconnections tothepower gridatall.Inresponseto thedesperatesituation,TheEnergy andResourceInstitute beganan initiativecalledLighting aBillionLives. Theinitiativemakes itpossiblefor peopletoget clean,healthy,and adequatelight intheir homes withoutany pollutionoremissionandat acostthat is entirely affordable

Expla ining the Lighting aBillion Livesprogrammewith empirical examples

to journa lists a t the De lhiSustainableDevelo pment Sum-mit 2015,I.H. Rehman,directorof Social Transformation, TheEnergy and ResourceInst itute(TERI),revealed that theorgani-sation had touched morethan 2.5million livesin 23 statesand 2596villa gesc onsisting of 535812households; 127080 solar lan-te rnswe re distr ibute d,11280solar micro-grid connections provided,and 3171 integrateddom e stic e ne rgy syste ms in-sta lle d.Ta ke the e xa m ple of atiny villagenamed Kamlapurin thedistrict of Unnao in UttarPradesh. LaBL,along with its partner organi sation, HumanaPeopleto PeopleIndia (HPPI), NewDelhi, helped the villagediscover anew joy with cleanlighting.

Ka m lesh De vi,a skille dchikan embroidery expert, wasa ble to followhe r pa ssion ofcreating chikan work garmentsonly dur ing the da y, due to alack of light at night.“It wasfrustrating to have to finishstitching in timefor thegoods toreach themarket under thedimlight of thekerosene lampsandit took thejoy of the craft out ofit,” she sa ysrue fully. Age d 35with five children and educatedonly up to theeighth standard,Kamlesh Devi struggled to earnhalf her household's income.“ Our live sa re sa ddle d with problems at every step an dthe re islittle r e de m ption f rom

the drudge ry tha t a ilsuse ve ryhour of every day,”she says.“ The la nte rnsa re a ra y of hopefor my soul, morethan for myembroidery.”Her earningshaverisen with thearrival of thelanternsfrom Rs150-200 to Rs300 per sari,which arepricedaccording to thequality of herembroidery.

For Kamlesh Devi and othersin he r shoe s,the be ne fi tsha ve brought resul ts. “Thelant ernsha ve le t m e go a bout mydom e stic c hore s m uc h be tte rand helped my children to studylonger and without gettingtheir eyesred and watery,”shesa ys.I t' sa win-win situa tion inKamlesh'slittle homewherethelampshave ushered in positivechange,which her family can atlast enjoy.

Anothe r e xa m ple is thevillageof Tentalain thedistrictof Mayurbhanj in Odisha.Tentalaisa remotetribal hamleta nd a s da rkness f a lls, theresidentshave to speedily finishthe ir da ily c hore s.Like m ostother women in her village,Hinsi Hazdaheadsto her kitchento preparethefamily meal much befored inner time, for whendarknessfalls thereisjus t feeblelight from her kerosenelantern.Hinsi'shusband istheso lebreadearner for her family,earningabout Rs2500 amonth, enoughto support her family of six withtwo mealsaday.

Thisis the story of e ve ryhousehold in Tentala Villageand most of theother villagesinthedistrict. But ever sincesolar

lampshavebeen provided underthe Lighting a B illion Live sinitia tive ,the villa ger s’ live sha ve c ha nged. The e xtr a hour sthat thewomen can work atnight hasgiven them moretimeto spend with family,spendin glesson kerosene, and to makekholi, a pla te m a de out of sa lle a veswhic h br ingsthe m a nincome.

Hinsi now ha ppily e a rnsapproximately Rs2000 amonth."Wecould not even imaginelibe r tie slike ne wc lothe sonSakranti,our riceproduction was barely enough to support us, nowI feel moreempowered becauseI contributeto household by notonly making food for us,but by being an earner.I make100-150kholi each day,which wesell atRs1 per pieceand, thanksto theminimum pricesimplemented bytheNGO,we get enough moneyfor our hard work,"says Hinsiwith asmileof satisfaction.

Arati Mahanta, entrepreneurwho set up thecharging stationin Tentala, saysthat shehasbeenencouraging thevillage womento m a ke use of the a dditiona l productive hours. "We havestarted newin come-generatinga c tivitie ssuc h a s the poultry breeding farm in thevi llage."Light isimportant for feeding,a sthe birdside ntify food a ndwater by sight. Also, availabilityof bright and intenselight thatdoe snot r a ise te m pe ra turesignificantly effectsprod uctionof eggs.

Dumini Murmu,who makesaround Rs3500 amonth alongwith thehelp of her daughter byselling kholito thetown vendors,sa ys" NowI ha ve m ore sa y inthe house hold m a tte rs.Ara tijinot only inspir e susto e a rn aliving, but also motivatesus toget step out of our homes, whichm a ke susse e the wor ld be yondour villages."

At 15,AlakaRautaray'sstudiesseemed to begoing nowhere,her dreamsnothing but paper boats all ready to capsize inthe da rk. C om ing f rom thelittle villa ge of M a na gala jodiin the distr ic t of Khordha inOdisha, therewas no light forher to study in theevenings asher poor farming family couldnot afford to buy kerosene. She becamedesperateand had givenup hope. Then, LaBLwith its partner organisation, theCouncilof Professional Social Workers(CPSW),stepped in and changedherlife. “My confidence wasnearly all goneand I had almostgiven up all my ambitions,”shesays.

Alakais glad shedidn't let goof her dream and hasregainedher confidence by studying,using solar lightsfor up to 2-4hoursevery day.Thelamps saveher family Rs60 aday and hera ve rage m a rks ha ve ha ppilygoneup from 32 to 45 per cent,helping hergain in confidence.“My health too hasi mprovedasIsuffered from sore eyesandheadachesbrought on by lightand smokefrom thekerosenelamps.”

Ala ka , like m a ny othe r sliving in remoteMangalaj odiVillagewas excluded from oneof life'sbasicamenities- light atnight. Today for Mangalajodi'sstude nts, the la nte rn is thewindowto the wor ld.I c a nnotonly study for longer hoursnow,I can play and do otherchoreseven after it'sdusk,' shesays.The lanternshave also ledto the villa ge' stuition c e ntr eflourishing.

“ The num be r of stude ntsand their concentration and performancehasboth g oneup –f rom a fe wto 20 nowa nd,withthis, my dream of educating theentirevi llageon every aspectof lif e m a y c om e true ,” sa ysUllash ChandraBehera, the38-year-old soletutor and ownerwho ha sa gra duate de gre e inArts.Behera'sincome hasrisen,too,in sync with the inc re ase inenrolments,from Rs2500 to Rs3000 a m onth. He islooking a texpanding to acoaching centre.

Read the journalfromthe

PressInstitute ofIndia

thatcoversissues

pertinentto the media.

Yearly subscription

only Rs200.

Villagewomen excited with theirnew saviourin Rajasthan.

P h o t o s : T E R I

Women entrepreneursset up solarlantern rental shops.

An entrepreneur growsinconfidence with her solar lantern rental business.

P h o t o : S A


4/10

March 15, 20164

Through a slew of inter-ventions, ranging fromawareness drives to

developing kitchen gardens andinvolving local government

institutions, a marked changehas been achieved in the healthindicators in Aurad Taluk inBidar, Karnataka. The localshave been able to set the process of transformation intomotion with assistance fromMyrada, a Bengaluru-basednon-prot organisation, which isimplementing the Fight HungerFirst Initiative (FHFI) of theGerman development agency,Deutsche Welthungerhilfe, inthe region.

Aurad Taluk, which lies in asemi-arid zone and is home to asizeable population of severelymarginalised Dalits and Adivasis

(tribals), has some of the worstsocial and health indicators inthe southern state. “This waswhy we chose Aurad as the primary location for activitiesfocusing on eliminating acutemalnutrition among children.

Eradicating malnutrition andgiving children a new lease of lifeIn 2000, countries around the world pledged to fulfill the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a setof eight time-bound targets to eradicate poverty and hunger and uphold the principles of human dignity,equality and equity. India, which is ranked 63 out of 81 countries on the Global Hunger Index, has beenworking towards finding workable solutions to a problem that especially affects children between 0 to 5years. In the parched and poor northern Karnataka district of Bidar, a community-led initiative to addresschild malnutrition in Aurad Taluk is creating a roadmap for change

PUSHPA ACHANTA, Bidar, Karnataka

P h o t o : P A / W F S

Sudharani, 22, with her three sons. A couple of years ago,she used to be anaemic while her second son Sudeep hadbeen identied as a severe and acute malnourished child.Today, they have regained their health.

We launched the campaign inSeptember 2011 and it willgo on until early 2015,” saysMohammed Siraj, programmeocer, Myrada.

The work on eradicatingmalnutrition took o with adoor-to-door survey to gauge thestatus of the health of mothersand children in 68 villages. Quite predictably, the results were notvery positive. While the levelsof undernourishment werefound to be high, with severalchildren falling in the SAM(severe and acute malnourished)Category, numerous reasonscontributing to this unfortunatereality came to light like the lackof awareness among mothers,nutrient imbalance in the diet, poor hygiene and insucient orunclean drinking water, among

other.The need of the hour was

to not just initiate life-savingtreatment for SAM children but build awareness regarding thecritical issue to generate long-term gains.

With the twin objectives inmind, Myrada identied andtrained literate women in the project villages as communityresource persons (CRPs) to

provide counselling, track the progress of pregnant women andneo-natal children and engagewith the anganwadi (nursery)workers to ensure eectiveimplementation of the variousgovernment health schemes.

Says Ashalatha, a CRP fromWadgaon Village: “Initially, Irealised that most mothers hadno idea of the risks associatedwith malnutrition, particularlythe reduced physical and mentaldevelopment of children.Ever since, I make it a pointto regularly visit homes andassess the nutrition levels ofchildren be it newborns or those

enrolled in primary school.I ensure that mothers taketheir babies to the anganwadi centre where the anganwadi worker checks them for signsof malnutrition by measuringtheir mid-arm circumference,weight and height. The weightof the children is tracked as perthe specications in the growthchart issued by the World HealthOrganization (WHO).”

Those children who areclassied as SAM are referredto the Nutritional RehabilitationCentres (NRCs) attached to thedistrict hospital. This is doneat the recommendation of the

anganwadi worker. Admittedat the NRC for 10 to 12 days,the children receive rigoroustreatment that includes properfood, medicines and dedicatednursing care. Apart from this, theCRPs conduct discussions withmothers - expectant, lactatingor otherwise - as well as theanganwadi workers. Typically,the parents of children sent tothe anganwadis are landlessagricultural labourers whosurvive on daily wages so theytalk to them about inexpensiveways to enhance their diet andinform them about nutritionalsupplements, the merits of

deworming, and so on.Within primary schools, the

CRPs have been encouragingchildren to develop nutritiongardens. Reveals Suzanna,another committed CRP, “Overthe last couple of years, I have

(Courtesy: Women’s Feature Service)

been conveying the importanceof growing vegetables to school-going children. If you take awalk around primary schools inthe area you will nd nutrition

gardens lush with curry leaves,tomatoes, mint and coriander,which are utilised to preparegood quality mid day meals.The students divide their timeto take care of the plants andeven tell their mothers about the benets of planting their ownlittle kitchen garden.”

Besides information disse-mination to prompt behaviouralchange and promote good practices within the community,local women have been taught amagical recipe that is a quick xsolution to meet the nutritionalneeds of their children. CalledMy Nutrimix, it is a blend of

powdered wheat and sproutedgreen gram combined withgroundnut and jaggery andcooked with milk or water.It provides all the necessarycalories and is rich in iron andcalcium. To SAM children, themix is provided free while otherscan simply make it at home.

When Sudharani, 22, a motherof three from Soralli Village, rstmet her CRP she was anaemicand her second son, Sudeep,severely malnourished. Anagricultural labourer belongingto the Dalit Community, sheearns a daily wage of Rs 60 fortoiling eight hours in the elds

while her husband Shankar,26, works in the unorganisedconstruction sector and can getRs 500 or more depending onthe job. “A couple of years backwhen I was informed that my sonwas extremely malnourished Icouldn’t really comprehend whatwas being told to me. However,I realised that I needed to followwhat my CRP and anganwadi worker were telling me to do. Ihave been feeding Sudeep andmy other boys the Nutrimix powder and diligently attendingall the meetings at the anganwadi centre,” she elaborates.

Eorts of the CRPs have

enthused the accredited socialhealth activists (ASHAs) andanganwadi workers in thetaluk with a renewed senseof purpose. Says Sharada,47, from Wadgaon, who has been an anganwadi worker for

around two decades, “Priorto this intervention, althoughthe anganwadis and primaryhealth centres were existing andhad a sta working with basic

infrastructure, families hardlyknew about the link betweenhealth and nutrition and theneed for regular monitoringof children’s wellbeing. Nowadays, women walk up tome to get check-ups done and pick up their take home rations.Additionally, I collaborate withour ASHA Jaishree to guideexpectant mothers and superviseinfant care.”

Another aspect of the FHFIhas been the involvementof institutions like the gram panchayats, village healthsanitation committees, schooldevelopment management

committees, local self-helpgroups and farmer’s collectivesalthough it was not easy toestablish a synergy betweenthem.

Says Siraj, “These bodies didnot unite on a single platform but we encouraged each of themto be part of the work being doneto enhance the health of childrenand women. We talked to themabout the Right to EducationAct, on ways to improvemother and child nutrition, theimportance of free access togovernment schemes, and soon. To the gram panchayats,we spoke about the importance

of providing the right kind ofleadership to the community,which does not demoralise them,especially the female healthworkers. The panches (heads)were also advised to visit PublicDistribution System (PDS)ration shops to facilitate betterdispensation of food grains.”

Of the 96 children that wereidentied as SAM in July2013, 61 have become normal,in addition to 589 of the 641moderately malnourishedchildren that have regained theirhealth.


5/10

March 15, 2016 5

Yes, nutrition services canindeed be delivered successfullyIndiramma Amurutha Hastham is a government programme that aims at boosting the nutrient intake ofpregnant women and breastfeeding mothers and reducing the prevalence and severity of maternal anaemia.The programme reaches more than 350000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers across some26000 anganwadi centres in Visakhapatnam. Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are entitled toreceive a free nutritious meal daily at the village anganwadi for 25 days a month

Poya Devi, 22, is happythat the weight of herchild has increased by

half a kilogram since the pastmonth. Her one-and-a-half-month old infant has receivedimmunisation and since lastJune, Poya has been availingof the Indiramma AmuruthaHastham (IAH) Scheme inher village of Urumulu, whichlies 30 kilometres from themain road in Araku Block ofVisakhapatnam District in theeastern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Poya was registered at thevillage’s anganwadi (nursery)as soon as she got pregnant andwas later sent to a hospital forinstitutional delivery unlikeother tribal people in her village.“Earlier, we only used to eat riceand tamarind soup wheneverour crops failed. But the mealscheme at the anganwadi hasimproved my health and I ameven entitled to monthly check-ups,” says the member of theKondadura Tribe, lovingly

DILNAZ BOGA, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

cradling her daughter in herarms.

The IAH is a government programme that aims at boosting the nutrient intakeof pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers andreducing the prevalence andseverity of maternal anaemia.The programme reaches over350000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers acrosssome 26000 anganwadi centres- about 30 per cent of ICDS projects in the state - locatedin villages where malnutritionrates are high. Some 7600 – or29 per cent – of the anganwadisare located in hard-to-reachtribal villages.

As part of the scheme, pregnantwomen and breastfeedingmothers are entitled to receivea free nutritious meal daily between 11 am and 2 pm atthe village anganwadi for25 days in a month. The hot,cooked food - prepared by theanganwadi helper - contains

125 grams of cereal, 30 grams of pulses, 50 grams of green leafyvegetables, 50 grams of egg and200 ml of milk, and provides1052 kilocalories, 33 grams of protein, and about 500 mg ofcalcium (i.e. about 40 per cent

of the daily requirement of thesenutrients).

In far-ung villages such asUrumulu, which are tuckedaway in the heart of picturesquehills and are inaccessible bymotorable roads, the rate ofmaternal deaths and childmortality are high, warnexperts. Urumulu has a total population of 368, including191 females. Tribal people,who are dependent on crop production, suer immensely iftheir crops fail. The programme,therefore, has been speciallydesigned to give succour tothese vulnerable groups that are

left with nothing to eat in theevent of a low yield. “We getonly seasonal vegetables, so thismeal is a blessing for me and mydaughter,” elaborates Poya.

After their meal, the womenreceive on-the-spot iron andfolic acid supplements to takecare of iron deciency andanaemia, they are counselled bythe anganwadi worker on how toimprove their dietary intake andnutrition, and are encouragedto use the services provided atthe monthly Village Health and Nutrition Day. The anganwadi worker diligently keeps a recordof the women enrolled in the

programme, the services theyreceive, the weight they gainduring pregnancy as well as theweight of their child at birth.

Like Poya, BetukuriLingamma, 33, is a contentmother today. She found outabout the meal programmethrough her anganwadi workerwho visited her home one day.Betukuri, who has a ve-year-old son, reveals that her domesticsituation was bad during her rst pregnancy and she used to fall illfrequently.

“I delivered a baby girl amonth-and-a-half ago and thistime I’m not sick as I have a better diet. I feel secure thatsomeone is there to take careof our needs. My son, whowas delivered at home, is alsoavailing of the home ration everyday,” says a grateful Betukuri.

Annayya Sharma of Nature,a specialised tribal resourcenon-government agency inVisakhapatnam, works as aconsultant with this programmeand monitors 400 villageswhere Rs 17 is spent per mealfor each mother. “Althoughthey somehow manage to getsomething for dinner, lunchis always a problem for thesewomen. We have observed thatnow families are keen to sendthe pregnant women for mealsto the anganwadi. Otherwiseearlier, they used to live on fruitsand roots if their crops failedas there is a critical irrigationcrisis in these interior parts ofthe state. Here we have hills, sothe ground doesn’t hold muchwater because of the slopes. Insummer, they eat stored food,”he shares.

Sembi Ratanakumari, 18, who belongs to Urumulu, is fourmonths pregnant and not at allworried about her diet anymorethanks to this programme. Neither is Susheela Janni, 21,who is seven months pregnant.In an area where literacy levelsamong the women are a mere20 per cent, Sebi and Susheelaare grateful that they wereapproached by Jogama Majala,their local anganwadi worker,who is also a teacher in thevillage school, about the freemeal scheme and the medical benets for the mother and herchild.

In Champaguga Villageof Kollaput Panchayat, 15kilometres from Araku inDumriguda Block, primitivetribal people like the Dhuliathrive deep in the hills.Dhulias, a mainly Oriya-speaking community, liveo the land. Anganwadiworker Killo Rukmini, 42, has been spearheading the meal programme in her village againstall odds. With a total populationof 76 households comprising356 people (175 females),Champaguga, like Urumulu, isremote.

“It took me years to circumventthe tribals’ superstition and blindfaith and get them to send thewomen for meals. I also see whatseasonal fruits and vegetablesare available and prepare thenutritional charts for the newmothers accordingly,” Rukmini

says. Only after consolidatingcommunity support has Rukmini been able to issue mother-childhealth cards to the nine mothersin her village. She has a closeconnect with the community asshe was born here. She says, “Imarried two doors from where Igrew up so everyone knows me.Still, it took me a long time ingetting the villagers to utilisethis scheme as traditional healersare preferred.”

More than 5100 federationsof women self-help groupshave been engaged to supportthe implementation of this programme. In each anganwadi centre, a ve-member committeeis constituted to supervise itsimplementation. The committee,chaired by a representative of thelocal self help group federation,includes another federationrepresentative, one pregnantwoman, one breastfeedingmother and the anganwadiworker.

Programme data shows thatas of August 2013 (the latestavailable gures), 96 per centof the eligible women werereceiving a meal and iron andfolic acid tablets at least 21 days per month. In the 7600anganwadicentres located in predominantlyAdivasi Communities, over66200 (97 per cent) eligiblewomen are being provided ameal, a counselling session andiron and folic acid supplementsregularly. Moreover, the scheme – reviewed monthly at the statelevel – has set an exclusive104 telephone line to addressgrievances.

The content and happy faces of the women of Champaguga, Andhra Pradesh, who have availed of the popular meal scheme.

Children play in an anganwadi in Urumulu Village of Araku Block in Visakhapatnam.


<

P h o t o s : D B / W F S

Subscribe to

Only Rs 200

for 4 issues


6/10

March 15, 20166

With the anganwadi run from a brokendown shed, their

children were not just exposedto the elements but they werealso vulnerable to beingattacked by stray animals.The monsoon season was particularly trying becausethe heavy rains and a leakingroof would result in frequentclosure of the facility as wellas the destruction of the alreadymeagre supply of dry rationsand nutritional supplementsmeant for distribution among pregnant and lactating womenand children under six.

For years, the Dalit womenof Chaubara Jagir Village inSonkatch Block of DewasDistrict struggled with the problem as no one knew how totackle it. Who does one go to, todemand repairs to an anganwadi? How does one ensure that thecentre not only opens regularly but that the anganwadi workerdoes her duty properly?

Since there were no answersto the pertinent questions, theysuered in silence. “Thingswould have gone on like thisforever had Jan Sahas not startedworking in our area,” remarksReena Raikwar, a Dalit woman,who nally took matters into herown hands with assistance fromthe Dewas-based non government

organisation that empowerssocially excluded Dalit, tribaland other communities in thedistrict by protecting their rightsand building the capacities.

In order to reach out tothe community with relevantinformation and motivatethem to claim their rightfulentitlements under governmentwelfare schemes, Jan Sahas hasestablished a resource centre atSonkatch with support from theFight Hunger First Initiativeof Welthungerhilfe, Germany.“When Jan Sahas volunteerscame and told us that we couldwalk into the centre and explain

our problem I gathered a fewwomen from the village andwent there straightaway. Wetold them that our childrenwere being denied the care theydeserved because the anganwadi centre was in a shambles.

Marginalised groups learn todemand what is rightfully theirsHere’s how an anganwadi centre has been officially described: ‘it’s a village centre that provides basic healthcare, nutrition education and supplementation, and also conducts pre-school activities for children undersix years’. In other words, it is the epicentre of mother and child care at the grassroots. What if, insteadof one, there were two such centres in a village? Seems like a good thing, doesn’t it. The Dalit women ofChaubara Jagir Village in Sonkatch Block of Dewas District, Madhya Pradesh, would beg to differ. In theirremote hamlet, the fully-functioning anganwadi was for the upper caste women, while the other, designatedto provide services to them, was in a pitiable condition till a few months ago

SHURIAH NIAZI, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh

That’s when they explainedto us how we could approachthe senior district ocials andapply for the construction of anew centre,” Raikwar recalls.

As a starting point, the Dalitfamilies asked their sarpanch totake relevant action. He outrightrefused to do anything forthem. This reaction, however,did not really surprise themas their community is used to being sidelined due to theirlow social status. So the nextstep was to draft an applicationto approach the Sonkatch sub-divisional magistrate (SDM).

While the formal applicationwas signed by all the Dalitwomen in the village, around 25of them got together to meet theSDM. When they got their one-on-one with him, they urgedhim to expedite the constructionas their children wereentitled to a safe anganwadi.

Says Kashu Bai, who was a part of the group, “The SDMtook the time out to hear us because many of us had gone tomeet him. The volunteers at theresource centre had told us thatthere is strength in numbers andthat no ocial can ignore a largegroup. Besides that, we had properly drafted the applicationwherein we had mentioned our problem in detail. Prior to this,neither did we know whichocial to speak to nor did wehave the condence to do so.We used to go to the sarpanch (chief) but he seldom tookinterest in our issues.” That one

visit to the SDM’s oce workedlike magic as he immediatelyissued orders for building a newanganwadi. Construction begana few months later and now it’snearing completion. Soon, thelittle ones will gain full accessto services such as supple-mentary nutrition, immuni-sation and health check-ups.

Every year, the governmentintroduces many welfaremeasures, such as low-costhousing, subsidised food grains,free education and livelihoodsecurity. Under the DisabilitiesAct, the physically disabled,too, are entitled to various benets. However, being largelyilliterate or semi-literate, mostmarginalised groups lackawareness and agency to avail ofthem. This is where the resourcecentre is bringing about a realtransformation. Volunteers at thecentre not only give informationon all the dierent schemeslaunched but also on legislationlike Right to Information(RTI) Act, Public ServiceGuarantee Act, and so on.

Ever since the SonkatchResource Centre becameoperational in April 2012, theDalits and tribal people havelearnt to ght for their rightswith considerable success.In Mundalana, they took upthe issue of availability of potable water in the Dalitneighbourhood. With only onehand pump in the basti (slum),families were already reelingunder a shortage when that too

completely broke down. Despiterepeated complaints and severalmeetings with the panchayatsecretary, the man responsiblefor hand pump repairs, months passed with no solution in sight.

The crisis severely aectedthe women, physically andmentally, as they spent hourson end trying to source water.

It was in those dire times thatthey came across the resourcecentre. As soon as they put forththeir problem, they were guidedtowards the best and fastest wayout. An application was draftedto be submitted to Sonkatch chiefexecutive ocer of Jal Nigam,Reena Chauhan. Thereafter, adelegation called on her to talkabout the magnitude of dicultythey were facing. Without delay,she spoke to the panchayatsecretary on phone and directed

him to do the needful. Such wasthe eect that within two days thehand pump was in working order.

Says Manish Richi, a Dalitresident of Mundalana, “Oncethe volunteers showed us theway we took over. We haverealised that we, too, have a rightto basic services. Earlier, weused to feel powerless, but that’snot the case anymore. In futureif we face a similar situation, weshall approach the right authorityin time. We know how to goabout it and have learnt how todraft applications.” There have been other positive impactsof the resource centre as well

– it has led to the widespreadconstruction of toilets in severalvillages in the area and many who previously didn’t gure on theBelow Poverty Line (BPL) listhave got their names registered.

Moreover, as per the provisionsof the Forest Rights Act, thetribal people have been able tostake their rightful claim overthe forest and its other resources.

Of course, this is not to saythat there has been no backlashfrom the powerful elements inthe region. In fact, the resistancehas been most acute in casesinvolving land grabs. ElaboratesHemraj Khichi of Jan Sahas,“Some inuential people hadencroached on the lands of the poor tribals, who couldn’t musterthe courage to stand up to them.We have been able to help them but not without some tactful planning.” Adds Om PrakashMalviya, who works at theSonkatch centre, “Generationsof Dalits have faced oppressionand lived in destitution. It’stime to change things. Theidea is to show them how to become strong and independentand raise their voice againstthe injustice. We have takena step in the right direction.”

Volunteers at the resource centre at Sonkatch established by Jan Sahas not only provide information on all the dierentschemes launched but also on legislation such as the Rightto Information (RTI) Act, Public Service Guarantee Act, andso on.

<


P h o t o s : S N / W F S

Statement about ownership and other

particulars about “Grassroots” the English

Monthly Newspaper, Chennai, as required to

be published under Section 19-D Sub-Section

(b) of the Press and Registration of Books Act

read with the Rule 8 of the Registration of

Newspapers (Central Rules) 1956

Form IV

Grassroots - Monthly

1. Place of publication : Chennai

2. Periodicity of Publication : Monthly

3. Printer’s Name : V. Manivannan

Nationality : Indian

Address No.1, 127 Lattice

Bridge Road,

Adayar,

Chennai 600 020

4. Publisher’s Name : Sashi Nair


Address Flat 3C, GRN Akshara

D112, Sangeetha Colony

Ashok Pillar Road

K.K.Nagar, Chennai-78

5. Editor’s Name : Sashi Nair


Address Flat 3C, GRN Akshara

D112, Sangeetha Colony

Ashok Pillar Road

K.K.Nagar, Chennai-78

6. Names and addresses of individuals who own

the newspaper/magazine and partners or

shareholders holding more than one per cent

of the total capital:

The Press Institute of India - Research Institute

for Newspaper Development

RIND Premises, Taramani, CPT Campus

Chennai 600 113

Shareholding of more than one per cent of the capital

does not arise as the The Press Institute of India -

Research Institute for Newspaper Development isa non-prot society registered under the Societies

Act No. XXI of 1860.

I, Sashi Nair, hereby declare that the particulars given

above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Sashi Nair

Publisher

15.03.2016

With the help of volunteers atthe resource centre, the tribal

people and Dalits have beenable to stake their rightfulclaim over their rights andentitlements.


7/10

March 15, 2016 7

Surmounting challenges tospearhead a green revolution

The naivedyam or food offering made during different prayersand rituals, for Lord Krishna at the Guruvayoor Temple inThrissur District of Kerala, includes about 1200 bananas ofa rare variety called pooja kadali. Earlier, to give the dailyoffering, the temple was dependent on supply from Tamil Naduas the special variety was on the verge of extinction in Kerala.However, women agriculturists are now growing the bananason 47 acres, under seven panchayats of Kodakara Block, andsupplying them to the temple, ensuring a taste of homegrownplantain for the revered deity

AJITHA MENON, Thrissur, Kerala

“Iam part of a ve-memberJoint Liability Group andwe cultivate bananas,

vegetables and paddy on about15 acres of land. We supply thefruit to the Labour CooperativeSociety, which has a deal with theGuruvayur Devaswom Board,under the auspices of the stategovernment’s Kudumbashree programme. Around 750 womenin 150 groups are cultivating bananas in our block,” saysShobhana Krishnamurthy, 54,of Muttathoor Panchayat, inKodakara Block.

Kudumbashree, the KeralaGovernment’s poverty allevi-ation programme launchedin 1998, has brought about agreen revolution in the statetoday solely by tapping intowomen’s potential for farmingand entrepreneurship. “TheGuruvayoor Temple only accepts pooja kadali of a stipulated size,so the bunches that don’t meetthe criteria are then utilised formaking rasayanam as ayurvedic preparation in collaboration withan ayurvedic pharmaceuticalcompany. About 20000 bottlesof rasayanam are being madein our block every month,” adds

Krishnamurthy.Farming has taken o in a

big way among women underKudumbashree’s collectivefarming and Samagra projects,implemented with active participation from PanchayatiRaj Institutions (PRIs) andsupported by a farming subsidy. Not only has the project increasedagricultural production, it hasalso brought considerable fallowland back under cultivationand nancially empoweredthousands of women.

Joint liability Groups (JLGs),structured under the NationalBank for Agriculture and Rural

Development (NABARD)guidelines, have been formed toensure agricultural credit from banks for women cultivators.The JLGs come under theinterest subsidy scheme of

Kudumbashree when they availagricultural loans from banks –the state government providesa subsidy of ve per cent onthe seven per cent interest ofagricultural loan. So far, morethan 10500 JLGs have availed ofloans amounting to over Rs 123crore under the project.

“In Muttathoor Panchayatalone, 504.85 acres is beingcultivated under Kudumbashree’scollective farming and Samagra projects,” says Dhanya Vijayan,30, Community DevelopmentSociety (CDS) accountant,

Muttathoor panchayat. Datacollected in 2013-14 indicatesthat 47611 JLGs are cultivating40218 hectares, growing paddy,fruits such as pineapple and bananas, and vegetables like bitter gourd, amaranthus, snakegourd, cowpea, water melon, bottle gourd, ginger, tapioca,ridge gourd, lady’s nger, brinjaland chilli. Coconut and casheware popular crops as well.

“We have debunked thetheory that agriculture is not protable,” says Bina Pradeep,39, of Vallachira Village underVallachira Panchayat, adding,“Our group Aishwarya took

a bank loan of Rs 60000 forcultivating the nendran varietyof bananas on 75 cents [1cent=0.01 acre] of land, whichhad been lying bare. We paido the loan in just six months.The subsidy was a big help. Wemade a prot of one lakh in oneseason.”

As the women have discovered,the trick to making things workin their favour is by puttingin their own labour. “Hiringworkers is expensive in Keralaas daily wages are Rs 700-750.That is why big landlords don’tmake prot. We have leased landfrom landowners and are still

able to turn in a prot becausewe put in the labour ourselves,”elaborates Surabhi Sivan,35, whose ve-member JLGJeeva leased a two-acre plot tocultivate bananas. “We paid Rs

54000 for the lease, gave backthe bank’s one lakh rupees loanin six months and still made a prot,” she says proudly.

Across Kerala, there aremany such success stories.Kudumbashree lists the collec-tive farming venture at Kaipramunder Perambra Panchayat inKozhikode District at the top.Here, 170 acres of fallow landwas recovered and put under paddy cultivation with the eortsof 256 women belonging to 53groups. Whereas the seeds were procured from Krishi Bhavan,

the manure was provided by thegram panchayat, which gave Rs1,80,000 for equipment. Thewomen have turned an overall prot of Rs 20 lakh.

In another case, 30000women banana cultivators belonging to 6000 JLGs pushed up banana productionin Thiruvananthapuram Districtfrom eight to 20 metric tonnes per hectare. The phenomenalchange was brought aboutunder the guidance of theKerala Agricultural University.Additionally, facilitated byKudumbashree, the womenexecuted a buy back arrangement

on the produce with a private

<

P h o t o s : A M / W F S

As the women farmers of Kerala have discovered, the trickto making things work in their favour is to put in their ownlabour. Hiring workers is expensive and that is why big

landlords don’t make prot.

company. The JLGs leasedthe farming land, conductedcomprehensive soil surveys,set up demonstration plotsand carried out integrated pestmanagement practices to makethe venture a model project.

Ensuring a prot has beenthe underlining factor inKudumbashree’s agriculturerevolution. Towards this, gram panchayats across the statetrain women in using farmingequipment and machinery,creating Kudumbashree’s ownVanitha Karma Sena or Green

Army.“Money is lost if you have to

pay the coconut tree climber,the tiller machine operator orthe sowing machine operator.We have trained the women tooperate dierent agriculturerelated machines themselves andwith loans and support availableto buy equipment, most groupsnow own and operate theirmachines, saving considerableamount of money,” explainsBindu Shivdasan, 40, president,Muttathoor Panchyat. Thereare nine women coconut treeclimbers in her panchayat andseveral women are operating

tiller and sowing machines.

Leela C.K., 60, of PalliparamVillage in Paralam Panchayatin Thrissur District, is a casein point. Her group cultivates paddy on her three-acre plotonce a year. She operates herown agriculture machines. “Iattended the panchayat’s trainingcourses and can condentlywork the machines, as does myfriend Omana C.C., who is 60as well. Age is no factor and thissaves the group a lot of money inwages,” remarks Leela.

Apart from their regular production, the women nurture

a kitchen garden on ten cents ofland, producing dierent leafyvegetables, brinjal, lady’s nger, beans and chilli. “We share the produce and use the vegetablesourselves. This ensures a steadysupply of cost-eective nutritionfor our families as the labouris ours and seeds are availablefree from Krishi Bhavan,” saysOmana.

Bad weather can ruin thecrops sometimes, as experienced by Surabhi Shivan and hergroup Jeeva last year. However,Kudumbashree’s holisticapproach towards nancialempowerment worked wonders.

“The micro-credit facilityavailable under Kudumbashreeallowed us to take another loanto make up the loss and thisyear we are sure to make a good prot,” says Shivan.

Kudumbashree has providedthe wherewithal, but it is the sheerhard work, entrepreneurship andsincerity towards commitmentslike repaying bank loans thathave seen the women in Keralasurmount challenges andhurdles such as the lack of landand nances, natural calamitiesand labour issues to lead a greenrevolution in their state, whichhas made them the cornerstone

of the food security movement.

Leela C.K. of Palliparam Village under Paralam Panchayat inThrissur District may be 60 years but she tirelessly works onthe land and even operates her own heavy agriculture machineswith ease.



8/10

8

The Gondwana Residential Agriculture School, especially open to dropout students, is run from Bondtra, asmall, dusty hamlet in Mungelli District of Chhattisgarh. Here, 60 tribal children from various districts in thestate, mostly girls, are getting the incredible opportunity to gain a valuable life skills-based education. It’sproved to be a successful experiment, reaching out to the children with knowledge and skills they can useto their advantage

As soon as RampyariTulegam, 16, sits behindthe wheel of the tractor,

with her two friends by her side,the condence and happinessshe exudes cannot go unnoticed.

It looks as if she is ready to takeon all of life’s challenges headon. While across the Indiancountryside it is not uncommonto nd women toiling away in theelds as agricultural labourers,it’s certainly rare to see younggirls like Rampyari driving thetractor and tilling land.

States the youngster, “Despitethe fact that most of the back- breaking agricultural workis done by women, we wereconstrained because certainkey activities like tilling, forinstance, has traditionally beendone by the men only. It’s timewe changed the scenario. I

believe that a woman shouldknow how to do everythingon a farm so that she can truly become self sucient. Initially,even I had found it dicult todrive a tractor and learn the nernuances of cultivation but nowI can do both tasks with ease.Fact is that if a woman puts hermind to it she can accomplishanything.”

Rampyari’s observationsare amazingly astute and quite progressive considering herage and exposure to the outsideworld. She has developed this positive attitude ever sinceshe enrolled at the Gondwana

Residential Agriculture School(Gondwana Aabasik ShalaTyaagi Krishi Vidyalay), whichis especially open to dropoutstudents. At the school, being

run from Bondtra, a small, dustyhamlet in Mungelli District ofChhattisgarh, 60 tribal children,a majority of whom are girls,are getting the incredibleopportunity to gain a valuable

life skills-based education. Theycome from various districts,including Surajpur, Jangir,Chanpa, Balrampur, Bilaspur,Kawrdha and Rayagad.

It was in 2010 that theinstitution was set up by theGondwana Society on thesuggestion of their leader,activist Hirasingh Markam.Says Markam, 70, “Tribals areamong the most neglected anddeprived people in India and,consequently, our girls are evenmore vulnerable to the eects ofextreme poverty and a lack ofopportunity. Illiteracy, ill healthand violence are a part of their

life and they are unable to breakfree from this vicious cycle.Education can play a crucial rolein turning things around but thereare very few avenues available tothem. That is why we thought ofstarting a school where childrennot only get formal knowledge but they learn some special lifeskills so that they do not have torun for jobs. Instead, they can dosomething on their own and earna proper living.”

If Rampyari is making headsturn as she moves around thevillage comfortably on a tractor,then Sumitra Siyaram, 15, fromBarkutia Village in Surajpur

District, is busy learning allthere is to know about stitching.She dreams of setting up herown tailoring shop in her villagein order to nancially supporther family of ve and, of course,make attractive outts. “Aftermy father passed away, mymother worked really hard andmade countless sacrices to raiseus. Now it’s my turn to help herout. I want to send my youngersiblings to school and give thema better life,” she shares.

Girls like Rampyari andSumitra are thinking of engagingin gainful employment becausethey are slowly but surely

developing skill sets that enablethem to do so. Their schedule atthe residential facility is quiterigorous. Every day after theirmorning prayers, instead ofheading to a regular classroom,the students make their way to

the open elds to learn farmingrsthand. From preparing theland to sowing to harvesting theyunderstand and go through theentire process. Later in the day,it’s time for more conventional

studies along with classes incomputers, embroidery and evencooking.

“Four years back I wasshattered and completely clue-less about my future. In 2009,after my father, the only earningmember, met with an accident wefell on really bad times. As therewas no money for his treatmentwe had to mortgage our small patch of land. He was connedto bed for many months and tokeep our home running I had toleave school in Class 9. I startedworking with my mother as awage labourer. My three othersiblings were very young to work

so I had to step up. Althoughmy parents had wanted me tocontinue with my education theywere helpless. Providing onesquare meal in the day was moreimportant than schooling. Butwhen we heard about this freeschool, my parents decided to letme go,” recalls Rampyari.

Rampyari’s outlook towardslife has changed after cominghere. “During my four-year stayI have learnt everything aboutcultivation and I am raring to get back and put all my knowledgeto good use to uplift my family.Apart from that I have completedmy schooling till Class 12

through the distance educationmode. I am also condent thatI will complete my graduation.This school has taught me todream,” she adds with a beamingsmile.

Rampyari’s classmate, SeemaPurti, 18, who has come fromGorella Pendra Village inBilaspur, has a similar inspiringstory to share, “I was studying in

Class 7 but had to leave school because of a severe nancialcrisis. When some years back,two consecutive droughts hitour village my father, a smallfarmer, had no work or sourceof income to fall back on. It wasduring this dicult time that wecame to know of this school thatgives free education with somevocational training. In the lastfour years I have become anexpert at farming and procient

at sewing. Apart from this, I am preparing to give my Class 12exams by next year.”

Even though most of itsstudents call the institution “areal blessing in their life”, gettingit started initially and keeping itgoing ever since has not been freeof challenges. It is ourishingonly because of the singularsupport and contribution of thelocal community. For instance,the ve-acre land on which thechildren learn farming has beendonated to the school by SritiDurve, 33. Sharing her reasonsfor this generous gesture shesays, “I clearly remember the

time when I was forced to dropout of school in Class 8 andget married. I do not want thatto happen to my daughters orto any other young girl. I wantto see them do the things that Icould only dream of.”

SARADA LAHANGIR, Mungelli, Chhattisgarh

Today, the school runsindependently with its ownincome generated from thefarm. Any shortfall is takencare of by the community. Tenvillagers share the cost of bookson a rotation basis, while everymonth 10 families donate Rs 10each along with three kilos ofrice to keep the mess going.

“Till date we have managedeverything without any nancialhelp from the government.

We have invited agriculturalscientists who volunteered toteach students the dierenttechniques of paddy cultivation.These days, we get volunteers toteach computers and tailoring.The elderly women fromthe village take the cookingclasses,” reveals DwibijendraSingh Markam, coordinator andsecretary of Gondwana Society.

With a rapidly modernisingeconomy, the alreadymarginalised tribal youth arefurther getting pushed into acorner.

P h o t o s : S L / W F S

Sumitra Siyaram, 15 (closest to camera), from Barkutia Villagein Surajpur District, is busy learning all there is to know aboutstitching as the other girls seated near her are.


<

Rampyari Tulegam at thewheel of the tractor, with hertwo friends by her side..

Girls get cooking lessons attheir school.

March 15, 2016

An extraordinary school proves

to be a ‘real blessing in their life’


9/10

March 15, 2016 9

Annual Subscription

12 Issues Rs. 180

36 Issues Rs. 500

Material can be sent by email [email protected] or by

CD to our address given above

Director & EditorSashi Nair

[email protected]

Assistant Editor

Susan Philip

Assistant Manager& Editorial Coordinator

R. [email protected]

Design and LayoutSeetha Ramesh

Senior Manager - Accounts& AdministrationN. Subramanian

[email protected]

Manager - Advertising,Administration

& Library ServicesR. Geetha

[email protected]

Ofce Assistant

B. Rajendran

A Journal of

Press Institute of India

Research Institute for Newspaper Development

Second Main Road,Taramani

CPT Campus,Chennai 600 113

Tel: 044-2254 2344 Telefax: 044-2254 2323

www.pressinstitute.in

Advertisement Tarif

Full Page: B&W: Rs. 5,000

Colour: Rs. 10,000

Half Page: B&W: Rs. 3,000

Colour: Rs. 5,000

Mechanical Details

Bleed : 254 mm x 355 mm

Every eort has been taken to assurethat the accuracy of informationcontained in this publication is basedon reliable sources. All trademarks andtrade names mentioned in this magazine belong to their respective owners. Incase of error editor/publisher shall not be liable for any loss or prejudice causedto the reader. The publisher reserves thecopyright of the materials published inthe magazine. No part of the articles or photographs can be reproduced withoutthe prior permission of the publisher.All disputes will be subjected to the jurisdiction of Chennai only.

The Press Institute of India does not takeresponsibility for returning unsolicitedmaterial. It may not always be possibleto reply to senders of unsolicitedmaterial. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily refectthe views of the editor or publisher.

Please note that the cheque ordemand draft or at par cheque

payable in Chennai, for thesubscription amount should

be drawn in the name of PressInstitute of India ONLY and NOTin the name of the Grassroots.

Published by Sashi Nair on behalf of The Press Institute of India - Research Institute for Newspaper Development, RIND Premises, Second Main Road, Taramani CPT Campus, Chennai 600 113 andprinted by V. Manivannan atR.V. Printers, No.1, 127 Lattice Bridge Road, Adayar, Chennai 600 020. Editor: Sashi Nair

In biting cold, women toil

daily to fetch waterWomen in the mountainous region of Ladakh spend the entire year with a singular focuson intense hard work. During summer, they struggle against Kargil’s cold, parchedgeography with little vegetative growth, producing just enough for survival duringwinter. And when everyone is virtually in hibernation during the six months of extremecold weather, they keep themselves busy with various sources of income generation.On their toes all day long, the women work in the fields ensuring food security for theirfamilies and, in the process, creating a source of income in the village

I

n the scorching middayheat, Tsewang Ladol stepsinto the courtyard outside

her house and calls out loudto her neighbours, her dustygrey goncha (traditionalBuddhist robe) apping in thelight breeze. Her voice carrieseasily across the silence of themountainous Ladakhi Desert,and four elderly women workingthe elds in the distance lookup in acknowledgement. Soonafter, they’re on their way upto Ladol’s house, climbing therugged path with practiced ease.

With wrinkles lining theirweathered faces, these Ladakhiwomen reect a charmingattitude that compliments the breathtaking landscape of the

otherwise arid snow land. In thismute corner of the world, livingin a village tucked away on the border of Ladakh’s districtsof Kargil and Leh, they posea challenge to the patriarchalIndian society. On their toes allday long, the women work in theelds ensuring food security fortheir families and, in the process,creating a source of income inthe village.

Agriculture essentially provi-des the women here with foodas well as some extra cash thatthey use in times of contingency.In addition to the local crops,women cultivate vegetables

such as onion, potatoes, peas,cucumber and mustard. Thenoperating collectively in self-help groups, they sell the surplus produce to locals, labourersworking on the NationalHighway and middlemen whofurther retail it at higher ratesin the Kargil market. They alsomake mustard oil to sell in town.

CHETNA VERMA, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir

The prot made is deposited inthe group’s bank account.

This set pattern, however,

has steadily become tougherto follow. Reveals Ladol, 35,“Earlier, we would be able tosave some money by sellingvegetables. But in the lastfew years, the production hasgone down drastically with theincreasing water crisis in ourarea. We are able to grow onlyas much as would suce for ourfamilies. Selling vegetables toothers isn’t an option anymore.”

While the absence of a regularsource of water for irrigationhas been a constant obstacle inthe land, with climate changeshowing its eects, the problemhas only escalated. Over the

last six decades, there has beena considerable drop in thesnowfall in the area. This hasdirectly aected the quantity ofnatural water resources availablefor irrigation. Rigzin Dorjay,65, remembers how as a child,he had seen three to four feet ofsnowfall that has now droppedto the bare minimum.

Tsering Yangzen of DarchikVillage, located along themighty Indus River, hails froma small community that believesit belongs to the ‘pure’ Aryanrace. He rmly believes that thedrying up of water resourceseach year is jeopardising the

very future of his people sincethey depend solely on agriculturefor their food security. TashiDawa, 67, who is the wife ofthe village head, agrees withYangzen’s observation. Sharingher worry, she says, “In the last30 to 40 years, the productivearea has reduced from 10 kanals to ve (1kanal = 5445 sq ft). Weare concerned about how ourcoming generations are going tomanage once these resources dryup completely.”

An ancient reservoir has been their only steady sourceof water supply. ElaboratesLadol, “During the King’s rule,

our ancestors had constructed adam to ght our water problems.Pipes connected to the naturalspring ll up the dam that acts asa reservoir. This water is directed

to every eld in the village. TheKing had decided on the methodof taking turns at the irrigation

– and till date everyone followsthat process. It used to helpus avoid the additional strainof walking long distances forwater, but that’s not the caseanymore.”

Although the reservoir has been renovated recently bythe Ladakh Autonomous HillDevelopment Council, it doestake longer to ll up eachsummer. What this means for theeveryday lives of women acrossthe region is an even biggerchallenge. A report publishedin a regional newspaper in July2014 reported on how manyvillages in Kargil, particularly

in the South Region, had been badly aected by drought due toinsucient water in the streams.Farmers have lost the produceof an entire season, adverselyaecting their already uncertaineconomic condition.

In village Haniskote, womenare struggling to cultivate withless water and, worse, facing theconsequences of a poor yield.“The daily grind starts early.Working in the elds for 6-8hours ensures that we are ableto provide food for the familyand also keep our SHGs aoat.That simply leaves us with notime for ourselves. We suer

physical strain that aects ourhealth and have consequentlystarted looking older than weare,” says Tsewang Dolkar, 27,wryly, pointing towards thewrinkles on her face.

When there is low yield,women save food for theirfamilies and live on leftovers.The strenuous work in the elds,coupled with low nutritionalintake, compromises theirhealth severely. Men from thecommunity are either labourersor jobless. Moreover, whenfaced with a drought-like situa-tion they migrate to Leh Townor other areas like Jammu,

Srinagar, Himachal Pradesh orChandigarh (Punjab) in searchof work. Women are left behindto deal with all the crippling problems brought on by drought,

poor health and extreme weatherconditions. Today, the entireLadakh province is threatened

by unsustainable tourism, over-grazing, indiscriminate resourceextraction and increase ininfrastructure. The repercussionsof climate change are clearlyvisible as the Indus River, whosemain catchment area - about59146 sq km - lies in Ladakh,has been adversely aected by the melting of its feedingglacier Naimona'nyi. Accordingto a major study, the importantglacier had shrunk by 155mfrom 1976 to 2006, at a rate ofabout ve metres per year.

Unfortunately, the comingyears are likely to see the crisisintensifying, with increased

cases of drought, cloudburst,changing snowfall pattern andunexpected rains in this colddesert. Any mitigation, if atall done, is likely to ignore theeects of this on the health ofwomen who have considerablyless access than men to criticalinformation on weather alertsand cropping patterns, aectingtheir capacity to respondeectively to the vagaries ofchanging climatic patterns.

The Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change (IPCC),established by the United Nations in 1988 to gather dataand develop knowledge about

climate change, concludes that,‘Climate change impacts will be dierently distributed amongdierent regions, generations,age classes, income groups,occupations, and genders’.India’s National Action Policy onClimate Change, too, mentionsthe need to have a gender-sensitive approach towardsclimate change. Whether thewomen of Kargil, with their sun-kissed faces and tired bodies,will benet from the policychange remains to be seen.

In addition to the local

crops, Ladakhi womencultivate vegetables and,then operating collectivelyin Self-Help Groups, sell thesurplus produce.

(Courtesy: Women’s Feature Service.

This article is part of the writer’swork under a National MediaFellowship awarded by the NationalFoundation of India.)

<

P h o t o : C V / W F S


10/10

10 Registered with The Registrar of Newspapers for India under TNENG/2009/27557

grassroots march 2016.pdf

Documents