Ma rch 15, 2016 - Vo l u m e 8 I s s u e 3

How improved livelihoods

can save forests

USHA RAI, Kanha, Madhya Pradesh

ince 2009, two NGOs

Foundation for Ecological
Security
(FES)
and
PRADHAN
(Professional
Assistance for Development
Action) have been working
with households on the forest
fringes at the Kanha National
park in Madhya Pradesh to live
in harmony with nature, with
improved agricultural practices,
kitchen gardens, poultry, fishing,
livestock care and more money
in their pockets. The target is to
reach 12500 families by 2018.
All the 175 villages are in the
Kanha-Pench forest corridor, rich
in biodiversityflora, fauna, sal
and teak forests interspersed
with meadows and water
bodies and home to one of the
largest concentrations of tigers,
leopards, gaurs, barasingha,
cheetal and abundant bird life.

It is not possible to save as well

as improve the contiguous forest
corridor of 16000 km, without
improving the earning capacity
of the people living around it,
says Sunil Kumar, director of
the Royal Bank of Scotland
Foundation, which is supporting
communities in conservation of
critical ecosystems.
The two NGOs, working in
Mandla and Balaghat Districts,
have different approaches to
community work. Fortytwo
villages have been identified as
the weakest links in the KanhaPench forest corridor with the
danger of the narrow green
cover disappearing under human
and cattle pressure. Six of the
villages are in Mandla District
and 60 per cent of the population
is below the poverty line and,
till NGO intervention, seasonal

Villagers looking keenly at a micro plan.

A joyous girlhood, fulfilled life as a woman 2

First-generation learners
emerge from neglected
forest villages
3
Photos: UR

Providing sustainable livelihood options

for people living around the ecologically
vital landscape around the Kanha
National Park in Madhya Pradesh is
becoming a reality in 175 villages where,
with enhanced incomes and greater
awareness on the need to conserve
the green cover, communities are
being weaned away from dependence
on forest resources. It is time that the
Central and state governments recognise
and honour such environment-friendly
villagers living in forest corridors

inside

Lifting the curse of child

malnutrition
4

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

migration was a ritual to stave
off hunger.
FES has been working for
three years with the 65 families
of Khuksar Village of Mandla,
just 10 km from the Khatia Gate
of Kanha National Park. Mistar
Singh, the village mukhiya
(headman) and Yogesh Patel,
a farmer, point out that though
most of the families have two
to 10 acres of land, 12 families
have no land. With FES support,
villagers have come together
as a group to discuss their
problems and find solutions.
Digging wells, drawing water
from village ponds and with new
improved farming techniques
imparted by FES, instead of one
crop they are now harvesting
two a year and are able to save
Rs 20000 to Rs 25000.
Some villagers have found
work in the resorts around the
national parks. Instead of looking
to the forests for firewood, they
have started growing bamboo
and Jamun trees with money
provided by FES. They have
fenced their agricultural fields
from wild boar and deer and are
growing turmeric and ginger
which keep wildlife at bay.
The off-season migration has
dropped from 80 per cent to 10
per cent, says Yogesh Patel.
FES acts as a bridge between
the village community and the
forest department and in some
areas like Niwas, where the land
holdings are really small, have
asked for community forest
rights. Other demands include
conversion of a small area
near their village into a sacred

forest, community involvement

in joint forest management
and replacement of an old
transformer so that they have
more assured electricity. All
the issues are to be addressed
at the next quarterly meeting
of the steering committee of
stakeholders.
Poultry farming too has got
a boost with introduction of the
large Giriraj and Vanraj breeds.
The eggs and chicks hatched are
bigger. The Giriraj and Vanraj
chicks weigh 3 to 3.5 kg as
against the desi (country) chicks
that weigh just 1.5 kg. As against
10 families in poultry farming,
there are now more than 30
families breeding the improved
hens and finding a market in
the many tourist resorts around
Kanha and Pench.
Bagaspur Village with 52
families came under the wings
of FES just a year ago. With
acute water shortage, getting
two crops a year was not
possible, so drip irrigation has
been introduced and everyone
contributes for the irrigation after
discussion at the village welfare
committee. There are 109 drip
irrigation pipes and the womens
groups are using them to grow
tomatoes, the local spinach,
gourds and beans, some of
which is sold in the local market.
Simultaneously, the villagers are
collecting cow urine and using it
as a bio-pesticide. To solve the
water shortage problem, there
are plans to construct a check
dam on the upper catchment of
Continued on page 2

Yes, nutrition services

can indeed be
successfully delivered 5

Marginalised groups
learn to demand what
is rightfully theirs
6

Surmounting challenges
to lead a green
revolution
7
An extraordinary school
proves to be a real
blessing in their life
8

In the cold desert,

women battle water
woes and keep going

March 15, 2016

Focus

A joyous girlhood, fulfilled life

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

hantana Haldar is 21 years

old. She is well on her way
to realising her dreams
putting her interest in embroidery
to good use. Life changed for
her, thanks to Jeevika an NGO
operating in the cluster of 64
villages in South 24-Parganas
District, West Bengal.
Jeevika,
which
means
livelihood in Sanskrit, has been
working to promote the rights of
women and girls in the villages
here, where daughters are still
considered a liability. Marriage
is central to the lives of the girls,
from their own points of view,
and also those of their parents.
The focus is on being moulded
into good wives, where the
adjective is an endorsement of
looks, rather than educational
achievements, skills, or even
the ability to adjust and adapt to
situations and people.
Parents of dusky-hued girls
are even more harassed than
others, as they will need to give
higher dowries to get grooms for
them. Given such obsession,
child marriages are a way of life
in the villages here. Parents want

to get their daughters married

off at the earliest and, often, the
girls themselves, thanks to the
pressure on their parents, take
matters into their own hands and
elope. Either way, they forego
schooling and other training,
which could have given them
a source of income, if not selfsufficiency. They find themselves
trapped in situations where they
are dependent on others, and
have no choice but to put up
with the abuse, indignities and
violence meted out to them.
The priority is the promotion
of womens rights across all its
interventions by challenging
and changing widely-practised
patriarchal discriminations that
restrict the empowerment of
girls and women. The self-help
vocational training programmes
are currently centered on highquality embroidery skills. I have
just completed my embroidery
training. I had always wanted to
learn embroidery and I now feel I
will be able to practise my skills
better and translate my dreams
to reality, says Shantana. But
the actual focus goes beyond

mere income generation. It

is about working together to
develop practical skills and raise
the social status of these women
and girls that will ultimately
empower the employees in their
own communities for the rest
of their lives, says a brochure
distributed by the NGO during
its recent Anande Kanyakaal
Carnival held in Kolkata.
Jeevika had long been
working on the issue of violence
against women and girls. But
the interventions were largely
rehabilitative, in the sense that
responses were made after an
incident of violence had already
occurred. In 2011, the NGO
began to work on the area of
preventing violence altogether.
And it was then that early
marriage of girls came up as
one of the major root causes
of violence. And so began
interventions on the issue of
preventing early and child
marriages in its operational area
through regular campaigns on
the self-help groups of Swayam
Sampurna,
a
microfinance
federation run by women,

Photo: Jeevika Team

shoma a. chatterji, Kolkata

The carnival selling handcrafts and embroidery work at

Manovikas Kendra compound, Kolkata.
targeting girls and boys in local
schools, local self-government
officials and other stakeholders.
After having worked with
adult women for more than
two decades, it began direct
interventions with girls. The
focus of the effort is more in
alignment with womens rights
than on promoting child rights.
Currently,
about
10000
underprivileged women and
girls are benefiting. The thrust
now is on the revival of crafts
of Bengal that have good
international market worth and

can be created with minimum

expense. The focus is on
kantha embroidery, high quality
tailoring and hand-embroidered
greeting cards, stockings and
chopstick holders.
Gauri Duari, a 20-year-old
beneficiary, sums it all up, I
have been working here for two
years. I enjoy the supportive
atmosphere. I have been able to
learn a lot of skills. The money
that I have earned has helped me
support myself and my family.
It has certainly made my life
worth living.
<

How improved livelihoods can save forests

Continued from page 1

42 villages. The local coal and

wood fired stoves or angheetis
are also being redesigned for
more energy release and less
smoke.
Women are at the forefront
in villages looked after by
PRADHAN in Balaghat. The
5000 families, most of who are
in and around forest corridors,
have been practising since 2009
organic farming with seeds
procured from the Beej Bachao
Andolan.
Each village has four to
five womens self-help groups
(SHGs) with 10 to 15 members
contributing Rs 10 to 20 for their
financial security and small loans.
The SHGs come together at
village-level committees (VLC)
to discuss village development
and their contribution. The
VLCs amalgamate as clusters
to discuss social issues and
a federation acts as the overarching body.

Womens empowerment is
through improved livelihood,
health camps and linkages with
government departments. They
have been trained to do street
plays for gender sensitisation of
the men by Mahila Samakhya.
Articulate and self-assured they
can speak to collectors and other
officials about the village needs.
Dwarka Didi is an active
member of the SHG in her
village as well as the van
samiti or forest committee of
Sawarjhodi, a forest village
under the Mohgaon Panchayat
of Paraswada Block. Recounting
the growth of the SHGs and the
village over the past six years,
she says, Earlier, we lived
in thatched huts and our lives
revolved around the jungle. We
collected forest produce to make
ropes and sell in the market to
buy food. Now we get enough
from agriculture to feed our
families and sell the surplus in
the market. Organically grown
vegetables also get a better

return in the market. The women

have learnt vermi-composting as
well as how to make leaf manure
called agniastra.
With micro plans drawn up
for the entire area, the villagers
are now growing paddy, wheat,
gram, peas and not decimating
the forests. With a seepage tank
on each acre of land, enlarging
the space between paddy
seedlings and using natural
manure, 40 quintals of paddy
were procured from two acres
of land. The seepage tanks not
only provided regular supply of
water but ensured ground water
recharging.
There was no electricity in the
village till 2013, so the womens
collective pooled in resources
and made many trips to the office
of the collector to get power.
Dwarka Didi, who was awarded
in Delhi for her exemplary
agricultural yields, finally met
the Congress president and put
forward the villages demand for
power. She assured us power

in two months but within six

weeks the electricity poles were
up, she recalls.
Liquor production in the
village has stopped and there
is less violence in homes. Of
course, the men still go to the
market and consume liquor, says
Dwarka. A street theatre group
of 20 women, trained by Media
Matters and the Vanangana
Group of Mahila Samakhya, go
from village to village to talk
and enact plays on violence and
gender issues. Taking loans from
the SHGs, every house in the
village now has a motorcycle
and there is no need to walk
to the market. Through SHG
loans, buffaloes are bought and
marriage expenses met. The
interest on the loans is just 50
paise for Rs 100.
In another village, Takabarra in
Balaghat, which has 67 families
and women SHGs since 2009,
three women have bought 1.5 to
four acres of land, all registered
in their names. Hemlata, in

addition to land, has bought

a two-wheeler, a TV set and
constructed a toilet. Two women
of the village have been trained
as vets and they vaccinate the
animals and know how to handle
the major ailments of the 2500
desi chicks in the seven adjoining
village. Pushpa, educated till
Class 9, is the pasusakhi or vet
of her village.
Like the women of Sawarjhodi,
the SHGs are empowered, can
write applications for toilets,
hand pumps, pension, BPL
(below poverty line) cards and
meet officials of the district
administration. Forty seven
biogas units have been set up
in the villages that PRADHAN
services. Bore wells that drain
the underground water in the
villages are being phased out and
seep tanks constructed. Though
grazing of cattle in the forests
is still a problem, discussions
are on options like stall feeding
and growing cattle fodder in the
village.
<

M a r ch 15, 2016

First-generation learners emerge

from neglected forest villages
It is only in the past five years that Kodakarais children have a middle school to go to. The place is in Tamil
Nadus Ayyur Reserve Forest area in Krishnagiri. Thanks to proactive implementation of the RTE with a little
help from two NGOs, the Indian Council for Child Welfare and Nanhi Kali, and land donated by villagers free
of cost, the school now has sections till Class 8 as well as a newly opened primary school a few hundred
metres away
many, considering the difficulty
in doing so.
Kodakarai, which includes
seven major village clusters
(Keel Kochavur, Mel Kochavur,
Karisithapanur, Kadur, Karimarathur,
Schedule
Tribe
Colony and Dhottiyur), is home
to 600-odd families with many
of the families having at least
four children. A tribal sub-group
of the Lingayat Community, the
people here consider themselves
Iyer because of their staunch
vegetarianism.
The
Irular,
Schedule Tribe community are
the primary residents of these
hills. The people here grow ragi,
rice and broad beans, apart from
rearing sheep and cattle. Both
communities speak a dialect
of Kannada and Tamil mixed
together, which people in the
rest of the state find difficult to
understand.
While there was a school
building for over a decade here,
it was seldom visited either by
government-appointed teachers
or by students, who found their
time better spent in the nearby
forests. The prevalence of child
marriages has also prevented
many of the children from
continuing their education.
While the NGOs are working
at combating the practice, it is
not entirely gone or as Lakshmi
Narayanan, an education officer
with ICCW told me, done in
a more hush-hush way than
earlier.
It was only in 2011, when
ICCW intervened by setting
up a bridge school for Class 6
students, since at that time the
village school only went up till
class five, that things started
looking up. Along with the
NGOs assistance, the teachers
also made serious efforts to
stall the alarming dropout
rates. Here, some child would
say they cant come tomorrow
because of a village function
and that would be the end of
it. I wouldnt see them coming
again to school ever again, says
A.R. Gunasekaran, who has
been a teacher for 17 years and
is the current headmaster at the
school.
The functions last for week
or a few days and coupled with
parental indifference, often
result in disrupting the routine
of the children. The school now

has 220 children up to Class 8,

and they are supervised by three
government-appointed teachers
and two ICCW-appointed staff
members who are from the
village. The nearby primary
school has around 55 students
overseen by one teacher and a
staff member appointed by Nanhi
Kali. While this is inadequate
in itself, the situation now is a
tremendous improvement from
2009 when there were only 80
children enrolled in the school
according to an evaluation report
released by ICCW in 2014.
ICCW has also tried to place
some of the children at residential
schools in Denganikottai and
Anchetty for their Ninth Standard
but more often than not they have
returned, unable to cope with the
culture shock or the language
barrier. In the schools, the
instruction is in Tamil. There is
no plan to address the linguistic
gap. The children speak their
dialect outside school. Inside,
they learn to read and write in
Tamil.
Kodakarais people are very
different to people below. The
children who go from here feel
completely out of place and
end up coming back many a
times, said Narayanan. But
in the latest batch of students,
a couple of them are trying to
continue through and we hope
they stick on. One of the girls
from the village, S. Suseela,
has even gone onto finish her
BEd and is working in Chennai
now. He added, We think she
is an inspiration for the others.
Suseelas story, of studying till
Class 12 at Thali and attending
college in Krishnagiri is a rare
example of success in Kodakarai
and one the students hope to
replicate.
There are plans to extend
the school up to Class 9 in the
coming few years. For the
people here who have sustained themselves on growing
ragi,avarakkaisince forever, the
school is proving to be a crucial
first step towards a connect to
the world that has so far eluded
them. The promises of a pucca
(proper) road in return for votes
this coming election has also got
peoples spirit up here. When
we were young, there was no
way any of us could even dream
of studying till more than fifth

A classroom that is neat and clean, children well-attired

and eager to learn.
standard, says M. Basappa, a
long-time resident of the village.
My children are studying now,
we have sent our eldest outside
for his Ninth Standard and if he
wants to study till 12th or even
go to college, well support
him, he added.
In the past two years, 26
children have completed their
schooling till Class 8. Of them,
six have gone onto Class 9
and one boy is completing his
11th Standard. M. Basavaraju,
whose son Murthy is in the
Sixth Standard, says, When
we were children, there was no
school to speak of here, let alone
till eighth. Basavaraju, like
many others in the village is a
seasonal farmer. While we love
our village, in todays world,
you need education. I hope my

son finishes school properly and

maybe even goes to college, he
said.
Leaving the middle school
in Kochavur, I asked one of the
children, Sithamma, who was in
the Fourth Standard, what she
wanted to be when she grew up.
Standing up in a demure fashion,
she replied with certainty, I
want to be a doctor saar.
<
(Courtesy: The Caravan. This article
was produced with assistance from
Voice for Children, a PII-UNICEF
fellowship.)

Grassroots story fetches award

The seventh edition of
the Laadli Media and
Advertising Awards for
Gender Sensitivity 201415 (southern and western
region) was announced
recently. Marianne Nazareth
was one of the winners. Her
story in the February 2015
issue of Grassroots, How
solar lamps brought home
many rays of sunshine
won her the award in the
Best Feature Magazine
category. Altogether, 52
winners were shortlisted from
1200 entries. They were
awarded for highlighting
gender issues and concerns

February 15, 2015

How solar lamps brought home

many rays of sunshine
Those who live in Indias cities are pretty selfish when they grumble about power cuts, when in rural India
millions manage with kerosene lamps and no connections to the power grid at all. In response to the desperate
situation, The Energy and Resource Institute began an initiative called Lighting a Billion Lives. The initiative
makes it possible for people to get clean, healthy, and adequate light in their homes without any pollution or
emission and at a cost that is entirely affordable
MARIANNE DE NAZARETH, Bengaluru

Village women excited with their new saviour in Rajasthan.

xplaining the Lighting a

Billion Lives programme
with empirical examples
to journalists at the Delhi
Sustainable Development Summit 2015, I.H. Rehman, director
of Social Transformation, The
Energy and Resource Institute
(TERI), revealed that the organisation had touched more than 2.5
million lives in 23 states and 2596
villages consisting of 535812
households; 127080 solar lanterns were distributed, 11280
solar micro-grid connections
provided, and 3171 integrated
domestic energy systems installed. Take the example of a
tiny village named Kamlapur
in the district of Unnao in Uttar
Pradesh. LaBL, along with its
partner organisation, Humana
People to People India (HPPI),
New Delhi, helped the village
discover a new joy with clean
lighting.
Kamlesh Devi, a skilled
chikan embroidery expert, was
able to follow her passion of
creating chikan work garments
only during the day, due to a
lack of light at night. It was
frustrating to have to nish
stitching in time for the goods to
reach the market under the dim
light of the kerosene lamps and
it took the joy of the craft out of
it, she says ruefully. Aged 35
with ve children and educated
only up to the eighth standard,
Kamlesh Devi struggled to earn
half her household's income.
Our lives are saddled with
problems at every step and
there is little redemption from

the drudgery that ails us every

hour of every day, she says.
The lanterns are a ray of hope
for my soul, more than for my
embroidery. Her earnings have
risen with the arrival of the
lanterns from Rs 150-200 to Rs
300 per sari, which are priced
according to the quality of her
embroidery.
For Kamlesh Devi and others
in her shoes, the benets have
brought results. The lanterns
have let me go about my
domestic chores much better
and helped my children to study
longer and without getting
their eyes red and watery, she
says. It's a win-win situation in
Kamlesh's little home where the
lamps have ushered in positive
change, which her family can at
last enjoy.
Another example is the
village of Tentala in the district
of Mayurbhanj in Odisha.
Tentala is a remote tribal hamlet
and as darkness falls, the
residents have to speedily nish
their daily chores. Like most
other women in her village,
Hinsi Hazda heads to her kitchen
to prepare the family meal much
before dinner time, for when
darkness falls there is just feeble
light from her kerosene lantern.
Hinsi's husband is the sole bread
earner for her family, earning
about Rs 2500 a month, enough
to support her family of six with
two meals a day.
This is the story of every
household in Tentala Village
and most of the other villages in
the district. But ever since solar

lamps have been provided under

the Lighting a Billion Lives
initiative, the villagers lives
have changed. The extra hours
that the women can work at
night has given them more time
to spend with family, spending
less on kerosene, and to make
kholi, a plate made out of sal
leaves which brings them an
income.
Hinsi now happily earns
approximately Rs 2000 a month.
"We could not even imagine
liberties like new clothes on
Sakranti, our rice production was
barely enough to support us, now
I feel more empowered because
I contribute to household by not
only making food for us, but by
being an earner. I make 100-150
kholi each day, which we sell at
Rs 1 per piece and, thanks to the
minimum prices implemented by
the NGO, we get enough money
for our hard work," says Hinsi
with a smile of satisfaction.
Arati Mahanta, entrepreneur
who set up the charging station
in Tentala, says that she has been
encouraging the village women
to make use of the additional
productive hours. "We have
started new income-generating
activities such as the poultry
breeding farm in the village."
Light is important for feeding,
as the birds identify food and
water by sight. Also, availability
of bright and intense light that
does not raise temperature
signicantly eects production
of eggs.

An entrepreneur grows in
condence with her solar
lantern rental business.

Photos: TERI

ooood mooorning
Saar, a bunch of
40-odd
children
chorused as we entered one of the
classrooms at the Government
Middle School at Kodakarai, a
cluster of villages deep inside the
Ayyur Reserve Forest in Tamil
Nadus Krishnagiri District.
Nestled inside the hills
of Krishnagiri, to reach
Kodakarai is to drive up from
Denganikottai, the taluk (sub
district)
headquarters
33
kilometres away, cross the forest
check post after 20 kilometres
and take a kucha (rustic) road
for the past 10 kilometres of
the stretch. Any semblance of
basic medical or other essential
services are available only at
the taluk headquarters. I was
here on 19 January, to observe
the effectiveness of the Right
to Education Act (RTE) in
the remote region and how
education was changing these
village hamlets
While a horde of children is
not an uncommon sight in any
school, it is only in the last five
years that Kodakarais children
have a middle school to go to, as
opposed to having to commute
the distance to the taluk
headquarters on a daily basis.
In the last five years, through
proactive implementation of
the RTE with a little help from
two NGOs, the Indian Council
for Child Welfare (ICCW) and
Nanhi Kali (an organisation that
provides primary education to
underprivileged girl children
in India) and land donated by
villagers free of cost for setting
up the school, Kodakarai now
boasts of a middle school that
goes up to Class 8 as well as a
newly opened primary school a
few hundred metres away
While these may seem like
minor improvements for a state
which boasts a literacy rate
of 80.33 percent, this is still a
giant step for the tribal cluster
of villages where any kind of
formal education was only a
dream. The school has been
running since 2011.
Earlier, classes did not extend
beyond the Fifth Standard
and one had to travel far to
study further. There is no
documentation for how many
actually did attend the school,
but there could not have been

Photo: SA

Sibi Arasu, Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu

Women entrepreneurs set up solar lantern rental shops.

Dumini Murmu, who makes
around Rs 3500 a month along
with the help of her daughter by
selling kholi to the town vendors,
says "Now I have more say in
the household matters. Aratiji
not only inspires us to earn a
living, but also motivates us to
get step out of our homes, which
makes us see the world beyond
our villages."
At 15, Alaka Rautaray's studies
seemed to be going nowhere,
her dreams nothing but paper
boats all ready to capsize in
the dark. Coming from the
little village of Managalajodi
in the district of Khordha in
Odisha, there was no light for
her to study in the evenings as
her poor farming family could
not aord to buy kerosene. She
became desperate and had given
up hope. Then, LaBL with its
partner organisation, the Council
of Professional Social Workers
(CPSW), stepped in and changed
her life. My condence was
nearly all gone and I had almost
given up all my ambitions, she
says.
Alaka is glad she didn't let go
of her dream and has regained
her condence by studying,
using solar lights for up to 2-4
hours every day. The lamps save
her family Rs 60 a day and her
average marks have happily
gone up from 32 to 45 per cent,
helping her gain in condence.
My health too has improved
as I suered from sore eyes and
headaches brought on by light
and smoke from the kerosene
lamps.

Alaka, like many others

living in remote Mangalajodi
Village was excluded from one
of life's basic amenities - light at
night. Today for Mangalajodi's
students, the lantern is the
window to the world. I cannot
only study for longer hours
now, I can play and do other
chores even after it's dusk,' she
says. The lanterns have also led
to the village's tuition centre
ourishing.
The number of students
and their concentration and
performance has both gone up
from a few to 20 now and, with
this, my dream of educating the
entire village on every aspect
of life may come true, says
Ullash Chandra Behera, the 38year-old sole tutor and owner
who has a graduate degree in
Arts. Behera's income has risen,
too, in sync with the increase in
enrolments, from Rs 2500 to Rs
3000 a month. He is looking at
expanding to a coaching centre.

Read the journal from the

Press Institute of India
that covers issues
pertinent to the media.
Yearly subscription
only Rs 200.

through their work in the

print, web and electronic
media.
<

March 15, 2016

Eradicating malnutrition and

giving children a new lease of life
In 2000, countries around the world pledged to fulfill the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set
of 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 been
working towards finding workable solutions to a problem that especially affects children between 0 to 5
years. In the parched and poor northern Karnataka district of Bidar, a community-led initiative to address
child malnutrition in Aurad Taluk is creating a roadmap for change
pushpa achanta, Bidar, Karnataka

We launched the campaign in

September 2011 and it will
go on until early 2015, says
Mohammed Siraj, programme
officer, Myrada.
The work on eradicating
malnutrition took off with a
door-to-door survey to gauge the
status of the health of mothers
and children in 68 villages. Quite
predictably, the results were not
very positive. While the levels
of undernourishment were
found to be high, with several
children falling in the SAM
(severe and acute malnourished)
Category, numerous reasons
contributing to this unfortunate
reality came to light like the lack
of awareness among mothers,
nutrient imbalance in the diet,
poor hygiene and insufficient or
unclean drinking water, among
other.
The need of the hour was
to not just initiate life-saving
treatment for SAM children but
build awareness regarding the
critical issue to generate longterm gains.

Photo: PA/WFS

hrough a slew of interventions, ranging from

awareness
drives
to
developing kitchen gardens and
involving local government
institutions, a marked change
has been achieved in the health
indicators in Aurad Taluk in
Bidar, Karnataka. The locals
have been able to set the
process of transformation into
motion with assistance from
Myrada, a Bengaluru-based
non-profit organisation, which is
implementing the Fight Hunger
First Initiative (FHFI) of the
German development agency,
Deutsche Welthungerhilfe, in
the region.
Aurad Taluk, which lies in a
semi-arid zone and is home to a
sizeable population of severely
marginalised Dalits and Adivasis
(tribals), has some of the worst
social and health indicators in
the southern state. This was
why we chose Aurad as the
primary location for activities
focusing on eliminating acute
malnutrition among children.

Sudharani, 22, with her three sons. A couple of years ago,

she used to be anaemic while her second son Sudeep had
been identified as a severe and acute malnourished child.
Today, they have regained their health.

With the twin objectives in

mind, Myrada identified and
trained literate women in the
project villages as community
resource persons (CRPs) to
provide counselling, track the
progress of pregnant women and
neo-natal children and engage
with the anganwadi (nursery)
workers to ensure effective
implementation of the various
government health schemes.
Says Ashalatha, a CRP from
Wadgaon Village: Initially, I
realised that most mothers had
no idea of the risks associated
with malnutrition, particularly
the reduced physical and mental
development
of
children.
Ever since, I make it a point
to regularly visit homes and
assess the nutrition levels of
children be it newborns or those
enrolled in primary school.
I ensure that mothers take
their babies to the anganwadi
centre where the anganwadi
worker checks them for signs
of malnutrition by measuring
their mid-arm circumference,
weight and height. The weight
of the children is tracked as per
the specifications in the growth
chart issued by the World Health
Organization (WHO).
Those children who are
classified as SAM are referred
to the Nutritional Rehabilitation
Centres (NRCs) attached to the
district hospital. This is done
at the recommendation of the
anganwadi worker. Admitted
at the NRC for 10 to 12 days,
the children receive rigorous
treatment that includes proper
food, medicines and dedicated
nursing care. Apart from this, the
CRPs conduct discussions with
mothers - expectant, lactating
or otherwise - as well as the
anganwadi workers. Typically,
the parents of children sent to
the anganwadis are landless
agricultural labourers who
survive on daily wages so they
talk to them about inexpensive
ways to enhance their diet and
inform them about nutritional
supplements, the merits of
deworming, and so on.
Within primary schools, the
CRPs have been encouraging
children to develop nutrition
gardens. Reveals Suzanna,
another committed CRP, Over
the last couple of years, I have

been conveying the importance

of growing vegetables to schoolgoing children. If you take a
walk around primary schools in
the area you will find nutrition
gardens lush with curry leaves,
tomatoes, mint and coriander,
which are utilised to prepare
good quality mid day meals.
The students divide their time
to take care of the plants and
even tell their mothers about the
benefits of planting their own
little kitchen garden.
Besides information dissemination to prompt behavioural
change and promote good
practices within the community,
local women have been taught a
magical recipe that is a quick fix
solution to meet the nutritional
needs of their children. Called
My Nutrimix, it is a blend of
powdered wheat and sprouted
green gram combined with
groundnut and jaggery and
cooked with milk or water.
It provides all the necessary
calories and is rich in iron and
calcium. To SAM children, the
mix is provided free while others
can simply make it at home.
When Sudharani, 22, a mother
of three from Soralli Village, first
met her CRP she was anaemic
and her second son, Sudeep,
severely malnourished. An
agricultural labourer belonging
to the Dalit Community, she
earns a daily wage of Rs 60 for
toiling eight hours in the fields
while her husband Shankar,
26, works in the unorganised
construction sector and can get
Rs 500 or more depending on
the job. A couple of years back
when I was informed that my son
was extremely malnourished I
couldnt really comprehend what
was being told to me. However,
I realised that I needed to follow
what my CRP and anganwadi
worker were telling me to do. I
have been feeding Sudeep and
my other boys the Nutrimix
powder and diligently attending
all the meetings at the anganwadi
centre, she elaborates.
Efforts of the CRPs have
enthused the accredited social
health activists (ASHAs) and
anganwadi workers in the
taluk with a renewed sense
of purpose. Says Sharada,
47, from Wadgaon, who has
been an anganwadi worker for

around two decades, Prior

to this intervention, although
the anganwadis and primary
health centres were existing and
had a staff working with basic
infrastructure, families hardly
knew about the link between
health and nutrition and the
need for regular monitoring
of
childrens
wellbeing.
Nowadays, women walk up to
me to get check-ups done and
pick up their take home rations.
Additionally, I collaborate with
our ASHA Jaishree to guide
expectant mothers and supervise
infant care.
Another aspect of the FHFI
has been the involvement
of institutions like the gram
panchayats,
village
health
sanitation committees, school
development
management
committees, local self-help
groups and farmers collectives
although it was not easy to
establish a synergy between
them.
Says Siraj, These bodies did
not unite on a single platform
but we encouraged each of them
to be part of the work being done
to enhance the health of children
and women. We talked to them
about the Right to Education
Act, on ways to improve
mother and child nutrition, the
importance of free access to
government schemes, and so
on. To the gram panchayats,
we spoke about the importance
of providing the right kind of
leadership to the community,
which does not demoralise them,
especially the female health
workers. The panches (heads)
were also advised to visit Public
Distribution System (PDS)
ration shops to facilitate better
dispensation of food grains.
Of the 96 children that were
identified as SAM in July
2013, 61 have become normal,
in addition to 589 of the 641
moderately
malnourished
children that have regained their
<
health.
(Courtesy: Womens Feature Service)

M a r ch 15, 2016

Yes, nutrition services can

indeed be delivered successfully
Indiramma Amurutha Hastham is a government programme that aims at boosting the nutrient intake of
pregnant 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 some
26000 anganwadi centres in Visakhapatnam. Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are entitled to
receive a free nutritious meal daily at the village anganwadi for 25 days a month
dilnaz boga, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

The content and happy faces of the women of Champaguga,

Andhra Pradesh, who have availed of the popular meal scheme.

cradling her daughter in her

arms.
The IAH is a government
programme that aims at
boosting the nutrient intake
of pregnant women and
breastfeeding mothers and
reducing the prevalence and
severity of maternal anaemia.
The programme reaches over
350000 pregnant women and
breastfeeding mothers across
some 26000 anganwadi centres
- about 30 per cent of ICDS
projects in the state - located
in villages where malnutrition
rates are high. Some 7600 or
29 per cent of the anganwadis
are located in hard-to-reach
tribal villages.
As part of the scheme, pregnant
women
and
breastfeeding
mothers are entitled to receive
a free nutritious meal daily
between 11 am and 2 pm at
the village anganwadi for
25 days in a month. The hot,
cooked food - prepared by the
anganwadi helper - contains

Photos: DB/WFS

oya Devi, 22, is happy

that the weight of her
child has increased by
half a kilogram since the past
month. Her one-and-a-halfmonth old infant has received
immunisation and since last
June, Poya has been availing
of the Indiramma Amurutha
Hastham (IAH) Scheme in
her village of Urumulu, which
lies 30 kilometres from the
main road in Araku Block of
Visakhapatnam District in the
eastern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Poya was registered at the
villages anganwadi (nursery)
as soon as she got pregnant and
was later sent to a hospital for
institutional delivery unlike
other tribal people in her village.
Earlier, we only used to eat rice
and tamarind soup whenever
our crops failed. But the meal
scheme at the anganwadi has
improved my health and I am
even entitled to monthly checkups, says the member of the
Kondadura Tribe, lovingly

Children play in an anganwadi in Urumulu Village of Araku

Block in Visakhapatnam.

125 grams of cereal, 30 grams of

pulses, 50 grams of green leafy
vegetables, 50 grams of egg and
200 ml of milk, and provides
1052 kilocalories, 33 grams of
protein, and about 500 mg of
calcium (i.e. about 40 per cent
of the daily requirement of these
nutrients).
In far-flung villages such as
Urumulu, which are tucked
away in the heart of picturesque
hills and are inaccessible by
motorable roads, the rate of
maternal deaths and child
mortality are high, warn
experts. Urumulu has a total
population of 368, including
191 females. Tribal people,
who are dependent on crop
production, suffer immensely if
their crops fail. The programme,
therefore, has been specially
designed to give succour to
these vulnerable groups that are
left with nothing to eat in the
event of a low yield. We get
only seasonal vegetables, so this
meal is a blessing for me and my
daughter, elaborates Poya.
After their meal, the women
receive on-the-spot iron and
folic acid supplements to take
care of iron deficiency and
anaemia, they are counselled by
the anganwadi worker on how to
improve their dietary intake and
nutrition, and are encouraged
to use the services provided at
the monthly Village Health and
Nutrition Day. The anganwadi
worker diligently keeps a record
of the women enrolled in the
programme, the services they
receive, the weight they gain
during pregnancy as well as the
weight of their child at birth.
Like
Poya,
Betukuri
Lingamma, 33, is a content
mother today. She found out
about the meal programme
through her anganwadi worker
who visited her home one day.
Betukuri, who has a five-yearold son, reveals that her domestic
situation was bad during her first
pregnancy and she used to fall ill
frequently.
I delivered a baby girl a
month-and-a-half ago and this
time Im not sick as I have a
better diet. I feel secure that
someone is there to take care
of our needs. My son, who
was delivered at home, is also
availing of the home ration every
day, says a grateful Betukuri.

Annayya Sharma of Nature,

a specialised tribal resource
non-government agency in
Visakhapatnam, works as a
consultant with this programme
and monitors 400 villages
where Rs 17 is spent per meal
for each mother. Although
they somehow manage to get
something for dinner, lunch
is always a problem for these
women. We have observed that
now families are keen to send
the pregnant women for meals
to the anganwadi. Otherwise
earlier, they used to live on fruits
and roots if their crops failed
as there is a critical irrigation
crisis in these interior parts of
the state. Here we have hills, so
the ground doesnt hold much
water because of the slopes. In
summer, they eat stored food,
he shares.
Sembi Ratanakumari, 18, who
belongs to Urumulu, is four
months pregnant and not at all
worried about her diet anymore
thanks to this programme.
Neither is Susheela Janni, 21,
who is seven months pregnant.
In an area where literacy levels
among the women are a mere
20 per cent, Sebi and Susheela
are grateful that they were
approached by Jogama Majala,
their local anganwadi worker,
who is also a teacher in the
village school, about the free
meal scheme and the medical
benefits for the mother and her
child.
In
Champaguga
Village
of Kollaput Panchayat, 15
kilometres from Araku in
Dumriguda Block, primitive
tribal people like the Dhulia
thrive deep in the hills.
Dhulias, a mainly Oriyaspeaking
community,
live
off the land. Anganwadi
worker Killo Rukmini, 42, has
been spearheading the meal
programme in her village against
all odds. With a total population
of 76 households comprising
356 people (175 females),
Champaguga, like Urumulu, is
remote.
It took me years to circumvent
the tribals superstition and blind
faith and get them to send the
women for meals. I also see what
seasonal fruits and vegetables
are available and prepare the
nutritional charts for the new
mothers accordingly, Rukmini

says. Only after consolidating

community support has Rukmini
been able to issue mother-child
health cards to the nine mothers
in her village. She has a close
connect with the community as
she was born here. She says, I
married two doors from where I
grew up so everyone knows me.
Still, it took me a long time in
getting the villagers to utilise
this scheme as traditional healers
are preferred.
More than 5100 federations
of women self-help groups
have been engaged to support
the implementation of this
programme. In each anganwadi
centre, a five-member committee
is constituted to supervise its
implementation. The committee,
chaired by a representative of the
local self help group federation,
includes another federation
representative, one pregnant
woman, one breastfeeding
mother and the anganwadi
worker.
Programme data shows that
as of August 2013 (the latest
available figures), 96 per cent
of the eligible women were
receiving a meal and iron and
folic acid tablets at least 21 days
per month. In the 7600 anganwadi
centres located in predominantly
Adivasi Communities, over
66200 (97 per cent) eligible
women are being provided a
meal, a counselling session and
iron and folic acid supplements
regularly. Moreover, the scheme
reviewed monthly at the state
level has set an exclusive
104 telephone line to address
grievances.
<
(Courtesy: Womens Feature Service)

Subscribe to

Only Rs 200
for 4 issues

March 15, 2016

Marginalised groups learn to

demand what is rightfully theirs
Heres how an anganwadi centre has been officially described: its a village centre that provides basic health
care, nutrition education and supplementation, and also conducts pre-school activities for children under
six years. In other words, it is the epicentre of mother and child care at the grassroots. What if, instead
of one, there were two such centres in a village? Seems like a good thing, doesnt it. The Dalit women of
Chaubara Jagir Village in Sonkatch Block of Dewas District, Madhya Pradesh, would beg to differ. In their
remote hamlet, the fully-functioning anganwadi was for the upper caste women, while the other, designated
to provide services to them, was in a pitiable condition till a few months ago
shuriah niazi, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh
Thats when they explained
to us how we could approach
the senior district officials and
apply for the construction of a
new centre, Raikwar recalls.
As a starting point, the Dalit
families asked their sarpanch to
take relevant action. He outright
refused to do anything for
them. This reaction, however,
did not really surprise them
as their community is used to
being sidelined due to their
low social status. So the next
step was to draft an application
to approach the Sonkatch subdivisional magistrate (SDM).
While the formal application
was signed by all the Dalit
women in the village, around 25
of them got together to meet the
SDM. When they got their oneon-one with him, they urged
him to expedite the construction
as
their
children
were
entitled to a safe anganwadi.
Says Kashu Bai, who was a
part of the group, The SDM
took the time out to hear us
because many of us had gone to
meet him. The volunteers at the
resource centre had told us that
there is strength in numbers and
that no official can ignore a large
group. Besides that, we had
properly drafted the application
wherein we had mentioned our
problem in detail. Prior to this,
neither did we know which
official to speak to nor did we
have the confidence to do so.
We used to go to the sarpanch
(chief) but he seldom took
interest in our issues. That one

visit to the SDMs office worked

like magic as he immediately
issued orders for building a new
anganwadi. Construction began
a few months later and now its
nearing completion. Soon, the
little ones will gain full access
to services such as supplementary nutrition, immunisation and health check-ups.
Every year, the government
introduces
many
welfare
measures, such as low-cost
housing, subsidised food grains,
free education and livelihood
security. Under the Disabilities
Act, the physically disabled,
too, are entitled to various
benefits. However, being largely
illiterate or semi-literate, most
marginalised
groups
lack
awareness and agency to avail of
them. This is where the resource
centre is bringing about a real
transformation. Volunteers at the
centre not only give information
on all the different schemes
launched but also on legislation
like Right to Information
(RTI) Act, Public Service
Guarantee Act, and so on.
Ever since the Sonkatch
Resource
centre
became
operational in April 2012, the
Dalits and tribal people have
learnt to fight for their rights
with considerable success.
In Mundalana, they took up
the issue of availability of
potable water in the Dalit
neighbourhood. With only one
hand pump in the basti (slum),
families were already reeling
under a shortage when that too

Photos: SN/WFS

ith the anganwadi

run from a broken
down shed, their
children were not just exposed
to the elements but they were
also vulnerable to being
attacked by stray animals.
The monsoon season was
particularly trying because
the heavy rains and a leaking
roof would result in frequent
closure of the facility as well
as the destruction of the already
meagre supply of dry rations
and nutritional supplements
meant for distribution among
pregnant and lactating women
and
children
under
six.
For years, the Dalit women
of Chaubara Jagir Village in
Sonkatch
Block of Dewas
District struggled with the
problem as no one knew how to
tackle it. Who does one go to, to
demand repairs to an anganwadi?
How does one ensure that the
centre not only opens regularly
but that the anganwadi worker
does her duty properly?
Since there were no answers
to the pertinent questions, they
suffered in silence. Things
would have gone on like this
forever had Jan Sahas not started
working in our area, remarks
Reena Raikwar, a Dalit woman,
who finally took matters into her
own hands with assistance from
the Dewas-based non government
organisation that empowers
socially excluded Dalit, tribal
and other communities in the
district by protecting their rights
and building the capacities.
In order to reach out to
the community with relevant
information
and
motivate
them to claim their rightful
entitlements under government
welfare schemes, Jan Sahas has
established a resource centre at
Sonkatch with support from the
Fight Hunger First Initiative
of Welthungerhilfe, Germany.
When Jan Sahas volunteers
came and told us that we could
walk into the centre and explain
our problem I gathered a few
women from the village and
went there straightaway. We
told them that our children
were being denied the care they
deserved because the anganwadi
centre was in a shambles.

Volunteers at the resource centre at Sonkatch established by

Jan Sahas not only provide information on all the different
schemes launched but also on legislation such as the Right
to Information (RTI) Act, Public Service Guarantee Act, and
so on.

With the help of volunteers at

the resource centre, the tribal
people and Dalits have been
able to stake their rightful
claim over their rights and
entitlements.
completely broke down. Despite
repeated complaints and several
meetings with the panchayat
secretary, the man responsible
for hand pump repairs, months
passed with no solution in sight.
The crisis severely affected
the women, physically and
mentally, as they spent hours
on end trying to source water.
It was in those dire times that
they came across the resource
centre. As soon as they put forth
their problem, they were guided
towards the best and fastest way
out. An application was drafted
to be submitted to Sonkatch chief
executive officer of Jal Nigam,
Reena Chauhan. Thereafter, a
delegation called on her to talk
about the magnitude of difficulty
they were facing. Without delay,
she spoke to the panchayat
secretary on phone and directed
him to do the needful. Such was
the effect that within two days the
hand pump was in working order.
Says Manish Richi, a Dalit
resident of Mundalana, Once
the volunteers showed us the
way we took over. We have
realised that we, too, have a right
to basic services. Earlier, we
used to feel powerless, but thats
not the case anymore. In future
if we face a similar situation, we
shall approach the right authority
in time. We know how to go
about it and have learnt how to
draft applications. There have
been other positive impacts
of the resource centre as well
it has led to the widespread
construction of toilets in several
villages in the area and many who
previously didnt figure on the
Below Poverty Line (BPL) list
have got their names registered.

Moreover, as per the provisions

of the Forest Rights Act, the
tribal people have been able to
stake their rightful claim over
the forest and its other resources.
Of course, this is not to say
that there has been no backlash
from the powerful elements in
the region. In fact, the resistance
has been most acute in cases
involving land grabs. Elaborates
Hemraj Khichi of Jan Sahas,
Some influential people had
encroached on the lands of the
poor tribals, who couldnt muster
the courage to stand up to them.
We have been able to help them
but not without some tactful
planning. Adds Om Prakash
Malviya, who works at the
Sonkatch centre, Generations
of Dalits have faced oppression
and lived in destitution. Its
time to change things. The
idea is to show them how to
become strong and independent
and raise their voice against
the injustice. We have taken
a step in the right direction.

<

(Courtesy: Womens Feature Service)

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. Printers Name
: V. Manivannan
Nationality
: Indian
Address
No.1, 127 Lattice

Bridge Road,

Adayar,

Chennai 600 020
4. Publishers Name
: Sashi Nair
Nationality
: Indian
Address
Flat 3C, GRN Akshara

D112, Sangeetha Colony

Ashok Pillar Road

K.K.Nagar, Chennai-78
5. Editors Name
: Sashi Nair
Nationality
: Indian
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 is
a non-profit 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

M a r ch 15, 2016

Photos: AM/WFS

Surmounting challenges to
spearhead a green revolution

As the women farmers of Kerala have discovered, the trick

to making things work in their favour is to put in their own
labour. Hiring workers is expensive and that is why big
landlords dont make profit.
am part of a five-member
Joint Liability Group and
we cultivate bananas,
vegetables and paddy on about
15 acres of land. We supply the
fruit to the Labour Cooperative
Society, which has a deal with the
Guruvayur Devaswom Board,
under the auspices of the state
governments Kudumbashree
programme. Around 750 women
in 150 groups are cultivating
bananas in our block, says
Shobhana Krishnamurthy, 54,
of Muttathoor Panchayat, in
Kodakara Block.
Kudumbashree, the Kerala
Governments poverty alleviation programme launched
in 1998, has brought about a
green revolution in the state
today solely by tapping into
womens potential for farming
and entrepreneurship. The
Guruvayoor Temple only accepts
pooja kadali of a stipulated size,
so the bunches that dont meet
the criteria are then utilised for
making rasayanam as ayurvedic
preparation in collaboration with
an ayurvedic pharmaceutical
company. About 20000 bottles
of rasayanam are being made
in our block every month, adds
Krishnamurthy.
Farming has taken off in a
big way among women under
Kudumbashrees
collective
farming and Samagra projects,
implemented
with
active
participation from Panchayati
Raj Institutions (PRIs) and
supported by a farming subsidy.
Not only has the project increased
agricultural production, it has
also brought considerable fallow
land back under cultivation
and financially empowered
thousands of women.
Joint liability Groups (JLGs),
structured under the National
Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development
(NABARD)
guidelines, have been formed to
ensure agricultural credit from
banks for women cultivators.
The JLGs come under the
interest subsidy scheme of

Kudumbashree when they avail

agricultural loans from banks
the state government provides
a subsidy of five per cent on
the seven per cent interest of
agricultural loan. So far, more
than 10500 JLGs have availed of
loans amounting to over Rs 123
crore under the project.
In Muttathoor Panchayat
alone, 504.85 acres is being
cultivated under Kudumbashrees
collective farming and Samagra
projects, says Dhanya Vijayan,
30, Community Development
Society (CDS) accountant,
Muttathoor panchayat. Data
collected in 2013-14 indicates
that 47611 JLGs are cultivating
40218 hectares, growing paddy,
fruits such as pineapple and
bananas, and vegetables like
bitter gourd, amaranthus, snake
gourd, cowpea, water melon,
bottle gourd, ginger, tapioca,
ridge gourd, ladys finger, brinjal
and chilli. Coconut and cashew
are popular crops as well.
We have debunked the
theory that agriculture is not
profitable, says Bina Pradeep,
39, of Vallachira Village under
Vallachira Panchayat, adding,
Our group Aishwarya took
a bank loan of Rs 60000 for
cultivating the nendran variety
of bananas on 75 cents [1
cent=0.01 acre] of land, which
had been lying bare. We paid
off the loan in just six months.
The subsidy was a big help. We
made a profit of one lakh in one
season.
As the women have discovered,
the trick to making things work
in their favour is by putting
in their own labour. Hiring
workers is expensive in Kerala
as daily wages are Rs 700-750.
That is why big landlords dont
make profit. We have leased land
from landowners and are still
able to turn in a profit because
we put in the labour ourselves,
elaborates
Surabhi
Sivan,
35, whose five-member JLG
Jeeva leased a two-acre plot to
cultivate bananas. We paid Rs

The naivedyam or food offering made during different prayers

and rituals, for Lord Krishna at the Guruvayoor Temple in
Thrissur District of Kerala, includes about 1200 bananas of
a rare variety called pooja kadali. Earlier, to give the daily
offering, the temple was dependent on supply from Tamil Nadu
as the special variety was on the verge of extinction in Kerala.
However, women agriculturists are now growing the bananas
on 47 acres, under seven panchayats of Kodakara Block, and
supplying them to the temple, ensuring a taste of homegrown
plantain for the revered deity
ajitha menon, Thrissur, Kerala
54000 for the lease, gave back
the banks one lakh rupees loan
in six months and still made a
profit, she says proudly.
Across Kerala, there are
many such success stories.
Kudumbashree lists the collective farming venture at Kaipram
under Perambra Panchayat in
Kozhikode District at the top.
Here, 170 acres of fallow land
was recovered and put under
paddy cultivation with the efforts
of 256 women belonging to 53
groups. Whereas the seeds were
procured from Krishi Bhavan,
the manure was provided by the
gram panchayat, which gave Rs
1,80,000 for equipment. The
women have turned an overall
profit of Rs 20 lakh.
In another case, 30000
women banana cultivators
belonging to 6000 JLGs
pushed up banana production
in Thiruvananthapuram District
from eight to 20 metric tonnes
per hectare. The phenomenal
change was brought about
under the guidance of the
Kerala Agricultural University.
Additionally, facilitated by
Kudumbashree, the women
executed a buy back arrangement
on the produce with a private

company. The JLGs leased

the farming land, conducted
comprehensive soil surveys,
set up demonstration plots
and carried out integrated pest
management practices to make
the venture a model project.
Ensuring a profit has been
the underlining factor in
Kudumbashrees
agriculture
revolution. Towards this, gram
panchayats across the state
train women in using farming
equipment and machinery,
creating Kudumbashrees own
Vanitha Karma Sena or Green
Army.
Money is lost if you have to
pay the coconut tree climber,
the tiller machine operator or
the sowing machine operator.
We have trained the women to
operate different agriculture
related machines themselves and
with loans and support available
to buy equipment, most groups
now own and operate their
machines, saving considerable
amount of money, explains
Bindu Shivdasan, 40, president,
Muttathoor Panchyat. There
are nine women coconut tree
climbers in her panchayat and
several women are operating
tiller and sowing machines.

<

Leela C.K., 60, of Palliparam

Village in Paralam Panchayat
in Thrissur District, is a case
in point. Her group cultivates
paddy on her three-acre plot
once a year. She operates her
own agriculture machines. I
attended the panchayats training
courses and can confidently
work the machines, as does my
friend Omana C.C., who is 60
as well. Age is no factor and this
saves the group a lot of money in
wages, remarks Leela.
Apart from their regular
production, the women nurture
a kitchen garden on ten cents of
land, producing different leafy
vegetables, brinjal, ladys finger,
beans and chilli. We share the
produce and use the vegetables
ourselves. This ensures a steady
supply of cost-effective nutrition
for our families as the labour
is ours and seeds are available
free from Krishi Bhavan, says
Omana.
Bad weather can ruin the
crops sometimes, as experienced
by Surabhi Shivan and her
group Jeeva last year. However,
Kudumbashrees
holistic
approach towards financial
empowerment worked wonders.
The
micro-credit
facility
available under Kudumbashree
allowed us to take another loan
to make up the loss and this
year we are sure to make a good
profit, says Shivan.
Kudumbashree has provided
the wherewithal, but it is the sheer
hard work, entrepreneurship and
sincerity towards commitments
like repaying bank loans that
have seen the women in Kerala
surmount
challenges
and
hurdles such as the lack of land
and finances, natural calamities
and labour issues to lead a green
revolution in their state, which
has made them the cornerstone
of the food security movement.

<

Leela C.K. of Palliparam Village under Paralam Panchayat in

Thrissur District may be 60 years but she tirelessly works on
the land and even operates her own heavy agriculture machines
with ease.

(Courtesy: Womens Feature Service)

March 15, 2016

An extraordinary school proves

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

s soon as Rampyari
Tulegam, 16, sits behind
the wheel of the tractor,
with her two friends by her side,
the confidence and happiness
she exudes cannot go unnoticed.
It looks as if she is ready to take
on all of lifes challenges head
on. While across the Indian
countryside it is not uncommon
to find women toiling away in the
fields as agricultural labourers,
its certainly rare to see young
girls like Rampyari driving the
tractor and tilling land.
States the youngster, Despite
the fact that most of the backbreaking agricultural work
is done by women, we were
constrained because certain
key activities like tilling, for
instance, has traditionally been
done by the men only. Its time
we changed the scenario. I
believe that a woman should
know how to do everything
on a farm so that she can truly
become self sufficient. Initially,
even I had found it difficult to
drive a tractor and learn the finer
nuances of cultivation but now
I can do both tasks with ease.
Fact is that if a woman puts her
mind to it she can accomplish
anything.
Rampyaris
observations
are amazingly astute and quite
progressive considering her
age and exposure to the outside
world. She has developed this
positive attitude ever since
she enrolled at the Gondwana
Residential Agriculture School
(Gondwana Aabasik Shala
Tyaagi Krishi Vidyalay), which
is especially open to dropout
students. At the school, being

Rampyari Tulegam at the

wheel of the tractor, with her
two friends by her side..

run from Bondtra, a small, dusty

hamlet in Mungelli District of
Chhattisgarh, 60 tribal children,
a majority of whom are girls,
are getting the incredible
opportunity to gain a valuable
life skills-based education. They
come from various districts,
including Surajpur, Jangir,
Chanpa, Balrampur, Bilaspur,
Kawrdha and Rayagad.
It was in 2010 that the
institution was set up by the
Gondwana Society on the
suggestion of their leader,
activist Hirasingh Markam.
Says Markam, 70, Tribals are
among the most neglected and
deprived people in India and,
consequently, our girls are even
more vulnerable to the effects of
extreme poverty and a lack of
opportunity. Illiteracy, ill health
and violence are a part of their
life and they are unable to break
free from this vicious cycle.
Education can play a crucial role
in turning things around but there
are very few avenues available to
them. That is why we thought of
starting a school where children
not only get formal knowledge
but they learn some special life
skills so that they do not have to
run for jobs. Instead, they can do
something on their own and earn
a proper living.
If Rampyari is making heads
turn as she moves around the
village comfortably on a tractor,
then Sumitra Siyaram, 15, from
Barkutia Village in Surajpur
District, is busy learning all
there is to know about stitching.
She dreams of setting up her
own tailoring shop in her village
in order to financially support
her family of five and, of course,
make attractive outfits. After
my father passed away, my
mother worked really hard and
made countless sacrifices to raise
us. Now its my turn to help her
out. I want to send my younger
siblings to school and give them
a better life, she shares.
Girls like Rampyari and
Sumitra are thinking of engaging
in gainful employment because
they are slowly but surely
developing skill sets that enable
them to do so. Their schedule at
the residential facility is quite
rigorous. Every day after their
morning prayers, instead of
heading to a regular classroom,
the students make their way to

the open fields to learn farming

firsthand. From preparing the
land to sowing to harvesting they
understand and go through the
entire process. Later in the day,
its time for more conventional
studies along with classes in
computers, embroidery and even
cooking.
Four years back I was
shattered and completely clueless about my future. In 2009,
after my father, the only earning
member, met with an accident we
fell on really bad times. As there
was no money for his treatment
we had to mortgage our small
patch of land. He was confined
to bed for many months and to
keep our home running I had to
leave school in Class 9. I started
working with my mother as a
wage labourer. My three other
siblings were very young to work
so I had to step up. Although
my parents had wanted me to
continue with my education they
were helpless. Providing one
square meal in the day was more
important than schooling. But
when we heard about this free
school, my parents decided to let
me go, recalls Rampyari.
Rampyaris outlook towards
life has changed after coming
here. During my four-year stay
I have learnt everything about
cultivation and I am raring to get
back and put all my knowledge
to good use to uplift my family.
Apart from that I have completed
my schooling till Class 12
through the distance education
mode. I am also confident that
I will complete my graduation.
This school has taught me to
dream, she adds with a beaming
smile.
Rampyaris classmate, Seema
Purti, 18, who has come from
Gorella Pendra Village in
Bilaspur, has a similar inspiring
story to share, I was studying in

Girls get cooking lessons at

their school.

Photos: SL/WFS

sarada lahangir, Mungelli, Chhattisgarh

Sumitra Siyaram, 15 (closest to camera), from Barkutia Village

in Surajpur District, is busy learning all there is to know about
stitching as the other girls seated near her are.
Class 7 but had to leave school
because of a severe financial
crisis. When some years back,
two consecutive droughts hit
our village my father, a small
farmer, had no work or source
of income to fall back on. It was
during this difficult time that we
came to know of this school that
gives free education with some
vocational training. In the last
four years I have become an
expert at farming and proficient
at sewing. Apart from this, I am
preparing to give my Class 12
exams by next year.
Even though most of its
students call the institution a
real blessing in their life, getting
it started initially and keeping it
going ever since has not been free
of challenges. It is flourishing
only because of the singular
support and contribution of the
local community. For instance,
the five-acre land on which the
children learn farming has been
donated to the school by Sriti
Durve, 33. Sharing her reasons
for this generous gesture she
says, I clearly remember the
time when I was forced to drop
out of school in Class 8 and
get married. I do not want that
to happen to my daughters or
to any other young girl. I want
to see them do the things that I
could only dream of.

Today, the school runs

independently with its own
income generated from the
farm. Any shortfall is taken
care of by the community. Ten
villagers share the cost of books
on a rotation basis, while every
month 10 families donate Rs 10
each along with three kilos of
rice to keep the mess going.
Till date we have managed
everything without any financial
help from the government.
We have invited agricultural
scientists who volunteered to
teach students the different
techniques of paddy cultivation.
These days, we get volunteers to
teach computers and tailoring.
The elderly women from
the village take the cooking
classes, reveals Dwibijendra
Singh Markam, coordinator and
secretary of Gondwana Society.
With a rapidly modernising
economy,
the
already
marginalised tribal youth are
further getting pushed into a
<
corner.
(Courtesy: Womens Feature Service)

M a r ch 15, 2016

In biting cold, women toil

daily to fetch water
Women in the mountainous region of Ladakh spend the entire year with a singular focus
on intense hard work. During summer, they struggle against Kargils cold, parched
geography with little vegetative growth, producing just enough for survival during
winter. And when everyone is virtually in hibernation during the six months of extreme
cold 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 their
families and, in the process, creating a source of income in the village

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

Director & Editor

Sashi Nair
editorpiirind@gmail.com
Assistant Editor
Susan Philip
Assistant Manager
& Editorial Coordinator
R. Suseela
asst.edit@gmail.com
Design and Layout
Seetha Ramesh

Chetna Verma, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir

Photo: CV/WFS

n the scorching midday

heat, Tsewang Ladol steps
into the courtyard outside
her house and calls out loud
to her neighbours, her dusty
grey
goncha
(traditional
Buddhist robe) flapping in the
light breeze. Her voice carries
easily across the silence of the
mountainous Ladakhi Desert,
and four elderly women working
the fields in the distance look
up in acknowledgement. Soon
after, theyre on their way up
to Ladols house, climbing the
rugged path with practiced ease.
With wrinkles lining their
weathered faces, these Ladakhi
women reflect a charming
attitude that compliments the
breathtaking landscape of the
otherwise arid snow land. In this
mute corner of the world, living
in a village tucked away on the
border of Ladakhs districts
of Kargil and Leh, they pose
a challenge to the patriarchal
Indian society. On their toes all
day long, the women work in the
fields ensuring food security for
their families and, in the process,
creating a source of income in
the village.
Agriculture essentially provides the women here with food
as well as some extra cash that
they use in times of contingency.
In addition to the local crops,
women cultivate vegetables
such as onion, potatoes, peas,
cucumber and mustard. Then
operating collectively in selfhelp groups, they sell the surplus
produce to locals, labourers
working on the National
Highway and middlemen who
further retail it at higher rates
in the Kargil market. They also
make mustard oil to sell in town.

In addition to the local

crops, Ladakhi women
cultivate vegetables and,
then operating collectively
in Self-Help Groups, sell the
surplus produce.

The profit made is deposited in

the groups bank account.
This set pattern, however,
has steadily become tougher
to follow. Reveals Ladol, 35,
Earlier, we would be able to
save some money by selling
vegetables. But in the last
few years, the production has
gone down drastically with the
increasing water crisis in our
area. We are able to grow only
as much as would suffice for our
families. Selling vegetables to
others isnt an option anymore.
While the absence of a regular
source of water for irrigation
has been a constant obstacle in
the land, with climate change
showing its effects, the problem
has only escalated. Over the
last six decades, there has been
a considerable drop in the
snowfall in the area. This has
directly affected the quantity of
natural water resources available
for irrigation. Rigzin Dorjay,
65, remembers how as a child,
he had seen three to four feet of
snowfall that has now dropped
to the bare minimum.
Tsering Yangzen of Darchik
Village, located along the
mighty Indus River, hails from
a small community that believes
it belongs to the pure Aryan
race. He firmly believes that the
drying up of water resources
each year is jeopardising the
very future of his people since
they depend solely on agriculture
for their food security. Tashi
Dawa, 67, who is the wife of
the village head, agrees with
Yangzens observation. Sharing
her worry, she says, In the last
30 to 40 years, the productive
area has reduced from 10 kanals
to five (1kanal = 5445 sq ft). We
are concerned about how our
coming generations are going to
manage once these resources dry
up completely.
An ancient reservoir has
been their only steady source
of water supply. Elaborates
Ladol, During the Kings rule,
our ancestors had constructed a
dam to fight our water problems.
Pipes connected to the natural
spring fill up the dam that acts as
a reservoir. This water is directed

to every field in the village. The

King had decided on the method
of taking turns at the irrigation
and till date everyone follows
that process. It used to help
us avoid the additional strain
of walking long distances for
water, but thats not the case
anymore.
Although the reservoir has
been renovated recently by
the Ladakh Autonomous Hill
Development Council, it does
take longer to fill up each
summer. What this means for the
everyday lives of women across
the region is an even bigger
challenge. A report published
in a regional newspaper in July
2014 reported on how many
villages in Kargil, particularly
in the South Region, had been
badly affected by drought due to
insufficient water in the streams.
Farmers have lost the produce
of an entire season, adversely
affecting their already uncertain
economic condition.
In village Haniskote, women
are struggling to cultivate with
less water and, worse, facing the
consequences of a poor yield.
The daily grind starts early.
Working in the fields for 6-8
hours ensures that we are able
to provide food for the family
and also keep our SHGs afloat.
That simply leaves us with no
time for ourselves. We suffer
physical strain that affects our
health and have consequently
started looking older than we
are, says Tsewang Dolkar, 27,
wryly, pointing towards the
wrinkles on her face.
When there is low yield,
women save food for their
families and live on leftovers.
The strenuous work in the fields,
coupled with low nutritional
intake,
compromises
their
health severely. Men from the
community are either labourers
or jobless. Moreover, when
faced with a drought-like situation they migrate to Leh Town
or other areas like Jammu,
Srinagar, Himachal Pradesh or
Chandigarh (Punjab) in search
of work. Women are left behind
to deal with all the crippling
problems brought on by drought,

poor health and extreme weather

conditions. Today, the entire
Ladakh province is threatened
by unsustainable tourism, overgrazing, indiscriminate resource
extraction and increase in
infrastructure. The repercussions
of climate change are clearly
visible as the Indus River, whose
main catchment area - about
59146 sq km - lies in Ladakh,
has been adversely affected
by the melting of its feeding
glacier Naimona'nyi. According
to a major study, the important
glacier had shrunk by 155m
from 1976 to 2006, at a rate of
about five metres per year.
Unfortunately, the coming
years are likely to see the crisis
intensifying, with increased
cases of drought, cloudburst,
changing snowfall pattern and
unexpected rains in this cold
desert. Any mitigation, if at
all done, is likely to ignore the
effects of this on the health of
women who have considerably
less access than men to critical
information on weather alerts
and cropping patterns, affecting
their capacity to respond
effectively to the vagaries of
changing climatic patterns.
The Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC),
established by the United
Nations in 1988 to gather data
and develop knowledge about
climate change, concludes that,
Climate change impacts will
be differently distributed among
different regions, generations,
age classes, income groups,
occupations, and genders.
Indias National Action Policy on
Climate Change, too, mentions
the need to have a gendersensitive approach towards
climate change. Whether the
women of Kargil, with their sunkissed faces and tired bodies,
will benefit from the policy
change remains to be seen. <
(Courtesy: Womens Feature Service.
This article is part of the writers
work under a National Media
Fellowship awarded by the National
Foundation of India.)

Senior Manager - Accounts

& Administration
N. Subramanian
subbudu.n@gmail.com
Manager - Advertising,
Administration
& Library Services
R. Geetha
rindgeetha@gmail.com
Office Assistant
B. Rajendran

The Press Institute of India does not take

responsibility for returning unsolicited
material. It may not always be possible
to reply to senders of unsolicited
material. Opinions expressed in this
publication do not necessarily reflect
the views of the editor or publisher.
Every effort has been taken to assure
that the accuracy of information
contained in this publication is based
on reliable sources. All trademarks and
trade names mentioned in this magazine
belong to their respective owners. In
case of error editor/publisher shall not
be liable for any loss or prejudice caused
to the reader. The publisher reserves the
copyright of the materials published in
the magazine. No part of the articles or
photographs can be reproduced without
the prior permission of the publisher.
All disputes will be subjected to the
jurisdiction of Chennai only.

Advertisement Tariff
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
Material can be sent by email to
rindgeetha@gmail.com or by
CD to our address given above

Annual Subscription
12 Issues Rs. 180
36 Issues Rs. 500
Please note that the cheque or
demand draft or at par cheque
payable in Chennai, for the
subscription
amount
should
be drawn in the name of Press
Institute of India ONLY and NOT
in 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 and
printed by V. Manivannan at R.V. Printers, No.1, 127 Lattice Bridge Road, Adayar, Chennai 600 020. Editor: Sashi Nair

10

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