Society to Uplift Rural Economy

Old memories of Shri Magraj Jain

2010-09-27T23:16:00.000-07:00

Award Category: Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change

2010-09-26T23:10:00.000-07:00

Community led action on Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change with respect to Water Resources, Land Use, Land Use Change & Forestry

Major Achievements of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Datta, Barmer

KVK Barmer is a unique multidisciplinary institute established to evolved technologies to address the complex problem of arid region, demonstrate their viability through on farm and farmer field train/advise stake holders for their large scale adoption in the region. During the 17 years of its existence, KVK has contributed to the best of its ability to district extension, research and development, especially for understanding and management of the region land and water resources, evolving farming system, improvement of bio resources and alternate sources of energy etc. The technologies demonstrate for sand dune stabilization and wind erosion control, water harvesting, crop, tree and grassland improvement, dry land farming, arid horticulture, alternate land use strategies, pest management, livestock management and energy management etc. KVK provided regular training and demonstrations to the farmers, state officials, NGO, and other stake holders and hold regular exhibition. The institute also host the project on vermicompost, Bio farm, feed fodder, WTC etc.

Won JSW- Times of India Earth Care Award for 2010, Hotel Hayat, New Delhi on 10th Sep 2010. Award Category: Community led action on Mitigation and A

2010-09-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

2010-03-26T00:13:00.000-07:00

2010-03-22T02:05:00.000-07:00

2010-03-21T23:24:00.000-07:00

Success story of food security project

This is a story of Uka Ram S/O Chetan Ram who was doing migration every year to the other cities for earning money for his family and he was not happy with his regular migration. Our intervention through the project of Food Security created a history in his life and he became a role model for the others. Now he is member of Village level food security committee (VLFSC) of the village Booth rathoran, District Barmer. He is running grain bank in his village and the people of his village and nearby villagers are benefited. People are getting grains in their own village in lesser rate than the market rates, they saves their time and cost of transportation. Then he started a Peti Shop by taking Rs 5000 loan from other CBO that is from Thar Jagruk Nagrik Manch. Then is is getting his income through the small shop at his own village, gradually he started flour mill, and selling of some other confectionery according to the demand of the community. Now he is happy with his wife and four children and he stopped migration. He develops his trust in the community and family.

Chanchal Tailong

Master of Social Work (ISSW, Indore)

Consultant

Boundry Wall around SURE's New School for the Visually Impaired

2010-02-01T01:14:00.000-08:00

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2009-12-18T23:12:00.000-08:00

Innovation in the area of SocioCultural Rights

2009-12-18T22:48:00.000-08:00

Women and Dalit Empowerment Programme

Successful achievements of our programme intervention.

Platforms developed as An Empowered Community Based Organisation for raising the poor community issues:

Dalit Jagruk Samiti (DJS)
Self Help Group and Women Pressure Group
Ekal Naari Shakti Sangathan
Kishori Manch
Thar Jagruk Nagrik Manch

Activities undertaken

Balika Shikshan Shivir
Livelihood Programme
Beri Construction for safe drinking water
Services given through Resource Centre, Chohatan
Capacity building of the project staff and members of the Dalit Jagruk samiti and establishment of board and policy.
Co-ordination between Block Level Government officials
Advocacy on different issues at District and State level

Ø NREGA and monitoring of the issues of NREGA
Ø Public Distribution System
Ø Gram Seva Sahkari Samiti
Ø BPL Process and Monitoring
Ø Gender Based Voilence

Empowerment of the people both in political and material terms has taken place.

· Participation of the Dalit community in the Gram Panchayat ensured.
· Linkages with government scheme.
· Women are now empowered to participate in the panchayat and free to speak their problem, rights, government schemes, employment etc
· They can identify the problem of the community or individual.
· Now they know about how to prioritize the issue.
· They take action through Resource centre or through their own group.
· They are working as pressure group.

2009-10-01T00:51:00.000-07:00

Proposal for Drought Relief in Western Rajasthan

Short Term Intervention
Distribution of grains (Bajra) in the community on subsidised rate.
Grains (Bajra) are not available in the villages and it is available on high prices , so, the poor community could not be able to purchase. The growth of bajra in the field are also very poor. We can provide them grains like bajra on subsidised rates.
Distribution of livelihood kit to the widows, orphans, disabled, single women at free of cost.

We can provide a kit of raw materials for daily food preparation to widow women, disabled, destitute, single women.
Fodder supply in the villages for cattle (Goat, Sheep, Cow, Camel)
As you can understand about the high price of the fodder and availability of fodder are nil in the village even in the block. Government have no facility for the goat and sheeps. So, there is a need to supply fodder for the cattle from Ahmadabad, MP state.
Water supply in the villages
There is no optimal water supply in the desert areas so we can supply water by tankers to the village at least twice in a week to our intervention areas.
Health check up camps for cattle and community
As you know from our concept note, the cows and goats became died due to drought so, there is need to take care of cattle in our coverage areas by periodical health check- up camps for cattle.
The community members are also not taking daily bath and daily nutritional diet by the women and children. Possibility of RTI/STD and unhygienic condition may cause seasonal diseases like malaria, cold, cough, diarrhoea, typhoid etc. So, we can organize health checkups camp once in a month for the community members.
Construction of Tanka/ Tankli
Tanka is a storage facility for water and it’s for public /community and tankli is a personal house water storage system. In the community there is no optimal facility for that, so we can do for the poor people (dalits,/BPL/widow/ single women/disabled/SC/ST)

Long Term Intervention
Agriculture support – Distribution of seeds, cash support for sawing in the field and preparation of field for cultivation, Kana Bandi (protect water stability in the soil for fertility)
The villagers are having their own land but it is arid so, they need to make their land fertile through stabilization of water by med bandi or kanabandi , they need seeds on subsidised rates or may be at free of cost, cash support for sawing seed in the field.
Rural Extension -Technology transfer for production of Ber, amla throgh horticulture and Kumbhat and Khejri through agronomy
We can support them to protect environment by care of local trees like ber, amla, kumbhat, khejari. We can do the technology transfer through KVK (Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Datta) by doing horticulture and agronomy.
Fodder bank,Grain Bank, Seed bank
In our intervention areas we are working with strong CBOs. Establishment of Fodder Bank, grain bank and seed bank can make community easier to get fodder, grains, seeds on nominal rates at local level and for the effective implementation it can be run by the help of CBOs
Construction of agor (water catchment during rains) and beri
To get the permanent source of water we can support them to construct agor (system for water catchment during rains) and beri construction according to the geographical situation
Advocacy
Policy reform for the widow women, dalits, SC/ST, disabled etc, reforms in welfare schemes.

Integration of women in handicraft as income generation programme.
Around 90% women are involved in local handicraft on traditional basis not in commercial, so we can develop as strong entrepreneurship.

2009-09-29T00:09:00.000-07:00

Drought in Rajasthan, 2009

2009-09-23T00:09:00.001-07:00

A Sure Report

By Chanchal Tailong and Mark L. Takefman^{^[1]}

Rajasthan has faced 84 droughts in the last 100 years, including five from 1997 to 2002. All 32 districts of the state are affected and are currently suffering from sharp depletion of ground water and damage to the livelihood and animal husbandry sectors. Scientific surveys show, for example, that underground water in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan is disappearing at the rate of one foot per year.^{^[2]}

As against 446.76 mm rainfall in Rajasthan in 2008, this year the state received only 267.43 mm (10 inches) of rains, which comes under deficit category of rainfall.

“Water insecurity has come about because of poor hydrological management - water storage, distribution, usage and conservation - as well as failure of water authorities to periodically survey and record accurately the state of the country's water table, the extent of its usage and wastage. Agriculture is the chief consumer of water. Therefore it's imperative to ensure scientific delivery and usage of water for irrigation, besides encouraging drought-resistant seeds and changing cropping patterns where necessary.”^{^[3]}

Gautam Chikermane of the Hindustan Times wonders: “Why, after six decades of freedom, 60 per cent of India’s agriculture is dependent upon rainwater? - The real drought is one of ideas, a famine of execution — not just an Act of God” ^{^[4]}

But the drought on ground zero is real for the people and they are suffering, some dying, as they watch their livelihoods wither and their animals die before them. They, the poorest in the country, are asked to pay the higher prices for their basic needs by selling their land and other possessions. Their plight unfortunately, is good for the GDP of the country and opportunists that move into the area. This is cited as one of the reasons in P. Sainath’s book: “Everyone Loves A Good Drought”^{^[5]}

“Predictably, market forces of mercantile and usurious capital along with land speculators masquerading as real estate businesses look upon the drought as an opportunity to make huge profits. Anticipating a fall in production, stocks are cornered/hoarded. They are aided by government sanctioned and encouraged speculation (commodity futures markets). Thus, the economy denies work and income and raises food prices. This is a recipe for large scale accentuation of hunger and misery for the people who even in the best of times have limited and uncertain access to food.”^{^[6]}

We are proposing a comprehensive multi-faceted and timed approach to this situation that will involve the resources of many organizations and people. We hope that you can be a part of the solution as we move to help those in need and convince the government to do the right thing the attached study can make some visualization to make felt need planning in the rural areas for the long term objectives.

Here we are sharing a small study conducted at a village – Ghonia, Block – Chohatan on date 16.09.09by Mrs Chanchal Tailong and Mr. Takefman.

Activity - Meeting on drought with CBO- Village level food Security Committee and other community members

Availability of water resources in the village

12 Tube Wells
5 Public tankas
1 Personal house tankli

Some effects of drought on this community:

60 cows and 150 goats died due to lack of water and fodder.
The poor growth of bajra crop in the field
Non availability of drinking water in the village and it is 2-3 km far from village to get water.
The price of the fodder became so high and the rates are gwar Rs10- Rs12 instead of Rs5-7 per Kg

Problem faced by the community at village level

Eating habits

Reduced to eat variety of food and vegetables but they are eating with red chilly, salt onion.
Started to prepare bajra flour at home on daily basis.
It all happens due to the higher price of the eating materials and their processing.

Water resources

12 govt tube wells are available in the village through which they are supplying water to the other villages but today only one tube well is working which is also supplies water to the near by villages. Which this looks as like a mismanagement of water resource of the government to the locals.
villagers have not been getting water from last 15 days (except for the women having to walk 2-3 kilometres in the hot sun)
Water Tankas are empty, cattle drinking troughs are also empty.

Fodder

Villagers are forced to purchase fodder at higher prices.
Villagers have demanded fodder from government for their livestock but their is no provision for goat fodder.
The government is only providing dry fodders, khejari leaves, dry local plants.

Source of Income

Handicraft is one of the sources of income for women in the village but they are receiving fewer wages for their work as the local economy changes into survival mode.
Villagers are not getting benefits of NREGA scheme; it has been stopped for the last two months.

Health

Open defecation
Children and women are not getting optimal food, vegetables and water.
Malaria cases found in the area.
Diarrhoea cases found in the area.
Lack of purification or chlorination of drinking water.
Hygiene is severely reduced such as bathing only every third day..

Awareness about global warming

Of course, the villagers understand some aspects about global warming.
During the interview process they expressed their idea about global warming like increase in temp on Earth due to deforestation, misuse of water, personal tube wells in the urban houses, dry berries or “Bawari”.

Villager’s Ideas about saving of water

Reducing misuse of water such as by cleaning utensils by sand.
Availability of water tankas and tankli in each house can save water for at least 2 to 3 days per family.
Use of Dandi Lota (vessel with stick) at home can protect water form the germ infection and can be durable for more days.
Recharging of ponds through peoples participation like scientifically recharging of water during the rains and the digging of old dry pond through peoples participation.

Ideas on how to fight drought

Establishment of fodder bank at village level.
Monitoring of public water supply system.
Chlorination of water in tankli.
Efforts to recharge pond through people’s participation and through NREGA scheme.
Construction of public sitting facility (shed) through NREGA instead of digging land for the fencing purpose of the field.
Construction of personal house through NREGA from which the single, disabled, BPL families etc will get proper shelter in the desert area.
Distribution of cereals, grains, flour, etc instead of wage under NREGA scheme.
Handicraft work should be included in NREGA work especially for the women those who are involved in handicraft.
Construction of latrines in the village through NREGA.

^{^[1]} Mrs. Chanchal Tailong is a consultant to SURE and has been involved with NGOs under WHO project, State and National health implementation programme in Rajasthan under Integrated Population Development and National Rural Health Mission respectively for many years. Mr. Takefman is a Canadian Volunteer Advisor, sponsored by CUSO-VSO and VSO India. He has worked with community service programs all over the world with The New World Foundation of New York.

^{^[2]} United Nations Development Programme

^{^[3]} http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4925283.cms

^{^[4]} http://www.hindustantimes.com/The-real-drought-is-one-of-ideas-a-famine-of-execution-not-just-an-Act-of-God/H1-Article1-446250.aspx

^{^[5]} Penguin India 1996, ISBN: 0-14-025984-8

^{^[6]} Kamal Nayan Kabrav, Hard News Media, September 2009, http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/2009/09/3205