Carol’s India Blog

Beryl had no idea she was opening a can of snakes when she asked about the name Ettershank! Someone (who will remain nameless) used to tell  me I must be descended from the Vikings – I am not sure if it was compliment or not!

However this is going to be a more serious blog about the organization I work for, so I hope you will not be bored!

Pragati Koraput is a non government organization (NGO) working in remote areas of Koraput District, where the  population is over 50% tribal and 80% live below the poverty line.  We work mainly in sustainable agriculture, organic farming and forestry, and help people to help themselves. There are several projects running funded by Trocaire, Ireland, the Indian Government and Oxfam. 

There are many problems in this area. For a start it’s remote – you only have to look out the window on the  train journey to see just how remote it is.  Its hilly and forested so much of the land is unsuitable for growing crops, deforestation has taken place and there are frequent floods, droughts and landslides. The people are not aware of their rights and have been cut off from government schemes by poor communications and lack of information.  India has far too many people and feeding them is a big problem. In the villages the land can feed the family for part of the year, but the rest of the time the head of the household migrates to find work (laboring in brick works, mines etc) This leads to breakdown of family life, women headed households and -  wherever you have men working away – the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Pragati runs a community development programme to help villages set up resource committees. We train and assist the committees to apply for government grants, help people access their rights and generally improve their lives. The disaster planning workshop I went to is part of a new programme (Funded by Trocaire Ireland) on Disaster Risk Reduction.

We also run a Sustainable Rice Intensification (SRI) programme. This is an organic, more productive method of rice cultivation. Here in India the farmers traditionally grow rice (or paddy as they call it) by scattering the seed, irrigating the land and just leaving it to grow. SRI means they have to work harder but can treble the yield. They have to prepare nursery beds, plant the seed in rows and transplant the seedlings. They also have to weed between the rows as no chemicals are used. We do road shows, demonstrations and education programmes to encourage the farmers to take up SRI.  

I find the work really interesting.  This case study shows how little money is needed to change one family’s life. There are around Rs 70/- to the pound!

Chandra Masti lives with his wife and two children in Tarliput village and a pair of bullocks has changed his life!  He was orphaned at the age of twelve and had nobody to look after him. Although he had 2 acres of land he didn’t know to cultivate the land for himself at this young age. He worked as a bonded labourer for almost 5 years and managed to earn a living. When he grew up the villagers gave him the responsibility of herding the livestock and in exchange they gave him two meals a day. Chandra got married at the age of twenty. His father-in-law used to lend his bullocks so that he could cultivate his land. After a gap of twenty years Chandra cultivated his land and he produced food for his family. But this wasn’t enough., so he used to migrate out for six months every year to earn a living. Chandra was selected by the village committee to  received Rs 6890/- to buy a pair of bullocks and Rs 1325/- to construct a shed, insured his bullocks and attended training on cattle care and management. During the first year he cultivated his entire patch of 2 acres and raised paddy, ragi, niger and a few vegetable crops. Besides feeding his family he earned Rs 1200/- by selling the surplus and opened aa account at the post office and started saving Rs 20/- per month. Chandra has been able to buy a few utensils for the family and new clothes for his wife and children.   It has increased his confidence and participation in the community.

So what am I doing to help all this you are all wondering – well at teh moment I am writuing their annual repost, I hav drafted a brochure and I am getting to liaise with arench television documnetary team!!! Impressed