Adopting innovative organic practices and helping other farmers

Santosh Nahne, a 38 year old is a small and innovative farmer of Donodo village in Kalamb block of Yavatmal district in Maharashtra state. He farms over 3.75 acres of land that is irrigated by a well. He also collectively farms over 7 acres of land jointly with his brother who stays with him. He looks after 6 members of his family that includes two children.

Santosh had great affinity for farming since childhood. After completing his higher secondary school, he opted and completed his diploma in horticulture. Throughout his educational period, he aspired to do something innovative with farming. He saw most of the farmers of his village followed the same cropping system and practiced conventional methods. “There is less interest among farmers to innovate and improve their conventional practices. All follow the same path”– says Santosh with a sigh.

Though aspiring to adopt innovative practices, Santosh too initiated farming with conventional practices, due to lack of family support. He cultivated soybean, cotton, and red gram during the Kharif season and during the Rabi season, he cultivated wheat and Bengal gram as other farmers of his village.  However, Santosh always had an urge to adopt innovative practices in agriculture.

Santosh got an opportunity to associate with one of our project on climate change project. He participated in the training session on organic farming. He quickly understood the concept and learnt different organic farming practices.  He found that these practices were new and certainly improve his farm. In the Rabi season, Santosh was selected to develop Kudrat (improved wheat variety) seed plot with organic practices. “Developing seed plot was new for me. I was given research variety “Kudrat” from our partner organization and I had to multiply it through  their support and guidance. The multiplied seeds were to be distributed to other farmers, which will help the local farmers to have quality seeds and reduce dependency on market”. “I had sown 20 kg of Kudrat variety seeds and I harvested 400 kg of wheat seeds. Apart from my own seed requirements and household consumption of 200 kg, I have returned 40 kg of seeds to CSA (our partner organization) and distributed remaining seeds to 6 other farmers”. –shares Santosh.  During the process of seed development, Santosh invited other farmers to his field to share his experiences. Motivated with Santosh farming practices, 5 farmers of his village have adopted organic farming practices in line with Santosh suggestions.

Santosh applying jeevaamrut (organic fertilizer) in his wheat field

Santosh preparing bio pesticide

In the year 2011, our partner organization organized a convergence meeting with government officials. Santosh was keen on taking up sericulture as a new crop over an acre of his land with organic practices. District official from sericulture department visited his farm and registered him as one of a farmer in government sericulture program. Santosh later attended 15 days of in house training session on sericulture that was provided by sericulture department. Later, in June 2012, Santosh planted mulberry plant over an acre of land through organic practices. “My plants are now 3.5 feet tall and I will be earning Rs. 25,000 from my sericulture plot”– says Santosh with a smile.

Santosh in his sericulture field

Donoda village is cluster focal point village. Aid for change’s partner organization has installed Rain gauge and Stevenson screen to measure daily rainfall; humidity and air temperatures respectively. Santosh along with other farmers keeps daily record of rain gauge and Stevenson screen. “We record the data every day in a register. We are able to understand the air temperature and rainfall pattern. This will help us to plan for timely seed sowing. We also plan to keep other details like pests and insect emergence at different rainfall and air temperatures”- says Santosh along with other farmers in a village meeting.

Santosh(1st from left) with villagers recording daily air temperature

Santosh in 2013 has also taken up nursery development for setting up horticulture plantation for other farmers. He has prepared 5500 polybags units of different horticulture plants. “We will distribute 10 plants to each farmer of different village so that other farmers can plant horticulture plants in their field”- says Santosh. It will help other farmers to develop additional source of food, income and biomass for soil nutrients.

Santosh in his horticulture nursery plot

Adopting innovative practices distinguishes Santosh in his village. “My family was very apprehensive when I started organic agriculture. They feared that we would be in a great loss. But, now my family is happy and assist me in farming”. – Says Santosh. He further adds “Our family had huge outstanding loan of Rs. 80,000. I had repaid most of it and today I have an outstanding loan of Rs. 40,000. I will be able to repay it in coming 2 to 3 years and start saving from my farming”.

No more debt trap for Bailmare Family: Thanks to Ecological Farming Technique

Bailmare family hails from Vidarbha, notorious for cases of farmer suicide. This family due to their strong family ties, commitment to ecological agriculture, have not only come out of the indebtedness but made agriculture a profitable venture and the family has progressed in all aspects. They have set an example for all the farmers in the region.

Bailmare family live in a village “Bailmarkheda” in Amravati district of Maharashtra where average rainfall is just 800-900 mm per year that too just for 40-45 days (average). A family of 5 members i.e. Sudhakar and Usha Bailmare along with their three children, Arvind, Reshma and Shraddha. Arvind is a graduate in arts and has a special affinity towards their family farms. Reshma is married and comes to help her parents during the sowing and harvesting season. Shraddha is studying in 12^th standard and wants to do her graduation in agriculture.

Till the year 2004-05, the family was practicing conventional farming on 2 acres of land and this was not profitable for them. They were compelled to spend a lot of money buying chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides and hybrid seeds from the market. The costs of all these inputs increased sharply but the market prices of the different crops increased only marginally. At times, when the crop failed due to adverse climatic conditions, sowing a second time would double costs.

Additionally, to cultivate, they had to take a crop loan from the local bank. Since the amount of crop loan is linked to the size of the land, they could get a small loan of about Rs. 7000 – Rs.8000. After the purchase of an additional 4 acres, they started getting crop loan of about Rs. 30000. Even though it was an interest free loan, at times it was difficult to pay installments. On few occasions, to repay the bank installments, they were compelled to borrow money from the traditional moneylender at high interest rates.

Later Arvind came in contact with a partner organization of Aid For Change working on ecological agriculture in the region. He participated in awareness and training programmes, exposure visits on ecological agriculture to demonstration plots conducted by our partner organization. Realizing the importance of ecological farming techniques, he learnt all the techniques and slowly started practicing them on 2 acres first and then gradually over entire 6 acres. In addition to use of biological fertilizers and pesticides, he adopted practices like inter cropping. Earlier they would take only soya bean, later they started sowing pulses with soya bean, which fetched good income. Arvind and his family started making and using bio pesticides and fertilizers at home. Instead of using hybrid seeds from the market, they started using seeds from their own crops.

Over the period of 6 to 7 years, it resulted in reduction in inputs and other costs related to agriculture and agriculture production and income increased. Agriculture started becoming profitable for the family. After 2008, the family has not taken any loan from the bank for agriculture.

Sudhkar says – “currently our entire land of 6 acres is completely rainfed. We have dug a well in the subsequently purchased farm. Now with our savings, we want to purchase a motor and a pump. I will also have to do a lot of follow up with the local government for electricity as the farm is little away from the main village and currently there are no cables and polls. Irrigation will help us in taking crops throughout the year and for horticulture.”

Flowering a Ray of Hope

Forest land that was lying idle in the past is being put to good use by tribals of ‘Boricha Mal’ village. Today they supplement the growth of paddy with vegetables under the horticulture project implemented by Sakav in partnership with Aid for change, for a region that is home for marginalized adivasis from the Thakar tribe.

In the midst of the legal battles to claim rightful ownership of land under the Forest Rights Act these green patches growing near river banks and foothills are contributing towards food security and income for the adivasis.

One such initiative that is bringing a positive result for Namya Dore and his family is the sale of marigold flowers (zendu) on his acre and half land that adjoins the paddy field. Helping him out is his son Madhukar Dore who is also the village Youth President and wants the village to adopt more environment friendly practices like these and the kitchen gardens to improve financial security.

With the recently concluded festivals of Dussehra and upcoming Diwali, these flowers are in much demand at the markets in Nagothne and Pen and rates fluctuate from rupees 50 to 60 per kg when the demand is more. It is a picturesque sight to take in the flowers growing in numbers and like the patch being taken care by Madhukar they come in myriad colors. “With the abundance of festivals and celebrations including puja these flowers have a daily demand,” says Madhukar.

They also cultivate tomatoes, chilies and bitter gourd that is sold in the domestic market and used for personal consumption. “There was a time we only ate rice but now the color green is a part of our diet and who ever thought flowers which grew wild here would turn into a profitable business,” says the father and gets back to threshing the rice that has got soaked with an unexpected shower of overnight rain.

Courage of her Convictions

Married to Milind Vir at the age of 15 years Hausabai put up with verbal and physical abuse for more than twenty years in her marriage. Her children were also targets of physical beatings by her husband. But a year ago Hausabai took a remarkable decision, that of walking out of her abusive marriage and taking both her sons with her. She could take this step because of the counselling and support given by the staff of Savitribai Phule Mahila Mandal, a partner of Aid for Change working in Beed district.

Recalling her past, Hausabai shares that despite being a class IV government employee earning a monthly salary of Rs. 28,000 her husband would not give any money for household expenses and would beat her whenever she asked for money. Most often than not he would spend his money on alcohol and beat her and her children on coming home completely drunk. Her 18 year old son Sangar adds, “There were times he would bring groceries and urinate on them or stamp with his feet upon our bhakari (pearl millet bread) and expect us to eat it,” Sangar who had to cut short his studies after the 9^th class lives with his mother and supports the family by working in a roadside coconut stall and earns about 200 rupees in a day. Sangar recalls that a couple of times he has been beaten by his father and thrown out of the house with his mother and his siblings at 2.00 am. The violent behavior of his father has affected Sangar and both his siblings adversely. While Sangar could not continue his studies, his elder brother had to spend time in a juvenile home for getting into street fights, while his elder sister who was married off early to avoid being beaten is now a young widow.

Hausabai says, “The decision to walk out on my husband was a difficult one for me. My husband’s elder brother is mentally ill but his wife who is a practicing lawyer continues to stay with him and is ensuring that he gets treatment. I think that my husband is also mentally ill and needs to be treated for it but who will listen to me? People expect that a woman should stay with her husband no matter what. I am getting old now. How long can I stay with my four brothers who live as daily wage workers on the sugar cane field? Now that my parents have also aged it felt unwelcome to stay with them anymore. But I have had enough of my husband and his misbehavior. So I left him.”

The future is uncertain but Hausabai is happy with her decision and enjoys a good night sleep even if it is on a half empty stomach on certain nights. She describes it as “A little empty space in my stomach but a lot of peace in my mind. “ Her monthly earnings of Rs. 1500 and the earnings of her sons help the family to live in a rented house.

Hausabai decision has helped her become more confident. She says, “I am not afraid of my husband any more. Sometimes he comes here and stands outside the house shouting a lot of bad words and saying bad things about my character. Earlier I would have been afraid to confront him but now whenever he does that I or Sangar step out to confront him and he simply runs away. He will realize that he cannot hurt me anymore. I plan to claim for maintenance expenses for the children under the Protection of Women against Domestic Violence Act. “

Hausabai believes that from here on things can only get better. Coming out of an abusive situation means that Hausabai can start dreaming again, about a better life for herself and her sons, about a house of her own. Sangar dreams too now of becoming a police man someday and helping other women like his mother.

From Farmer to Facilitator

As a newly-wed it was an uphill task for Reshma Dondu Rao at Village Varap working at the paddy fields all day. During the harvest a hefty share was taken away by the village landlord leaving behind very little for this family to survive on. Like many others in the village this family was caught in the vicious cycle of money lending and a debt trap that kept increasing its tenacious grip at every harvest.

With the intervention of Aid for change’s partner organization Sakav the village Self Help Group began to take root and soon the middleman was done away with. Villagers could now access easy loans on a minimum interest and a new hope glimmered. Today her former mud house has become a brick house with amenities like a colour television set and ceiling fans. Her three children study in college while husband and wife work together on the field growing rice, pulses and a particular variety of broad beans (vaal) for which this village is famous. For Reshma her two and half acre field is a bank and she considers her labour as a daily investment. With an inclination to know more and experiment she was among the first in the village to switch over to Systematic Rice Intensification method (SRI) for her paddy and today is at the forefront as an educator and speaker to promote organic initiatives like herbal pesticide and fertilizers.

Her recent experiment to hedge the farm with glyricidia branches and leaves has been effective in keeping away rodents and her next talk will encourage others to adopt this practice. Today she empowers other farmers with her experiences to improve productivity and is on her way to becoming financially secure. “Those landlords who used to fleece us now ask for loans from our self-help group as we offer lower interest rates than the banks,” she laughs. Meanwhile Dhondu Rao her husband is curious to learn more about a small tractor that the Sakav field worker is talking about. It costs 4 lakhs and would be a good collective investment for the village to plough the fields.

Father beats mother so I have to stay here

As a child Rohini and her brother have witnessed their mother being beaten by her father who she feels is mentally unstable. She hastens to add that her father has never beaten her or her brother, he just beats up their mother. Once the beating was so bad that her mother had fractured her skull, says Rohini. Fear of being hurt by her father kept her from trying to stop the beatings when they happened.

Being an intelligent student she is keen to study further but has to take the occasional break to work on the fields and raise money for the education expenses of her elder brother who is studying in the 9^th standard. He has been kept in the hostel at a village 100 kilometres away to prevent his father from visiting him and taking him away.

Today Rohini and her mother work to pay the expenses of the brother and Rohini studies when free time is available from housework. When asked where she prefers to stay Rohini is quick to reply that her home is at the village of her father and does not consider her mother’s house as her own. “Father beats mother so I have to stay here,” she replies. There have been times her father has locked food grains in a room and forced her mother to beg in neighbouring houses for food because he suspects her of giving away groceries and food grains to others. “He is bit crazy so does all this. If only he stops listening to others and stops beating my mother we could live together,” she explains.

Her uncle reveals that after consistent physical abuse his sister is not concerned about losing her life but worried that she may become disabled and unable to support herself and the children. That compels her to force on the hospitality of her three brothers.

After becoming a member of the village woman support group started by SPMM (Savitri Phule Mahila Mandal) in partnership with Aid for Change, Shakuntala could take recourse to legal action and protection from her husband. Her daughter is keen to study and particularly fond of learning Marathi and likes to sketch. While her school fees are free there are additional expenses like stationery and uniform costs that have to be incurred.

Her father has remarried and she is not too keen to see the new wife. All she hopes for is that all this should end like a bad dream and her parents come together. As the days go by, people in the village tease her that she is now eligible to get married but Rohini is irritated with this and clarifies this is an age to study and not marry. Juggling with studies and work she is thrilled to earn 1300 rupees with her last assignment at the cotton field.

Bhaji Mala :A step towards improved nutrition and income

There was a time in the recent past when ‘Boricha Mal’ village of Pen block in Raigarh district of Maharashtra was known for the tribal families of the village brewing and consuming liquor and the harmful effects of this liquor consumed.

Today the scenario is different as hamlets and mud shanties have given way to proper brick houses. Villagers work collectively to help build houses putting to practice the adage ‘many hands make light work.’ Where liquor was once brewed in the backyard we now encounter a more environment conscious ‘Bhaji Mala’ (kitchen garden) under the horticulture initiative taken by Aid for Change in partnership with Sakav that has improved the economic and health standard of the tribals who live here.

Meet then Namdeo Mangya Dore who is among the industrious workers of this village that is home to 52 thakar adivasi families. While Namdeo and his wife Rami work in the kitchen garden where they grow flowers and greens like cucumber and eggplant, his elder son takes care of goats after returning from school. Four other children also help in the kitchen garden after they come home from school. Namdeo and his wife Rami now own a 2 acre field, the ownership title of which was granted to them under the provisions of the Forest Rights Act 2006. During the day they work on this land where vegetables like bitter gourd (karela), eggplant (brinjal), cucumber, snake gourd (padval) and broad beans are cultivated. When the monsoon ceases they retraces their steps to the other field in closer proximity to the river bank where they have been traditionally growing paddy.

Similar to the tale of many others who reside here, horticulture is providing a valuable means of sustenance and livelihood for a community that was only growing paddy till a few years back. While most of the rice is consumed by the family, vegetables provide much required nutrition and an additional source of income with the neighborhood market at Nagothne 12 kilometers away. “I made 3000 rupees yesterday by selling the vegetables,” he smiles as it has been among his bigger sales recorded last month. There are times he earns five thousand rupees with his monthly sale of vegetables during the monsoon months and finds no reason to complain for this additional revenue that is making its way into his bank account. Besides the additional income his family now has access to much required greens in their diet as rice has been the routine food.

His backyard kitchen garden depends on the supply of water as he uses river water for irrigation. For those families in the village whose lands are not near the river bank it is not possible to grow vegetables. Some have to carry water over long distances and this arduous task restricts the size of their vegetable garden and its productivity.

There was a time Namdeo had to struggle to make ends meet with a monthly income of 6000 rupees that did not leave much after deducting expenses. He now has a reason to smile with an annual turnover of over 2 lakh rupees and a plan to extend his house and add to the family of goats. “Growing vegetables is profitable and we need to access more inland areas by improving irrigation infrastructure,” he says. Today the challenge before him is to find a way to channelize the river water uphill to his horticulture patch so that he does not have to restrict this activity to the monsoon months. The provision of powerful water pumps and water pipes could provide a solution as the land being used for horticulture is presently dependent on the unpredictable rain showers and only a handful of the 52 families at his village have their land in close proximity to the river bank.

Self-help group as an instrument of empowerment

In the past, Kari village in Beed District (Maharashtra) was marked by regular eruptions of domestic violence. With majority of the 2500 residents being landless migratory daily wage workers on sugar cane fields, family life suffered if the husband was abusive.

According to the traditional system, the sugar cane contractor gives an advance of 50,000 to a lakh of rupees to every couple and extracts their service for 6 to 7 months in the year. Most of the time husbands used up the money for their entertainment and when the wife asked about it she was either physically beaten or verbally abused.

The platform for change was set with SHGs (Self Help Groups) that financially empowered women. With the efforts of Savitribai Phule Mahila Mandal (SPMM) an NGO that addresses domestic violence with support from Aid for Change, a Women and Men Support group took root 4 years ago. At present there are 15 members and over the years their sphere of influence and reputation has grown.

“Men are scared of this group today not only in our village but also in the neighboring ones,” smiles Sudhakar Mazmule who is a member of the men’s support group in the village. He informs that women now intervene when there is an incident of domestic violence. Men give backend support and help with paperwork and legal formalities where required. “Today women in our village make their husband accountable for the money he takes as advance,” says Suman.

There have been instances in the past where a husband doused his wife with kerosene and tried to set her aflame. The women support group members got police involved and mentioned the right section numbers to file the legal case and it brought the husband to his knees. Other general improvements witnessed here is a move to register houses under joint names of husband and wife. The local school now mentions the name of the mother in the admission form instead of only the father.

“We don’t get scared of anyone. If required we know how to file a complaint under different laws at police station,” states Baramati and reveals that at one time she did not know what SP stood for (Superintendent of Police) but today they are a familiar face at the SP office and also known for settling domestic disputes without police help. Men from the village with the knowhow help this group with filing cases under the right sub sections of the Atrocities Act and that has made husbands wary as a proper FIR (First Information Report) lodged can get them into a lot of trouble.

Every member of the women support group has been beaten by her husband in the past but today this village is sensitized about gender equality and empowered enough to take some action against violence.

 

Charity Run to Stop Domestic Violence

Following our last year’s success, we are happy to see that this year we had a far greater response from corporates and their employees who came forward in great numbers with unparalleled zeal to participate in the 3.5 K charity run and 10 K run as a part of Pune International Marathon held on 7^th December 2014.

With more than 100 employees from 6 organizations i.e. Vodafone, Vanderlande, Sulzer, Burchardt compression, VMWare, and FIAT, running under the banner “#DomesticViolenceHasToStop” employees raised awareness about the persisting condition of domestic violence in India.

As per the last government study, one woman out of every three women in India between the ages of 15 to 49 has experienced physical violence. One woman in four suffers violent abuse in India and cannot count on getting help. AID FOR Change supports those affected to build a new life and raises awareness about this issue through the campaign “DomesticViolenceHasToStop’ Aid For Change received an appreciation trophy at 29th Pune International Marathon for having more than 100 participants for charity run.

“Big thanks to all the corporates and their employees for supporting us by participating in the event and making it a success”.

 

Remembering Anand Kapoor

He had been working to empower tribal communities displaced by Dimbhe dam in Maharashtra, along with his wife, Kusum Karnik, for the past 34 years. In 1996, they registered a voluntary organisation called Shashwat, which has helped tribal communities develop sustainable fishing in the Dimbhe reservoir. Through lobbying and partnership with the local government, dam displaced farmers now access light- weight pumps and pipelines for crop irrigation; on steep slopes high above the dam and tribal farmers have been supported to cultivate small paddy terraces. The organisation runs schools and also supports local farmers with land tenure securitisation (official ownership documents). Grain harvests have improved substantially, ensuring food security. Seasonal migration to nearby cities, from 14 villages, has stopped. In recognition of Shashwat’s accomplishments, it was awarded the 2012 UNDP Equator Prize for Freshwater Resource Management chosen from among 812 nominations in 113 countries.

Anand had coordinated R&R works of about 20 organisations following the 1997 Jabalpur Earthquake in and participated in long-term recovery following the 2001 Kutch earthquake. Kapoor had an engineering degree from Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) and had been visiting faculty to the Centre for Technological Alternatives for Rural areas (CTARA) of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

Anand Kapoor’s passing away is certainly an irreparable loss, but Aid For Change endeavours to take his vision forward through its programmes and make it a reality.