You see the road, the trees and even the people start looking different to you. Because you look at people and surrounding with new eyes, as they say. Each visit to Mokhada brings this message to me.

“Leave your car at the hotel. Let us travel together in this Ertiga,” Dr Shubalakshmi, COO of Aroehan said. Sedans are the not the best vehicles for driving to villages in Mokhada. I hopped in, so did Aroehan’s project managers. It was a long serpentine road up and down the hills after we exited the highway.

Women assembled for meeting

We reached a hamlet. A group of Adivasi women were assembled by Meenakshi and Sarita to meet us. A smaller group of men also joined them. Sulabha, my wife, Dr Shuba (during the travel from Jawhar to Mokhada I had become familiar enough to address her as Shuba) and I sat down with them.

“I am Rajendra Shankar Palve,” a young man moved forward and introduced himself. He picked up a file and scanned through the papers to pick up one to show me, but I stopped him.

Rajendra Palve

“Wait, I said. I am going to record your video. Is that okay?” I took out my selfie stick, placed my mobile on it, fixed a collar mike and hooked it to his collar. My addressing him in Marathi must have made him more comfortable, I guessed.

“Not a problem” he replied as he gave a broad smile, adjusting the collar mike. He was excited to face the camera. “I am a member of the pada (hamlet) samiti.” He picked up his papers from the file. “Let me tell you the projects pada samiti has followed up with Government Offices.” He explained various issues, beginning with the ‘Bus problem’. State Transport buses had started plying to their pada, but heavy rains washed out the road during the last monsoon. There was no place where the bus could turn around, so the service was stopped. It was yet to be resumed although he had represented the problem before the State Transport authorities.

Rajendra also spoke of the PHC (Primary Health care Centre) which was sanctioned in 1994 but is yet to be established.

“What happens in the monsoon when you can’t cross the Pinjal river and your village is cut off from Pethecha pada?”

“Do you see that hill behind you? We have to climb up the hill and reach a village called ‘Kevnale.’ We then negotiate charges for a vehicle to take the patient to the PHC. All this takes about four hours. Sometimes the sick person dies on the way.”

That left me speechless. I was left to imagine the hardship of Adivasi villagers in this hamlet.

Our discussion then shifted to the Electricity supply. The Electricity poles had fallen or bent. That resulted in intermittent electricity supply. One woman said that a person had died, I guess he was electrocuted as a result of the unrepaired electric poles. Apparently the MSEB officials responded to Rajendra and his pada samiti’s appeal and it was repaired.

Governance is a difficult area to work on. Aroehan has obviously made an impact. The essence of governance is that the villagers must decide on the issues confronting them, and solve their problems.

Seeta (in blue saree) speaks about impact of Aroehan’s work. Sarita to her right

“Seeta wants to speak” Sarita from Aroehan’s project team said. Seeta in a light blue saree stood out in the group of village women. “She was illiterate but has learnt to sign, she takes initiative to find solutions to the problems. She is the treasurer of the pada samiti. Talk about women’s issues,” Sarita said. Seeta cringed. She drew courage and explained how pregnant women now go for scan, ensure inoculation, thanks to Aroehan. Seeta was happy that she was playing a role in alleviating the problems of her hamlet. She was so excited, she invited Aroehan team for a cup of tea at her home!

Paper Plates Making Machine

This is the ground reality in the twenty-first century! This was a different world, I thought. Seeta, Sarita and Meenakshi showed us a machine for making paper plates. And a grinding machine which can give them rice flour and masalas. They demonstrated their operation to me. These could be some sources of additional income, they said.

Grinding Machine

I was uncomfortable. Much more was needed to be done to provide better living conditions, education and the list would be long. The problem was huge, almost insurmountable. But somehow it had to be confronted with determination and skill.

“Malnutrition deaths, low literacy rate and education levels, water scarcity, migration of tribal to the city in search of jobs are all interconnected problems,” Anjali once told me, “You can’t work on only one problem, a comprehensive, integrated approach to development is required. And we have to put more money in the hands of the villagers to address the poverty and related issues. That’s the most effective approach. And it’s not easy.”

As I got in the Ertiga again, the words of my friend came haunting me: “Educated and the well-to-do people from cities have only ‘anthropological interest’ in the tribal community.” People have visited these villages clad in jeans, and a T-Shirt, carrying cameras. They have listened to their plight, visited their villages, photographed them all to quench their curiosity, but the involvement for active contribution was never forthcoming.

Lisa Ray tells a story in her autobiography. A stranger spoke to her, he told his heart-rending life story. He thanked her for listening to him and said his gift to her would only be a riddle. ‘What’s the furthest a human can travel?’ His answer was, ‘from here’, as he drew a line from his temples to his heart, ‘to here.’

I hope I can travel it. I am going to.

Vivek S Patwardhan

The announcement of PM Modi on March 24 created unprecedented problems for migrant workers. Many of them started walking to reach their home town, in some cases a few hundred kilometres away. They went without food and water.

Aroehan’s Project staff realised that they had to track down such workers and provide help. They found out migrant workers working on brick kilns were stranded at certain villages in Palghar. The Project staff sent an SOS.

“We have identified migrants on Brick kiln in Palghar Block who are in need of basic things in this lockdown villages: Dhuktan – Katkaripada, Diwekarpada and Ranoli (90), Sakhre (38), Haloli-Padospada (18). We must provide them with Grocery and other basic items.” Providing food and other essentials meant substantial cost, a quick estimate informed us that it will cost a little more than Rs. One Lakh for this group.

Dr Shubalakshmi, COO of Aroehan sought help. Aroehan had not planned for this eventuality. But the situation was such that it was not possible to ignore. How can any NGO worth its salt turn Nelson’s eye when a group of people are in a helpless situation?

An appeal was made through a post on Facebook. And also mails were sent to well-wishers requesting donations. The response was much more than what we wished for. In about fifteen hours we collected a little less than Rs. Two Lakhs!

The project team moved with speed. They immediately met 19 families (say about 70+ persons) at Dhuktan and provided each family with a package containing Rice 5 Kg, Tea 500 gm, Sugar 1 Kg, Tur Dal 500 gm, Masala + Turmeric, Edible Oil 1 Litre, Toothpaste and a Soap.

Immediate Help Was Possible Because of Instant Response of Donors

This is the story of Aroehan’s help reaching within 24 hours of identifying the problem. And of responsible citizens who have contributed immediately. Aroehan’s project team will cover the rest of the needy workers tomorrow.

Kudos to the donors who responded within 15 hours. They made money available to Aroehan. Kudos to the Aroehan Team which has shown exceptional speed of response to help the needy.

The story will repeat and continue tomorrow. And our belief in the people’s willingness to support the vulnerable section of society is strengthened.

Vivek S Patwardhan

आरोहन ही नोंदणीकृत सामाजिक संस्था गेली १३ वर्षे पालघर मधील मोखाडा, जव्हार, डहाणू आणि पालघर या तालुक्यांमध्ये ‘कुपोषण समूळ नष्ट व्हावे’ यासाठी आरोग्य, शिक्षण, रोजगार, शेती, पाणी आणि सुप्रशासन हे विषय मध्यवर्ती ठेवून काम करीत आहे. मोखाड्या तालुक्यातील सुर्यमाल- केवनाळे, कुर्लोद, पाथर्डी- बोटोशी, आणि आसे ग्राम पंचायत तर जव्हार मधील कडाची मेट गांव आणि आयटीआय जव्हार या ठिकाणी विशेष लक्ष देवून सध्या महिला, मुल आणि युवा वर्गा बरोबर काम सुरु आहे.

‘बॅलन्स फॉर बेटर अर्थात – समानता असणारा, आनंदी समाज निर्माण होण्यासाठी जात,धर्म,लिंग इ. सर्व प्रकारचे संतुलन आवश्यक आहे’ ह्या संकल्पनेवर आधारित यावर्षीचा ‘जागतिक महिला दिन’ सहा ठिकाणी साजरा करण्यात आला. बोटोशी येथील भोसपाडा, आसे येथील ब्राह्मण गांव, कुर्लोद, सूर्यमाळ, कडाची मेट आणि आयटीआय जव्हार येथे मोठ्या जल्लोषात महिला दिन साजरा करण्यात आलेल्या ह्या मेळाव्यात जव्हार आगारच्या व्यवस्थापिका सरिता बागल, माधुरी मुकणे, सरिता चौधरी, प्रतिभा भोये, अॅड कल्याणी मुकणे, मीनाक्षी खिरारी आणि लीला दळवी यांनी आजची स्त्रियांची सामाजिक-आर्थिक आणि राजकीय स्थिती मांडली आणि आपापल्या क्षेत्रात आदरपूर्वक स्वतःचे स्थान मिळवण्यासाठी प्रत्यक्ष त्या स्त्रीच्या तसेच समाजातील इतर घटकांच्याही मानसिकतेत बदल व्हायला हवा, हे बदल कसे घडवावेत हे दाखवण्यासाठी स्वतःच्या अनुभवांची मांडणी ह्या मेळाव्यातून करण्यात्त आली. सूर्यमाळ येथे ग्राम पंचायत आणि डॉन बॉस्को संस्थेबरोबर तर ब्राम्हण गांव येथे ‘साथी’ संस्थेबरोबर या मेळाव्यांचे आयोजन करण्यात आले होते.

यासर्व मेळाव्यामध्ये त्या त्या गावातील स्त्रिया, युवती, युवा मोठ्या प्रमाणात सहभागी झाले होते. कडाची मेट येथील मेळाव्यात गावातील स्त्रियांनी रान भाज्यांपासून विविध प्रदार्थ बनवून प्रदर्शन केले. मासिक पाळी आणि त्यासंदर्भात असलेले गैरसमज समजावून घेण्यासाठी ‘पॅड मॅन’ सिनेमा एकत्रित बघितला. महिला दिन हा सर्वांच्या आनंदाचा दिवस असायला हवा आणि महिला सक्षमीकरणावर फक्त भाष्य न करता आपल्या कृतीत तो विचार उतरला पाहिजे अशी भूमिका सर्व वक्त्यांनी मांडली आणि शेवटी सर्व आदिवासी महिलांनी आणि युवानी आपला पारंपारिक ‘तारपा नृत्य’ सदर केले.

Bhaskar Bhau Somamalik does not migrate any more to Mumbai in search of work. In one rabi season, he earns about Rs 50,000. (Photo by Nidhi Jamwal)

Not long ago, Diwali, the festival of lights, used to bring gloom to the family of Bhaskar Bhau Somamalik, a farmer from Khoch village in Mokhada taluka (administrative block) of Palghar. “Every year, post Diwali, I used to migrate along with my wife and two small children to Nashik or Mumbai to work as a daily wager,” Somamalik reminisced the hard times faced by his family.

Monthly rental for one small room in city slum was Rs 2,000, along with an upfront deposit of Rs 10,000. Since he had no money, Somamalik’s family would squat on the footpath, next to mosquito-infested waste heaps and often fall sick. “By the time we returned to our village for Holi (in March), I would have already spent all my earnings on doctor fees and medication. Migration was our only means of survival,” he said.

That was some six years ago when Somamalik and his fellow farmers from Khoch, mostly belonging to the Thakar scheduled tribe, were facing abject poverty. During the kharif (monsoon) season, they practiced subsistence farming of paddy and finger millet (ragi, locally known as nachani) for self-consumption. In the rabi (winter crop) season, they were forced to migrate to cities for lack of irrigation facilities in their village.

Collective farming

In 2010, Aroehan, a Mokhada-based NGO, approached the tribal farmers of Khoch to train them in growing seasonal vegetables in the rabi season. Since the farmers were extremely poor and owned very little or no land, collective farming was adopted.

To begin with, a group of 10 farmers from Khoch was trained in vegetable farming. Thirty-five year-old Somamalik was one of them. In the rabi season of that year, he sowed okra on 1.5 acre land and earned Rs 50,000; his life’s first ever earning from the rabi crop.

There has been no looking back since then. Somamalik has stopped migrating to cities to clean the gutters, or work as a construction labourer. He spends both the kharif and rabi seasons in Khoch itself. However, his produce gets sold in the international market. “I now grow vegetables such as French beans, okra and chilli. Last year, I exported okra to the Europe,” says a proud Somamalik, who is illiterate but has enrolled both his children at the local school.

Farmers benefited

Several other farmers of Mokhada have benefitted from collective farming. “There are over 650 vegetable farmers, 1,000 horticulture farmers and 200 floriculture farmers involved in collective farming,” informs Rahul Tiwrekar, lawyer and consultant with Aroehan. According to him, collective farming has increased the annual average turnover of subsistence farmers from Rs 5,000 per farmer to over Rs 85,000 a farmer.

Collective farming, locally known as gath kheti, is a type of agricultural production in which a group of farmers owning contiguous land engage jointly in farming activities and sell their produce as a joint enterprise in the market.

Since 2010, Aroehan is organising farmers to train them in collective farming. A group of 10 farmers pool their lands to begin group farming. In case a villager does not own land, a fellow farmer owning four to five acres lends a small portion to the landless villager against a nominal rent. For instance, Somamalik has taken 1.5 acres on rent from a fellow farmer, Vadu Sakru Bhau. “From my produce, I share 20 per cent with Vadu Sakru Bhau,” informs Somamalik.

Farmers of Khoch village in Palghar practicing collective farming standing in a field of chilli rabi crop. (Photo by Nidhi Jamwal)

Water for irrigation

Apart from land, availability of water for irrigation is an important factor for collective farming. Mokhada has negligible irrigation facilities because of which there is high migration in the rabi season.

“Khoch has a minor irrigation scheme lying defunct for many years. We spent over Rs 1,000 to fix a part of the broken underground irrigation pipeline so that some land can be brought under irrigation for collective farming,” informs Tiwrekar. Villages that lack irrigation facilities set up water harvesting structures or solar water lifting systems to grow the rabi crop.

The decision of crops under collective farming depends on factors such as local terrain, climatic conditions and the market demand. So far, Khoch farmers have cultivated okra, chilli, French beans, tomatoes, onion, ridge gourd, eggplant, etc.

Calculating costs

Initially, only half an acre land per farmer is brought under collective farming. Members of Aroehan, along with the farmers, calculate input cost per season in terms of seeds, manure and fertiliser, etc. “Roughly, half an acre land needs Rs 2,000-3,000 input materials. Aroehan provides this money as seed amount. It also links the farmers to the neighbouring APMC (Agriculture Produce Market Committee) markets in Vashi and Nashik,” says Tiwrekar.

Grazing cattle can destroy vegetable crops; hence crop guarding is crucial. “Collective farming helps as we guard our fields on shift basis. We also work at each other’s fields, thereby reducing the need to hire extra labour,” informs Vadu Sakru Bhau.

Once the crop is ready, all the farmers of the group hire one pickup truck to transport their produce to the APMC market, which saves money, says Madhukar Bhau, a farmer from Khoch. Interestingly, the farmers of Khoch recently bought a pickup truck from their group savings of the last few years.

On an average, an acre of land leads to an earning of Rs 40,000-50,000 per season. Thus, farmers growing two crops in a year get an annual average turnover of Rs 85,000 per farmer, informs Tiwrekar. According to him, some farmers in Mokhada have already received GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) Certification and are exporting their produce to the European markets.

Linking farmers to banks

As part of collective farming, Aroehan helps the farmers’ group open a joint bank account in which each member deposits a fixed amount on regular intervals. Khoch farmers, for instance, deposit Rs 100 per month per farmer. In times of need, they borrow money from the joint account and repay it after the sale of their produce. “We no longer borrow money from the local money-lender who used to charge us 50 per cent interest rate,” says Madhukar Bhau.

Over 300 farmers of Mokhada have also received the Kisan Credit Card (initial limit of Rs 95,000 per annum) from the IDBI Bank. They use this card to buy input materials for agriculture purposes.

Health benefits

Apart from the direct benefits of collective farming, there are several indirect benefits as well. For instance, farmers have built pucca houses and their children are regularly attending anganwadi and school. Palghar is infamous for malnutrition deaths. “The reason for high malnutrition in Palghar is lack of livelihood, which forces villagers to migrate. Collective farming can help address this problem,” says Abhijeet Bangar, collector of Palghar.

Somamalik agrees. “Our children are not malnourished because they regularly eat vegetables,” he says.

However, freak weather events are a matter of concern. Last year, Somamalik lost 1.5 acre of chilli crop due to untimely rains. This May, Vadu Sakru Bhau’s one-acre banana plantation was flattened by freak rainfall and high wind speeds. “I was expecting Rs 1.5 lakhs from the banana plantation, but barely earned Rs 10,000,” he laments.

But, had it not been for the collective farming, we, too, would have committed suicide like several other farmers of Maharashtra, he adds.

Nidhi Jamwal is a journalist based in Mumbai. She tweets @JamwalNidhi.

Aine is one of the remotest village in Jawhar Block. The plight of people to access water & electricity is unmatched. The Government Ashram School of Aine faces more challenging situation as they do not have premises of their own. Total strength of this residential school is 200 students out of which 50 girls stay in this school.

Current issues with the Ashram School

1)Two permanent staff and remaining on contract basis for 200 students
2)No classroom or premises for the school:- they have rented 8 houses from villagers to run the classes
3)Availability & Access to water is major challenge
4)No classroom has electricity connection

On this background Aroehan has distributed few solar light systems with the help of Biker Group from Mumbai.

Donation Required:

We also proposed to provide water lifting solution and rain water harvesting structure for school and Aine village.

Ashram Schools in tribal area are one of the important institutions to depart education with residential facilities. However due to lack of infrastructure students face difficulties.

Aroehan observed that in many such schools Solar Water heaters are installed but not in operation for long time. It affects students for their regular cleanliness and hygiene.

On this background Avesta and Aroehan decided to repair and reinstall the solar water heater system in Ashram School at Chas Gram Panchayat. And we are glad that this system is repaired and now in use for the students in this ashram shala.

We are thankful to Avesta for donating solar panels and also help us in reinstalling them.