Background:

The Mokhada block in Palghar district is witness to heavy rainfall during the monsoon months, but by the time the year comes to an end in December the water crisis steps in. The non-monsoon months force the villagers to migrate for 5-6 months to nearby brick kilns or companies in search of menial jobs. Water in all forms for domestic use, potable purposes and irrigation is out of reach for many.

A study on water availability conducted in 2018 by IIT CTARA and AROEHAN supported by Siemens India Ltd, revealed the villages with mild to severe water stress areas. This also led to the erection of over 196 water conservation structures like check dams, cordons, wells, ponds, sub-surface bunds and farm ponds in at least 13 Gram Panchayats of Mokhada alone. Lifting solutions made it feasible for water to be supplied to distant places thus reducing the hard work and time put in by women to fetch water for their daily needs. This is just the beginning, the road to completion is still distant.

The CORONA pandemic:

The Corona pandemic has added on to the already existing woes of the poor tribal farmers. Due to the country wide lockdown announced on the 23^rd of March, all the activities including construction, even in the villages came to a standstill. If the water conservation structures were not ready by June, it would not be possible to retain rain water for the non-monsoon months.

The AROEHAN team decided to wait for some leeway during the lockdown and at the first opportunity in the end of April, decided to get permissions from the government authorities for transportation of construction material, allocation of resources in the form of local labour and also for travel of staff within the block limits. Once the permissions were granted, national directives for work places were put in place and people were asked to follow them stringently. The construction work started in full force in the selected villages of Mokhada by the team led by our Project Officer, Chetan Bhoir and supervised by Program Manager, Nitesh Mukne.

With funding support from Siemens India Ltd and the involvement of local labour and the team, we were able to put up 11 new structures [New check dams (5), New wells (6)] and refurbish 5 existing ones, [Refurbished wells (3), Refurbished ponds (2)] by the end of June. This will surely help solve the water stress in these villages and also reduce the thirst days leading to reduction in migration in the non-monsoon months. This also helped the villagers to earn income staying in their own villages during the pandemic.

The structures have a total storage capacity of 3.15 cr litres, which will ensure water supply to 11 hamlets with 695 households and a population of 4033 beneficiaries.

Structures – outreach and capacity:

a) Rautpada – 40 HH/117 population

Payricha Bandhara: 36, 20, 146 litres

Kelichi Vihir: 2, 89, 382 litres

b) Karoli – 49 HH/218 population

Kahndolkundacha Bandhara: 63, 27, 106 litres

Kathodi Khora Bandhara: 51, 54, 919 litres

Hal Vihir: 3, 69, 264 litres

c) Kumbhipada – 69 HH/412 population

Nadagkundacha Bandhara: 55, 44, 629 litres

d) Navlyachapada – 56 HH/470 population

Gurhyachya Zaryavaril Bandhara: 57, 27, 411 litres

e) Aase – 105 HH/545 population

Aase New Well: 4, 82, 304 litres

f) Dhamodi – 99 HH/623 population

g) Wanganpada – 22 HH/83 population

Bahvyachi Vihir: 2, 53, 000 litres

h) Dongarwadi – 62 HH/475 population

Mandavachi Vihir: 2, 77, 807 litres

i) Bhavaniwadi – 53 HH/255 population

j) Dhindewadi – 23 HH/120 population

Dhindewadi Vihir: 2, 46, 940 litres

k) Kundachapada – 117HH/715 population

Kundachapada Vihir: 2, 54, 340 litres

Vivek’s World (VW): You are a founder-trustee and Chairperson of Aroehan (NGO). Tell us about the journey of Aroehan. Looking back, what are your thoughts about the achievements of Aroehan?

Dr Helen Joseph (HJ): I am reminded of the day (in 2005) when Dr. Abhay Bang gave a lecture at the College of Social Work on the plight of malnourished children in Maharashtra. This left some of us with a terrible sense of discomfort; and made us ask ourselves what more our profession ought to do to remain relevant and more responsive to the plight of the disadvantaged in India.  As field work coordinator at that time, I made a small presentation at our weekly faculty meeting in this regard, proposing that we practically demonstrate the relevance of our teaching by taking up a limited area, working there, and showing the impact of our intervention. An opportunity arose when in 2006 the Govt. Of Maharashtra wanted us to take up some villages in Mokhada to work on the issue of Malnutrition. Accordingly AROEHAN was born. Anjali Kanitkar took responsibility to steer the project as Director, and I was part of the advisory team.

Starting with a micro-planning exercise we quickly realised the multiplicity and inter-connectedness of various factors that contributed to the high malnutrition deaths in the region.  Hence we realised the need for an integrated approach that intervened simultaneously in areas of Health, Education, Agriculture, Livelihood and Good Governance.

Starting with a small team, led by a social work graduate from our own College, we began an arduous learning process in a difficult and hilly terrain lacking transportation facilities, no electricity, and where the villagers survived through subsistence farming and migration to the cities. As we educated ourselves, we stumbled, we fell, we rose, we discussed and debated on intervention strategies, our partnership with the government and the industry, what our ideology should be, what we should compromise on and what we should not etc.

Funds were difficult to access initially, though after CSR came into existence in 2013, the situation improved significantly. Today, we work in Mokhada, Jawhar, Dahanu and Palghar talukas of Palghar district. In 2014 we graduated from being a field action project of the College to an independently registered organization.

Health: We started with a maternal and child health program and Life Skills education among women and girls, but moved on towards empowering them to participate in Village Health & Sanitation Committees (VHNSC) which monitors nutrition and community health. We were instrumental in getting Ultrasound machines in 3 rural hospitals in Palghar district with the help of Siemens and DHLF.

Water conservation has been a major achievement for AROEHAN. We have so far constructed 196 small and medium sized check dams, sub-surface bunds, and cordons, repaired and refurbished several defunct wells, and made new ones. This has helped not only in mitigating the water issues of the villagers, but even more importantly it has helped in recharging the ground water table across 13 GPs over the time we have been there. This has also relieved the women of the drudgery of carrying water from far off places, and made the conditions suitable for farmers to grow crops during the rabi season, thereby enhancing their livelihood. Thus intervention in a strategic area has had multiple impacts.  Today more than 1000 small farmers have moved beyond rain-fed primitive agriculture to using modern techniques of farming to augment their yield. Besides cultivating grains and millets, they have also started growing vegetables, fruits and flowers.

Education for Life is what AROEHAN is working towards, which involves capacity building to make children and youth responsible and proactive citizens of tomorrow. The youngsters take up environmental projects, participate in school governance issues etc. The Jigyaasa project makes the teaching of Science, Technology, English and Mathematics (STEM) more interesting to students – allowing them to explore with their hands the concepts that many children find very difficult to grasp.  Through this project, AROEHAN has so far reached out to 7575 students in 10 Ashram schools of Mokhada block.

In the critical area of Governance, villagers are empowered with knowledge to proactively engage with local self-government bodies to claim their entitlements and influence their village development.  This was done by forming ‘pada samitis’ (sub-village neighbourhood communities) which then learn how to engage with the Gram Sabhas, a statutory body, where their representations can be made. As a result, the villagers now work closely with the statutory committees like the VHNSC, the committees formed under PESA (Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas), and on issues concerning their forest rights, employment issues (under MGNREGA) and other aspects of the Village Development Plan. Working on Governance is the corner stone of our work, as AROEHAN believes that at the end of 4 to 5 years, people should be able to work independently. Only then can our work be sustainable.

VW: What do you think Aroehan should do now to bring about substantial change? And what are the plans ahead?

Dr Helen Joseph (HJ): In general, I think we are on the right track. However  NOW, we need to establish evidence of our impact on the ground, by setting up some measurable targets that demonstrate this.

We have therefore selected a few villages where we will focus our attention on achieving the following strategic goals: (i) To achieve Zero Malnutrition deaths in the selected villages, (ii) To ensure that ALL school-going children are in schools, (iii) To reduce migration by 50% in these areas, and (iv) To establish a citizen’s forum with special emphasis on participation of women.

Secondly, it seems to me that the CORONA pandemic has brought into sharp focus a number of issues that are ailing the public health care system. I believe that there is need for AROEHAN to play an active role in assessing/identifying gaps in the system and advocating for a more robust public health care system especially in rural Maharashtra.

But in all this, people themselves need to lead the change; otherwise no work is sustainable. For this, people must believe in themselves, believe that they can aspire for a better life, and also believe that they are responsible not just for themselves but for their entire village. When we can do that, we can withdraw from the area -for which we must have an exit strategy in place.

Furthermore, personally, I believe that there is a non-tangible aspect on which we need to bring about substantial impact.  Our work needs to go hand in hand with ensuring that a strong value base is developed in our children/youth (and village communities) – values of an inclusive society where there is respect and concern for all, irrespective of gender, caste, religion, race, language, community etc., accompanied by concern for the environment. I say this because I have realised that when disadvantaged people start becoming upwardly mobile, there is a danger that a ‘me-first’ attitude could develop, that takes no responsibility for those others who are still disadvantaged and discriminated against, even in their own neighbourhoods and beyond.

VW: Tell us about the issues facing the NGOs today.

Dr Helen Joseph (HJ): Some of the challenges faced by NGOs are:

1. Funding : This is a major challenge that many NGOs face. The Corona pandemic has resulted in a lot of CSR funds being diverted to it. This I fear will definitely affect our funding and thereby our work.
2. Professionalism in work, and having a well trained staff committed to the vision of the organization, are things that most NGOs are looking for. But this combination is difficult to find. For instance, there could be individuals who have a fire in their bellies and are devoted to the vision of their organization, but who are not necessarily good at management functions, or at following legal and other compliances, or vice versa. This is a big challenge.
3. Retaining one’s value system, and yet skilfully handling the political and sometimes selfish interests that inevitably come into play whenever change is being brought about, is again another significant challenge for all civil society organisations today, especially those that would like to focus on people-centred governance.

Thanks Dr Helen for sharing your thoughts with us.

Vivek S Patwardhan

Source – viveksp.com

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.