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Padayatra 29th Jan- 4th Feb

The Padayatra begins on the 1st day of the new year, 2006. We are attempting to log the progress of the Padayatra everyday. There are, however,some difficulties in connecting due to some remote locations, as well as the 12 hr powercuts in the rural areas. We will be documenting various experiences and stories as we go along, in an attempt to create awareness amongst ourselves. If you would like to reach us, please write to grnearth@vsnl.com or if you want to reach Ranjit in the field, write to ranjitster@gmail.com

29Jan'06 - Son Manjari, Padayatra triggers a process of transformation

Son Manjari is a small village in Marathwada with about 5-600 people, mostly Marathas. The village has severe water problems. One well in the center of the village provides drinking water to the village, But it runs out of water in January. There is one bore with a hand pump in front of the school, outside the village, that also runs out of water. No government bore or water source exists that would provide for water during the entire year. Water is pumped from the sarpanch's bore into the well. But priority is given to irrigate his fields. So the village has to depend on this private source. The other option is to walk for 4-5 kms to the nearby fields or villages to bring in water. The government had developed a water supply scheme through which water would be pumped from the Godavari River to a chain of villages. However, the scheme worked for a year. Then, a farmer from the neighboring village cut the pipeline and diverted water into his field. Next, the main pipeline itself was destroyed. So the villagers did not get any water.
There are bathrooms in every house, but no toilets. The grey water from the bathrooms and kitchens that is let on all the dirt roads is now sitting stagnant in mud pools. Mosquitoes and flies are abundant. The open gutters are clogged. Toilets are roadsides and open fields.
The sarpanch is mostly out of town, because his wife works in another town. The deputy sarpanch does not do much. His brother looks after the affairs.
In this situation, our assessment team of four people landed in the village. An assessment team goes into a village 3 days before the Padayatra reaches there. They study the village and create an atmosphere conducive for the Padayatra as well as for the villagers to be open for working on future projects. The assessment team in Son Manjari did a great job in rallying the villagers, even though the sarpanch was absent. The youth and influential people took an oath in the Hanuman temple that they would work together for the development of the village and fight corruption (in the picture). This was the first oath taken by villagers on the Padayatra. A very significant moment.
But how serious were these people? After the villagers saw the Padayatris off in the morning, they came back into the village raising slogans of "Eradicate Drought, Save Humanity" and swept the whole village. When some of us paid a surprise visit to the village a day later, they were eager to dig their first percolation pit for grey water. We got a percolation pit expert from the nearby Dreamland institute. That evening, digging the ditch and filling it up with stones, placing the clay pot and coconut fiber filter, covering the pit with Neem leaves and jute sacks was one of our most rewarding experiences (in the picture). The enthusiasm of the villagers was addictive. We went around the village discussing the placements of other percolation pits. In the next two days, the villagers dug a dozen more pits. The stagnant water is fast disappearing. A dialogue to build toilets for every house in the village has begun. At this rate, the village will transform itself in no time. It is already marching along this path. The people of Son Manjari showed what a difference it makes when people come together for a common cause and for the common good!

30Jan'06 - Appropriate technology, A need to see more of it

The term, appropriate technology is self-explanatory. It is technology that is appropriate in the situation and place of use. This technology is usually used in rural areas, is environment friendly, economically viable and for the people.
One such example is of a "Nirdhoor Chool (smokeless fire stove)" (in the picture). In rural India, food is cooked on a fire stove by burning dry twigs or wood. The women, who are the ones to cook, bear the brunt of the smoke. They get smoke in their eyes and throats, a very unhealthy affair. The smokeless fire stove is a simple stove that pulls the smoke into a chimney and takes the smoke high above the roof. There are two holes to place the cooking vessels. The first one under which, fire is lit, is for cooking on a high temperature. The second one is for heating or cooking on a low temperature. This one receives the flue gases or hot air from the fire on its way to the chimney. It is also quite affordable priced at about Rs 500.
An even better option for cooking is "gobar" or bio gas. Of course, a bio gas unit has much more uses than just cooking. Here, a cement tank is constructed underground. About 10 kilos of cow dung is mixed with water and added to the tank every day. One or two cows or buffaloes are enough for one household. The waste is broken down by anaerobic reaction in the tank and releases methane as a byproduct. This is supplied to a gas stove in the kitchen for clean cooking (in the picture). The waste that comes out of the tank is used as fertilizer in the farms. Usually, a toilet is also constructed as part of the project, letting human waste directly into the bio gas tank. There is government subsidy of about Rs 2300 and the entire unit costs about Rs 8000. It is such a perfect way to process our waste, create our own cooking gas and getting organic fertilizer for our farms.
With the 12 hr power cuts in rural Maharashtra, there is a need to have an alternate light source in the night. Solar electricity is being used in conjunction with white LED (light emitting diode) lamps. LED lamps consume much less electricity than conventional filament lamps to emit similar light intensity, since not much energy is wasted in the form of heat. Hence, a much smaller solar photo-voltaic panel and battery is needed. If proper care of the battery and panel is taken, then the life of the system runs into years.
Many such technologies are in existence that are environment and people friendly as well as economically viable. But they are not seen in great numbers in the villages. Many bio gas units were built using government subsidies, but most of them seem to not function, mostly due to negligence. Solar photo-voltaic systems are still not widely available nor are they accepted. People need to embrace such technologies to better their lives. They should feel the need to use them, rather than embrace them because they are getting subsidies. Social awareness needs to be created and people need to be shaken off their "chalta hai (it's all OK)" attitude.

31Jan'06 - Proxy government

Gram panchayat is the governing body of a village. It consists of elected representatives from the village. The sarpanch leads this governing body. The gram panchayat is quite strong and in some sense, has greater powers than the District Collector in village matters. The sarpanch post rotates amongst different communities, and between men and women. So are the other places in the panchayat. This ensures that the panchayat is a balanced body, representative of all communities and that women are included in the decision making. A good concept in theory. But what happens in practice?
In quite a few villages that have been visited so far like Ralga Tanda and Dhanora Kale, there were woman sarpanchs, but the affairs were invariably run by their husbands. They are called "sarpanch-pati", "pati" meaning husband. The husband even goes as far out as introducing himself as the sarpanch. The sarpanch post is given to a woman only because it is reserved for her, not to empower her in the decision making of the village.
In other cases like Son Manjari, the sarpanch was a non-resident one. He lived in Mukkhed where his wife had a job. Of course, the sarpanch needs to be a resident of the village, but showing a house in the village is enough to get the post. He raised Rs 2 lakhs for the village as opposed to 1 lakh by the opposite panel, and hence won the post. Elections don't decide the panchayat in such cases, but money does. The deputy sarpanch's brother played performs the deputy's duties. He also did so when his mother, a very old woman, was sarpanch during the previous term. Of course, the mother was the sarpanch because it was the turn of a "backward class" woman. Backward class is in quotes to highlight the irony of the term when we want to empower these people and bring them into the mainstream.
In other villages, a single family from the dominant upward class would call the shots, irrespective of who forms the panchayat. This is quite common and accepted in these parts.
This is proxy government, a government run by people other than the ones occupying the posts.
So how do we bridge this gap between how a democracy should function and what's so? How do we empower our people to stand up and be leaders, represent all communities and be a voice of the people and for the people? It's a difficult task when we see that even in the United States and other democracies, this is non-existent. People with money and power always tend to rule. There is a dearth of true leaders. Not that we don't have any, but we need to have a lot more to transform our world for the better.

1Feb'06 - Swapnabhoomi, Dreamland of Kerewadi

Swapnabhoomi or Dreamland is an organization based out of Kerewadi. The organization was established in the early eighties under the leadership of Suryakant Kulkarni. Their work is mainly in the field of education as well as women self help groups. The organization is well established and has a cozy set up in rural India.
The Padayatris took a day off to rejuvenate themselves for the next month. It's been one month and over 550 kms of walking. The evening was spent in discussing the future of the Padayatra, setting responsibilities and rules to make it smoother and more organized. This is a big venture, never taken up by anyone before. It will be the longest Padayatra in Maharashtra's history. And it's not just a Padayatra. With its study groups and follow up teams, the Padayatra is a study project as well as an action to stir up the people and will eventually lead into a comprehensive development movement. Many things would come out of this and only time will tell where this will lead to. I invite all our readers to join and experience this movement, even for a day.

2Feb'06 - E-Choupal, A new venture in agriculture

Today farmers in India are falling apart. Most of them are under severe debt. Uneducated and unaware, they are taken for a ride by everyone. Traders squeeze their profits by manipulating the market price. The last batches of produce in the day are purchased at a higher price, so the farmers are enticed into coming the next day since the day is closed at a higher rate. Once the farmer reaches the main Taluka or town market in the morning, the price drops, and the farmer has to sell his produce at that rate rather than lug all of it back to the village. Price fluctuations are controlled by the traders. Farmers do not have access to good know how because of a lack of good agricultural centers. The agriculture department of the government does not seem to do its job. Hence, overuse of chemical fertilizers and repetition of age old mistakes are common. There is no guaranteed market for the produce. The farmers are not organized.
In this situation, enters E-Choupal, an ITC (Indian Tobacco Company) venture. E-Choupal has been quite successful in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and is now been introduced in Maharashtra. It is a computer system with a solar photovoltaic and battery back up. An antenna connects the system to the internet directly through a satellite (in the picture). However, only the E-Choupal site as well as some ITC and newspaper sites can be accessed, to prevent abuse of the system.
The system is installed at the home of a person selected through an application and year long investigation process. This person is selected carefully as one who would help other farmers and conduct an honest business. One E-Choupal serves 4 to 5 surrounding villages. Through this E-Choupal website, the farmers can access all kinds of information about farming. Farming tips and methods for cotton, tur, soybean, and garbanzo beans are available. Farmers can ask questions online and get answers by the following day. They can send feedback about E-Choupal via the website. This service is offered free to the farmers at this point.
So where does ITC come into the picture? ITC buys soybean, garbanzo beans and tur at its hub centers established in some towns or cities. E-Choupal displays the prices at the nearby markets as well as the hub price at which ITC would buy the produce from the farmers. The hub price is invariably higher than the market price, since all the middlemen and traders are cut from the picture. This information enables the farmers to make a choice and sell their produce to the ITC hubs. The hubs act as a guaranteed market for the farmers. All they have to do is take a slip from the E-Choupal representative in the village that documents the produce and identity of the farmer and take their produce to the hub. The price is set for the day. The hubs even do soil tests for the farmers at a small price.
Another interesting aspect is that the E-Choupal places are becoming distribution centers for ITC proucts like soaps, biscuits, salt and cigarettes.
In this disorganized agriculture sector, E-Choupal seems to educate the farmers and create a guaranteed market for them, eliminating the numerous traders that profit between the farmer and the consumer. But one direction this could or is taking is that farmers are turning to only those crops that ITC is buying. They get a good price and an assured market, so why not? Rajaram Kachwe (in the picture), an E-Choupal representative, himself has increased the production of soybean from 1 acre to 5 acres, tur from 3 quintals to 10 and garbanzo beans from 1 quintal to 5. This could lead to farming only specific crops that ITC would demand. Is ITC planning to buy other produce as well? Are they entering in such a big way that they leave no room for any middlemen or traders? Whether E-Choupal will be a boon or bane to the farmers, remains to be seen.

3Feb'06 - Assessment team, A vital part of the Padayatra

An integral and vital part of the Padayatra is the work of assessment teams. There are about 5 assessment teams, each consisting of 3 people. They are from different organizations, backgrounds and regions and form a wide area of expertise. In addition to this, more experts join these teams from time to time. An assessment team reaches a village about 2 days prior to the day of arrival of the Padayatra. Their task is to stay with the villagers, talk to all sections and communities and assess the village in terms of drought. According to the Padayatra's definition of drought, there is lack of drinking water, food to eat, unemployment and no fodder for cattle. Along with this, low quality education and healthcare, lack of sanitation and women's issues are manifestations of drought. So in general, the assessment team has to reach out to all the issues of the village.
The team lands in a foreign village. They try to establish contact with the sarpanch or a local contact, and find a place to stay. Then onwards, they spread out, mixing and talking with people. In most cases, villagers are eager to talk, because they had never had a chance to vent out their frustrations, never had someone listen to them. There is at least one woman in the team who can reach out deep to the women folk of the village. Women in the village are extremely informative once they get started. From water issues to health, employment to agriculture, fraud to sanitation, a wide area of issues are discussed through meetings and individual chats. Most importantly, the assessment team acquires the trust of the people and installs a belief in them that they can come together to solve their own problems. They get ready for the Padayatra to arrive and make their stay as comfortable as possible. The Padayatra gets an hour review of the village, and get ready for the transformation process. All because of the assessment team.

(in the picture: Assessment team with local villagers)

4Feb'06 - Where is the nutrition?

What's for lunch? Jowar bread, dal and rice. What's for dinner? Jowar bread, dal and rice. What's tomorrow? Jowar bread, dal and rice. For the majority of people in these villages, the staple diet is jowar bread and dal, and rice, if they are lucky. Sometimes they have vegetables but in small quantities. There is not much variety in their diet. Some have cows or afford to buy milk, but the poor ones don't. They don't even get enough milk for their tea.
With this diet, how are their children going to be healthy? Most of these children are in grade I malnutrition. How do the women and men get the strength to work 8-10 hrs in the fields? What strength are they going to be left with for the rest of the struggle to make their lives better, to fight against injustice?