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Published: March 6th 2006
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While I'm always grateful to accompany the EFICOR staff here as they work, and fascinated to learn about what it is they do and why, there haven't been many opportunities where I'm able to actually be of much help to them, (mainly due to the language barrier). The main exception to this has been what little technological know-how I have - I've helped Jitu learn to use the new office camera, continue to give Sujal frequent computer lessons, installed a CD burner on the office computer, and yesterday succeeded in setting up internet access in the office! So I'll now be able to access the net much more frequently, work and electricity permitting, (there are at least two lengthy power cuts a day, which the state government excuses as "load-shedding"), and hope to catch up on all of your emails soon! Thanks for all of the feed-back on the last entry, I really enjoyed logging on and reading all of the comments and emails. =)
Now for a bit of a look at the work that EFICOR is involved in here... The Sahyog (Hindi for 'cooperation') Tribal Development Project, started by Jitu and Sujal twelve years ago, aims to assist
A villager demonstrates the depth of water in the bottom of an open well
The use of explosives was required to deepen this well further, due to thick layers of hard rock. a large group of Korku tribal villages around and to the north of Paratwada in a variety of practical, sustainable ways. There are a total of 35 target villages, widely spread over the nearby Satpura Range. I was fascinated to discover that this is the same range of hills that Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" is set in! While I've only seen deer, monkeys and mongoose so far, many of the villagers have hair-raising tales of close encounters with tigers, bears ('baloo' in Hindi), and wild boars. And I'm told that sometime in the next few weeks, a certain tree common in the hills will begin to shed its flowers. These flowers, which the villagers use to make a sort of wine, are also popular with the bears - who emerge from their hiding places with more boldness and frequency than usual. So if I'm lucky, I may have some photos of a wild Indian bear to post in the next entry!
The variety of activities in which EFICOR is involved here is very impressive, particularly given the shortage of resources and staff. Village Development Committees (VDC's) have been set up in each village, with leaders elected by the
Looking on while Sujal tests the depth of this new open well
The EFICOR office was recently given a new digital camera, so I've been helping Jitu learn to use it - one of the few ways in which I've been able to contribute so far! people to manage matters of village-wide significance. Adult literacy classes provide the villagers with increased confidence and prevent them from being exploited during trips to town. Self Help Groups (SHG's) provide low-interest loans, usually for the costs associated with weddings. (Interestingly, in Korku marriages a 'bride-price' is paid, rather than the more conventional dowry. Sujal has assured me that this will not deter him in his ongoing mission to find me a good Korku bride - he says he'll pay the bride-price himself!) However, as well as the expensive weddings, loans are also frequently required for medical treatment, crop failure and other emergencies. This can be an enormous problem as money-lenders in town charge very high interest rates. The local paper seems to have at least one story each week about farmers who've committed suicide because they haven't been able to keep up their loan repayments.
I've been very interested to learn a little about these activities. However, the EFICOR work of particular relevance to me, as an Environmental Engineering student, is their land treatment methods. The major problems in this hilly area are that
A colourfully-dressed woman tosses stones onto a new 'bund'
These bunds are very effective at controlling soil erosion and enhancing groundwater recharge. most of the fields slope quite significantly, the soil has a high clay content and the fields are covered in rocks. Most of the year is very dry. Then, for a few monsoon months, a huge deluge floods over the land. As a result of both the slope and the soil type, this water tends to run quickly down the hills, eroding the fertile top-soil from the fields, before flowing away into the streams. Very little of the rainfall actually penetrates the soil to top up the groundwater levels. Much of EFICOR's land treatment is an attempt to combat this trend. Different methods are used to try to convert the sloping fields to stable terraces, (thus controlling soil erosion), and to slow the rainwater runoff, (thus allowing water to penetrate through the clayey soil, and recharge the groundwater supplies).
In addition to this land treatment work, a number of other projects are carried out, such as digging open wells for drinking and irrigation purposes, constructing small 'check dams' (which serve to both slow stream flow and provide a surface water resource during the months following the monsoon), and managing demonstration worm farms and horticulture nurseries. All of the work
Me on the small 'balcony' behind my room, which overlooks an orange orchard
I recently got a haircut at a road-side barber in Paratwada, just asking him to cut it as short as he could all over. This was about as short as he managed (no clippers) but I couldn't complain - the cut (which included a scalp, shoulder and back massage) set me back the equivalent of about $0.60! is very much at the grass-roots level, so it's a great place for me to start my engineering career. To be honest, I've been amazed at the far-reaching positive effects of these projects, considering how technically simple they are.
To give you one example of what I mean, one of the most common and effective land treatments is what's called 'stone bunding'. In numerous fields I've seen groups of women (always seems to be the women doing the hard work!) collecting stones and building a low, rough wall through a gully that creased the sloping field. This wall will control erosion when the monsoon comes and rainwater sluices down the slope, as well as slowing the water down so that more of it will penetrate the soil and recharge the groundwater. So it benefits the farmer who owns the field - stones are removed from the soil, erosion is controlled (a series of stone bunds are built up the slope, so that the inevitable erosion will eventually result in stable, terraced fields), and groundwater supplies are increased. Apparently this single, simple measure can increase the farmer's yield by up to three or four times!
It also provides work
Check dam near Nagapur
Check dams are used to slow streamflow rates, (thus improving groundwater recharge), and to provide a temporary source of surface water for nearby villages during and after the monsoon season. for the women, (chosen by the VDC on the basis of being the 'poorest of the poor'), who would otherwise be forced to migrate to nearby towns for work, (once the harvest has been brought in there's not much else to do). There are a number of problems with this trend, such as the disruption of their children's education and the risk of being exploited in many ways by the town people, (prostitution and even rape are common). It's mainly as a result of this annual need for migration that AIDS is beginning to rear its ugly head amongst the Korku tribes. So by providing these women with alternative work in the fields near their villages, EFICOR is able to improve this situation. This is just one example of how EFICOR uses a (technically) very simple project to achieve a wide range of significant benefits; there are many others!
If anyone's interested to find out more about EFICOR, their
website has lots of interesting information. And for those with a bit of spare cash (you knew it was coming didn't you?! =P) currently burning holes in your pockets, I can assure you it'll be put to much better use
A man draws water from an open well for his thirsty buffalo, (near Borala village).
This is one of the many open wells EFICOR has already constructed amongst the villages. here. What seems a little in the West goes a long, long way here! Last but certainly not least, Jitu has asked me to extend a very genuine and open invitation to you all - to come and stay here (for as short or long a period as you like) to get some exposure to this tribal development project in a rural Indian setting. I can assure you, it'll be an experience you'll never forget!
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Colin Meadows
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Grass Involvement at its best!
Great to see such positive grass roots involvement in community development! Nice too to see a few photos of you as well. I like the EFICOR website and was impressed by their past acheivements. Keep up the good work! Dad