The socioeconomic scenario of Panch Mahals in Gujarat has improved due to the active participation of tribal women in a forestry programme
Fostering change
THE social forestry programme (SFP)
initiated by N M Sadguru Water and
Development Foundation (NMSWDF), an
NGO working in Panch Mahals district in
Gujarat, has empowered a large number
of tribal women in the district by involving them in the management of nurseries and plantations. The programme,
which began in the early 1980s, has
supplemented the income of these
women over the years and improved
their economic and social status.
Under the SFP, the beneficiaries are
paid wages for planting trees, digging
pits and working the soil. Farmers plant
trees on private wastelands, embankments and field strips for subsistence
and economic gain. The income from
nurseries has increased the debt repayment capacity of the workers. The
women working in nurseries have their
own bank accounts. As a result, their
purchasing and decision-making powers have increased. For example, Kanta
ben of village Chosala could decide to
approach the NMSWDF to guide her for
loans from the tribal sub-plan for purchasing a five horsepower machine.
Rupli ben of village Therka paid money
for deepening her family's well.
The SFP has also reduced the rate of
migration among the tribals. During the
study undertaken by the author, it was
found that people were reluctant to
migrate even though they had opportunities of earning better income. Most of
the respondents said that with self-employment opportunities already
available in their villages, they were
more secure and able to take care of
their homes, livestock and farms. The
women no longer have to face problems
caused during migration like exploitation and physical abuse.
The nurseries have provided the
tribal women with security against their
loans. They can avail of loans from
nurseries against tentative cash payments. For instance, Khatudiben
Nursinghbhai from village Timbi could
purchase fertilisers worth Rs 2,000 from
a shop by ensuring that she would repay
the amount after getting her wages from
the nursery. All respondents surveyed
by the author expressed satisfaction
about the financial benefits from the
nurseries. Six respondents earned
between Rs 6,000-10,000, while 14
earned over Rs 10,000 in six months.
The nursery workers are provided with
additional financial incentives which
mainly depend upon the survival rate of
saplings in the nursery.
In addition to financial benefits earned by nursery workers,
there are also some indirect benefits. For example, almost all the
ED respondents undertook tree
plantation in their own lands
where vegetation was almost nil.
The villagers now own trees
worth Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.
Thus, in areas like Panch Mahals,
where small-sized land ownership is the only asset of the tribals, possessing a large number of trees is a big blessing.
Along with tree plantation,
the beneficiaries are also
mobilised to undertake other
income-raising activities like vadi
cultivation (a farm where vegetables, flowers and fruit trees are grown)
and raising crops. Nine out of the total
respondents interviewed said that they
cultivated vadi and the net income
earned from these vadi ranged between
Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,000 per annurn.
The economic benefits realised by
villagers of Chitrodia and Thakra have
motivated them to grow trees which can
be sold at a high price. Continued technical and social inputs by NMSWDF has
helped, increase entrepreneurship
among the tribals. There is a rising
interest among the respondents to set
up their own nurseries even in the
absence Of NGOs and they are confident
about marketing the plants themselves.
The author selected 10 villages - five in
Dahod taluk'(province), four in Jhalod
and one in Limkheda taluk to see the
results of the nursery raising programme
which is being implemented under the
SFP. From each village, two respondents
who had participated in the nursery programme for at least two years were
selected. The study found that the
villagers, mainly the women, closely
guarded their nursery plots. It was
noticed that before the period of plantation, incidents of theft increased greatly,hence the need for guarding the plots.
The SFP is mainly funded by the
District Rural Development Agency and
partially by the tribal sub-plan. In this
programme, tree plantation is integrated
with other crops and landuse. This
leads, first, to productive utilisation of
lands and, second, it works as an avenue
for augmenting the income of farmers.
Till 1995, about 261 villages had been
covered under SFP and 2,064 decentralised nurseries were formed. Around
2.88 crore saplings were distributed to
25,290 households covering 11,663
hectares of land.
In the initial years, NMSWDF had to
make intensive efforts for motivating the
villagers to adopt the nursery raising
programme. Frequent camps were
organised for nursery workers. In some
of the villages, the village head took the
initiative. For instance, in village
Neemuch, the sarpanch (head of the
village council) mobilised to undertake
the nursery raising programme. Strong
kinship among the tribals also helped
in spreading awareness about the
programme. Almost all the respondents
said that they were mobilised to participate in the nursery raising programme
through their relatives and neighbours.
The training programmes organised
by the NGo have become increasingly
popular among the tribal women. They
have helped the women develop their
skills, mobility and status in their families and villages. Now even men come to
seek the NGO'S their advice regarding
matters like plantation and pit digging.
Although most of them had to face a lot
of opposition from their families in the
initial years, the benefits derived from
their work was later acknowledged by
their families.
The author is a senior programme officer at N M Sadguru Water & Development
Foundation, Panch Mahals, Gujarat
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