Resourceful measures

Community participation and transfer of technology for sustainable development have transformed tracts of barren land into green stretches in Dharwad district, says Shyam Sundar Vattam

In the early ’90s, the condition of around 20 villages in Kalghatgi and Hubli taluks in Dharwad district was similar to those in any other village of north Karnataka. Large tracts of barren land with not an inch of greenery welcomed visitors to the villages. The farmers had no option but to wait for the rains to take up agricultural activities and villagers had to walk for a long distance to fetch water.

These villages have undergone a rapid transformation in the last five years, thanks to the efforts of the Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation (BAIF) Institute for Rural Development. Now these villagers have abundant water, a beautiful stretch of greenery and the smile is back on the faces of the farmers. Horticulture crops are cultivated by farmers of these villages. There are adequate small ponds and check dams in and around the villages and water is now available throughout the year. The land value has shot up too.

Such a change has become possible because of the hard work done by the BAIF Institute which started working in Karnataka 23 years ago and spread its activities to 20 districts. Tiptur, Hospet and Dharwad are the three administrative divisions in Karnataka. The Dharwad division started its activities in 22 villages of Kalghatgi and Hubli taluks in 1996 under the project 'Transfer of Technology for Sustainable Development'. Community participation at all the stages has made the project a success in these villages, thus setting an example in rural development. The project is being implemented in Surashettykoppa, Naganoor, Parasapura, Dyamapura, Boganagarakoppa, Tabbakadaahonalli, Ganjighatti, Kamadhenu, Solarkoppa, B Hulikatti, Bagadageri, Harogeri, G Hulikatti, Beeravalli (all in Kalghatgi taluk); Kamplikoppa, Palikoppa, Karadikoppa, Kurdikeri, Thiramalkoppa, Bommasamudra, Inamveeraura and Ramapura (all in Hubli taluk). Twelve field staff from BAIF work for the welfare of the villages. The uniqueness is that the field staff reside in these villages which has brought them closer to the community.

Measures

The project covers 2400 of the total 4800 families in the villages. Only families from the economically weaker sections have been chosen for the project of which 1780 families have small holdings while others are either landless or have a small patch of land. Aiming at the enhancement of natural resources, the project undertook soil and water conservation measures. Trenches were dug up and bunds constructed to check water flow. There are 720 farm ponds in these villages. The water table has increased and the increase in supply is used to grow fruits and vegetables. Even if all the ponds get filled only once a year, nearly 10 crore litres of water get stored. In 1999, 525 people from 22 surrounding villages of Harogeri participated in 'Shramadhan' for three months to construct the check dam which is 140 feet long and 12 ft wide. The water storage capacity of this dam is 20 lakh litres. The effect of this check dam on the surrounding areas is evident. As many as 15 farmers from the area have reaped the benefits from this dam, besides, nearly a thousand people from the surrounding villages have access to drinking water.

Horticulture covers 1,200 acres belonging to 1,270 families. Nearly 35,000 sapota, 3,200 tamarind and 31,000 mango saplings have been planted. Trenches have been dug up encircling the plants which would be filled with biomass. This helps to increase the moisture level of the soil near the plant. So far, such ring trenches have been constructed for 15,000 fruit plants. In these villages, 30 people are engaged in sericulture and mulberry is cultivated on 26 acres. Nearly 650 families have developed kitchen gardens with a variety of medicinal plants that help them in their daily life. BAIF has provided 16 varieties of plants to develop the garden. Some of the plants seen in these gardens are coriander, aloevera, lemon, papaya, lemon grass, besides coconut, mango, sapota and jackfruit trees. Different activities have been implemented to help small farmers and landless families. Vocational training has enabled many to be self-employed. Nearly 173 families (132 men and 41 women) have taken up income generation activities by setting up cycle shops, vegetable stalls, grocery shop, photo studio, or taking up carpentry or pottery. Some of the residents in the villages have taken up vermicomposting. About one thousand quintals of the compost has been used by the farmers for their fields while the rest has been sold. Activities like construction of bio-gas plant, toilet, and kitchen in houses have improved the living condition in these villages. 

Community project

Mr Prakash Bhat, additional chief project co-ordinator of BAIF said the institute has formed self-help groups called sanghas and gram vikas samithis in each village which play an important role in development. A federation of sanghas called 'Sarvodaya Mahasangha' caters to all the 22 villages. At the village level, two members from each sangha get nominated as the directors of gram vikas samithi. 

Savings has been given importance in the sanghas, which have now saved Rs 22 lakh. They have a common fund of Rs 20 lakh and have disbursed loan to the tune of Rs 80 lakh. Before the project started people were dependent on money lenders for loans at an interest rate of 10 per cent per month. But, now they get loans at the rate of 2 per cent interest per month. The health fund and education fund of the Sarvodaya Mahasangha have helped the sangha members for their medical expenses and their children's education.

Mr Basavanappa Angadi of Sarvodaya Mahasangha said self-help groups meet every week, gram vikas samithis meet every 15 days and sarvodaya mahasangha meets on the first Monday of every month. In the meetings members discuss programmes for village development.To encourage animal husbandry, the mahasangha organises a cattle show every year. It also looks after the marketing of the vermicompost produced by the sangha members. BAIF distributes farm instruments like bullock cart, hand cart and pump set to gram vikas samithis who in turn provide it to the farmers at a nominal fee.
The success story of villages like Harogeri will inspire many villages to move towards self-reliance.