Harogerige Hogona Banni
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Harogerige Hogona Banni
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| The programme began at 11 in the morning at 'Preethi Kuteera' a traditional hut put up by the villagers themselves. Ms. Anitha Pailoor of CAAM introduced the programme to the media persons and explained the various activities of CAAM to strengthen farm journalism. She said, "One of the objectives of CAAM is to facilitate the media to focus on the positive efforts made in the rural areas. With this in mind, CAAM has initiated a programme called, 'Media for Sustainable Development'. BAIF is working in selected 22 villages from 1966 and has worked successfully, the results of which are seen now. This shows us as to how a voluntary organisation emphasising on community participation could contribute meaningfully to rural development. So CAAM decided to conduct the first programme here." "There may be many models that are similar. But due to their lack of knowledge in disseminating the details of their activities, media has not been able to cover this dimension of development. This programme will unfold the different dimensions of sustainable development in Harogeri. CAAM feels that if media disseminates the success story of villages like Harogeri, that will inspire other villages to move towards self-reliance," she added.
Dr. Prakash Bhat, Additional Chief Programme Coordinator, BAIF Institute for Rural Development explained about the project and said, "When we came here, most of the land was barren. Now we are assisting the people through our project called Transfer of Technology for Sustainable Development to understand their natural resources and enhance it, thus enhancing their livelihood. We gave importance to unity. The people have formed self-help groups (sanghas) and gram vikas samithis while the Sarvodaya Mahasangha which is a federation of all gram vikas samithis caters to the entire cluster of 22 villages." He continued and said, "Through participatory activities we are able to reach the poorest of the poor. People here have adopted many developmental practices, thus improved their lives. Whatever has been done, it is because of the determination and hard work of the people, BAIF through the project boosted their morale and facilitated this growth in them." Explaining the structure and the activities of Sarvodaya Mahasangha, its president Mr. Basavanneppa Angadi said, "At the village level, two members from each sangha get nominated as the directors of gram vikas samithi. One female member and one male member of each gram vikas samithi become the directors of Sarvodaya Mahasangha."
Giving the statistics of the savings and loans in their self-help groups, he said, "Savings have been given importance in the sanghas, which have now saved an amount of Rs.22 lakh. They have a common fund of Rs. 20 lakh and have given a sum of almost Rs.80 lakhs to the sangha members as loans. With these savings and IG activities we have come out of the clutches of the moneylenders. To encourage animal husbandry, Mahasangha organises cattle show every year. It also looks after the marketing of the vermicompost produced by the sangha members." Sharing his experience with the project, a farmer from Surashettikoppa, Basangouda M. Ninganagouda said, "We are no more dependent on anyone. I have only one acre land from which I thought I can't make my livelihood. After working with the project I realised that one acre is enough for a family to survive, if we utilise it properly. With the guidance of BAIF I have opted for tree based farming, which has become good for me. I am no more scared of drought. Both drought and moneylenders are no more our concern." When he said this, the mango trees in the hillock nodded their leaves and the water stored in the check dam constructed by the people through shramadan (voluntary work) smiled elegantly. Ms. Channabasavva Hosamani, a project beneficiary, is a self-reliant woman now. She compares her situation, when she lost her husband at a young age to that of now, "People used to ignore me and had kept me at a distance since I am a widow. But with the help of the project and BAIF, now I am involved in the IG activities like tailoring and have joined a sangha. This has helped me come forward both socially and economically. Now fellow residents invite me and treat equivalent to others." Then the media persons were shown land based activities, techniques of tree based farming, soil and water conservation structures, sericulture and the check dam in the fields around the hillock. After the field visit, there was a brief discussion session. Cluster leader of the project Mr. Deepak Ksheerasagar thanked the participants.
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