HARIT PRAYAS’s Success Saga

This is the story of Ashok Ahirwar, s/o Kishori Lal, a dalit farmer, who lives in our project village Raseena,  situated in the Babina Block of Jhansi.

Raseena is a remote village, 32 kilometers from away from Jhansi district. The public transport, auto, goes to Rassena, twice in a week only. It hinders the connectivity of the poor and marginalized community members with rest of the world.

This village has approximately 300 households. 50% of the population is schedule caste. The main source of income for the schedule caste community is agriculture and labour. Most of the Dalit farmers are marginalized farmers (0.50 decimal to 5 acres). The agricultural plots have red soil and the land is not much fertile. For irrigation farmers are dependent on monsoon only. A few farmers have wells for irrigation purpose. The chief Rabi crop is wheat and the main kharif crop is ground nut.  The average production of wheat is 10-12 quintals/acre.

Raseena is one of the project villages of the Harit Prayas. One and a half year ago, team Harit Prayas of Jhansi Catholic Seva Samaj (JCSS) started rapport building with the community members. After a series of meeting with community members one farmers’ club was formed namely, Jai Bajrang Kisan Club. It has 13 members. In monthly meeting farmers discuss the method of organic farming and its benefits. The cluster coordinator facilitates the meeting.

Just before the Rabi season a small demo plant on vermin compost was established in the village. The name of the beneficiary was Ashok Ahirwar.  He is the member of Jai Bajrang Kisan Club. Ashok, a hard working farmer, happily got the small demo plant establish at his farm land. After a month he had 50 kg vermi compost with him. He had also received trainings organized by JCSS on organic farming with help of K.V.K, Jhnasi, under project Harit Prayas. Ashok practice, whatever he learnt. He went for 100% organic farming and did not use even an iota of DAP & Urea, in 1 bigah of land. As a result the wheat produce was increase. But most important thing is the input cost decreased and the production increased and he sold the organic wheat at the price of INR 1400/- per quintal. On the other hand market price for wheat is INR 1000/- per quintal (sold by small farmers at door step).

Following is the table showing the profit Mr. Ashok made due to organic farming, with help of project Harit Prayas…………..

Increase in Livelihood: Cost-Benefit analysis

It is quite clear from the comparative analysis in the above table that the increase in the income of a dalit farmer is 115.05 %. The PMF of the Harit Prays mandates that 627 HHs (Agriculture) will have 25 % increased production (5% in 1st year, 15% in 2nd year and 25% in 3rd year) so that ‘food security is ensured leading towards reduction in migration. Here, we have a case story of Ashok Ahirwar (a dalit farmer) whose income increased up to 115.05%, in Rabi crop, due to project Harit Prayas and efforts of Harit Prayas team of JCSS.

The contact number of Ashok Ahirwar is 09451921187. May some farmers of other project be interested in learning/getting motivation from him!

Market linkages: Glocalisation (Globalisation + Localisation)

      Mr. Ravi Jain, a local businessman at Babina block, bought the organic produce and gave 8 quintal of wheat order in advance.

      It is often seen that if the farmers’ product gets its due rate in the market it become a pull factor and motivate other farmers to join the caravan.

      Having good credit of a farmer in his/her nearby villages, with proper advertisement of organic farming in local area also helps in getting higher prices for organic yield, as happened in the case of Mr. Ashok Ahirwar. So even without complex process of certification, which is not practically suitable for the poor and marginalized dalit farmers, one can get the higher price for organic yield at local market.

 

 Courtsey : HARIT PRAYAS Jhansi team

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Hum Honge Kamyab!

This is story of the community members of the village located in Parasai. This village faces the most atrocities in the time of flood that happens every rainy season. But the condition was not same as today. That time community had no support and being located in the interior most could not find any support from the government agencies.

During Micro Planning conducted in the month of May the major problem which most of the community was suffering was of the flood in river Sunar. In 2005, the condition was so worse that people have to leave their homes and live in farms for nearly 3 days. As a result of micro planning this time the villagers decided to raise their voice but how it could be until and unless their voices are tuned together.

It was in this time that the community came together and decided to attend Jan Sunvai and propose to build boundary wall at the river side.

They held a meeting on 25^th May sat together and fixed a date for the Cluster Coordinator Mr.Rajendre Patel to address the issue. Our farmer’s club members also sat therein.

On 26^th June they have brought an application in the Jan Sunvai and presented the Micro plan in front of the Collector.

Collector made the members return by assuring that he will be looking at the issue in favour of the community.

The community members returned with this faith that at least their voices were heard.

Source: HARIT PRAYAS MVSS-Sagar team

HARIT PRAYAS result achievement in June 2012@MVSS Sagar

Source: HARIT PRAYAS MVSS-Sagar monthly report.

RESEARCH work in HARIT PRAYAS in collaboration with IWID

Moving towards the value addition with the HARIT PRAYAS project, we are initiating a small research study in collaboration with Initiatives: Women in Development (IWID) New Delhi.  The research would mainly focus on ‘women collectiveness for farming’ and specifically with the women farmers from our HARIT PRAYAS Mahila Mandals and Farmers Club. Also another aspect of the study would be on “promoting women collectiveness farming on common land”. Common land here indicates the land fallow land of Panchayat or some one giving land for agriculture on lease. With IWID we along with partners would be doing research and would be providing various inputs for the sustainable agriculture (will clarify more on this in my next mail). Apart from this the HARIT PRAYAS team would be getting various training on sustainable agriculture from IWID.

‘Importance of Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in better management of MGNREGA’

Today ‘grass-roots’ actors and concepts are intertwined in the theory and practice of the development profession. Community development promotes human development by ‘empowering communities and strengthening their capacity for self-sustaining development’. While talking about different government welfare schemes for community development, MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) is a job guaranteed scheme in India, aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The scheme launched on 2nd February 2006 as a momentous initiative towards pro-poor growth. For the first time, rural communities have been given not just a development program but also a regime of rights. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (NREGA) guarantees 100 days of employment in a financial year to any rural household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual work. This work guarantee also serve other objectives: generating productive assets and skills thereby boosting the rural economy, protecting the environment, empowering rural women, reducing rural urban migration and fostering social equity, among others. The Act offers an opportunity to strengthen our democratic processes by entrusting principle role to Panchayats at all levels in its implementation and promises transparency through involvement of community at planning and monitoring stages.

For our purposes, ‘Importance of Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in better management of MGNREGA’. Community-based organizations (CBOs) are defined as voluntary associations of community members that reflect the interests of a broader constituency. Though (CBOs) are small, informal organizations, indications are that they provide various services towards the development of rural communities and can be used as channels to route development information and other resources required to improve living conditions in rural communities. CBOs are, however, constrained from providing a more diverse range of services to their communities due to certain basic weaknesses. Leadership development, networking with both local and external organizations and registration with an official public agency are identified and discussed as sustainable strategies to strengthen CBOs, improve upon their service delivery standards and place them in a position to tap available opportunities to develop the communities they are located in rural areas.

For the better management of the MGNREGA scheme, CBOs, as they are intricately connected to the communities and stakeholders around them, must be viewed in their wholeness. They are key actors in their respective contexts, and in actuality, they are the products of the very systems responsible for community development at the local level. Recognizing the strengths and capacities that already exist in CBOs is vital to supporting genuine, demand-driven organizational development that can make grassroots groups an even more vital link to the increased well-being of vulnerable community.

 Many criticisms have been levelled at the MGNREGA, which has been argued to be no more effective than other poverty reduction programs in India. The program is overwhelmed with controversy about corrupt officials, deficit financing as the source of funds for the program, poor implementation, and unintended destructive effect on poverty, been built, no new homes, schools or hospitals or any infrastructure to speak of has resulted from the program. In this contrast CBOs can play an important role to minimize this entire problem and have capacity to do better management of MGNREGA.

This is probably not a job, its something we need people with passion, energy & commitment to bring change, if you think you are capable of bringing change

Apply now!

For the upcoming JEEVIKA project in Madhya Pradesh with 6 partner organizations,

KDSS-KHANDWA

PRAGATI-JHABUWA

IDSSS-INDORE

GCSS-GWALIOR

KSWS-UJJAIN

JDSS-JABALPUR

We Invite applications from the suitable candidates for the following positions:

Position: Project Coordinator ( 6 positions)

Brief about the JEEVIKA project

The project is being supported by the Caritas India (one of the leading humaniteriarian organization in the world) and would be implemented by the partner organizations. The positions would be based at the partners organization level and the staff would work for the partner organisation.  It’s a new innovative project involve expertise on Project management, field work, research work, capacity building, blog writing and innovations.

Name of the Post: Project Coordinator

Location: Shehore, Shivpuri, Khandwa, Umariya, Jhabuwa, Ujjain  (Madhya Pradesh)

Functional Area: Programme Management

Qualification & Experience:

• Post Graduate in Rural Management, Rural Development, Social work, Development Management, agriculture, Horticulture, Sociology, forest management, enterprise development, sustainable development and other related subjects (social sciences) from a reputed institution with at least  60% of marks.
• Experience in the area of community development especially in sustainable agricultural and government schemes (NREGS) activities through CBOs.
• Experience in the area of government Liasioning
• Ability to undertake unaccompanied travel in interior rural areas.
• At least  1-3 years of experience in development sector

Other skills required

• Effective verbal and written communications skills in English & Hindi.
• Excellent command over MS Office ( especially on word, excel & power point)
• Knowledge and experience of blog writing
• Action Research

Expertise required (negotiable)

• On Result Based Management ( RBM)
• MGNREGA
• FRA
• RTI
• Organic Cultivation

Responsibilities

§         Set overall directions/strategies of the project

§         Regular follow up on implementation and participatory monitoring of the project to attain desirable outputs.

§         Regular liaison with CARITAS INDIA for reporting and guidance. Implementation of overall plans within the district specific context and proper monitoring and reporting.

§         Extensive field visits to support direct actions field area.

§         Liaison with district administration for effective policy advocacy

§         Undertake capacity building initiatives at the grassroots for effective learning and support. Planning and conducting trainings.

§         Prepare best management of capacity building inputs through participatory monitoring and documentation.

§         Review the progress of activities at cluster of villages

§         Develop strategy for intervening with the marginalized sections of the village and provide handholding support to women/ dalit members as per needs.

§        Documentation of capacity building experiences for replication. Ensure timely completion of the activities and proper documentation

§         Providing access to information to Panchayat and Gram Sabha members

Salary and other benefits: 15000/- PM (depends on the individual qualities and experience) plus travel allowance, trainings and opportunity to be the part of an innovative project.

What we look for

While assessing a candidate, we look for job specific skills, comparable experience, ability to work well with others, initiative, analytical & problem solving ability, ability to organize, plan and execute and most importantly, potential. It goes without saying that one must be passionate about working for the development of the people.

Application procedure (For Project Coordinator)

How to apply:

Interested candidates (both male and female) can send their CV along by 31^st  July 2012  to recruitmadhyapradesh@gmaiul.com  and to vinodnmtt@gmail.com  letter and a page note (not more than 200 words) on ‘Importance of Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in better management of MGNREGA’.

Must  WRITE “APPLICATION FOR THE POST OF PROJECT COORDINATOR and place applied for (……..)”  subject line.

CV: We ask that you send us your CV outlining your education, work & voluntary experience & any relevant training attended with dates of completion. We ask that you also include contact details of two referees. Ensure your CV is no more than 2 pages long (2sides of A4)

Cover letter: The cover letter is the most important part of your application. It should be used to tell us how your experience, achievements, skills, knowledge & training gained in past employment & other activities will enable you to perform the requirements of the job. Ensure your cover letter is no more than 1 page long (1 sides of A4).

Before you apply, please take the time to understand various innovative projects of Caritas India ( on www.liferajasthan.blogspot.com, www.haritprayas.blogspot.com or www.caritasindia.org ) and about partner organization( http://www.mpsss.org/ )  and its work and the role you are applying for.

Interviews would startsoon.

You can also join us on facebook: Jeevika Caritas