Location: Gasuapara Block
PIA: A·chik Welfare Society (AWS)
The outcomes of the
project implementation are addressed the following challenges and
opportunities:
Ecotourism: The villages have traditionally often lived in harmony with their surroundings and are fully compatible with ecological nature showing a concern for environmental protection in the awareness that the preservation of natural resources is necessary to sustain economic production. The forest that are cut off and repressed in the protected areas of communities and the eventual erosion, loss of tree species and deforestation gradually evolve across long enough periods of space and time. The region is rich in biodiversity of both animal and plant species signifying the opportunities for ecotourism development. The places like Jikse wari (
Daldam river), various fish species found in
Wakskogre streams, Dobakol (
Dasinbibra), and the unique cultural heritage of
Ruga tribes are also opening the opportunities for ecotourism and their diverse nature for enterprise development.
Food Security: The people are fully dependent on traditional jhum cultivation and forests for their livelihood. Efforts to improve food production through agriculture are impeded by the limited area available for cultivation, hilly terrain, low land holdings, landlessness, and low availability of technical supports. People do not have money to buy food grains from the market. The government sponsored food security initiative - Public Distribution System (PDS) - has serious limitations and fails to address the food security concerns of the people. Large scale deforestation in the region has reduced the availability of uncultivated foods for them. Food security is thus a major issue in the region. Severe malnutrition and starvation are realities in many villages even today.
However, there is great opportunity for interventions in jhum practices. Agronomic practices can be modified and cropping phase can be intensified from traditional one year to two years or more by introduction of nitrogen fixing crops as cover crops either in the second year or third year.
There is a continuous expansion of terraces in the villages. Mono cropping like paddy is cultivated only once in a year with the land remaining barren for the rest of the year. The farmers have experienced better paddy yield in terrace as compared to jhum. Terrace production can also be further enhanced by linking with irrigation development, introduction of short-gestation high yield varieties to enable two-season cultivation, cultivation of off-season vegetables in terraces, etc.
Land and water: Most of the land in the region is hilly and undulating. Agriculture is confined to low lands in plains (Ruga areas) and gentle slopes. The laterite soils are shallow, with poor fertility and low water holding capacity. Soil fertility is dependent on the organic matter provided by trees growing on slopes and hill sides. The quality of soils is deteriorating because of the dwindling forest cover and increasing use of land for jhumming.
The region receives very heavy rainfall (upto 4000 mm) during May-September. Most of the water runs off to the river due to the fractured rock and poor water holding capacity of soils. The 6 month dry period is hence characterized by severe water stress and drinking water scarcity and villagers often have to walk long distances to fetch drinking water. This generally translates into increased work load for women.
The contrasting situation of very heavy rainfall for 3-4 months followed by water stress imposes restrictions on cropping seasons and crops grown and the unhygienic conditions in villages leading to the contamination of drinking water sources. These conditions provide fertile ground for spread of various water borne diseases.
The people solely depend on spring water or unhygienic water conservation pond (
Rongchong and
Wa·gebok) and very few on open well constructed in the village which they use to drink without treating and safely; and the frequent infection of diseases on the people/villagers seem to be water-borne diseases. Keeping in view on all these prevailing physical problem in the villages, certain preventive measures in order to protect health hazards on women in particular and community in general by providing appropriate technical support like health awareness campaign, construction of water reservoir tanks, hygienic tap water distribution, construction of open well, etc. should be enhanced.
Women’s problem: The recent PRA tools exercise conducted by the AWS on daily activities and mobility in the villages indicated that the women share abundant responsibilities to perform wide spectrum of duties both in the home and outside but their participation is considered as normal by the society.
Women usually employed in arduous jhum operations as well as domestic management like sowing, weeding, intercultural operation, protection, harvesting and threshing, cleaning, grading, milling with traditional implements (
rimol &
chasam), grinding, storage, cooking, child bearing, care for children’s health, fetching of water from distant places, collection and carrying of fuel woods, etc. The long hours of work put in by women in fulfilling their multiple roles hardly leave anytime for leisure and have adverse effect on their health both mental and physical. Certain reducing measures must be taken up in order to provide high women’s productivity and social complexity in the society like – introduction and adoption of labour saving (which are ergonomically suitable and low cost drudgery reducing implements designed for jhumming and home operations) and drudgery reducing technologies and methods to alleviate the sufferings of women in jhum operations and domestic activities enabling them to participate more energetically and enthusiastically in community institutions and care for children’s education and health.