Location: Gasuapara Block
PIA: A·chik Welfare Society (AWS)
“Ever since the
time immemorial, the educated people like you have never been entered into our village. By seeing the people like you for the first time in our village, we have full of hope and believed that we can socially, physically and mentally be transformed” says – Mr. Alphonsious Sangma, Wa·gebokgre.
Considered to be a unique among various project implementations in the state, the Livelihood Improvement Project for the Himalayas (LIPH) being implemented since 2006 under the joint aegis of Government of India (GoI) and International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) stands today at the very crucial juncture. Having overcome many of the hurdles of the initial phase, the program has the potential to unfold new prospects for sustainable livelihood promotion efforts and Self Help Group (SHG) with the poor. At the same time, the program is confronted with major challenges, both old and new, which need to be address authentically so that the major goals of the program are realized in a meaningful way.
The overall objective of the project is to improve the livelihood of the vulnerable groups of the people in a sustainable manner through improve management of their resource-base in a way that contributes to protecting and restoring the environment.
The project aims to empower the rural community particularly marginal farmers of the state for sustainable livelihood pursuits while ensuring optimized community resource management and enterprise development.
The project is trying to address the critical institutional constraints to develop in the region. The focus is on introducing approaches which:
1) are more responsive to communities’ perception of needs and priorities;
2) involve communities more in decision making and planning;
3) make communities more responsible for management of their development programmes in order to generate a greater sense of ownership of development interventions;
4) build on the traditional values of community participation and utilize the strengths of village institutions and other community organizations.
Two key Community Institutions that the project has introduced are Village Development Councils (VDCs) and Self Help Groups (SHG) to carry out the project activities successfully.
The Gasuapara Development Block is one of the four Development Blocks of South Garo Hills with an approximate population of 21,094 (Male 13,425, Female 11,545). The areas stood at an average height of 600m characterized by rugged hilly terrain and is surrounded by the three rivers viz., Bogai, Dareng, and Rompa rivers, and the main hills are nokrek, kondok and dura a·sakgre ranges. The mean temperature is 27.5°C in summer and 17.5°C in winter. It receives an annual rainfall of about 1500-4000 mm. Remote sensing data reveals that the region has good forest cover occupying 43·32% of total geographical area. Shifting cultivation is extensively practice in this part of the region occupying 38.69% with a meager wet cultivation of 6.96%. Grazing land occupies a negligible 0.34% with the wastelands of 1.67%. This region is suitable for various horticultural and plantation crops like areca nut, cashew nut and rubber.
The villages under this Development Block are inhabited by Garo tribes with diverse cultural heritage and dialects. The Garos had a matrilineal system of inheritance and women enjoy greater equality than their counterparts in non-tribal society. Socially, the communities lag behind in critical areas such as literacy, healthcare and other basic minimum needs. On the economic front, major part of the labor are invested in agriculture particularly jhum cultivation.
Out of 167 villages, 4,309 households and 21,094 populations, 38 villages were selected for the first phase of the project interventions covering 723 households and populations of 4068. The project started operating in this Block in 2006. At present, the Block has divided into four clusters, viz., Rongchong, Wa·gebok, Ruga and Dasin.
Methodology
Based on the guidelines formulated by the Project Management Unit (PMU), the methodology, tools and strategy for facilitating the grassroots’ activities were adopted by the team. The team conducted regular weekly coordination meetings in order to collect village informations and discussed problem solving activities. Due to multidimensional activities involved with the interventions, the methodology and tools adopted were mix of PRA, key informal/individual interactions, specialized group discussions, panel discussions, and appreciative enquiry. Both men and women were equally addressed in all cases. Designing and formulation of questionnaires were prepared for collecting data and other village informations.
With the background realities of the communities, the project strategy offered livelihood improvement activities for the communities as efficient incentives to mobilize the groups in the villages. The process started as an awareness campaign on the project concept and philosophy for the villagers with the principle of Self Help Group. The SHGs were offered an opportunity to enter the project by signing a social agreement with District Management Unit (DMU). In terms of reference, the Nokma (village chief and custodian of the land) signs a written proviso declaring no objection to the program, then only the project implementation process continues further. The efficient communication through participatory mode of action offered the communities an appropriate opportunity to improve and strengthen the sources of livelihood and skills up-gradation. The principles of savings and thrifts and at the same time capacity building trainings imparted were the dream schemes for the communities and the participatory approach adopted by the project was a new introduction for them.