Strengthening Gram Sabha in Tribal Pockets of Madhya Pradesh (93% increase in Gram Sabha meetings in 108 days of JEEV IKA implementation)!

In JEEVIKA project Panchayats out of 67 tribal Panchayats in 58 Gram Panchayts , gram Sabhas have been organised on 26th Jan 2013 ( comparing last year total 30 gram Sabhas in a on 26th Jan 2012)-an increase of 93% in gram Sabha meetings. In India , governance with rural community startes with Gram Panchayat and the core meeting Known as Gram Sabha (OR Village assembly is a meeting of all adults who live in the area covered by a Panchayat.Anyone who is 18 years old or more and who has the right to vote is a member of the Gram Sabha). There must be a minimum of two gram sabha organised in a gram panchayat in a year, but situation in tribal pockets of Madhya Pradesh are different, in 67 Gram Panchayats of 7 districts of Madhya Pradesh ( Ujjain, Shivpuri, Khandwa, Shehore, Dhar-Indore, Jhabuwa, & Umariya-where JEEVIKIA project from last three months is going on) in last year on 26th Jan 2012 only about 30 gram Sabhas have been organised with hardly any prastav from community/CBO and with hardly any participation by women members of the villages. Although with JEEVIKA we have just completed 108 days but we are able to make change in the sytem at community and at Panchayt level in terms of gram sabha through the following:

•Making PRI ‘s officially as the technical partner of JEEVIKA project implementation ( signed support letter from all 67 Panchayts)

•Initiating PRI literacy classes in each and every programme of JEEVIKA

•Established JEEVIKA cluster office base in the project field itself and staff staying in the project villages

•Regular interaction with PRI members and providing them sufficient guidance to facilitate gram Sabhas

•Clarifying the importance of Gram Sabha amongst the community and PRI members with Rallies (11)and Nukkad nataks (6)

•Facilitating community 10 writeshop on putting prastav in Gram Sabhas

With JEEVIKA project changes observed in 108 days are ( in terms of Gram Panchayt) JEEVIKA project

•Out of 67 gram Panchayats in 58 gram panvchayts Gram sabhas have been organised on 26th Jan 2013 ( last year this number was 30)

•In the concerned 58 Panchayats, it first happening that in the beginning of the year Gram Sabhas are happening and at least with 8-10 % of women participation. ( base line figure indicate it 2-3%)

•Community Participation was 45% ( compare to baseline of 20%)

•In the gram sabah 11 prastavas (recommendations) from Community side has been given

•This gram sabhas in the project villages are not merely restricted with the discussion amongst PRI members, but community has also not only become the part of discussion, but also recommended suggestion for decisions.

•With Gram Sabhas community, JEEVIKA team members have also taken session on organic cultivation and shared about the practices related with it.

•JEEVIKA project has been discussed in GRaam Sabhas

The basic thing for this change was , its not that community and PRI can not facilitate Gram Sabhas, but only thing they were hardly aware of its process and impact, and with JEEVIKA we have only strengthen it.

For more on JEEVIKA log on to:

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeevikaCARITAS

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On JEEVIKA MP Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXuRdZRUBp-XpmJ7eMgz9rg

Training in colloboration with Govt. on PRI@JEEVIKA Indore

Jan 2013: Government institutions in the form of Panchayati Raj are the technical partners of JEEVIKA project in its implementation and now team of JEEVIKA in collaboration with them providing regular training to the community on various aspects of PRI , which mainly includes knowledge building on government schemes and importance of PRI for community development.

By JEEVIKA team ( IDSSS-Indore)

Empowering women farmers@ JEEVIKA Umariya

Project team members of JEEVIKA (JDSS-Jabalpur) are now trained on organic farming and have initiated a new concept of training women farmers on organic cultivation so that they can train their male family members on organic cultivation and thus would accentaute the identity of women farmers in the family and in the society.

On 25th Jan 2013 ( a day before Republic Day of India) in village Chadakala ( Podi cluster of Umariya District) JEEVIKA prokect team has facilitated a one day ( full day) workshop cum training on organic farming for 15 women farmers form the said village. Such trainings are now on regular basis especially for women to train and upgrade their skills on organic cultivation. The best part of these trainings are that all such trainings are being facilitated by our JEEVIKA team members and women farmers have started practicing making organic input for rabi cultivation.

By Mr. Rajesh ( Project Coordinator-JEEVIKA-JDSS-Jabalpur)

Strengthening Public Distribution System through community collectivenes with JEEVIKA@Shivpuri

This is a village where 60 families of tribal community living, PDS system are totally paralyzed here. Community people haven’t seen sugar on ration shop for more than a year; they are getting one moth’s kerosene oil in three months which, same condition with rice and wheat also. Leela and Geeta Adiwasi, members of a self help group Jai Bajrang Sahoom told us that “Gram Sevak kept distribution register in his custody and eating our whole ration, we are having to self help groups here one is 5 years old but there is no meetings of groups.”

After hearing about this problem Project Coordinator (Nagendra Chaturvedi) and Cluster Coordinator (Purshottam Das) contacted following Sarpanch of village and planning for working on this problem with community people.

By Mr. Nagendera ( Project Coordinator, JEEVIKA-GCSS-Gwalior)

Shramdaan by community for Maintenance of Common Property Resources (CPR) under JEEVIKA at Shehore (Madhya Pradesh)

Two things are quite important in development process the first one community involvement and the 2nd one innovation! With JEEVIKA (at Shehore-ANWC-Bhopal) we giving shape to a new model of community based project , where in with the orientation of the project community has been mobilised to have “shramdhan” i.e. voluntary physical work in the village for some common cause in the form of repair or maintenance or creation of Common Property Resource (CPR) or to mini create structures for water conservation. A common agreement has been discussed along with community and signed and a register has been maintained by the people for “shramdaan” and has been done in the project villages before the implementation of the JEEVIKA project and has been decided by the community with facilitation by JEEVIKA project team). The initiation of shramdaan in the project has given a new model of ownership for the JEEVIKA project and also able to create a system of maintenance of common property resources. An estimated wage cost if calculated in money) would be around INR 9000 and 15 CPR has been maintained through shramdaan in JEEVIKA project in the 14 project villages of Shehore district.

Watch Live shramdaan on : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgqR32TCvSA

For community initially it was difficult and were not interested but when JEEVIKA team members including (who all are staying in the project villages, although they are not from the same area) have initiated discussion on CPR and its maintenance and its future sustainability during night community meetings, community has started realising and with initiation by one village, other villages have also started shramdaan for maintenance of CPR.

Let’s hope for creating a community based sustainable change in Madhya Pradesh!

Community communication through community!

At Khnadwa (Madhya Pradesh) with JEEVIKA project, we have initiated a new concept of strengthening community communication in the form of wall painting by the community members itself i.e. the concept of wall painting, slogans on livelihood government schemes, sustainable agriculture and skill development all are from community and even the painters are from the target community itself.

Source: JEEVIKA monthly progress report of KDSS-Khandwa

Development Cafe'

In present scenario new funding opportunities in development sector and application of technologies go hand by hand. From the information of new funding sources /opportunities to submit the application is all through technologies and thus today technology is a value added element in pooling resources. Considering this ONLY FOR THE MADHYA PRADESH PARTNERS we have come out with the concept of DEVELOPMENT CAFÉ’-a unique concept to guide the Caritas India MP partners on various new funding opportunities (especially focused on Madhya Pradesh and mainly in relation with livelihood, governance and organisational capacity).

How one can access Development café’?

Accessing Development café is quite simple in the way one can access through log in to the JEEVIKA blog www.jeevikacacritas.blogspot.com (on top there is a section Development Café) or directly by login to http://jeevikacaritas.blogspot.in/p/f.html

What facilities one will receive at Development café’?

• Will get the latest updated information on various call for proposals (CFP)/request for proposal (RFP)/Expression of Interest (EOI) specifically for Madhya Pradesh only

• The information on the new opportunities would be collected from various sources-news paper, web pages, agencies website, social media (twitter) etc.

• Will get the service of expert advice on submitting the proposal (for this partners has to register first by sending a request for registration at jeevikamp-caritas@googlegroups.com .

• Once partner would register could receive advice as per requirement ( but would be limited with few options only)

• Soon the development café would have an option of video guidance for making clarity on proposal for the applicant-Probably this would be first this type of service in India.

• Along with the services from Development Café’ , partner organisations would also be aware about the daily updates happening in the field of JEEVIKA

Why development café’?

Because:

• There are lot many opportunities in the development sector to work for the cause, but most of the information are here and there

• In regard to new opportunities there is confusion amongst the applicant mainly in terms of usage of technological guidance

• The trend in development sector is changing in terms of submission of proposal for new call/opportunities and skill on the same is still vague.

Why Development café’ on with JEEVIKA blog?

In last two months JEEVIKA has nearly 50000 viewership and is in its own kind a big achievement in the section of blogs or development projects, thus will be a good platform where, because of its viewership, the agency calling for proposal could also request to update their opening (probably in near future-considering the services available for the applicant at Development café’)

So we hope this new system of tracking funding sources would be an asset for the MP partners to get update on various funding opportunities and guidance on the same SPECIFICALLY FOR MADHYA PRADESH!

Also I request all MP partners to have their own twitter account on orgnisation name and follow JEEVIKA to get more updates on development process happening through out the world.

Let’s hope for making change possible through technology!

Low cost agriculture technique for small & marginalized farmers@JEEVIKA Shehore

JEEVIKA team at Shehore is promoting low cost Systematic Wheat Intensification technique amongst the tribal farmers at Shehore. The technique makes small and marginalised farmers to save almost 70% of seed cost

Principles of the System of Wheat Intensification (SWI)

The prevalent system of wheat cultivation requires more chemical fertilizers and nearly 120-180 kg of seed per hectare. SWI uses only 20-30 kg of improved seed in one hectare. Twenty to twenty five cm spacing between rows, use of manure and organic seed treatment ensures higher yield. Sufficient spacing between the plants and sowing of two seed grains at one point facilitates desired moisture, aeration, nutrition and light to the crop roots. This helps faster growth of plants. Only 2-3 times irrigation and weeding through cono-weeder save time and expenses on labor.

SWI is primarily based on these two principles of crop production 1. Principle of root development and

2. Principle of intensive care

Principle of root development:

For the proper development of crop plant, it must be well established from rooting system. Root development is the first step of healthy growth and development of any plant. For this, it requires proper nourishment and sufficient space around the plant. So, distance between plants is very crucial for proper growth and development of crop plants.

Principle of intensive care:

Intensification does not mean high number of plant density per unit space; rather it is proper space maintenance and taking care of plants very closely. So, to enhance productivity it requires intensive care in every stage of plant growth specially management of weed, insect, disease, organic manure and irrigation.

Based on the above principles the System of Wheat Intensification involves the following modified practices for achieving higher productivity Improved Seed: SWI can be applied for any kind of wheat variety, however the local varieties used under current practice in the hilly districts of Nepal are less productive compared to newly release improved varieties like WK 1204 and Pasang Lhamu. So, selection of improved varieties will be crucial in increasing the productivity of wheat crop. Seed Treatment: Seeds are usually treated with Bavistin or Vitavax to control seed borne fungal diseases including smut. In addition to this, seeds are treated with organic mixture of well decomposed compost, jaggery and cow urine for improving microbial activity in the soil. Procedure for Seed Treatment:

• Grade out bold seeds separately from lots of improved seed.

• Take 10 liter of hot water (60 degree Celsius) in an earthen pot.

• Dip 5 Kg of improved graded seeds in it.

• Remove the seeds which float on the top of water.

• Mix 2 kg well decomposed compost, 3 liter cow urine and 2 kg of jaggery.

• After mixing it properly, keep the mixed material as such for 6-8 hour.

• After this, filter it so that solid materials along with seeds and liquids get separated.

• After that, mix 10 gm of fungicide properly and keep in shade for 10-12 hrs.

• Then wheat gets germinated. The germinated seed is used for sowing in the tilled field.

• Cow urine, well decomposed compost and jaggery in separate vessels

Land Preparation and application of Organic Manure:

Traditionally, farmers accumulate organic manure in open field for months, before final land preparation which results in the loss of nutrients through leaching and evaporation. SWI emphasizes on efficient use of organic manure rather than chemical fertilizers because it helps to improve the soil health in addition to providing nutrients to the crop. Organic manure is applied before land preparation at the rate of 10 quintals per ropani and incorporated in the soil by plowing immediately.

Seed Rate: In traditional method, 8-10 kg of wheat seed is required for 1 ropani but seed rate is lowered to 1-2 kg per ropani under SWI. Treated seeds have high germination rate. So, sowing treated seeds in lines 20-25 cm apart saves a large amount of seed and reduces the cost incurred in it.

Line Sowing: Maintaining plant to plant distance is very important for facilitating proper root development and tillering in wheat crop. So, two seeds are sown per hill and spacing is maintained at 20 cm x 20 cm. Seeds are sown at a depth of 2.5 – 3 cm using seed drill. If seed drill is not available, strings or ropes are used for maintaining proper spacing. Moisture should be available in the field while sowing germinated seed.

Gap Filling: Wherever the seeds have not germinated, the gap should be filled with germinated seeds within 10 days of sowing. If there are more than two seeds germinated in one hill they should be uprooted properly to facilitate proper growth of the plant.

Irrigation: First irrigation is done 15 days after sowing, as root initiation starts during this time. Unavailability of moisture in soil prevents root initiation. Second irrigation is given 25 days after sowing, as tillers start emerging in this stage. Third irrigation is given 35- 40 days after sowing. Subsequent irrigations are given at 60, 80 and 100 DAS upon availability. During the flowering and grain-filling stage, appropriate moisture should be available in the soil.

Weeding: After the first, second & third irrigations, hoeing and weeding should be done using cono-weeder1 to loosen the soil and to make the wheat field free from weed. The loosening of soil results in better aeration for the root zone and increases the root length by letting them take more moisture & nutrient from the soil. This helps in bringing forth more tillers in the plant with more vigor.

Crop Rotation with legumes for increased productivity:

In hilly area wheat is mostly cultivated in rotation with upland rice and millet, year after year. Growing same crops in the same field for many years depletes the soil fertility and helps to build pests and pathogens in the cropland. So, rotating legumes like soybean and pulses will help to improve productivity of wheat by adding nutrient to the soil and improving soil properties. Wheat crop yields more in rotation with legumes because legumes help to fix nitrogen in soil and improve soil fertility. Legumes like soybean have bacteria in their root nodules which take nitrogen from the air and convert them to usable forms. In comparison to wheat-rice/millet rotation wheat-maize/soybean will be more beneficial cropping pattern in a long term because in addition to improving soil fertility, crop rotation with legumes will also help to check the build-up of pathogens and pests in the cropland and reduce the expenditure on agricultural chemicals. Green Manuring with Dhaincha can also improve the soil fertility status.

Source: Dec 2012 monthly report of ANWC-Bhopal JEEVIKA team

Giving identity to women farmers@JEEVIKA Shehore

One of the key aspects of JEEVIKA is to make women farmers identity visible, and for the same in tribal district of Madhya Pradesh-Shehore (JEEVIKA project villages) we have adopted a unique concept of making a women to mobilise other women to learn organic and with a loudspeaker these women share their learnings every week in a forum like Panchayats.

For more on women empowerment log on to www.jeevikacaritas.blogspot.com or follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/JeevikaCARITAS

Volunteers in JEEVIKA@Shivpuri

JEEVIKA is an innovation in itself and is rather a NGO manages, is a community managed innovation for the better and sustainable livelihood options for the community. One of the key bases of JEEVIKA is the volunteers in the project field. At present in 104 villages there are 250+ volunteers supporting the project implementation. Now we are developing the data base of the volunteers. The list of volunteers supporting JEEVIUKA at Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh) is:

Cash transfer scheme to roll out in 20 districts in Jan 2013 !

New Delhi: The government will roll out its ambitious scheme of transferring cash to beneficiaries of select schemes in 20 districts tomorrow, but food, fertiliser and fuel subsidies will not be covered in the initial phase. Announcing the roll-out plan, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that more and more districts and schemes would be covered under the scheme during the course of 2013. "We are proceeding with caution. 20 districts from January 1... All 26 schemes are ready for rollout. On January 1, the seven schemes in which pay out is due in the (20 selected) districts, the money will be transfered through the direct benefit transfer system using the UIDAI platform," he said.

The Minister, however, clarified that subsidies relating to cooking gas (LPG), kerosene, diesel, food and fertilisers will not be included in the first phase of the roll-out. "At the moment there is no intention to transfer subsides on food, fertiliser, diesel and kerosene through direct benefit transfer. Here, existing system will continue because they are complex issues," he said.

On subsidy on LPG, the Minister clarified, "I don't know when it will be covered. It is not covered in the first phase." The Minister said that scheme will be rolled out in 43 districts by March 1 - 20 districts from January 1, 11 districts from February 1 and 12 districts from March 1. By end of 2013, Chidambaram said, the direct cash benefit transfer will be rolled out in all the districts of the country. He said the subsidies would be transferred to the beneficiaries' bank accounts if they do not have an Aadhaar number. Chidambaram said: "Over the next few days or weeks we will aim at 100 per cent penetration of Aadhaar beneficiaries... Whether there is Aadhaar card is not money will be credited, money will be withdrawn." He said that in these 43 districts, Aadhaar penetration among beneficiaries is very high. Also, banks have floated tender for 20 lakh inter-operable micro ATMs.

The list of districts where the scheme has been rolled out can be found here.

Source: www.dailybhaskar.com