Day 233 - It changes nothing!

The clock struck 8. I knew I was late. Barely out of sleep, I got ready as fast as I can and managed to join the 8.30 am call. Half asleep, I try to understand the tasks and its implications. After 2 hours of an information overload, I decide to have breakfast which was pongal with excessive amount of ghee which made the battle with sleep harder. I try to understand my tasks and what to make of the requirements on my screen. In no time the phone rings again at 4 pm asking me about the updates. And as usual, in the evening call, we realize that we've never manage to please them ever and decide to re-do the whole thing as per their new wishes. Slowly you realize its dinner time and you must go home as well. Postponing it for tomorrow you call it a day. While sleeping you just make new plans for tomorrow hoping to learn something new.

Clear journey up ahead

Laying back on the ship, these are the dreams that I came with and still have. Sure a job up ahead is one for the most important things that we come here for, but everyone knows its not just that. Moving back 1.5 years, I would've never even imagined that I had such an appetite for information let alone wake up for early morning classes. I had almost given up on routine and never believed I would read text books again. The journey so far has tremendous leanings and there is no reason to believe it will not be the same up ahead. Sure there is an accomplishment when you reach the summit but like I always say, the journey is complete only when you finish the descent. Landing a job is not the achievement but the sign that you have the tickets for a new base camp. After this journey starts a whole new expedition where the peak is not even visible. A challenge to keep driving yourself up. A way of living where you never lose motivation. A journey in which most settle down in their comfort zones and peacefully sleep. That is the real battle which gives you the reason to celebrate and not the successful self selling that you do over a 1 hour conversation with your future colleagues.

And with this post, I start counting the days yet again. Not in anticipation but regret, that they run faster than the waves.

Case Study 4 - If there is no demand, create it

The simple laws of economics tells us when the supply is low, the demand increases. But Assam seems to be an exception in this regard as when the supply is low, the people seem to stop consuming all together. For example the supply of dairy products in low but this further drives down the demand. Similar is the case of mushrooms. Mushrooms have been a rare cultivation in SeSTA’s intervened villages. There has been just one of the associated farmers currently cultivating Mushrooms and his story so far is nothing less than astonishing.

Manoranjan Barman from Kashikotra has been gifted with good farming skills. He has always produced more Paddy than any of the other farmers and has the maximum productivity (10 tons per hect) in whole of Chirang. He cultivates the crops using SRI technique by the book which was introduced to him by SeSTA in 2008. SeSTA gave him a platform to link with the local Agriculture District Office to obtain all the support for implementing SRI. Looking at his impressive figures, he has received DC Kajalgaon, Bololand and Kokrajhar awards for the Best Farmer. SeSTA had recognized his talents and has used his assistance in giving training on SRI practices to many SHG groups and influencing close to 300 farmers to implement SRI method of agriculture.

Upon his constant journey of learning, he was introduced to Mushrooms from the Kisan Vigyan Kendra. The idea impressed him and they provided him with the Spons, the bags and Paddy straw to initiate the Mushroom cultivation. He did initially face certain problems in the downstream value chain, as there was not much demand for mushrooms. Hence the price offered to him for Oyster Mushroom ranged around Rs 100/Kg compared to Rs 400-500 /Kg in Guwahati. But facing these challenges head on, he not only managed to sell off his entire harvest but also create a good demand of Mushrooms throughout the village. He earned more than Rs 1 lakh after selling off his first cultivation of Mushrooms.

Manoranjan with his Mushrooms

Manoranjan is not only successful in his Mushroom cultivation, but he has also been actively involved with SeSTA in providing exposure to the technique. He has given trainings on Mushroom cultivation in close to 9 SHGs associated with SeSTA in Nalbari, Asrabari, Garubhasa, Runikhata, Bamungaon, Basugaon etc. “1 Kg of Spon yields close to 6 Kgs of dried mushroom. Moreover, to start the cultivation, you just need Spon (Rs 150/KG), 8 bags (Rs 8/bag) and Paddy straw (Rs 30-40). If the demand of mushrooms increases in future, we will surely get a better price than Rs 100-150 that we get for oyster mushrooms now” said Manoranjan. SeSTA’s executives have also been spreading awareness on Mushrooms as a possible source of income and it has been kick started in Kadamtola block of Chirang. Although the marketing is a big concern for Mushrooms, but once the supply kicks in, the prices are sure to adjust compared to the levels in Guwahati and other districts.

Case Study 3 - The birth of a leader / Sweating out to Success

Mirila Mardi was one of the many people among the Santhal community who was a victim of 1996 riots. Tears rolled down her eyes when she explained the incident. “We had one of the biggest houses in Bamungaon. Our family was doing well and ours was the only family to have a wooden 2 story house in the village.” exclaimed Mirila with pride. Her house was burned down in the riots and all her lands, livestock and resources were stolen from her family. She was not the only victim in the village. “There were close to 40 houses that were burned. The situation was crazy and out of control” she said. The government provided aid to these communities in the form of relief camps and supplies. “We were taken to the Sidli camp for 1 year and then  to Tunkubari for 6-7 months. We had nothing to live by, nowhere to start.”

This major setback was not to dent Mirila’s strength or determination. Her family decided to move back to Bamungaon, the place that had been their home. Although they had no significant income, her agenda was simple, work hard, be true to yourself and it will surely pay off. Her father was a skilled builder and built the house from scratch in Bamungaon with assistance from Mirila and her sisters. He even made all the furniture himself. Slowly their house was complete in 2001 and they managed to acquire some land for agriculture with whatever they could save. With their efforts in Paddy paying them off, they managed to build two more houses to house their family of 10 members in 3 generations. They kept investing in land for agriculture with whatever profits they made. “We currently have 5 bigha for household agriculture and 12 bigha lowlands for agriculture. Although paddy is the main crop, we also plant vegetables, maize and other cash crops here.” Mirila’s success story although just begins here.

She was associated with SeSTA since 2011. SeSTA gave her exposure to SRI agriculture and she immediately adopted it in her lands. “My neighbors and even my mother ridiculed me on the practice. But after the clear difference in productivity, they started practicing it too”. She was able to manage close to Rs 7500 more on a yearly harvest with SRI. She even acquired a Honda machine with help from SeSTA to assist the irrigation process. Apart from SRI, she also cultivated vegetables which they consumed and provided additional income. To add to it, she had a good source of income from poultry and livestock with 26 chicken, 10 goats and 10 cows.

Immediately recognizing her hard work and determination early on, SeSTA appointed her as a Community Resource Person with a Task based salary in Bamungaon. She has been assisting in helping the villages on and around Bamungaon to form SHGs. Her role in the VO in the locality has been phenomenal. “I was initially a very shy person. I couldn’t even speak straight to the male member s of the family. But after working for SeSTA, I can now handle the Bank related work of SHGs, talk to new women, explain to them benefits of groups, encourage them to form groups, guide them utilize the SeSTA trainings and exposure.” She had also been part of exposure trainings given by SeSTA in Rajasthan and Kolkata. “When I saw poverty and the sad state of affairs in Rajasthan and Kolkata, I thought if those people can rise from that state, sure can we.”

The major contribution from her was during the Maha-Aadiveshan, the annual meet of SHG federation containing 2000 women. “She was not a president, not a secretary in Sanghamitra Mahila Sangh. She was just a community member. Yet she took such ownership in speaking and organizing the event. Looking after 2000 women is no easy task for us and Mirila helped us in seating arrangements, fooding and all necessary announcements. Her energy and motivation levels were an inspiration for us and we were amazed at the ownership and dedication she showed towards managing the event “ praised Arijit Das, executive from Sidli.

Mirila weaving with her sister

On a personal note, each and every member of her family had defined roles in contribution to the income. Apart from all these activities, Mirila brings home close to Rs 3500 per month as income from weaving clothes. She along with her sister Phulmuni are looking to scale up the weaving process as it has been highly profitable for them. Mirila has proved time and again to the world that there is no easy road to success. She works 12 hours on each cloth she makes and tries to fit it in her schedule from farming whenever possible. Looking back, she has certainly come a long way from being homeless, without any income, unable to speak up to men, shy and reserved to a more energetic, ambitious, hard-working and responsible leader. “Given her exquisite leadership skills, we are sure to recommend her nomination in the SHG Federation up ahead” Arijit said.

Case Study 2 - A Night to Remember

The Assam riots of 1996 have bitter scars in the memories about the tens of thousands of lives displaced. There was somebody’s parents shot dead, somebody’s cattle shot, somebody’s family killed,  lands stolen, livestock stolen, houses burnt and so on. It is one deep hole in history where nobody wants to look back into. The acerbic nature of the incidents has been attributed either to selfish greed or wrath of dirty politics. It took the villagers 18 years to survive and recover from the drastic incident of the past.

SeSTA’s Executive traineeship program kick starts with a Village stay followed by a Village study for each candidate. Pratap Das was one such ET who was allocated Hulmagaon for Village stay for 12 days. “It was the first time I was living out of home and in a village. There was lots of NDFB tension in the area. Almost everyone questioned my presence. There was literally a curfew everyday after 6 pm. People used to get up at night every now and then with small noises.” Pratap said. He was staying with a woman associated with SeSTA SHG who took really good care of him. “There was one instance when I was walking home after 6pm with Draupadi who was CRP in that area. When I approached a shop in Subeza Bazaar which was surprisingly open at this time, she caught my hand and pushed me aside. Judging by her terrified eyes and such a reaction, I was certain the meeting in the shop were no safe.”

After the village stay, it was time for a month long village study which is also part of the Executive traineeship (ET) programme. It tests the executive’s blending with villagers, adjusting attitude and opens an immense scope for cross learning for ET and villagers. Pratap was allocated Gorsinghpara for his village study which was situated in the Chirang Reserve forest kand populated mainly with Santhal Aadivasis. This is a migrant community that was initially brought to Assam by the British for Tea estates. Naturally there were conflicts with the native Bodo people in that area. Some disputes were regarding natural resources like share and revenue from forest land while others remain rooted to political issues.

Gorsinghpara was under SeSTA intervention and much more isolated than any other village. “I felt secluded from civilization. Roads were minimum 3 kilometers away, there were no shops nearby and there were no toilets in any of the homes and the paths were completely destroyed in case of rains. I had to walk 1 kilometer every morning for my nature call and bathing” said Pratap.

The village had recently been supplied with electricity and most of the residents were thrilled to own and use electrical appliances. “I used to play volleyball in the evenings with locals and used to sleep early. One day it was a real cold night, I had been sleeping and suddenly got jolted awake. It was villagers playing ‘Kanta Laga’ song at maximum volume at 3 am! That’s was the loudest alarm I had ever heard! I would say not stay the Village study was going good but it was its own kind of experience” exclaimed Pratap.

The people in Gorsinghpara were most poverty stricken. “In the whole village there was just 1 person who had a proper employment in SSB. Out of 67 households, there were 2 motorbikes which was bought on a shared basis. There were no shops. I had to travel 5 kilometers to Runikhata even for a cup of Tea.” shared Pratap. They had small lands, low yields, no technology waterlogged paths, no medical facilities and had completely given up hope for any help from outside. There was no future plans, no plans for growth, no expectations, they just filled their stomachs to live another day. “I spoke to all the households, discussed about their resources, problems, challenges and habits. Even with food, they ate plain rice with just Green chilly. I wasn’t offering any suggestions but simply studying their culture and adapting to it. This was a tough task as their language was Santhali, which was much different than Assamese or Bengali.” said Pratap. 

Though it had been close of 18 years of the riots, the wounds were fresh among the people of Gorsinshpara. It was the gateway village which let the Bodo people access to forests which was a major source of revenue for both the communities. But it was impossible to identify a disguised NDFB. “It was the first time I actually saw a NDFB militant. He was a kid much younger than my age. He asked the villagers the reason for my presence and left.” said Pratap. Almost each individual of Gorsinghpara had stories from the 1996 riots. At the time, the casualties were huge as there was intense violence among Aadivasi Tiger Force and NDFB. But post 1996, the ATF and a part of NDFB signed an agreement with government for peace. But there is one group of NDFB still operational who has not signed for peace settlement.

Pratap Das

It was December 23^rd 2014. A tale of the incidents from Pratap “I was talking to the family that housed me sitting outside. I suddenly received a call from Aswini da asking if I was okay and saw any problems around which I didn’t. Immediately I got another call from my parents asking if I was facing trouble. I assured them it was an evening like any other guessing they saw some bad news on TV. Half an hour passed. Aswini da called again and told me to stay safe for the night and he would vacate me early morning. I had no clue what they were talking about as the situation was peaceful in the village. Another half an hour passed. Suddenly we heard a gunshot. Then another. And more of them. There were outbursts of crying from villagers staying around. Immediately the villagers gathered together. There was shouts, confusion, panic, tension and gunshots. Nobody was sure what was happening. The lady of our house started weeping. ‘We just recovered out of the 96 riots! Oh god not again! They will shoot the cattle, people, steal our lands. God please save us’ she cried. I got another call from Aswini da and I updated the situation to him. He assured me that it would be very risky to travel at night and would extract me out the coming morning. Me along with the villagers decided to put the children to sleep and keep a watch whole night. There were gunshots, shouts and cries and the lady wept all night. The father was terrified but showed good stability and support. I was scared too, but decided to hold it out through the night. Since this was the major villages on the way to forest, it made a good target. Every now and then we used to get news and updates on the situation from neighbors. Slowly when we sat through till the sunrise, I realized the sounds had stopped. When I went to the nearby river to bath, it was deserted. I later heard that most of the casualties were on the villages on the opposite side of the river. There was a house that was burned down and a few killed. I came back and started getting ready to leave. At that moment, the villager said something that made me feel guilty. ‘You being here was a big support for us. Thank you so much. Though you are leaving now, but we have to sit through nights like this everyday. It will only be difficult without you’ they said. I felt embarrassed as they were ready to have me in their house in times of my need, but I was leaving when they needed me. Although I was of no help to them, but I guess they had moral strength in my presence. I felt really grateful to SeSTA, who immediately acted on the situation to retaliate. I came back determined to help with the setting up of relief camp in the affected villages. It was truly one of the nights whose seconds I counted till the end, a night whose sounds are written in my memories, a night which I’ll pray never repeats ever again.”

The riots of December 2014 ended on December 26 when the government ordered an operation all out against the NDFB. A majority of the operatives were either killed or captured or surrendered to the army. Sources said that the dispute started because of a tip off from an Aadivasis, against NDFB which lead to killing of one NDFB militant. But some still argue that it was a planned political execution of riots across BTAD region. Peace is very hard to achieve between these communities and it took 18 long years to break it. One of the key objectives of SeSTA is to establish the stronghold in such communities to sustain peace and harmony across the region. 

Case Study 1 - Bringing the ideology of Change

Farming is predominantly worshipped close to the status of God in Assam. There are historic religious sentiments attached to each plough, rowing, plantation and harvest. These rules and practices have been passed down the generations with their religious and traditional importance. With the background of such deep rooted beliefs and practices, change was something that most of the farmers in Assam were averse of.

With the implementation of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method of agriculture, SeSTA motivated the farmers to adopt the best practices in agriculture and bring about the change that is essential to survive. With the tough initial hurdles of a disinterested audience, lack of trust and stubborn practices, it was a big challenge for SeSTA to change the mindset of these farmers.

As usual the change is brought about after there are a few experimenters. “The average production of Dhaan before SRI was 16-18 mon/bigha (4.5 tons per hect) but after implementing SRI, I get an average of 25 mon per bigha (7.5 tons per hect)” said Jonaku Barman who was the first few to adopt SRI practices with assistance from SeSTA in 2008. Moreover, Jonaku has started tweaking the procedure to suit his needs. “I follow the line plantation in SRI but not the Nursery transplantion as it consumes 2 days per Bigha compared to 1 day per Bigha with the alteration. However, I do incorporate organic farming as much as possible using the Vericompost”. Success stories do go viral after a hit. “We have village meeting and there are around 10-12 people who have followed me using SRI principles of agriculture” Jonaku said.

Jonaku Barman with his new house

The process of change only takes a small spark as ignition. Looking at the livelihood improvements of Jonaku, many people started talking about SRI and trying it on part of their lands. “I sell close to 800 Kgs of Dhan every year and have enough savings to get my 4 daughters educated, build my house and prepare for the next season.” Witnessing the ample success stories of SRI, close to 75% of the farmers in the village has adopted SRI. There are no downstream problems in commercial production as the demand for Dhan is constant with multiple markets available to sell at Rs 14 per Kg.

Although this process of change is not just limited to commercial success. People have switched to SRI even for their personal use. “I have implemented SRI techniques encouraged by SeSTA since 2008 and followed each and every rule by the book including the nursery transplant. It is a laborious process but it has given me a good yield of 26.2 mon per bigha (8 tons per hect)” said Shailendra Narayan Rai. Shailendra has the record for highest productivity among the SRI farmers in Boitamari block. Shailendra is one of the many farmers who have adopted SRI without any commercial agenda. “I mainly cultivate the Ranjana variety of Dhan and the complete harvest is used in consumption so that we do not have to buy anything from outside” he said.

The farmers in Boitamari have realized the potential that SRI carries. With the initial encouragement from SeSTA and lots of success stories, more and more farmers are adopting to this process of change. The average yield from a sample of farmers with SRI is close to 20 mon per bigha (6 tons/hect) and the percentage of farmers adopting SRI is increasing year on year. Farmers have realized that change is not only essential but also necessary for them to survive and adapt in the present age. They have to break their traditional barriers to sustain and move forward. It is one such area where SeSTA has been successful in changing not only the practices but the mindset of the villagers.

Photo Post - Mosquito Net - The ultimate Savior of Humans

The list of things that a Mosquito net saves me from:

And Ofcourse, Mosquitoes...

Tamaranga - Field Visit

It was a Sunday and like most of the organizations, I expected Sesta to take rest from from the busy field work all week. However, the Executive Director Mr Aswini had other plans. He was going for a field visit to check the irrigation possibilities in villages. Since I am stuck in the 4 walls of the office, I have to grab on to any opportunity that presents itself. So I called and requested to tag along in the field visit.

The countless sceneries along the way

Along the way, I heard from them about the Tamaranga Lake, which is the largest lake in Assam. What was even better was, it was on the way. I asked them to drop me off at the Tamaranga lake and pick me when going back to other field locations.

Lake Tamaranga

Tamaranga lake was not the largest of lakes Ive seen. But it was surrounded by mountains which made the view picturesque. I started walking all around the lake taking wall-paper shots. The locals were wondering if I was in the right mental state to take photos in mid-day of just water and mountains. I kept walking and shooting till my legs begged me to turn back. I even stepped into some personal property in the middle when the owners started shouting and asking questions. After a while I realized he wasn’t shouting or angry but his natural voice was a few decibels high. Walking further down I kept clicking photos of anything I found interesting.

It sure was a sunny day

As I reached back to the place I was dropped, I was almost dead tired. But when I met Mr Aswini and other executives, they told me that they just visited 1 village and there were 5 more villages to visit!

Part - 2

We visited the first village which was kind of inaccessible by car. But still the driver was brave enough to ride the SX4 through dirt-tracks, potholes and steep terrains. Finally, we reached near the foothills of a mountain. I was praying that they would say, “ we are going to climb the mountain”. Though they didn’t say the exact words, but that was where they were headed. They planned to go up through a stream. 

We met a few women bathing in the bottom of the stream and Mr Aswini asked me to take a picture. I was a bit hesitant taking photos of bathing women but he said it was to educate them the disadvantages of open bathing and advantages of water routed to the villages. He spoke to one woman and asked permission for a photo. She posed as if she was invited to become a celebrity!

We then headed on top of the stream through dense bushes. Aswini da was finding it difficulty climbing with his slippers. The moment of the day came when one person jumped and ran away. I initially thought it was a bee attack and looked to find cover. But it was a snake! They got so scared of a snake! I sensed this would be a rare opportunity and captured the snake as close as possible. The other executives took a detour while getting down and kept on pestering me to come down. The people here are really concerned over little things. After a good shot, I came down and we headed back.

We had similar experiences in the other villages, where we had to walk 2-3 kilometers to find the water source and then analyze possibilities for irrigation and drinking water for the village. And all along the way were acres of farm land and mountains. We kept walking along the mountains, taking photos, checking the water and crossing farm lands. 

It was close to 6 when we finished and returned back to office. If this was how a normal day in Sesta is, it sure was tough. What was good to see is that even the executive director goes for field visits, climbs streams on a Sunday. It speaks about the motivation and dedication of the Sesta employees and the culture and inspiration set right from the top. I will have to up my stamina and endurance to the top level if I have to sustain this level of field visits. Sure the takeaways at the end of two months will not just be in the mind but in the body as well.