Annual Report 2018-2019

ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019

Samaj Pragati Sahayog Village Jatashankar, Tehsil Bagli, District Dewas Madhya Pradesh-455227

Table of Contents 1. THEORY OF CHANGE ...... 6 1.1. Theory of Change ...... 7 2. WATER MANAGEMENT ...... 10 2.1. Watershed Development ...... 11 2.2. Participatory Irrigation Management...... 18 2.3. Participatory Groundwater Management (PGWM) ...... 21 3. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PROGRAMME ...... 28 3.1. Agriculture Program ...... 29 3.2. Demand-side Management ...... 29 3.3. Soil Health Management ...... 31 3.4 Alternate livelihoods through Bio-repellents Units ...... 32 3.5 Horticulture and plantations along farm boundaries ...... 33 3.6 Introduction of the Krishi Vistaar Software ...... 33 3.7 Working with Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) and other Government Schemes ...... 33 3.4. Stories and Case-Studies ...... 36 4. CROP PRODUCE AGGREGATION ...... 39 4.1 Ram Rahim Pragati Producer Company Limited (RRPPCL) ...... 40 4.2. Access to credit ...... 42 4.3. Post-Harvest Storage ...... 42 4.4. Big Basket Processing ...... 42 4.5. Cocoons for Storage ...... 42 4.6. AGM Meeting ...... 43 4.7. Challenges ...... 43 4.6. Way Forward ...... 44 5. SELF-HELP GROUP (SHG) PROGRAMME ...... 46 5.1. SHG Programme ...... 47 5.2. Expansion ...... 49 5.3. SHG-Bank linkage programme ...... 49 5.4. Initiatives to establish a link between rural and semi-urban locations ...... 50 5.5. Survey conducted on members’ credit histories ...... 50 5.6. Beyond Financial Transactions ...... 50 5.7. Bulk Purchase or Kirana programme...... 51 5.8. Extension of SHG software support to Civil Society Organisations ...... 51 5.9. Proposal Writing Workshop ...... 52

5.10. Mitaan motivation programmes and capacity building of mitaans ...... 52 5.11. Audits ...... 52 5.12. Signature Camps for SHG members organized by clusters ...... 53 5.13. Challenges ...... 53 5.14. Some Stories from the SHG Programme ...... 53 6. LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME ...... 56 6.1. Livestock Development and Support ...... 57 6.2. Animal Healthcare Services ...... 57 6.3. Infertility and Vaccination Camps ...... 58 6.4. Feed and Fodder Service ...... 59 6.5. Shelter/Shed Services ...... 59 6.6. Poultry Chick delivery services ...... 60 6.7. Dairy Service ...... 60 6.8. Capacity Building ...... 60 6.9. Challenges ...... 61 6.10. Impact of Livestock Interventions ...... 61 7. HEALTH AND NUTRITION PROGRAMME ...... 64 7.1. Health and Nutrition ...... 65 7.2. Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) ...... 75 7.3. Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS) ...... 78 7.4. Targeted Public Distribution System & Antyodaya Anna Yojana...... 80 7.5. Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) ...... 81 7.6. Malnutrition ...... 81 7.7. Public Healthcare ...... 82 8. KUMBAYA ...... 86 8.1. Exports ...... 87 8.2. Bulk Orders ...... 89 8.3. Our Team ...... 92 8.4. GST Chaos ...... 95 8.5. Capacity Building and Trainings ...... 96 8.6. Media Coverage...... 97 8.6. New Styles ...... 97 8.7. Performance Indicators from the year 2018-19 ...... 98 8.8. Exhibitions in the year 2018-19 ...... 100 8.9. Indicators of training, production, and Kumbaya’s SHGs ...... 100 8.10. Plans for the Future ...... 101

9. SPS COMMUNITY MEDIA ...... 105 9.1 SPS Community Media ...... 106 9.2. Film Festivals ...... 109 9.3 Documentation of Local Food System ...... 110 9.4 Campaigns and Out-Reach ...... 111 9.5. Media Dissemination...... 113 10. NETWORKS AND PARTNERSHIPS ...... 118 10.1. National Consortium of CSOs on MGNREGA ...... 119 10.2. Water Practitioners’ Network ...... 122 10.3. Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network (RRAN) ...... 124

1. THEORY OF CHANGE

1.1. Theory of Change

Over the last 3 decades, Samaj Pragati Sahayog (SPS) has grown to be one of India’s largest grass-roots initiatives for water and livelihood security, working with its partners on a million acres of land across 72 of our most deprived districts, mainly in the central Indian Adivasi belt. We take inspiration from the life and work of Baba Amte (our Pramukh Sahayogi) who rejected charity and successfully empowered even the most challenged. SPS is headquartered in a drought-prone, tribal area in the Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh, which typifies the most difficult problems facing the country. We believe that to address India’s long-standing problems, we must graduate to an alternative development model based on the principles of equity, sustainability and people’s empowerment. Our focus has been on finding sustainable ways of ensuring water security, which provides the foundation for livelihoods and economic growth. We have tried to address the crisis of Indian agriculture by evolving an alternative low-risk and low-cost approach, reducing dependence on chemical inputs. We have also attempted to work out alternative livelihoods, which reduce the dependence of people on agriculture. We believe that all this work has to be based on strong institutions, led by women. In our view, persistence of poverty in India owes a great deal to the absence of powerful institutions of the poor. We also believe that these institutions have to be led by women. Experience of development programs all over the world, as also our own work over the last 3 decades, underscores the key role played by women’s leadership in their success. For it is only women who show a steadfast commitment to a sustainable path to development, with an abiding commitment of the well-being of communities, with a central focus on improving health and education outcomes. It is also women’s institutions that show the requisite courage to enforce the necessary accountability on public systems. These women-led institutions open up radically new possibilities of transformation, especially for those living in remote tribal regions, in at least 4 different ways: 1. To enable the poor to extricate themselves from the clutches of usurious moneylenders, without which it becomes impossible to free themselves of the debt trap, condemning them to a vicious cycle of poverty 2. To make it possible for the most vulnerable to take advantage of the possibilities opened up by the market. A solitary small and marginal farmer has no chance when confronted by powerful forces in the market, whether as consumer or producer 3. To ensure accountability of government systems, which are meant to serve them but instead become another source of exploitation, given their non- transparent character and functioning

4. To be able to adequately utilise the huge political potential opened up by democratic systems of representation and decision-making, especially through Panchayati Raj Institutions, which have remained dormant so far

Powerful people’s institutions, led by women, help overcome each of these constraints. And we believe that only a strong set of partnerships with communities, PRIs, people’s representatives, government, academic, corporates and other NGOs can make civil society action truly powerful in India. The problem has many dimensions and hence solutions have to be multi-pronged, layered on top of and complementing each other and scalable. They should have strong convergence with government programmes and should be able to leverage public investments. SPS has been working with theory of change for the last 3 decades. We concentrate all our direct interventions in about 574 villages and towns in 8 blocks of 3 districts (Dewas, Khargone and Amravati) in the States of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. This work is not so much a model as a living laboratory of learning for others to adapt to their own areas. To facilitate this mutual learning, in 1998 we set up the Baba Amte Centre for People’s Empowerment in tribal village Neemkheda, where our watershed work began in the early 1990s.

2. WATER MANAGEMENT

2.1. Watershed Development As in any typical dryland region, rainfall in our area of work is low, highly erratic and characterized by long dry spells between rainy days. Watershed Development has always assumed a pivotal role in our interventions to help farmers tide over the water crisis in the area. While some overarching goals of watershed development are attained in the longer term, our interventions have also been aimed at addressing short term problems such as providing crucial “life-saving” protective irrigation during the dry spells in the Kharif season and ensuring drinking water security for all households throughout the year. We see the watershed programme as vital public investment that incentivises private investments on farmlands by even the poorest farmers. Our work goes beyond the confines of conventional wisdom by recognizing that watershed development is not just about harvesting rainwater; it is also about sharing it equitably and managing it collectively and sustainably. Whenever our dams are built, written agreements are forged around water sharing, hours of pumping, sequence of irrigation, cropping patterns and watering intensities. SPS strongly believes that funds for direct implementation of watershed development must be leveraged from public investment programmes like Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP). SPS has taken an in-principle decision to use donor funds strategically to fund capacity building of the human resource required for leveraging public investments, working at different levels from Gram Panchayats till District Panchayats. It may also be remembered that the Government of Madhya Pradesh had worked out a MGNREGA- watershed combination, by which activities were planned and implemented on watershed basis but the finances came from MGNREGA. We feel this could be a model relevant for most parts of India. In the case of IWMP, SPS is the Project Implementing Agency (PIA) for three projects, two in Dewas district (Bagli block) and one in Khargone district (Bhikangaon block).

Table 2.1: Cumulative Details of Watershed Works in 2018-19 Watershed Data 2018-19 Project Structure Quantity Status Total Labour Expenditure Days (in Rs.) IWMP-02 Farm Pond 3 All Complete 4268164 3007 Stop Dam 4 All Complete Nala Bund 1 All Complete IWMP-08 Farm Pond 6 4 Complete, 2 Work in 4010732 3500 Progress Stop Dam 3 All Complete Nala Bund 3 2 Complete, 1 Work in Progress

Gabion 3 All Complete IWMP-12 Farm Pond 4 3 Complete, 1 Work in 7580048 10783 Progress Stop Dam 5 4 Complete, 1 Work in Progress Check Dam 1 Work in Progress Earthen Dam 2 1 Complete, 1 Work in Progress Axis Bank Farm Bunding 10901.3 Complete 3206133 7524 Foundation metres Stop Dam 2 1 Complete, 1 Work in Progress Azim Premji Earthen Dam 1 Complete 1224692 4728 Philanthropic (Renovation) Initiatives Total 2,02,89,769 29,542

2.1.1. Bhikangaon In the year 2013-14, we had initiated the IWMP-12 project in Bhikagaon block of Khargone district. In the year 2013-14, we had initiated the IWMP-12 project in Bhikagaon block of Khargone district. The watershed, spread across 4530 hectares, is located in the catchment of Avar, a tributary of river Veda, which forms the primary drainage of this field area. SPS was appointed as the implementing agency for the project to be rolled out in 5 micro-watersheds, 6 gram-panchayats and 12 villages with a total budget of Rs. 5.43 crores. The region consists of steep, undulating land with 90% of farmland covered with murram. A layer of hard Basalt rock lies under the soil, about 7-8 km deep, resulting in low soil depth and fertility. In some places, the soil is only 2-3 feet deep. Basaltic rock systems have very low porosity and permeability, making it difficult for water to percolate and collect in the underground aquifers. There is a visible lack of forest cover with large stretches of barren land resulting in soil erosion and high rates of run-off. The soil in the area also suffers from low moisture and nutrient content. The climate is harsh and very dry with very little rainfall, and the region has to endure a scorching sun with temperatures going up to even 47- 48 degrees Celsius in the months of April, May, and June. While the average rainfall varies from 750 mm to 800 mm, the distribution of rainfall is very erratic. The region has a significant population of communities which belong to scheduled tribes and scheduled castes. A staggering majority of the agricultural landholdings belongs to tribal groups. Communities who belong to scheduled castes are mostly landless, as a result of which many of them work as agricultural labourers in Bhikangaon, Barwaha and Sanawad. The out-migration rate is high as families migrating to big cities like Indore in search of work is also a common phenomenon. The agriculture is mainly rainfed with the major crop during the Kharif season being chilly, maize and cotton. Very few farming households have access to irrigation and hence, only a few farmers are able to cultivate wheat and chana (chickpea).

Given the huge potential and need for water conservation work in Bhikangaon, our strategy has been of mobilising investment funds from both the government and private philanthropy. Under the SPS-ABF watershed project and the government’s IWMP-12, the focus was on investing in water harvesting for storage and recharge of groundwater. The SPS- ABF project location is to the south of the IWMP-12 watershed and has a total area of about 6000 hectares spread over in 11 villages. In SPS-ABF and IWMP-12 projects together we have spent about Rs. 3 crores and have completed 52 works. The details of the work done are below:

Table 2.2: Details of Watershed Works in Bhikangaon 2016-19 S. No. Name of Project Type of Structure No. of Total Structure 1 IWMP-12 Stopdam 10 2 Checkdam 1 3 Farm bunding 7 27 4 Farm Pond 4 5 Earthen Dam 5 6 HUF Project Stopdam 3 7 Farm bunding 7 8 Farm Pond 1 15 9 Earthen Dam Renovation 2 10 Earthen Dam 2 11 ABF Project Stopdam 4 12 Farm bunding 2 13 Farm Pond 1 10 14 Earthen Dam Renovation 2 15 Earthen Dam 1 Total 52

In recent years, several critical issues have surfaced which has made the leverage of funds from government programmes difficult. This has become an acute problem in particular for areas like Bhikangaon, where watershed investments are an absolute requirement but are not forthcoming from the government. Some of the key issues related to leverage of public investments in Madhya Pradesh are listed below: 1. Delayed Payments under MGNREGA: This has been a very old problem in MGNREGA. Recently, MGNREGA had worked out an Electronic Fund Management System (EFMS) which was expected to make the payments processes smooth and efficient. However, EFMS has not been able to address the problem of late payment of wages under MGNREGA. As a result of these delays, which also are due to the inefficiency at the level of the banking system, those who work at MGNREGA sites lose interest in the programme.

2. Shift of Focus to Works on Private Land: MGNREGA initially had a sharp and well-defined focus on work on public land. Much of this work, consequently, involved natural resource management and water conservation in particular. With MGNREGA funds, in Madhya Pradesh, organisations like SPS were also able to work on forest land and invest heavily on soil health. However, in recent times, there has been a shift in focus within MGNREGA towards work on private land. Hence, it is becoming difficult to find a place for public investments on NRM under MGNREGA. 3. Use of Contractors and Machines: Use of contractors and machines are considered illegal under MGNREGA. However, with the shift in focus towards work on private land, the contractor system is becoming more prominent. It is not unusual that the work is done by the individuals in their own land using machines and contractors and they are then paid through MGNREGA funds. Entries in job cards, therefore, get made to show that such expenses have been made to the workers directly. This is probably the reason why there is no decline either in the amount spent or in persondays of employment generated in official records. 4. Use of MGNREGA for Pradhan Mantri Grameen Awaas Yojana, Swachch Bharat Abhiyan and other Schemes: Another significant trend in recent past has been to use MGNREGA funds to finance programmes such as PM Grameen Awas Yojana (PMGAY), Swachch Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) etc. A large number of houses and toilets have been constructed in rural areas of MP using MGNREGA funds. The material to labour ratio of these assets is heavily tilted towards materials and therefore not much employment gets generated. The PMGAY projects under MGNREGA accounts for as much as 90 days of the employment, leaving very little for other types of works. 5. No New Projects under Integrated Watershed Management Programme: The Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) is a major initiative taken by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India for water conservation and sustenance of eco-system balance. The programme was then merged into the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). This merger of IWMP with PMKSY has shifted the primary focus to only irrigation and away from the natural resource management aspects that a typical watershed programme would emphasise. Further, the administrative decision has now been taken that no new projects will be sanctioned till the existing ones are completed. However, no new projects are now being sanctioned, even though the area is desperately in need of watershed investments. 6. Irregularities of Payments under IWMP: Having worked with the programme in the past we have faced the problem of delayed payments from the state on more than one occasion. In one particular instance, the disbursement of funds was delayed by 3-4 months. Such delays affect the workers they are primarily

dependent on wages in lean months for for their day to day survival. Moreover, our teams have received letters from the district administration to complete the project at the earliest due to the paucity of additional funds required to sanction new projects.

On account of all these reasons, mobilising public investment funds to finance activities like natural resource management and watershed development has become very difficult. Hence, there has been a shift in the balance between the government and private funds for watershed development, with dependence increasing on the latter.

2.1.2. Drinking Water Security Project in Sohra, Meghalaya An interesting new development this year has the new collaboration that SPS started with Ramakrishna Mission (RKM), Sohra, Meghalaya. Sohra (or Chirapunjee, as it is also called) is the wettest place in the world, getting an annual rainfall of about 9000-10000 mm. Yet, Sohra took the media by surprise when it came out that despite such high rainfall, the area undergoes severe drinking water shortage during the post-monsoon period (January to April) every year. This prompted some of the friends of SPS, especially Caring Friends, to ask them a question as to what the problem was. RKM, who is also a member of the Caring Friends group, suggested that the answer probably lies in the fact that though the area gets a lot of rain, very little of that is actually harvested or stored. Much of it is lost as surface runoff. RKM then approached SPS for help in understanding how to stop and store surface runoff so that it is available in the area through the year. In response to this question, a three- member team from SPS, led by Dr. Debashis Banerji and Dr. Mridula Banerji visited Sohra on 12-14th April 2018 to get a first-hand understanding of the problem. This was followed by a more detailed visit by a two-member team from SPS comprising Dr. Debashis Banerji and PS Vijayshankar to Sohra and the region around it in 16-18th May 2018. During this visit the team met with many village headmen (locally called Sordars) and members of the local community. The team also did a preliminary appraisal of the potential of watershed development to restore springs, the lifeline of the area, back into health. A tentative plan was drawn up according to which an exposure-visit to SPS and its work was proposed. A 30-plus strong group from Sohra comprising members of the local community, Sordars and some members of RKM, led by Swami Anuragananda of RKM, Sohra, visited SPS for 4 days between 21st and 25th of August 2018. This visit covered a wide range of activities of SPS including watershed and PGWM works, agriculture programme, SHGs, the producer company and Kumbaya. After this visit, the concept and importance of water storage and watershed development was firmly established in the minds of the visiting Meghalaya team. Following on this visit, in November 2018, a four-member team from SPS, comprising PS Vijayshankar, Murlidhar Kharadia, Chandan Pandey and Harshala Jambhulkar, visited Sohra for selection of villages where initial work could concentrate. The team shortlisted three villages – Swer, Sohbar and Sohra Rim or Sohra town – to be taken up

15 for direct intervention. These villages had different geo-physical configurations and the attitude of the Sordars (village headmen) was very positive. The team gave recommendation to RKM that they should select a dedicated team of professionals for this work and empower them over time. The team should have one engineer, one geologist and one social worker. SPS agreed to build capacities of this team once the selection process is completed. The work in Sohra is highly challenging. In addition to the high rainfall and very steep slopes, the social situation of the area also poses a big challenge. Meghalaya, like many other parts of North East India, has seen many ethnic conflicts and struggles. Being close to Bangladesh and sharing a long boundary with it, the problem of legal or illegal migration and what it does to local people’s employment prospects and livelihood chances, occupies a very important place in people’s minds. Working in such an environment can be difficult. Moreover, the entire Meghalaya region is undergoing severe ecological stress due to massive deforestation and mining and quarrying. Hills are getting massively deforested and broken down to extract stones for construction, all of which eventually find their way to factories in Bangladesh. The challenge to Sohra team and the SPS team supporting it is to find a way of talking about conservation and protection of environment to the local communities of the area, where such massive ecological destruction is taking place. To confuse the matters further, activities like mining and quarrying are seen as sources of livelihoods to the local people, especially the youth, even if it is only in the short run. This tells us how big the pressure of unemployment is in the region. Our teams would need to work harder to find creative solutions to these issues in the coming years.

2.1.3. Case Studies

Adverse effects of delays in labour payment in watershed projects- A case study from Sangavi

Sangavi is a tribal village 8 kilometres away from Bhikangaon. Under the IWMP-12 Project, two earthen structures were initiated in January 2018. The first was a farm pond in Pratap (Surname?) ’s farm in Nawad Faliya locality and the second was an earthen dam in Muvasiya Faliya. The team began their work with the villagers of Sangavi, Basantpura and Sattalai Faliya. As per protocol, the team submitted the requisite documents to the Janpad Panchayat and applied for the funds needed to make payments to the on-site workers. After the initial rounds of payments coming through in the first week of February, 2018, the successive labour payments did not come through until the month of July causing the workers several difficulties in managing household finances and a deep sense of disappointment. With the PFMS account was already exhausted, the team could not apply for further payments in the second week of February 2018. The team raised the issue with the Official District Technical Expert (DTE) at the zila panchayat, who gave assurances about the availability of funds in 10-15 days and suggested that the work should not be stopped. The team continued work and completed the construction of the farm pond on the 28th of April.

Major progress was made at the earthen dam site as well, with the completion of the top bund construction and the excavation of the outlet. Through the two months when the work was underway, the community would regularly follow up with the DTE about the payment and would always receive assurances them and constant emphasis on the importance of not stopping construction at all cost. In the middle of March, the community decided to stop work until payments were made to them. The team made great efforts to keep the workers going and explained how halting the construction will put the community in a disadvantageous position as they will not be able to benefit from the upcoming monsoon. At the same time, the existing construction would be adversely affected by the rains. The community, therefore, decided that work should not stop and the team took responsibility for the payment to the labourers. However, at the end of April, conflicts related to payments reached an all-time high which caused the construction work to be put on hold due to a workers’ strike. This failure on the part of the state authorities had a range on negative ramifications on the village and the community. Household budgets went awry and loans taken by the workers for preparing the fields for the kharif season weren’t serviced, distress migration began again and there was little faith among the people in the team and public works programmes. The team worked consistently followed up with the Chief Executive Officer at the Bhikangaon Janpad office, the person with the authority over the payments under the IWMP- 12 programme, and the DTE at Khargone and the payments were finally made in second week of July 2018.

Story of a marginal farmer Mehtab bhai in village Paldi- a case study

The village of Paldi, under the Pokhar Bujurg gram panchayat, is situated in the operational area where the Watershed Programme in Bhikangaon is being implemented. It has a total of 81 tribal households who are largely dependent on agriculture, labour and out migration during the months of January to June. Mehtab Bhai is a marginal farmer from Paldi. He has four sons, two daughters and two daughters in law. His landholding of 5 acres is much like the typical farm in the area - unirrigated and dry. He earns a living through farming and wage-labour. Every year, after the kharif cultivation is over, Mehtab Bhai and his family migrates for there is no irrigation facility available for the rabi season. His three sons also regularly migrate to nearby districts of Indore, Burhanpur and Maharashtra for work. During the Planning Phase of IWMP Project, the villagers of Paldi demanded water and soil conservation works in their village to reduce migration and make agriculture a more remunerative source of livelihood. Mehtab bhai was an active member during the discussions held with the community in the planning phase and proposed farm bunding around his farm and the construction of an earthen dam.

The Watershed team initiated works under Integrated Watershed Management Programme in January 2016. Villagers chose to construct an earthen dam as the entry point activity for water conservation. Mehtab bhai’s land was situated downstream of the dam and he along with his family actively participated its construction since the very beginning. The earnings of the family were enhanced by the wages earned and allowed them to forego their yearly migration for work. The family invested the wages they earned in the installation of a borewell on his farm which costed Rs. 35,000. Through the recharge from the upstream earthen dam, the borewell has helped him irrigate his farm and allowed him to double his yearly harvest by providing the means to irrigate the Rabi crop. His family income has seen a significant rise which allowed him to repay his debts of Rs. 32,000. In the past year, Mehtab bhai was selected as an eligible beneficiary for the government’s rural housing scheme - Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna. The family decided to invest some of their own money along with the government’s allocated sum to ensure a good quality house. A number of workers from of Paldi earthen dam project have invested their earnings in assets such as buffaloes, while some have invested in their farmlands or paid their debts. The people of Paldi consider the watershed development work as a boon for their village as it was able to curb migration rates and add to the community’s development.

2.2. Participatory Irrigation Management The tragedy of irrigation in India is that trillions of litres of water stored in large dams has not reached the farmers. In order to address this challenge of last mile connectivity a new participatory management approach has been designed, wherein farmers get together to manage the water resources in their part of the command area, in an equitable and sustainable manner. The gap in the Irrigation Potential Created (IPC) and Irrigation Potential Utilised (IPU) indicates the extent of uneven utilisation of water within an irrigation command and the degree to which actual cropping patterns deviate from the projected cropping pattern at the time of dam construction. Through our Participatory Irrigation Management program, we make efforts to support local decision making for specific management functions. Typically, these functions include cleaning and maintaining the canals or pipes that convey the water, the allocation of water among the users, settling the inevitable disputes that arise and representing the collective interest of the irrigation users to the higher government authority (usually Irrigation Department).

2.2.1. Background of PIM at Mahigaon The Mahigaon Irrigation Project is located in the Udainagar Tehsil of Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh. This minor irrigation project was planned and executed by the state government to create irrigation potential for a predominantly tribal community that are located at the south western part of the district. Geographically, it is located in the sub-basin of lower Narmada River. The area lies between latitude 22o31’5’’ N to 22o 28’ 6’’ and

18 longitude 76 o 06’ 34’’ E to 76 o 07’ 45’’. Situated between the Vindhyachal mountain range and the Narmada valley, the area has a mixed topography of hills and plains. The underlying geology of the place varies from the catchment area to the command area. The major rock system that forms a part of the aquifer is basaltic while the aquifer system lower in the command area is made of hard sandstone. This area has an equal mixture of black soils and sandy loam soils. The average annual rainfall in the area is 922 mm, spread over four months from June to September. The average potential evapotranspiration rate for the area is high at about 2100 mm. Consequently, the soil moisture zone remains completely dry for about 90 days in the summer period. Small and marginal tribal farmers form a vast majority of the population in the project area. Poor resource endowments and exploitative debt cycles have pushed them into deep poverty. A major source of income for such farmers was rainfed agriculture. The completion of Mahigaon Irrigation Project, however, created an irrigation potential of 618 Hectares in the 4 villages of Mahigaon, Borkhedi, Kanad and Semlikheda. This access to irrigation made it possible to harvest the Rabi crop for many of the farmers which led to enhanced agricultural incomes. The dam also acts as a perennial water body for livestock and wildlife in the surrounding forests. The treatment of the catchment area prior to the construction of this dam has regenerated the forests in the upstream area on a massive scale. Thus, it plays a crucial role in sustaining the eco-system of this area. The Mahigaon Dam, also called Kothimata Dam and Jheerpaniya Dam, is of immense significance to the people of this area. However, this irrigation project is also riddled with many problems, related to distribution of water and a governance mechanism which adversely affects several people in the command area. Some of these problems are improper canal construction, seepage and water-logging, limited access to water in the canal and ‘Defunct’ Water User Groups. SPS initiated its work on PIM in the Mahigaon Irrigation Project in September 2016. One of our PIM efforts has resulted in a net saving of 24.3 million litres of water, which has improved irrigation efficiency and cut down the number of days the farmer takes to irrigate her landholdings. The governance of the group is as per an agreement that also provides the necessary institutional support. This has provided impetus to other farmers in the same command who now see value in organising themselves into such institutions. In the year 2018-19, SPS initiated PIM in the command area of Kotimata dam in Jhirpania village. The initial effort covered three chaks (water courses) of Mahigaon, Borkhedi and Kanad villages and a large section of Semlikheda village. Mahigaon - The first watercourse created in Mahigaon village has an irrigation capacity of 9.75 hectares. The total cost has been to 6 lakh rupees, with each farmer contributing Rs. 1700 per bigha (a quarter of a hectare). The total contribution from the 12 farmers was Rs. 89,000. The agreement adopted by the farmers mandates irrigation-by- rotation (varabandhi) for water distribution i.e. irrigation will be scheduled according to an ordering decided by the village community. The group has devised a system wherein one of the members is selected as the water irrigator. The group has collectively formed a bank

19 account where each member contributes to a fund to be used for the maintenance and the salary for an irrigator who ensures that the water is distributed equitably and the schedule is adhered to. While this has resulted in a hassle-free distribution of water, it has also led to minimizing water losses. Additionally, the irrigator ensures efficient operation, monitoring and maintenance of the infrastructure. Kanad - Kanad is situated in the tail region of the command area. Farmers in this region have historically had several issues with respect to access to water. 17 farmers organized themselves into a user group called Bhumiya Baba Samuh to construct a water course to irrigate 25 Hectares of their farmland. The total cost came up to Rs. 10,96,000 rupees, with each farmer contributing Rs. 2000 per bigha. The total contribution from the 18 farmers is Rs. 1,16,040. The group has a designated bank account where the farmers deposit their monthly maintenance fee. Semlikheda - Owing to unfavourable topography, Semlikheda has no systematic access to water from the dam. The village was left out of the initial command area as there was no canal constructed to carry water there. However, the farmers had dug an artificial channel through the forest area to take water to their fields. The kaccha canal contributed majorly to water losses due to its improper construction. The team has made a plan with a total cost of Rs. 95 lakhs to irrigate a total of 164 hectares. The primary task is to construct a 3000-metre pucca canal and installing 18-inch-wide cement pipelines. Till the end of the financial year, 1100 metres of this pipeline has been laid and 4 of the Water User Groups have been established while meetings with 2 more groups have been underway to formalise their association. The cement pipelines have been tested by the team. A total of 6 water courses will be constructed to ensure that water reaches the entire in this region. Farmers in the group contributed monetarily as well as in the form of labour.

Table 2.3 Details of work done in PIM (Water User Group-wise) Estimated Amount Community Cost of S No. Name of the group Spent Contribution Status Project (Rs. Lakhs) (in Rs.) (Rs. Lakhs) 1 Jhirpanya Water 6.13 5.98 89,000 Completed User Group 2 Bhumiya Baba Work in 10.96 7.16 92,000 Water User Group Progress 3 Water User Group (Semlikheda Main 12.25 12.08 1,13,000 Pipeline laid Pipeline 0 to 710 metres) 4 Water User Group (Semlikheda Main 5.78 5.60 35,000 Pipeline laid Pipeline 710 - 1100 metres) 5 Water User Group 8.93 0 15,200 Yet to Begin

(1st) 6 Water User Group 5.45 0 43,384 Yet to Begin (2nd) 7 Water User Group 0 0 9,000* Yet to Begin (3rd) 8 Water User Group 0 0 44,000* Yet to Begin (4th) Total 49.5 30.82 441000 *The estimates for the last two projects are yet to be finalised but members have already contributed in the laying of the main pipeline which is why the community contribution is positive while the expenditure is zero. Similarly, for Water User Group (1st and 2nd) the expenditure community contribution reflects their share in the main pipeline.

2.3. Participatory Groundwater Management (PGWM) Ground water is a common pool resource used by millions of farmers and remains a predominant source for irrigation and drinking water supply in rural area. The scarcity of water resources and an ever-increasing demand requires identification, quantification and management of ground water in a way that prevents overexploitation yet secures the lives and livelihoods of the many who depend on it. PGWM refers to the adoption of an integrated institution-based approach that has following distinctive elements:  Groundwater is essentially a Common Pool Resource  Emphasis on qualitative and quantitative assessment for sustainability of aquifer  Facilitating farmers' understanding of groundwater through science and local knowledge  Planning and Management of groundwater use by community institutions

2.3.1. Piloting PGWM Work One of the core objectives of the PGWM programme at SPS is to demonstrate that groundwater can indeed be viewed as a common pool resource and that communities can organize themselves around shared groundwater resources and govern such a complex and invisible resource. The initiative took off in the year 2016 in three villages (Deonalya, Kaliratdi and Sevanpani) with 62 farmers covering 55 Hectares. After the initial success of the project in Deonalya, 28 farmers set-up a new water-sharing project in Deonalya. This showed that water need not be viewed as an individual’s resource alone and that communities can participate and set-up and manage their own water-sharing enterprises. The Udainagar region of Bagli block has witnessed significant groundwater development in the last few years, especially with tapping of the deeper aquifers through borewells and tubewells. Small and marginal farmers are increasingly seeking access to irrigation and many of them are turning to deeper aquifers having had limited or no success

21 with shallow aquifers. However, owing to the success of the pilot projects, we have seen a growing demand for collective management systems around groundwater.

New PGWM Pilots: An Expansion In the year 2018-19, efforts to collectivise farmers around groundwater were made in Singladeh (Kannod block) and Potla (Bagli block). One of the striking features of these two villages was the limited availability of groundwater. Earlier attempts to access water through borewells had been mostly unsuccessful since groundwater is only available at significantly greater depths and in patches. Farmers in both the villages have depended on river and springs for drinking water. Women in Singladeh have to descend a 200 feet high cliff along with their livestock to reach the river, while those in Potla would walk for 2 kilometers to reach the nearest source of water. As a result of this natural inequity, they have predominantly practised rain-fed agriculture. Both Singladeh and Potla are remote forest villages and as a result are extremely cut off from the rest of the tehsil. Singladeh is inhabited by mostly Korku tribal farmers. The village has no access to electricity which makes borewells a distant reality for many. The few borewells that were able to access water were not being utilised efficiently. However, the major concern was that once the village gets proper access to electricity for irrigation, more and more farmers will be looking to sink borewells. Such an increase in the number of borewells will only deplete the already sparse groundwater resource. The attempt, therefore, has been to promote water- sharing from existing borewells and set up collective borewell groups at the very outset to curb abstraction rates. One of the farmers in the village, Shyamu Bai, who managed to strike water at depths of around 500 feet, came forward to share water for irrigation with 3 other farming households. While existing kinship relations played a great role in forming a collective around her borewell, she has opened up access to drinking water to other neighbours and their livestock as well. Under the aegis of Kantaphod Pragati Samiti, the distribution network for the collective water management system was installed. Necessary governance mechanisms were built into the water-user agreement that would guide use and management of groundwater from that borewell. The total project cost was Rs.85,090, out of which the community made an investment of Rs.26,100. The major costs of borewell and pumps were also borne entirely by the farmers. Potla, on the other hand, has people from diverse social groups. People here belong to Bhilala, Gowli, Barela, Mankar and Bhil communities. Potla exemplifies highly iniquitous hydrogeological conditions. Some of the inhabitants have access to a lot of water, while others have very little of the same. As a result, several farmers in the Baydipura mohalla migrate to work as agricultural labourers after harvesting their monsoon crop. Many have resigned to bonded labour. Facing such natural iniquity, 19 farming households of this mohalla having a total landholding of 19.75 Hectares, had no choice but to come together to access water. After several rounds of discussions and negotiations spanning across a year and overcoming various hurdles, they decided to sink three collective borewells, each having a

22 sub-group of farmers. Two of the borewells were very successful while the third yielded very less water. The first sub-group, however, assured that they would complement the third borewell by supplying water from their own borewell, releasing it into a small pre-existing dugwell from which the third sub-group of farmers would draw water. This act of cooperation is one of the defining aspects of this project. These farmers, having thus collectivized around three borewells and one dug-well, decided to name this group Mangardev Bhujal Upyogkarta Samiti and elected their first office-bearers. This collective enterprise also comprised of necessary on-farm infrastructure like pipeline distribution network. The total cost of the project came to Rs.6,39,539 of which farmers were able to mobilise Rs.2,27,220 (36%). The rest of the project costs were supported by Udainagar Pragati Samiti, under the aegis of which, this work was being carried out. Women and men from this groups contributed to the labour required during the installation of borewells and distribution network. The water user agreement for this group was approved by the gram panchayat during the gram sabha.

Table 2.4: Details of PGWM work done till March 2019 S. No. Project Sites Description of Work Details a. Bore well pooling through 1 Water User Association 1 Kaliratdi pipelines 29 farmers, 22.5 Hectares a. Lift irrigation system 2 Water User b. Protective irrigation for kharif Associations 2 Deonalya c. Conserving limited shallow 43 farmers, 36.25 aquifer Hectares a. Bore well water sharing through 1 Water User Association 3 Sivanpani pipelines 19 farmers, 14.25 Hectares a. Bore well sharing through 1 Water User Association 4 Singladeh pipelines 4 farmers, 6 Hectares b. Protective irrigation for kharif a. Bore well sharing through 1 Water User Association 5 Potla pipelines 19 farmers, 19.75 b. Protective irrigation for kharif Hectares

Role of Water User Agreements in PGWM Access to groundwater is often contingent on land-rights which makes sharing of such a resource full of conflicts. Hence, agreements play an integral role in facilitating community driven groundwater management initiatives. Farmers are often worried that their access to collective borewells may be cancelled at any moment. Agreements are, therefore, duly signed by everyone in the group and are approved by both the gram panchayat and the SHG- federation giving the group both institutional and legal sanction. Embedded within the agreements are governing mechanisms and protocols that facilitate and guide the group to function over a long period of time thereby ensuring sustainability of the resource as well.

Since these agreements are attuned to the local context, they also seek to address some of the issues that these communities face apart from facilitating collective action on commons. Some of the protocols prohibit cultivation of water-intensive crops and use of pesticides, emphasise the need to diversify incomes through dairy farming, small ruminants and poultry, focus on nutritional security of women and children in the households. Our experience of facilitating water user associations in first three pilot villages has allowed us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the agreements. We have since then made several modifications to the agreement in consultation with the community to strengthen the distribution of water ensuring both efficiency and equity and minimising the possibility of conflicts. This aspect is one of the central and critical aspects of our work on PGWM.

2.3.2. Monitoring and Awareness Bagli and Kantaphod received poor rainfall during monsoon in 2018. The average rainfall captured by 12 rain-gauges was 644 mm, which was far less than the average of 900 mm. This resulted in a low yield of the kharif crops like maize, soybean and red gram. However, this also meant reduced groundwater recharge and partial filling of surface water bodies. To prevent issues of water scarcity during summer, it was extremely crucial that farmers regulate the consumption of water for irrigation during the Rabi season.

Rainfall, Udainagar Area, Bagli Block, 2018 900 785 800 659 660 655 661 700 650 622 652 651 646 561 600 529 500 400

Rainfall (mm) Rainfall 300 200 100 0

Village-level meetings for Disseminating Water Data Elaborate village-level meetings were conducted in Neemkheda, Sivanpani, Deonalya and Kaliratdi to disseminate data on rainfall and groundwater levels. These meetings covered discussion on rainfall patterns in the village and the trends of water-levels in borewells and dug-wells during the past few years. There were also discussions on the need to ensure drinking water security for humans and livestock in the summer months. To implement this, a cropping pattern with emphasis on less-water intensive crop chana was recommended for

24 farmers. Less-water intensive varieties of wheat like Lok-1, Pusa Bahar, and Amrita were also suggested to the farmers.

Groundwater Games: Awareness through Simulation An unregulated increase in the sinking of borewells has an adverse effect on the sustainability of the aquifers of that area. Lack of awareness and insensitivity towards this consequence is one of the major factors contributing to this rise in the number of borewells. SPS has developed a Groundwater Game which simulates real-life situations which the farmers encounter. The major objective of the game is to sensitise farmers about the common pool nature of groundwater and inter-connectedness of aquifers. The game simulates how water-intensive crops drive competitive extraction of groundwater from borewells and dug-wells. The game emphasises on the need to adopt cropping patterns appropriate to the availability of water resources. With the objective of generating awareness about the relationship between aquifer and irrigated crops, this game was played with over 100 farmers in Sitapuri, Katkya, Magradeh and Singladeh. The game was followed by discussions on the characteristics of their respective aquifers, the need for collectivizing around borewells, the importance of budgeting water for drinking, livestock and agriculture, and sustainable cropping patterns. Communities were also made aware of the different demand-management practices in agriculture that they could adopt. The games proved to be a successful method for spreading awareness on groundwater and aquifer systems.

2.3.3. Case Study Shyamu Bai lives in the village Singladeh in Kantaphod and has been a part of the Vandevi Pragati Samuh (self-help group) for the past three years. Her family owns 14-15 bighas of land on which they would grow only maize and jowar during the kharif season. Since they were completely engaging in rain-fed agriculture, they never attempted to grow any other crops like wheat or grams. Despite having a borewell dug out for the last three years, the pipelines were connected to the fields only in the past year. These pipelines brought water to the field and therefore, their son insisted on growing wheat and gram this year. Shyamu Bai has been practicing NPM (Non-Pesticide Management) farming and has gradually been able to build both pakka and kachha NADEPs for her farm. She actively engages in the agricultural activities. Previously, water would be fetched by women from the ghatis which would require them to walk for two hours early in the morning facing extremely rough and difficult terrains through the forests. Shyamu Bai would have to carry this water home which is not only a laborious exercise but also a very time consuming one. People still go to the Bhedu Maharaj ka ghat in times of major water crises. However, with the proper utilization of the bore well, Shyamu Bai does not have to take her cattle and goats to the ghat any longer. Neither does she require water for the household from the ghat anymore.

With the understanding and the basic principle of sharing water, which looks at water as a common resource that needs to be shared amongst all, Shyamu Bai’s bore well has a four-member group for sharing water. There has been an agreement within the five parties on the usage of the water derived from the borewell. The members agree on using the water from the bore well in the cultivation of wheat and grams, for livestock and for drinking purposes for the entire village. They have also agreed to not dig a new borewell for the next five years and to practice NPM farming in their respective fields along with the cultivation of less water intensive crops. They have also decided to not cultivate water-intensive crops like onions, garlic and sugarcane for commercial purposes. Four farmers from Shyamu Bai’s extended family got together to financially invest in the borewell and spent an approximate amount of 2,10,000 rupees. For the connectivity to her own field, Shyamu Bai had herself visited Indore along with other people of the group to purchase the pipelines. This effort of Shyamu Bai’s has also influenced other residents in the village to consider water sharing through borewells. Other members of Vandevi Pragati Samuh have asked her for suggestions and guidance. She never denies anyone from drinking water from her borewell. “Humko pilaao paani”, she laughs and shares with us about how she inspires her fellow SHG members. Shyamu Bai narrates how previously, a lot of people were resistant to marrying their girls to men from Singladeh because of the rampant water crises and the amount of labour women undertake. She believes that the idea of shared ground water can be spread amongst people by involving extended families and by farmers who have their farmlands close to one another’s. On every discussion surrounding water, Shyamu Bai stresses on “Paani karo milke” thereby, spreading the idea and importance of sharing water.

3. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PROGRAMME

3.1. Agriculture Program SPS believes that any effort at water conservation and harvesting is ineffective if it does not include attempts to regulate the end-uses to which water is put. In a typical watershed, agriculture accounts for 80-90% of the water use. Hence, interventions for optimisation of water use in agriculture have to be an integral part of a watershed management programme. We have tried to work out a package of agricultural practices finely tuned to the resource endowments of the watershed, which is accessible to the poor (low- cost) and sustainable (low-risk). SPS Agriculture Programme tries to promote the idea of No- Pesticide Management (NPM) agriculture as a way forward in our area. The idea of the NPM movement is to encourage farmers to grow crops without any chemical pesticides, create an identity for their produce and link these small producers to markets. NPM agriculture emphasises building up soil fertility through appropriate management practices (such as composting and recycling of agricultural residues, use of farm yard manure, cattle urine, green manuring crops, and application of tank silt) with a gradual phasing out of chemical fertilizers.

Table 3.1: Agriculture programme in 2018-19 at a glance:

Total NPM land % of total land as a % of Farmer NPM farmers under S. No. Location Villages total Groups Farmers practicing NPM (in agriculture NPM hectares) land

1 Bagli 20 67 1207 31.84 1028.81 14.30 2 Hatpipliya 4 23 406 39.92 305.00 18.41 3 Kantaphod 16 57 919 28.23 1185.028 27.50 4 Punjapura 20 86 1455 41.96 1361.055 26.56 5 Udainagar 30 149 2394 45.02 2262.525 35.44 6 Barwah 21 79 1438 64.77 764.92 22.73 7 Melghat 16 64 980 48.66 188.49 3.12 Total 127 525 8799 42.91 7095.83 21.15

3.2. Demand-side Management S The 2030 Water Resources Group (2009) has estimated that if the current pattern of demand continues, about half of the demand for water will be unmet by 2030. Changing climate patterns and rainfall regimes pose another challenge. Careful management of water resources is crucial if the needs of population, industry, agriculture and other sectors are to be met. As there are definite limits to the possibilities of enhancing water availability, we need to urgently scale up our work on management of demand. This is crucial for the agenda of water as a common good and ensuring equal access to water for all. Since agriculture is the largest consumer of water, this would mean sustainable management of agriculture water use through ecologically suitable and diversified cropping patterns, promotion of crops varieties

29 that require less water, utilisation of soil moisture, adoption of non-destructive agricultural practices like Non-Pesticide Management (NPM) agriculture and enabling participatory processes in crop choices. Vibrant and well-informed community-based institutions are needed to take forward the agenda of water as a common good. The first step in this direction has to be the integration into programmes of water conservation of a sustainable agriculture strategy. Unfortunately, watershed programmes in India, even in highly water-stressed environments, have failed to break with the Green Revolution (GR) model of agriculture. The major flaw of this strategy was to try and indiscriminately apply the same type of agriculture to all areas, irrespective of the agro- ecological specificities of each region, in a country with such immense diversity as India. The GR package made farmers more vulnerable on both counts, by making them critically dependent on high quanta and precise timeliness of irrigation, and also by increasing their reliance on expensive market-procured inputs, such as hybrid seeds, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. It is necessary, therefore, to arrive at a package of agricultural practices finely tuned to the resource endowments of each watershed, which is both accessible to the poor (low-cost) and sustainable (low-risk). A list of seven activities were drawn up and implemented with the farmers aiming to reduce the quantity of water used in agriculture. This year, a total of 7.68 billion litres of water has been saved through the following activities:  Dry Sowing  Increase in Soil Organic Carbon  Change in crop pattern  Change in crop variety  Drip/ Sprinkler irrigation  Organic Mulching  System of Wheat Intensification  Ridge and Furrow method

With these measures being adopted by the farmers, we have shown that water saving in agricultural purposes can be achieved. Across five locations during the last three years, we have managed to save 24.32 million cubic metres (MCM) of water through demand side measures. This is equivalent to reducing irrigation demand in 12000 hectares. In 2018-19, demand reduction was achieved in about 3800 hectares of agricultural land.

Table 3.2: Data on Water Saved across locations S. No. Name of Location Water Saved (in Billion Ltrs) 1 Bagli 1.61 2 Hatpipaliya 0.42 3 Udainagar 3.26 4 Kantaphod 2.36 5 Melghat 0.03

Total 7.68 3.3. Soil Health Management Soil health improvement is one of the major planks of sustainable agriculture. Soil is a living resource. The term soil health refers to the state of soil resources in relation to their capacity to perform a range of interconnected and interdependent functions that include as a substrate for crop production, as a medium which regulates hydrological cycle involving retention, storage and regulation of flows within the root zone of crops and in the ecosystem, nutrient cycling within the soil (soil-crop-livestock system) and in landscapes/ecosystems etc. Issues of soil health have been understood and interpreted so far largely from a limited view point of decline in soil fertility, relating to emergence of increasing deficiencies of macro (N, P, K) and micro (Zn, Mn, Fe etc) and secondary (S) nutrients with implications for cost of production. Little attention was given to issues of maintaining and improving hydrological and biological soil properties which are critical to the functions of essential processes that impart good health. For this reason, the more fundamental and integrating element, soil organic matter has been greatly discounted as the key element for enhancing and maintaining soil health. The most important practices which can contribute to enhancing and maintaining soil organic matter are:  Leaving crop residues on soil surface or applying organic materials e.g. farmyard manure  Generation of biomass for bulk addition of organic matter in the soil to maintain proper soil health.  In situ decomposition of biomass generated through cropping/inter- cropping/bund cropping of green manure crops.  Recycling of farm and household waste through the use of intensive nutrient recycling methods through appropriate composting techniques.  Producing and encouraging the use of bio-fertilizers at regional and local levels  Crop rotations to enrich soil (e.g. to include pulses and leguminous crops). Multiple cropping which enriches soil should be encouraged instead of mono- cropping. In 2018-19, the following soil health management practices have been adopted by farmers in different villages:

Table 3.3: Data on Soil Health Management Practice Adoption in 2018-19 Soil Health Management Farmers added in S. No. No. of Farmers Practices 2018-19 1. Soil Testing (preparation of Soil 221 35 Health Card) 2. Summer Deep Ploughing 1370 432 3. Using Farmyard Manure 2485 318

4. Bhu-NADEP 1450 (approx.) 271 5. Pakka-NADEP 150 (approx.) 25 6. Four Pit Vermicompost 50 (approx.) 21 7. Liquid Manure (Sanjeevak) 1071 319 8. Tank Silt Application 1800 (approx.) 226 9. Amrutpani 296 38 10. Weed Compost 483 46 11. Cattle Shed cum Urine Tank 91 31

3.4 Alternate livelihoods through Bio-repellents Units To smoothen the uptake of NPM agriculture, the agriculture programme has helped set up 13 bio repellent units across 6 locations. These units are run mostly by landless labourers from the village who prepare these repellents in bulk. This serves the purpose of providing an alternate source of income to the producer and simultaneously making the NPM process less time and labour intensive for the farmers. The producers are provided special training for making the bio repellents and instructions about its proper use and applicability according to the nature of pests. The repellents are then marketed in SHG and Farmer Group meetings. A major selling point for these repellents is that they are low-priced and are easily accessible as they can be purchased by farmers not far from their homes.

Table 3.4: Data on Bio-Repellent Units in 2018-19 S. No. Name of Producer Village Quantity Revenue Location (in litres) (in Rs.) 1 Banno Bai Jagdish Barul 222 3330 Badwah 2 Chanda Bai Radheshyam Londi be 144 2160 3 Papita Bai Bharat Dangrakheda 164 2460 Bagli 4 Poonam Suresh Mourya Beragda 120 1800 Kantaphod 5 Jammu Chunnilal Dhurve Tigria 306 4590 Melghat 6 Ramdas Batu Bhilavekar Ambadi 172 2580 7 Shankar Langadaji Tote Berdabarda 100 1500 8 Pappu Bai Rajaram Borpadav 72 1080 Punjapura 9 Sundar Bai Ganpat Laxminagar 296 4432 10 Rukma Bai Sajan Magaradeh 271 4065 Udainagar 11 Sikdaar Ansingh Potla 179 2790 12 Manu Bai Mangilal Deonaliya 249 3460 13 Sukma Bai Rupsingh Tatukhedi 460 7000 Total 2755 41247

3.5 Horticulture and plantations along farm boundaries For most of the farmers we work with, farming is the primary means of income for the household. Due to the adverse effects of climate change, there has been a continuous decrease in income from farming and due to the extended time span between income from the seasonal crops (which can be as long as six months), the expenditure on domestic requirements of farmers is fulfilled by borrowing. In many instances, the landholding of the farmer is unsuitable for crops and lead to losses incurred by the farmer. Through land use planning (LUP), the farmer can look at options such as planting fruit trees to ensure sustained income. Plants that can easily adapt to the climate of the region, such as mango, plum, lemon, orange, jackfruit and mosambi were planted in less than half a bigha land of the farmers. These trees start bearing fruit in 2-3 years bringing income round the year for the farmer along with nutritious fruits for the families. Tree plantations also play a significant role in protecting NPM crops from getting infected by the pesticides being sprayed on the nearby farms. 5741 custard apple trees were planted on farm boundaries of 146 farmers. This allowed the provision of additional income to farmers, protection of their farmlands from encroachment and keeping animals away from damaging the crop.

3.6 Introduction of the Krishi Vistaar Software One of the major developments in the previous year was the introduction of our new Krishi Software to maintain data of the farmers we work with. The software attempts to digitise our entire agriculture database and help us advise the farmers on agricultural practices based on careful data analysis and processing. The community resource persons have been using the software to digitise the farmers’ activities such as sowing patterns, manure availability, expenditure on farming inputs, farmer’s income etc. We did face some problems in the shift towards digitisation, but those problems have been solved. The software has helped us a lot in the management of the programme as well as in data analysis.

3.7 Working with Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) and other Government Schemes 3.7.1 Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) Farm distress is a major problem facing farmers. Crop failures and yield losses due to climate vagaries are becoming a regular feature of farming in India. PMFBY, launched in 2016, promises to compensate farmers for crop losses. A farmer is paid the difference between the threshold yield and actual yield. The threshold yield is calculated based on the average yield for the last seven years and the extent of compensation is set according to the degree of risk for the notified crop. The scheme is compulsory for farmers who have availed of institutional loans.The primary purpose of PMFBY is to protect the farmers from the untimely damages in cultivation. The scheme insures farmers against a wide range of external risks — droughts, dry spells, floods, inundation, pests and diseases, landslides, natural fire

33 and lightning, hailstorms, cyclones, typhoons, tempests, hurricanes and tornadoes. The scheme also covers post-harvest losses up to a period of 14 days. During the Kharif season, SPS decided to ensure that more and more farmers are covered under the PMFBY scheme. This meant that farmers without Kisan Credit Cards or with dysfunctional bank accounts who are eligible for the insurance are also covered. Documents of 3450 such farmers were collected to complete the enrolment procedure into the insurance programme through the national and cooperative banks. At each location, SPS organised street plays at the village level to spread awareness about the PMFBY scheme among farmers. These plays took place at busy public spaces to ensure maximum farmers were aware of the usefulness of PMFBY, the required documents for enrolment and the people to consult like panchayat and bank, and the different stages of crop damage and its remunerations. The play was followed by Q&A sessions with the agriculture team to clear any doubts. We feel the scheme is in the right direction of protecting the farmer household from debt traps in case of huge crop losses. A one-day district level workshop under the PMFBY for Kharif Season 2018 was organized at the District Headquarters in Dewas. The Chief Guest at this workshop was the District Panchayat Chief Executive Officer, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Meena, and Deputy Director Agriculture, Shri SS Rajput. The founder members of Samaj Pragati Sahayog, Dr. Debashish Banerji, Mr. Vijay Shankar, Shri Shahnawaz from ICICI Lombard, and Dr. A.K. Dixit of Agricultural Science Center, Dr. Manish, District Co-operative Bank Manager Mr. Tripathi attended the workshop. Also, other members from Agriculture Department, District Co- operative Bank, Bank of India, and Samaj Pragati Sahayog were present in the program. A total of 200 members participated in this workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to address the problems being faced at the grassroots level with regard to the government’s Crop Insurance Scheme. The field staff present at the workshop highlighted the practical problems in the schemes. There have been several impediments in the implementation of this scheme. While working in the Kharif season, we got an opportunity to understand the issues and concerns related to the scheme and how these problems related to crop insurance are affecting the farmers. The problems that have affected the work on crop insurance the most are:  People who inherited lands after the death of family members have not registered the land in their names. Sharecroppers are also not included in the crop insurance programme.  The unit of assessment of crop damage is fixed at a cluster of villages (“halka”) level. This is too large and cannot take care of the problems faced by individual farmers.  The insurance company has had a history of being reluctant to pay claims in cases of crop damage.  Inadequate savings in the farmer’s bank account to be eligible for insurance.

 Time consuming procedure with huge delays in registration of farmers and payment of claims, in the event of crop loss. Based on a survey conducted around the crop insurance scheme, 366 loanee farmers were identified as eligible to apply for the scheme. There was a lot of resistance from bank officials at different levels who insisted that they only insure loanee farmers. Despite the bureaucratic proceedings demoralising the farmers, the team succeeded in insuring 2366 non- loanee farmers who had all the required documents for availing the benefits of the scheme. For the implementation of PMFBY in Melghat, Maharashtra, we held a meeting with officers of the State Bank of India, Societies and Department of Agriculture, Dharni. Our experience of working with the programme has come up with several learnings:  Experience of the partners and SPS shows that despite such promises, several issues continue to be present in the scheme, such as delayed notification by the state governments, reduced number of notified crops and problems with threshold yield estimation. These shortcomings have considerably diluted the usefulness of PMFBY.  PMFBY operates on an area-based approach. An insurance unit at village/ village panchayat level or equivalent unit for major crops is notified in the state government notification; for other crops the insurance unit could be above a size above village or village panchayat. For localized calamities and post-harvest losses insurance unit will be taken as the affected insured field of the individual farmer.  The biggest challenge is the conduct of crop cutting experiments which many states are unable to do in a short window of time. Companies have also objected to possible fudging in crop cutting experiments (used to estimate losses).There are gaps in many states in implementing the guidelines of the scheme in letter and spirit and those have led to payment delays to farmers in certain states.  Lack of historical data has hiked up premiums in some areas, and states are not doing enough to provide data to companies. “Another issue which is a challenge for us is the delay in release of subsidies (towards premium) by state governments which is delaying payment of claims to farmers. While the top officials from the agriculture ministry blamed states for the glitches in the PMFBY, that despite collecting large premiums, insurance companies are not putting in place any ground infrastructure (required for grievance redressal and assessing crop losses in individual plots). “Before pointing out flaws of state governments, companies should also invest but they are acting as run-away businesses. That even two years after the scheme was launched, use of technology such as mobile devices or remote sensing to estimate crop losses has been limited.

 Farmers have little information about PMFBY Because knowledge is restricted, there is little confidence that claims will be settled systematically. Even basic information as to which insurance agency they are insured with, or where claims are to be submitted is not available  There is little advance planning. Rush to collect land documents starts when last date is announced. Renewal of KCC loans is not synchronized with that of insurance registration. IN states like MP, banks have been given the role of enrolling farmers for insurance and the banks do not always co-operate with the implementation team. The reason is obvious: banks have not financial gain by doing this activity. Banks also have limited knowledge of the scheme. If the farmer asks for more details about PMFBY, they are often directed to the insurance company, which is never visible in the field. In some other states, where the insurance company does enrolment on its own, the performance is much better. We also have the model of CSCs providing a window for insurance. But here, the main obstacle is the huge list of documents which the farmers are expected to produce.  The criteria to declare major crops at district level is not clear, as many cases were observed where a specific crop despite being one of main crops in that area, was not notified as a major crop. Once a crop is not notified a major crop, a farmer cannot take insurance under that crop on PMFBY.  An overarching problem of the insurance scheme is that, despite what the operational guidelines says, it largely remains a land based programme. Large sections of farmers without clear land titles or records to prove either their ownership of tenancy status get excluded from the scheme. Several remedial measures can be thought of - such as empowering the Gram Sabha or Gram Panchayat to give landownership certificates to farmers with which they can enroll themselves in the scheme. Unclear land titles is specifically a hurdle faced by the non-loanee farmers, since the loanee farmers get covered under the scheme automatically once the y take a crop loan from the bank (for which again land titles are required).

3.7.2 Other Government Schemes Under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichayi Yojana (PMKSY), 14 farmers were registered and could avail drip irrigation facilities. 27 farmers were enrolled with the horticulture department under the plantation scheme for the promotion of lemon, jamun and oranges. 27 farmers were given maize seeds by the government for trail in the kharif season.

3.4. Stories and Case-Studies Shanta Kaki and Sitaram Kaka’s story, Patharpur Village, Melghat

Patharpur is a forested village in the Dharni Block of Amravati district of Maharashtra. The primary source of livelihoods for the residents of Patharpur is agriculture. Majority of the farmers have their farmlands in the forest areas as a result of which a lot of animals from the forests frequent the agricultural fields and destroy the crops. Wild pigs frequent the fields the most and cause a lot of damage to the crops right before harvest season. Shanta Kaki, wife of Sitaram Patorkar became a part of Bajrang Pragati Mahila Kisaan Samuh a few years ago. Such farmers’ groups were introduced when Samaj Pragati Sahayog began its interventions in Melghat. There used to be a time when the couple used to be troubled by the pigs destroying their crops. Pigs used to enter their fields in large groups and wreak havoc thereby damaging the crops. Sitaram Kaka and Shanta Kaki could not find a resolve to this problem. They tried placing live electrical wires around the fences of the field. This would result in the death of the animals which is a criminal offence in the forested area. During one of the field visits of the Agriculture and the Watershed Development teams, Shanta Kaki described the problem to the team. The team suggested a solution which involved installing a machine which provides a similar solution that regulates the electrical shocks that would not kill the animals but only scare them away. The machine is locally referred to as ‘Jhatka Machine’. The other farmers from the adjacent fields also got together to set up the shock machine in their fields. In the following few days, the women of the group collectivized themselves and explored the market to decide on the machine that they would purchase. They spoke to three retailers and fetched quotations which were presented in a meeting. The group decided to go ahead with the machine sold by G.T. Power Solution. Some amount of groundwork had to be done with regard to fitting the machine in place which was done by the members themselves and accordingly distributed after discussions. The G.T. Power Solution machine costed about Rs. 21,782 and this was paid for by Samaj Pragati Sahayog. The machine was fitted in the farms of the members and their contributions came in the form of the manual labour required for setting up the machine. Sitaram Kaka and Shanta Kaki recount that after the machine was fitted, pigs have attempted to trespass in the fields twice after which they were nowhere to be seen near the fields. Farmers from faraway fields and villages gradually gained knowhow about this machine. This was one of the earliest associations of Samaj Pragati Sahayog in Melghat.

4. CROP PRODUCE AGGREGATION

4.1 Ram Rahim Pragati Producer Company Limited (RRPPCL) The objective of commodity aggregation and marketing programme is to link small and marginal farmers to organised markets and enable them to benefit from remunerative prices. SPS has been engaged in commodity aggregation and marketing since 2008. In 2012, RamRahim Pragati Producer Company Ltd (RRPPCL) was set us as a vehicle for carrying out this activity. In 2018-19, RRPPCL, the women-farmer-owned vehicle of SPS Commodity Aggregation Program saw strong revenue growth. The company’s performance was fairly stable, despite being in the highly volatile agriculture commodity market which demonstrates the resilience of its business model. The revenue of RRPPCL stood at Rs. 493.52 lakh at the end of the FY 2018-19 and has increased by 1.89 times as compared to FY 2017-18. High cost of external borrowed capital (sourced largely from private non-banking agencies like NABKISAN and FWWB) and high price variations in the commodity markets led to a fall in the profits before tax reported by the company. The net profit of the company declined by 35.5 percent, from Rs. 13.27 lakhs to Rs. 8.55 lakh in FY18-19. The figure below shows the performance of the companies in the last 3 years: -

Table 4.1: Last 3 Financial Years of RamRahim at a glance:

Particulars FY 16-17 FY 17-18 FY 18-19 Total volume of grains / seeds 7,684 15,070 13,296 procured (Quintals) Total volume of grains / seeds sold 6,575 9,321 13,130 (Quintals) Revenues from operation (Rs. in 169.02 261.41 493.52 lakh) Net Profit (Rs. in lakh) 3.11 13.27 8.55

Building on our strong and stable relationship with Safe Harvest Private Limited (SHPL), the beginning of the 2018-19 financial year saw the finalization of our forward contract regarding the supply of NPM Wheat and NPM Chana. RRPPCL also sold around 1453 quintals of Tuar dal to SHPL and APMCs in April – May 2018. Then in June, RRPPCL procured 44.75 quintals of Neemboli from 24 SHGs and supplied the same to Gramin India Agri. Business, Indore. The company facilitated the spread of NPM agriculture by informing farmers before the sowing period that their produce will be brought at a remunerative price through a forward contract. Farmers were supported throughout the crop cycle on matters such as soil health improvement, provision of high-quality seeds, and training farmers to clean and grade

40 their produce to earn a better price at the time of procurement. The team also monitored if the NPM protocol is correctly followed in the company’s operating region. RRPPCL sold 344 quintals of Maize seeds to the farmers in the Kharif Season and in October – November the company procured 6153.65 quintals of Maize directly from Bagli Mandi. This was done to ensure that farmers get the benefit of the Bhavanatar Bhugtan Yojana– a state government scheme that pays farmers the difference between the MSP and the price at which they sold their produce at the mandi. The company sold this Maize to the Kashyap Sweeteners Badnawar and was able to meet the buyer’s quality expectations and received appreciation for the same. For the next Kharif season, the company is aiming to double the procurement targets. At the end of the Rabi season, the company’s total aggregation figures for Wheat were 5160.19 quintals and 1594.63 quintals for Chana by the end of March 2019. The past year saw a delay in the sowing and ultimately the harvest as compared to the last year due to which procurement ended in early May of the next financial year 2019. Most of this produce will be sold to the Safe Harvest Private Limited in the form of Whole Wheat, Whole Chana, Wheat Flour, Dal etc. The company is determined to increase its aggregated volume and also add variety to its procurement basket. Moreover, company took steps to move up the value chain and found a few reliable millers in the nearby areas and entered into working agreements with them. Pooja Foods in Dewas is one such institution from where RamRahim procured Daliya and supplied it to SHPL, thus acting as an intermediary. However, the company is considering setting up its own Daliya making plant in the near future. The company’s board of directors (BoDs) was reconstituted in 2018-19. The board met 7 times in past year and proper notices regarding each meeting were prepared and circulated, with the proceedings were properly recorded. In these meetings, the BoDs of RRPPCL focused on agendas relating to aggregation, grading, and processing, marketing of produce during the Kharif and Rabi season. A few salient issues which were discussed during these meetings were – procurement plans and determining procurement prices for the Kharif and Rabi crops, the appointment of a new CEO, establishing long term and annual objectives etc. RRPPCL participated in the conference organized at the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) on the topic “Strengthening the capacities of FPOs”. The conference had 60 participants comprising of academicians, researchers and representatives from FPOs, parent organizations of FPOs and donors. Some of the major organizations which participated were Timbaktu Collective, AKSRP, Hasnabad FPC, etc. The major objective of the conference was to share experiences of successes and failures as well as establish a dialogue between various stakeholders on issues such as management of FPOs, promotions of sustainable and pesticide-free agricultural practices, and the factors restricting growth. These ideas can then help bring about policy change for FPOs to thrive. The company also organized a capacity building tour for its employees to Safe Harvest Producer Ltd,

Hyderabad. Six personnel visited the SHPL facility and learned new techniques, processes and understood the needs of SHPL better.

4.2. Access to credit RamRahim’s aggregation operations are limited to a few months of the year – the 2 months after each harvest. As per the demand of SHPL and other institutional buyers, RRPPCL needs to store the aggregated produce during the year and release it at the buyer’s request. Further, the company follows a policy that assures the farmer the payment of his or her dues within 7 days of procurement. As a result, the operating cycle is longer. To meet the demand for adequate finance during the different phases of the cycle, the company requires significant quantum of working capital. During FY 2018-19, RRPPCL was able to meet its working capital needs through loans from Friends of Women World Bank and Avanti Finance by borrowing Rs. 1.5 cr and Rs. 1.4 cr from the respective agencies.

4.3. Post-Harvest Storage The Centralized warehouse in Bagli became fully operational in October 2018. It is equipped with a cleaning and grading machine unit comprising of a Grader, Gravity Separator and Destoner, each having a capacity of 1.5 tonnes per hour. The warehouse was used to store Chana (Bengal gram), Wheat, Maize and seeds of the same. This helped in ensuring that distress sale is reduced as most farmers used to sell quickly without waiting for favourable market conditions. Two new warehouses are being constructed at Pandutalab and Kantaphod of capacity – and – respectively. The construction work of the warehouse at Pandutala is almost done and is expected to become operational soon.

4.4. Big Basket Processing In its effort to spur growth even further, RRPPCL found an opportunity to do the same by tying up with Big Basket, India’s largest online food and grocery store. The company got an offer to clean and grade 100 metric tonnes of Chana from Big Basket in January this year. Not only does this help RRPPCL boost its revenue but also allows for the continuous use of the cleaning and grading machinery which would otherwise remain idle between the two harvests. It also helps people by providing some extra days of employment. Big Basket was highly satisfied with the quality of the work done in the first batch of 16.55 tonnes and have assured the next consignment in July 2019 where the quantity will be 15.1 tons.

4.5. Cocoons for Storage Given the increasing trend in the procurement in the past years, the company is constantly looking for better and innovative ways to store the farmer’s produce. In the

42 coming year, RRPPCL is going to purchase four hermetic storage bags called “cocoons”. These bags will be able to handle 1400 quintals of produce and its airtight nature creates a low oxygen atmosphere that does not allow any larvae or pests to thrive. It is also used to prevent rodent infestation, the growth of mould, and the deterioration of the commodity from high humidity levels. Given that a cocoon’s effectiveness is as good as the refrigeration process, this investment will reduce storage costs by eliminating cold storage expenses. This asset will also allow RamRahim to ensure the optimal use of the warehousing capacity developed in the previous financial year.

4.6. AGM Meeting The annual general meeting of RRPPCL was held at Punjapura Krishi Upaj Mandi on 23rd August 2018. The meeting had a participation of more than 1500 women from 304 SHGs that form the company’s member base. Swami Anuraganand Ji of Ram Krishna Mission was the chief guest and lauded the unity and harmony among women. During the AGM, the members of the outgoing Board were thanked for their services and newly elected Board of Directors were introduced to the shareholder members. Mrs. Chinta Bai Tregam, was re-elected as the president of the company and in her speech addressing the gathering, she talked about the need for incentivizing chemical-free farming and RRPPCL’s role in the same. She also talked about the work done by RRPPCL in the previous year and provided an outline of the company’s vision moving forward and the work to be done for the same. She also announced a Rs 50 cash discount on every packet of Maize seed for the members who have taken the same from the SHG.

4.7. Challenges The major challenge faced by RamRahim is to sustain itself in the high-volume-low- margin agri-commodity market which is accompanied by high price volatility. Enduring these conditions requires both high equity and leverage to ensure operations are carried out smoothly. Another major issue which the company faces is the high operational and transactional costs incurred while procuring from small and marginal farmers dispersed over a large geography. The coming year will see a concentrated effort on the reduction of operational cost that significantly affect the profitability given the razor-thin margins. The company has found it difficult to raise capital as formal sector banks are show hesitance in lending to an FPO run by small and marginal farmers. Raising capital through equity is not a viable option at the time as some members had themselves taken loans to pay the initial share capital. Therefore, RamRahim continues to borrow from NABKISAN and other private institutions such as Friends of Women’s World Banking (FWWB) which offer interest rates in the range of 11-15 percent p.a. which is too high for an FPO. Another major challenge has been some members’ lack of belief in the company and their awareness of the company’s vision of promoting NPM agriculture. Further, government support has been limited, and the niche for pesticide-free produce has been difficult to expand

43 which makes it difficult to change the kind of agriculture that is being practiced. Finally, attracting young professionals from prestigious institutions like the IIMs, IRMA, TISS etc. has been tough as many do not want to work in the rural spaces that form the company’s area of operation.

4.6. Way Forward RamRahim has to work on streamlining its procurement process and improving the efficiency of operations to overcome the challenge of the high cost of operations. While leakages need to be checked during operations, a shift to collection centres is being proposed to replace the current system of doorstep collection. These collection centres can be set up in villages and can help bring down transportation costs significantly. Optimal procurement routes can also be identified to cover all the collection centres. RamRahim has to look for new buyers and need to explore further possibilities in value addition in its commodities which will help the company to fetch higher margins. As mentioned earlier, the company is planning to add Daliya to the existing portfolio of products in the near future. The government needs to realize the fact that the FPO has to compete with large corporates with deep pockets making it very difficult for farmer-owned FPOs to succeed in the market. Therefore, changes at the policy level are crucial to attain sustainability and reap optimal benefits for RamRahim’s shareholders. Some of the policy reforms can be amendments to the APMC Act which allow a single, country-wide unified market for agri-produce with no restrictions on commodity movement to enable FPOs to market their produce directly to the consumers/bulk-buyers, without the payment of a Mandi Fee to ease the process of doing business, etc RamRahim will be focussing on developing the capacities of its Board members, leaders, members, and staff. The company has realized that there is need to develop a sense of ownership among its stakeholders and for a comprehensive training plan is being made and is to be implemented in the coming years. As a result of this, the company hopes that the producer participation will increase which will enable the company to strengthen and scale up its operations and make RRPPCL a leading player in the market.

5. SELF-HELP GROUP (SHG) PROGRAMME

5.1. SHG Programme

The women’s Self-Help Group (SHG) programme forms the bedrock of all of SPS’ work. We have formed 2,781 women’s SHGs in 534 villages and 15 towns with 41,201 members. Most members of these SHGs belong to the marginalized- poor, Adivasis, Dalits, landless and displaced people. The persistence of endemic poverty and hunger, seven decades after independence, points to the glaring lack of good governance in rural areas. It is our vision that federations of these women’s SHGs are a key building block for effective empowerment of the poor in the tribal drylands of India, giving these regions the necessary voice in the development process. It is true that the full potential of our watershed work can only be realised if it is supplemented by the SHG programme to ensure long-term livelihood security to the poor. The SHG programme can be successful only if it is tied up with livelihood programmes such as improved agriculture, dairying, marketing etc. Thus, the SHG and livelihood programmes are complementary to each other and their simultaneous implementation is the key to poverty alleviation.

Our SHGs offer their members a range of financial products including interest on savings, recurring deposits, fixed deposits, loans against fixed deposits, loans for emergencies (the veracity of each of which is carefully judged by the members themselves), collective purchase of basic needs of daily life, loans for cattle and well construction, cattle insurance, life insurance etc. In the year 2018-2019, 2,285 SHGs were linked to banks, had an annual savings of Rs.45.77 crores and provided loans worth Rs.351.74 crores to their members.

Following is a table on the key performance indicators of the SHG Programme as on 31st March, 2019:

Table 5.1: Macro key performance indicators of SHGs as on 31st March 2019 S. No Indicators Data as on 31st March, 2019 1. Total number of districts 2 2. Total number of blocks 7 3. Total number of towns 15 4. Total number of villages 534 5. Total number of SHGs 2,781 6. Total number of clusters 158 7. Total number of federations 9 8. Total number of SHG members 41,201 9. Percentage of SHGs linked with banks/financial institutions 100%

10. Total amount of bank/FI loan disbursed (in crores) 351.74 11. Total savings (in crores) 45.77 12. Average savings per member 11,784 13. Corpus (in crores) 67.84 14. Total loan outstanding (in crores) 92.72 15. Average size of loans per SHG 3,33,419 16. Loan recovery ratio 95% 17. Total number of individual savings bank accounts opened 36,086 18. Total number of members insured 22,561 19. Total number of bank linkages 2,285 20. Contribution of SHGs towards the SHG Programme (in lakhs) 200.80

Table 5.2: Location-wise Data of SHG Programme as on 31st March 2019

Total SHG Total Corpus (in Bank loan S.no Name of location Villages Groups Savings (in Contribution members Cr) O/s (in Cr) Cr) (in lakhs) 1. Udainagar 57 168 2560 2.74 4.45 0.74 11.43 2. Kantaphod 36 226 3871 5.10 7.99 3.01 23.59 3. Bagli 49 265 4043 4.21 7.23 2.87 26.66 4. Barwah 48 179 2606 2.67 4.44 1.99 7.50 5. Dewas 0 229 3676 4.85 7.73 2.19 17.20 6. Khategaon 42 260 3895 5.09 8.67 2.79 25.90 7. Hatpipliya 52 205 2877 4.07 6.35 1.79 20.70 8. Maheshwar 36 213 3085 3.98 4.87 1.86 16.53 9. Kannod 43 213 3359 3.65 4.10 1.73 10.85 10. Bhikangaon 40 179 2184 1.56 1.79 0.92 8.05 11. Punjapura 26 142 2109 2.10 2.46 0.52 10.75 12. Satwas 35 201 3008 2.77 3.69 2.50 9.54 13. Sanawad 35 166 2237 2.29 3.32 0.97 8.99 14. Lalkheda 35 135 1691 0.69 0.74 0.38 3.11

Total 534 2781 41201 45.77 67.84 24.28 200.80

5.2. Expansion In 2018-19, 137 new SHGs were formed along with 3 new clusters in the SHG programme. The membership of our SHG Programme increased by 3380 during the year. Registration of Maheshwar Mahila Pragati Samiti was completed during this year. Work at Maheshwar had started in June 2010 with the SHG programme that worked with the rural tribal population primarily dependent upon farming, farm labor and weaving. The area of work was spread out across 30 villages of 20 Gram Panchayats. The procedure for the registration of Maheshwar Mahila Pragati Samiti began in February 2017, with the initial sanction received on the 5th of October 2017. This was followed by three general queries at the location which were all responded to within the stipulated time. Finally, on 18th of September 2018, the Maheshwar Mahila Pragati Samiti was registered successfully under the Madhya Pradesh Society Registration Act, 1973. At the same time, the Barwah Mahila Pragati Samiti was also registered as a federation. These have become the first two federations to get registered from Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh.

5.3. SHG-Bank linkage programme The SHG-Bank linkage model breaks the age-old myth that the poor are an unbankable proposition. To facilitate this, the Narmada Jhabua Gramin Bank organized an event around the idea of bank linkages with the SHG Programme team at our Barwah location. They made formal visits to all SHGs and three branches of NJGB in Barwah, Katkut and Balwada allocated a CC limit of Rs. 63 lakhs to 15 SHGs, Rs. 24 lakhs to 8 SHGs and Rs. 33 lakhs to 11 SHGs. The Bank of India sanctioned a CC limit of Rs. 14,384,000 to 53 SHGs across Kantaphod, Kanod and Satwas and 71 SHGs were sanctioned an upgraded limit. We also launched a new product in the form of Auto Fixed Deposits. These evoked keen interest among members as there was an additional 4% earned in interest as regular savings fetch them a 6% rate of interest p.a. while fixed deposits offer 10%. While all members can subscribe to the FD product, the Auto FD feature has been introduced for members who fit certain conditions such as: having at least 80% attendance in both the SHG meetings held in a month, a minimum membership term of five years, and a track record of regular savings and repayment of loans. The amount of savings over Rs. 10,000 is eligible to be transferred to an Auto FD which fetches the 10% return. To increase the frequency of meetings and make the financial condition of every SHG stronger, SHG programme has introduced two meetings per month. Along with this, to ensure faster repayment of loans, they have introduced a system of interest that needs to be paid daily by the members who loan money from the SHG. The interest will have to be paid from the day the account gets credited with the loan amount. The faster the loan is repaid, the lesser us the interest charged. SPS is the first organization in this region to have initiated a system of daily payment of interests after banks.

5.4. Initiatives to establish a link between rural and semi-urban locations The SHG programme in Barwah works both in rural and semi-urban areas. As an initiative to establish a channel of communication and the bridge the gap between the two, the SHG members who cultivate NPM produce in rural areas were introduced to members in the semi-urban areas. This was done with a view to make good quality wheat available to members while also ensuring that the farmer members get the right price for their produce. The months of February and March 2019 saw the distribution of 650 kg of wheat amongst 200 members across 3 clusters.

5.5. Survey conducted on members’ credit histories One of the central focal points for the SHG programme this year was to study the credit history of each SHG member. The aim of this activity was to enable the members to gain maximum benefit from the programme. This would not only strengthen the core objective of the programme but also help members and the programme understand the status of a particular SHG with regard to meeting an individual member’s needs. A survey was conducted trying to evaluate the loan requirements of members in a year. This included understanding the external sources of loans and their extent, member’s capacity to repay, current loan amount outstanding, size of household, etc. This was done to develop a deeper and better understanding of how the Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are infiltrating our area of work and the reactions of our members to this development. We have been in constant conflict with different MFIs because of the fundamental differences between SHGs and MFIs. MFIs loan out money without taking the borrower’s savings into consideration and can loan money from the very first day. On the other hand, an SHG loans money to a particular member on the basis of their savings. MFIs also have a flat rate of interest along with loan fees, loan cover insurance whereas SHGs provide loans at a reducing rate of interest. However, the capacity of lending is limited for every SHG. Some MFIs also push members into purchasing third party products along with disbursement of loans. This survey also helped rethink the ways the programme has been functioning and some changes were brought about in the guidelines outlining the programme to keep up with the MFIs.

5.6. Beyond Financial Transactions For the past one year, the programme has been updating every member’s loan information on Credit Information Bureau of India Limited (CIBIL) of the Reserve Bank of India. CIBIL allows for greater transparency and efficiency in the credit space and maintains records of all credit related activities of individuals and companies. The SHG Programme updates each member’s loan information on the CIBIL portal to ensure that members are given loans on the basis of their capacities and repayment strength. The SHGs themselves refer to a member’s CIBIL record while loaning them money for different activities. After its implementation, a lot of members who were defaulting in their respective SHGs were denied credit from other MFIs which led to a lot of angst amongst these members. This had to be

50 dealt with sensitivity and members were explained the need and importance of having such a transparent credit record.

5.7. Bulk Purchase or Kirana programme The bulk purchase programme is one of the most successful loan products of our SHG Programme. The objective of this programme is to ensure and promote food security and availability of unadulterated essential groceries to the members. These items are purchased in bulk across different locations for members who have expressed interest to avail of this product. Bulk purchase also allows members to get advantage of lower prices compared to the standard market price which enables members to save more. The Udainagar, Punjapura, Kanod, Barwah, Bhikangaon, Sanawad, Satwas, Kantaphod, Hatpipliya and Maheshwar locations participated in the bulk purchase programme which saw an increase in the savings of the members by 50-60%. 8290 members participated in the Kirana distribution programme throughout the year with a loan disbursement amount of Rs. 2.56 crores.

5.8. Extension of SHG software support to Civil Society Organisations The introduction of Pragati Mitra, the SHG software, played a huge role in making our programme more efficient in terms of time spent in meetings, bookkeeping and audits. It has helped in the continuous expansion of the programme while efficiently controlling of its running cost. Having a software also provides security to the data, saves time, and allows easy data transfer, monitoring and evaluation. With the objective of spreading this increased efficiency and utility to other partner organisations, SPS organized a one-day training workshop on 16th March 2019. 13 organisations attended the training workshop to understand the impact of Pragati Mitra in running an SHG programme. These were - Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Harsha Trust, SRIJAN, PRADAN, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India), Action for Social Advancement, Vikalp, Development Support Centre (DSC), Bolangir Gramodyog Samiti, Shramik Shakti Sangha, Janamukti Anusthan, Anchalika Jana Seva Anusthan and Adhikar. The workshop highlighted the benefits of having a software, how conducting audits of the SHG become considerably easier and how through the model of partnership the software can be adopted by other organisations. Detailed presentations on all three SPS developed software - Pragati Mitra, Pragati Vistar and Krishi Vistar were made to all participating organisations. The developer of the software, Shri Pallav Pathak also attended this workshop. He mentioned how he can contribute by helping the organisations adopt the technical knowledge required to introduce software in a programme. The workshop also outlined the way forward for the participating organisations to adopt the various software. An intensive training will be needed for the partner NGOs to become completely familiar with the software which will be conducted in groups based on the level of preparedness of each organisation. After the training, Shri Pallav Pathak will help in customizing the software according to the partners’ need and SPS will provide hand-holding support in the adoption of the software. Civil society organisations

51 such as FES, Harsha Trust, and SRIJAN expressed their eagerness to begin work based on this partnership soon.

5.9. Proposal Writing Workshop With the formation of federations, SPS envisages to empower the locally trained professionals to take the onus of management of all women’s federations under the guidance of elected women representatives and SPS. As part of the capacity building efforts, a workshop on proposal writing was organized at one of the oldest and most matured federations, Kataphod Pragati Samiti (KPS). Project proposal writing is a very important tool of an organization for generating resources for development activities. On 31st August 2018 a team of eight professional constituting the location in-charge, programme officers and senior mitaans attended the workshop at the KPS office. Since the participants of the workshop had no prior experience on project proposal writing, the workshop was segregated into multiple phases to impart greater understanding about project proposals. These phases covered multiple aspects of writing a proposal requires such as how to frame achievable objectives, how to develop strategies and activities, how to develop a monitoring plan to ensure that the project meets the objectives, how to develop a sustainability plan, how to develop a work plan and draw up a budget. The participants were also made to assess the areas/issues where there is a requirement of funds for development activities in the Kantaphod location itself.

5.10. Mitaan motivation programmes and capacity building of mitaans The community resource persons or mitaans are key to the SHG programme. Their primary roles include conducting regular meetings, tracking the financial health of the SHGs, and ensuring each member’s well-being and belief in the SHG as an institution is retained. To appreciate their contribution of mitaans, it was decided at the federation level, that on conducting all meetings of an SHG successfully, a mitaan will be specially recognised in the monthly federation meeting. This brought in a culture of working harder to achieve targets and resulted in increased efficiency. Further, the programme organised various training and capacity building sessions with the mitaans focusing on different financial transfer mechanisms. Funds transfer mechanisms such as Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT), cheques (crossed and uncrossed) and various other banking rules. The trainees initially faced difficulties in understanding the detailed complexities, but consistent efforts to clears doubts and answering various queries has enabled them to master the subject.

5.11. Audits Financial transparency is an absolute must for an SHG Programme to successfully function and grow. Each SHG went through both internal and external audits across all locations to maintain transparency and accountability within the groups. The audits are done

52 by Chartered Accountants and are usually held in the first quarter of the financial year, in the months of April, May and June. 2467 SHGs were audited in the financial year of 2018-19.

5.12. Signature Camps for SHG members organized by clusters In the 2011 Census, female literacy in Dewas and Khargone district stood at 57.76% and 53.03% respectively while their male counterparts recorded 80% and 72.08% literacy respectively. Most of the members have never received any formal education that teaches reading and writing skills. In such a skewed situation, SPS constantly endeavours to teach its members to be able to sign their names and take a step towards women’s literacy. Signature camps were organised across locations with the objective to teach the importance of being able to sign one’s own name. Almost all SPS SHG members have learnt how to sign their names now and do not follow the method of signing through the impression of their thumb print.

5.13. Challenges

5.13.1. Irregular cluster meetings One of the major challenges faced by the programme was to conduct regular cluster meetings. As cluster meetings do not concern finances, ensuring regular monthly cluster meetings is a major challenge. To ensure that these meetings are held with maximum participation, rigorous home visits were made and competitions were organized for members to spread awareness about the non-financial benefits of the SHG Programme. Members were also incentivised as they could avail a discount in the rate of interest on their loan if there was regular and full participation in her respective cluster meeting from her end.

5.13.2. Maintaining steady and sustained cash flow in the weaker SHGs- challenge Working in rural India where the primary source of income is from agriculture, timely repayment in SHGs is a major constraint. The financial capacities of SHG members permits them to pay off their loans only after harvest. A continuous effort was made through group exercises and pressure mechanisms to address the urgency around the repayment of loans and develop a culture of timely repayment.

5.14. Some Stories from the SHG Programme

5.14.1. Sagar Bai’s petition for village development Remarkable efforts have been made by Sagar Bai along with other women from her village Barbai. The Joint Secretary of Khategaon Pragati Samiti, Sagar Bai, wrote an application to the Gram Panchayat to bring to the front the pressing issue of the need for a government higher secondary school and a multi-purpose community hall in the village. The

Sarpanch had ignored these development needs for long and stated that these do not fall under the purview of the Gram Panchayat. However, these village development needs of the village should be routed through the Gram Panchayat to the higher authorities following the guidelines of the Panchayati Raj Institution. In response to this inaction, Sagar Bai with help from the Khategaon team prepared a petition on the demands and needs of the village. This petition was signed by other women of the village and addressed to the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. Following this, a group of women from Barwai Village went to Bhopal to submit the petition to the CM at his office in Bhopal and submitted it to his secretary in his absence. Sagar Bai and the other women from the village are awaiting a response from the government while preparing themselves for the long haul of securing the development needs of their village.

5.14.2. Babli bai’s own Four-Wheeler Babli Bai from Nayapura village in Bagli lives in a Harijan moholla. She has a family of four with her husband and two children. Her husband worked as a labourer at a local moneylender’s establishment in the area. Work was not readily available and the wages were extremely inadequate to run a family of four. In an effort to make conditions better, Babli Bai attended an SHG meeting at a relative’s house. She observed 15-16 women running a meeting on their own, maintaining records and collecting and calculating the money on their own. This inspired her to associate herself with an SHG in her neighbourhood. Soon, she joined the Chandra Pragati Samuh in Nayapura. This incident in September 2014 was a turning point in her life. Gradually, she increased the amount of loan she took from the SHG and shifted from consumption loans to a loan worth 50000 (granted only after the agreement of the members) for a pick-up truck. Her husband was to use this for commercial purposes freed himself from the low-paying job that he was engaged in till then. This loan was sanctioned by the fellow SHG members who reviewed her savings until that time and her regularity in the meetings. This brought about major changes in their lives. Her husband now earns about 1000 rupees per working day and Babli Bai’s children now attend school regularly.

6. LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME

6.1. Livestock Development and Support Livestock has proved to be a viable and fruitful alternative means of livelihood for the small and marginal farmers in the drylands of the country. Goat rearing and poultry activities are relatively less input intensive than farming and thus are suitable for farmers with a low or no resource base, especially in the case of landless labour and tenant farmer. Moreover, these activities allow the farmers to diversify their income stream making them less susceptible to weather shocks and other unforeseen circumstances. The Livestock Programme at SPS started with dairy farming but now promotes other forms of livestock in the form of goats and poultry as they have proven to be better suited for low income households of small and marginal farmers which cannot afford large animals. The Livestock Development and Support Programme has seen a successful phase of growth in the past year across seven locations in the Bagli, Kannod and Dharni blocks. With its success in the existing locations and demand from farmer members engaged in the SHG and Agriculture programmes, the programme is being initiated in the block of Barwah as well. This will be a step towards expanding our model of risk mitigation and poverty alleviation for the agrarian community. The programme now works in 187 villages across 3 districts – Dewas, Khargone and Amravati. The team works on providing animal health services and production improvement support services in the forms of feed & nutritional supplement supply along with building appropriate shelters. Table 6.1: Overall Details of the Livestock Programme 2018-19 Blocks Covered Bagli, Kannod and Dharni Total Number of Village Covered 187 SPS Locations Kantaphod, Udainagar, Punjapura, Bagli, Kannod, Hatpiplya, Barwah and Melghat Total Members 6777 Total Households availing Cattle Services 3125 Total Households availing Goat Services 3246 Total Households availing Poultry Services 1006

6.2. Animal Healthcare Services A major cause of the high mortality among animals in area is the lack of proper veterinary services. Given the remoteness of many villages and the lack of easy access, government veterinary service seldom reaches them. Therefore, the livestock programme aims at providing regular health care services which includes vaccination, general treatment, de-worming, and castration at participating member’s house itself. Table 6.2: Details of the Animal Healthcare Services Provided in 2018-19 Deworming Number of Cattle 3,629 Number of Goats 18,431 Number of Poultry 43,739

Vaccination No. of HS Vaccines administered (Cattle) 21,864 No. of BQ Vaccines administered (Cattle) 21,864 No. of FMD Vaccines administered (Cattle) 14,081 No. of ET Vaccines administered (Goats) 14,177 No. of PPR Vaccines administered (Goats) 8,425 No. of Ranikhet and Ghambaro Vaccines 47,099 administered (Poultry)

Other Services No. of Bucks castrated 537 No. of Bulls bred 1 No. of Cattle artificially inseminated 102 No. of General Healthcare Treatments 5,147

6.3. Infertility and Vaccination Camps Free infertility and health camps for livestock are organized annually to provide free treatment for goats and cattle once a year. As the majority of the expenses of these camps is met by the Federations’ surplus, these camps are a way to give back to the society. Animal infertility camps in 2018-19 started from 25th December 2018 and continued till the 5th February 2019 with the team’s veterinary doctor, para-vets and programme officers present at all times. This year the govt. veterinary hospital stepped up and participated in the camps organised by providing the required stock of medicine at the site. Such events have helped build a strong relationship with various stakeholders involved in the program. There was a rapport built with community members as seen in the volunteer work of our SHG members who took charge of cooking the lunch for team at each camp. As the Civil Society Partner in the Village Social Transformation Mission of the Government of Maharashtra, the SPS livestock team organised goat vaccination camps in collaboration with the veterinary department of Dharni. With the assistance of the Chief Minister’s Rural Development Fellows (CMRDF), these camps were set up in 6 villages where 666 goats were vaccinated. Table 6.3: Details of Animal Health Camps in Melghat Village No. of Goats & Bucks Patharpur 129 Salai 144 Khari 91 Kara 126 Nanduri 120 Chorakund 56

6.4. Feed and Fodder Service Given the importance of the animal’s diet in its growth and well-being a lot depends on what the animal is fed. The program, therefore, pays great attention to the feeding practices of the animals. The members are provided with nutritious feed & its supplement for their animals. Further, given the limited scope of grazing in the forest due to administrative and other constraints, members are supported in growing Napier grass and other green fodder. This year, 313 members received 4051 seedlings of Napier grass. During the summer, the region becomes extremely barren and devoid of greenery thereby leading to a scarcity of fodder for cattle. To address the issue of fodder scarcity especially during summer season plantation of Sajad, Bar, Gul & Arjun is promoted as these plants remain evergreen even during summertime and this year about 5245 such plantlets were successfully planted.

6.5. Shelter/Shed Services Proper shelter facility plays a vital role in proliferation livestock farming. It prevents animal from general seasonal sickness and also provides protection from dogs, cats, snakes, rats etc. The livestock programme promotes low-cost long-lasting shelters which are specialised according the need of the animal. In the past year, members were supported both technically and financially in construction of various shelter structures such as: 1. Night shelters are backyard shelter facilities made for raising poultry. Each shelter is made up of 50 feet iron net and plastic green net, equipped with 2 pairs of hanging feed hopper and water foundation. It can house up to 50 chicks. 2. The Free-range facility is an outdoor fenced accommodation system for poultry. The idea is to let the birds roam freely. Free range systems usually offer the opportunity for the extensive locomotion and sunlight that is otherwise prevented by indoor housing systems and allow for plantations inside fenced area that is nourished by birds’ manure. A Goat shed is about 10 feet long & 5 feet broad rib bed structure made up of approximately 70 ribs. The idea behind such structures is to prevent the goat from sitting or resting on the moist or wet ground. Such structures are especially beneficial during monsoons and winters as it helps in prevention of water borne diseases. The shed is also equipped with an iron manger used as the feeding plate and simulates the natural feeding practice.

Table 6.4: Details of Shelters/Sheds constructed across Locations Shelters & Sheds Constructed No. of Night Shelters constructed 46 No. of Free-Range structures constructed 5 No. of Goat Sheds constructed (with manger) 226

6.6. Poultry Chick delivery services Under backyard poultry farming, 15-day-old chicks of the Satpuda and Kadaknath breed are properly fed and vaccinated and then delivered to the members at their doorstep. The first 15 days are critical to the bird’s health and therefore requires intensive care. The selection of the breeds has been done with the aim of minimising the risk to the farmer members that arise due to high mortality in other breeds such as broiler. In 2018-19, 84 members were supplied with 19,978 Satpuda chicks and 6 members purchased 900 Kadaknath chicks. The members adopting poultry farming are provided constant support and regular treatment to inhibit losses which may arise due the breakout of an epidemic.

6.7. Dairy Service The dairy programme under livestock currently has a membership of 275 divided among 13 groups. The groups manage the supply of milk and its storage in the bulk milk cooler from where it is collected by the Indore Dugdh Sangh. Members are paid based on fat/SNF concentration in the milk. The procurement price per litre is determined by the fat content of the milk. The total quantity of milk sold was 240980 litres at prices ranging from Rs. 27-35.

6.8. Capacity Building Throughout the year, the livestock programme organises trainings and exposure visits for its members and its staff. Exposure visits include visits made by the staff along with its members to other organisations to learn about their practices and share experiences as well as inter-location visits where members who are new to livestock farming interact with more experienced members at other locations. Livestock programme members and staff visited Vidarbh Pasu Unnati Sansadhan Kendra (supported by Goat trust, Lucknow). The 26-member team were trained in many aspects of goat management including the preparation of manure from goat’s stool. An important lesson for the members was the method for estimating the price for their goats and bucks. On an average, 50 -60% of a goat’s body weight translates into the mutton sold in the market. This allowed the members to calculate the price themselves as opposed to accepting arbitrary prices offered by the traders. The following table lists out the details of all the capacity building efforts for the year:

Table 6.5: Capacity Building Efforts during 2018-19

Training and Capacity Building Number of trainings organized for producer members 25 Number of members trained 746 Number of exposure visits to other institutions and organisations 2 Total number of internal exposure visits organised for members 5

Total number of trainings conducted for staff 9

6.9. Challenges A major challenge faced by the programme has been the limited market for the Satpuda and Kadaknath breeds. Currently, the team has been scaling up slowly according to the demand in the local markets leading to limited benefits to the farmer member. The team has been looking at avenues outside of the local areas where producers can be linked with buyers so as to achieve optimal scale and benefits. During the months of September and October, meetings with producer group were being cancelled due to low attendance. As the period marks the peak of the harvest season, most members were not available at the scheduled time. The team addressed the issue by rescheduling the meetings according to the member’s availability. This has been a lesson to be incorporated in the coming time. Another challenge was the spread of New Castle disease in the month of July, many chicks died despite being vaccinated. To cope with the situation, we introduced strict prevention measures and trained members in poultry management and the errors that can be made by the producer that enables the spread of the disease.

6.10. Impact of Livestock Interventions

6.10.1. The Story of Sakku Bai and her Goats Sakku Bai and her family of 5 hail live in the village of Jinwani near Kantaphod. She is a member of the SHG programme through the Saraswati Mata Samuh and earns her livelihood through agricultural labour. She had invested in goat rearing as a means to supplement the household income to better feed her family and send her children to a good school. In the initial phase, she faced the major challenge that comes with rearing goats in remote rural areas – the availability of prompt, affordable and quality veterinary services. Government veterinary doctors are too few and are often unaffordable for such rural households working with a limited budget. This had become a major hurdle in making goat rearing a viable activity as at one point of time all of Sakku Bai’s 12 goats and bucks died in a span of a couple of months causing immense financial distress. The goats that she was able to sell were not fetching her enough one goat either. Goat rearing was turning out to be completely unviable for her. Sakku Bai learnt about the Livestock programme through her SHG members who had already been availing the services of the programme. This proved to be a major gamechanger. She started receiving animal healthcare services including vaccinations, regular treatment and de-worming at her doorstep. These were available to her for a nominal fee which gave her access to a para-vet whenever she needed. She was also provided goat feed and supplements

61 such as mineral bricks & liver tonic. Further, Sakku Bai was trained by the team to take proper care of her goats at home to ensure proper growth of her goats and minimise the chance of contacting disease. Completing two years as a member of the livestock programme, her goats and bucks are far healthier now and weigh about 15-20 Kg. There has been a significant decrease in mortality rates and an overall improvement in their health which contributes to an increasing household income. Last year, Sakku Bai earned Rs. 60,000 by selling her goats and spent the better part of the sum for her son’s wedding. This year too she sold bucks for 40,000 rupees and has seven more bucks and goats under her care. She has saved for her children’s higher education. Goat rearing has not only mitigated the risk of poverty but also contributed to the well-being of Sakku Bai’s household. Success in goat rearing has in turn helped her performance in the SHG programme where she contributes Rs. 200-250 to her SHG activity every month. Her story is a source of inspiration for other women to start goat rearing as an alternate livelihood activity.

6.10.2. Sunita Bai’s success with Poultry Sunita Bai from Bairagda Village in the is a member of Self-help group and livestock programme of Kantaphod Pragati Samiti. With no landholdings, she and her husband were solely dependent on wage labour to run their house and fulfil their basic needs. Opportunities for this wage labour would also be scarce in the period between sowing and harvest which forced them to repeatedly borrow from local moneylenders at exorbitant interest rates. Four years ago, Sunita Bai heard about the SHG program running in the Kantaphod area and after understanding the benefits of being a part of a group she joined the Heryali Pragati Samuh. Her aim was to save and free herself from the endless trap of borrowing from moneylenders. After receiving information about the livestock programme, Sunita Bai took up goat rearing and has also got involved in raising poultry in her backyard. The team guided her to build a night shelter and trained her in all activities needed to raise the chickens in a healthy way. She took a loan from the SHG and bought 100 chickens of the Satpura variety. She sold them after 45 days for Rs. 25,000 and made a profit of consolidate profit of Rs. 10,000. She invested this amount in poultry and raised a demand for the chicks again but this time increased the quantity to 150. Again, when she sold the chickens, she earned a profit of Rs.15, 000. Now, Sunita Bai has taken up backyard poultry as her primary vocation and chooses to work for wages during the seasons when labour demand is high. Many have followed suit and invested in poultry farming after seeing her success. She says that backyard poultry made her life better as it reduced the toil she needed to put in as a labourer and gave her more time for running her household.

7. HEALTH AND NUTRITION PROGRAMME

7.1. Health and Nutrition The Health and Nutrition programme is working in 7 locations with people from 229 villages across 140 gram-panchayats and 3 nagar-panchayats. There 390 Aanganwadi centres, 115 PDS shops and main aim of the programme is to work on improving the health and nutritional status of women and children to reduce the incidence of malnutrition, anaemia through community participation and leveraging the strength of people’s institutions. A major aspect of our work is making the people aware of the schemes of the government that they are entitled to and ensure that the benefits of the schemes actually reach the people by building people’s capacities and empowerment. This is done through continuous monitoring of systems such as midday meals at schools, quality of food at the ICDS Aanganwadi for both the children and the pregnant mothers. We have seen great results in the provision of the quality food and implementation of the schemes as benefits have been reaching people who these schemes have been made for. We are further trying to ensure that the responsibility of this oversight can successfully shifted to the community itself and the role the H&N team becomes that of a facilitator rather than the implementor. Institutions such as School Management Committees (SMCs), Maternal Support Committee, and the SHGs have been undergoing capacity building exercises to ensure this transition. Some of these institutions have been coming forward and addressing these issues with the authorities themselves. An example of this was seen in our work in Bagli block where women from Bagli, Udainagar, Punjapura and Hatpipliya federations put forth a petition signed by 10495 women that listed down the huge gaps in the assured public health services and the ill treatment received by the women. This petition was prepared after a survey was conducted that covered the government hospital in Bagli, 6 primary health centre and 41 sub health centres. While there were a few cases of improvement in some of the areas, many of these centres still lack the adequate and mandated services and facilities. The women have raised their concerns about these failures on the part of the government time and again. Some schemes on which the team focuses on are:  Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) for providing subsidized food grains to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families,  Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) for providing highly subsidized ration to the poorest of the poor families,  Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) for old persons above 65 years belonging to BPL families,  National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS), Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) to support institutionalized deliveries,

 National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) to support poor families on the death of a primary breadwinner, widow pension to support poor widows, disability pension to support challenged persons,  Deen Dayal Antyodaya Upchar Yojana to provide medical relief for poor families,  Ladli Laxmi Yojana (LLY) to support girl children,  Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for employment generation.

We are also facilitating the rolling out of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 at the grassroots level (NFSA covers benefits under MDMS, ICDS, TPDS, AAY and maternity benefits). The team was required to build a rapport with service providers without making the SPS team appear as a threat to them while at the same time ensuring high standards of monitoring. The main focus of Health and Nutrition programme is to ensure that there is no malnourished child in its working area, if found so, the team guides the mother to consult the Anganwadi centre and Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), if needed. Also, it creates awareness about the health facilities provided by the government to the public.

Table 7.1: Current Status and Outreach of H&N Programme 1 Total no. of blocks 2 2 Total no. of villages covered 229 3 Total no. of Nagar Panchayats covered 3 4 Total no. of Gram Panchayats covered 140 5 No. of SPS SHGs providing MDM 60 6 No. of SPS SHGs providing Supplementary Nutrition to Anganwadis 48 under Sanjha Chulha Scheme 7 No. of SPS supported SHGs included in H&N training and other 973 activities

Table 7.2: Major Work and Achievements of 2018-19 at a Glance No Scheme Bagli Udai Kanta Pipri Punja Satwas Hatpipl Total Nagar phod Pura iya

1 No. of villages 44 33 29 18 26 38 41 229 surveyed for potential beneficiaries to be covered under food related

schemes-

2 No. of Nagar 00 02 01 03 Panchayats surveyed for potential beneficiaries to be covered under food related schemes- 3 No. of schools 76 64 60 50 55 72 82 459 monitored for improvement in MDM quality 4 No. of eligible school children who were helped to obtain MDMS benefits (Maximum achieved in a month) 5 No. of schools 67 39 48 43 50 66 81 394 where improvement in the delivery of MDMS achieved (Maximum achieved in a month)

6 Improvement in 49 31 28 32 39 49 18 246 MDMS in Primary Schools (no. of schools) 7 Improvement in 18 10 14 11 08 17 13 91 MDMS in Middle Schools (no. of schools) 8 Social Audit of 09 07 22 10 48 MDMS (no. of schools covered) 9 Social Audit of 245 158 314 159 876 MDMS (no. of attendees) 10 No. of schools 39 14 16 15 04 31 40 159 where meeting with the School Management Committees (SMC) have been done to strengthen SMCs. 11 No. of SHG 15 19 14 09 57 participants in MDM training 12 No. of SHG 24 51 38 23 136 women trained in running MDMS 13 No. of Training 01 01 Programmes conducted for

SHG Mitaans in MDMS

14 No. of SHG 04 04 02 02 03 15 Mitaans trained in MDMS 15 No. of ICDS 65 56 50 37 37 59 86 390 centres (Anganwadis) monitored for improvement in the delivery of different services 16 No. of ICDS 56 39 19 22 21 48 68 273 centres (Anganwadis) where improvement in the delivery of different services achieved 17 No. of villages 44 33 29 18 26 38 41 229 surveyed to ascertain levels of malnutrition among children U-5 to generate baseline information 18 No. of towns 02 01 03 surveyed to ascertain levels of malnutrition

among children U-5 to generate baseline information 19 No. of villages 44 33 29 18 26 38 41 229 where measurement of weight of children in the age group of 6 months to 5 years was done to identify malnourished children 20 No. of children 7123 5249 6384 2758 5097 11343 7810 45764 weighed (in the age group of 6 months to 5 years) to identify malnourished children 21 No. of Severe 138 146 215 195 171 289 191 1345 Acute Malnutrition (SAM) children identified during weight measurement exercises in the villages whose performance is regularly being

followed upon by the SPS team

22 No. of children 48 24 53 07 34 50 47 263 with SAM admitted to Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRC) 23 No. of villages 33 31 19 14 26 39 39 201 covered under promotion of Best Practices to reduce the levels of malnutrition among the children in the age group of 6 months to 5 years

24 No. of mothers 587 689 452 392 642 841 785 4388 and fathers

involved for the

promotion of

Best Practices to

reduce the levels

of malnutrition among the children in the age group of 6 months to 5 years 25 No. of SAM 37 52 32 30 102 129 47 429 children whose levels of malnutrition were upgraded due to promotion of Best Practices 26 No. of 37 29 17 27 16 39 51 216 Anganwadis where meetings with Matri Sahayogini Samitis (MSS) have been done to strengthen MSS. 27 No. of MSS 152 66 64 53 30 82 99 546 meetings organized

28 Improvement in 27 15 16 14 07 23 19 121 the functioning of MSS (Nos) 29 No. of SHG 04 04 02 02 03 15 Mitaans trained in Sanjha Chulha scheme. 30 New ICDS centres opened

31 New ICDS 01 02 02 02 07 centres proposed

32 No. of FPSs 22 16 15 09 14 16 23 115 Monitored

33 No. of families 04 03 01 02 10 benefited under NFBS 34 No. of eligible 03 04 01 08 families under NFBS whose applications are in the process of being sanctioned 35 No. of old 15 02 09 20 22 28 96 people benefited under IGNOAPS 36 No. of Bank 16 15 06 28 65 Accounts opened for IGNOAPS beneficiaries 37 No. of poor 12 01 01 02 26 18 60 families who have received

DDAUY Cards

38 No. of 33 35 23 16 26 40 37 210 villages/ward where meetings with pregnant women have been done. 39 No. of pregnant 692 486 289 522 280 487 480 3236 women involved in the meetings 40 Women 470 531 457 236 468 582 416 3160 benefited under JSY 41 Follow up with 780 824 797 378 709 1066 926 5480 eligible JSY beneficiaries 42 No. of Health 06 01 01 18 05 31 Camps organized

43 No. of pregnant 52 21 107 85 265 women who participated in the Health camps 44 No. of LLY 15 54 34 15 36 51 21 226 applications in the process of getting sanctioned 45 No. of LLY 23 29 21 03 05 39 25 145 applications sanctioned (sanction letter)

Abbreviation: MDM: Mid-Day Meal: MDMS: Mid-Day Meal Scheme; SMC: School Management Committee; SHG: Self Help Group; ICDS: Integrated Child Development Services; U-5: Under 5 years of age; SAM: Severe Acute Malnutrition; NRC: Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre; MSS: Matri Sahayogini Samiti; FPS - Fair Price Shop; NFBS: National Family Benefit Scheme; IGNOAPS: Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme; DDAUY: Deen Dayal Antyodaya Upchar Yojana; JSY: Janani Suraksha Yojana; LLY: Ladli Laxmi Yojana; NSC: National Savings Certificate

7.2. Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) The Mid-Day Meal Scheme is a part of the government’s initiative to fight the high incidence of malnutrition by providing cooked meals in primary and middle schools. Our team monitors the provision of healthy and nutritious food in 459 primary and middle schools across 229 villages by taking steps towards improving a set of basic parameters including regularity of MDM, quality of MDM, quantity of MDM, flow of funds and grain, condition of school buildings, presence of kitchen sheds and their condition. Further, through the SMCs, the issue around functioning of the school and attendance of teachers, average attendance of students, hygiene in cooking and eating areas, availability of cooking and eating utensils, availability of safe drinking water and social and gender equality during meals are addressed.

a. Missing Kitchen Sheds: Instances of schools lacking a kitchen shed for preparing midday meals came up at a school in village Jamli near Udainagar. The lack of such a kitchen facility meant that the food would be prepared at the kitchen staff’s household kitchen and then transported to the school. This is a problem as it can be major source of leakages in the system as the school authorities cannot monitor the preparation of the meals, the food is likely to not be served on time and hence would be served cold. This issue was brought to the SMC and provisions were made to ensure that meals are prepared in the school premises itself so that they can be monitored regularly by the SMC and the school authorities. A similar case was seen in Hatpipliya’s Nanukheda village where despite there being a kitchen shed, members of Lakshmi Swayam Sahayta Samuh were preparing food at home. The same procedure as Udainagar was followed in this case and food started being prepared in the school itself. b. Provision of utensils in MDM kitchen: In the primary school of Shyamnagar near Bagli, the kitchen staff who prepare the midday meal, lacked proper utensils to prepare the food. After investigating the matter and discussions with the SMC, it was found out that Rs. 5000 had been credited to the school’s account for the purchase of these utensils. While, the teacher in charge was requested time and again for the

utensils, they did not cooperate. A representative from the H&N team met with the teacher and showed him the dismal state that the exiting utensil were in. The teacher was also warned that the utensils should be bought within 10 days. The teacher got it within two days. Shyamnagar had new utensils. c. Provision of supplies for MDM kitchen: In two cases from village Banjari and Nimlay which fall under Kantaphod location, the schools were not being provided with the necessary grains and other supplies to prepare the food for 3 months. In the case of Banjari, the salesman at the PDS shop refused to allot the required grains. Multiple complaints were lodged first at the block level which did not yield any result. The committee finally complained four times on the Chief Minister’s Helpline 181 after which the administration took the matter seriously and made the supplied available. In Nimlay, due to a missing Aadhar linkage, the allotted grains weren’t being provided to the school. After several tries at discussion with the salesman, the block development officer was contacted who ordered the salesman to provide the grains instantly. d. Missing basic infrastructure: The primary school at village Kanda under the Kantaphod location was not equipped with facilities such as drinking water, electricity and proper functional toilets for children. In the month of October, the SMC met and decided that action needs to be taken to provide these facilities at the earliest. The issue of electricity was solved and a proper door was installed at the toilet door but the school still lacked any source of drinking water. The issue was raised repeatedly and another SMC meeting was organised in December 2018 to put pressure on the authorities regarding this issue. Finally, a supply of drinking water was set up in the school which seems to have contributed to an increase in attendance. This case is a prime example of how essential good basic infrastructure is in augmenting attendance and learning outcomes at a school. e. Prevention of Primary School Closure: In the locality of Jhiri, which falls under the Ambapani Panchayat, the administration decided to shut down a school as the total number of children registered was 21. The reason for the low attendance at the school was distress migration caused by the lack of job opportunities in the area. Many in the village would migrate with their entire families which did not allow the children to attend school. To address this issue, the SMC was assembled to conduct a social audit, SHGs of the area were mobilised, and home visits were made to ensure that the children who had migrated, return to the village. There were rounds of discussion with the residents of the villages and the sarpanch Mr. Vikram Devda during which the possible negative repercussions of

shutting down the school were presented. This led to the residents helping in the enrolment of 10 new students in the school who had earlier migrated. The total number of students in the school reached 32 were enrolled into the school which led to the cancellation of the plans to shut the school. f. Collective action against teacher absenteeism: The H&N team at Satwas found out that the headmaster of the school in Balya village wasn’t performing his duty properly. Instances of frequent absenteeism and being late for work had been reported. This issue was raised at the SHG and cluster level several times. After one of these meetings, 30-35 women from various groups collectively approached the headmaster and confronted him about his behaviour. The headmaster apologised for his actions and promised to be more responsible in carrying out his duties. The issues haven’t recurred ever since. A similar instance of frequent absenteeism by a teacher was seen in the primary school in Potla. SHG members approached the senior teacher at the school and asked him to take action against the teacher. The teacher was called to the school and warned that a repetition of such behaviour will lead to termination of his contract at the school. This has also shown a positive reduction in the teacher’s absenteeism. g. Appointment of permanent teachers: For the past five years, the teaching in primary and secondary schools in the village Devjhiri was through guest teachers only. There were no permanent teachers which adversely affects the student’s education. This problem remained unaddressed even after it was brought to the notice of many officials in the administration including Mr. Champalal Devda, the Member Legislative Assembly, when he visited the village. The H&N programme team helped organize women for collective action for the redressal of this problem. With discussions in SHGs, SMCs and even at the panchayat level there was a unanimous decision to take up the problem in the Jan Sunwayi. A large number of women and men went to Jan Sunwayi and demanded that a permanent teacher be appointed at the earliest. The issue was also discussed at the district level where an order for the appointment for permanent teachers was passed and subsequently the problem was solved. h. Annual training of Kitchen Staff: The annual training for the SHGs that are in-charge of preparing food for the midday meal and Saanjha Chula Scheme was held. The objective of this exercise was to train the women in the best practices to be followed to while preparing nutritious and good quality food served according to the prescribed menu. The training included both the technical aspects of the scheme such as ensuring proper allocation of the grains, measurements, and precautions to be

taken while preparing the food as well as discussions around the overarching goal of the schemes. To ensure dialogue with the women, the team asked the attendees to put forward the problems they face in their work. A total of 57 SHGs with 136 cooking staff were trained. i. Social Audit: A social audit regarding the implementation of the midday meal programme was conducted on. The audit was conducted across all the locations covering all groups that cater to 48 primary and middle schools. A detailed account of the implementation mid-day meal was provided at these audits which saw a total attendance of 876 members, including members of the SMCs, SHGs, Gram Sevaks and other members of the village community. The event also allowed for a discussion around the objectives of the scheme and student’s attendance. The parents were asked to monitor the preparation of the meals and attendance by taking up the responsibility on a rotation basis. Some schools have seen a growth in attendance since this system of community monitoring has been put in place. j. Distribution of ceiling fans: 100 ceiling fans were distributed to 82 primary and middle government schools across Bagli, Hatpipliya, Satwas, and Punjapura locations. This was done keeping in mind the extremely high temperatures that students have to sit through during the summers. SMC members, Village Heads and SHG Members were present at the distribution. This gesture has also helped build better relations with the teachers at the school which forms an integral part of our work. k. Rise in honorarium and allowance per student for MDM groups: After several years of stagnancy in the honorarium amount and allowance per student, the MDM groups went on strike to make their demands heard. The amount had not increased for many years. The H&N team along with the groups had raised this issue at the Janpad level and at multiple Jan Sunwayis. While the wellbeing of the children was a major driving factor for the children, the inadequacy of the honorarium amount was a major issue for the groups. The administration out of the concern created by the strike, doubled the honorarium from Rs. 1000 to Rs. 2000 and increased the allowance per student from Rs. 4.13 to Rs. 4.35 for primary schools and from Rs. 6.18 to Rs. 6.51 for middle schools.

7.3. Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS) The H&N team’s work with the ICDS scheme is of two kinds. The first is the monitoring of the six types of health and nutrition related services provided to children, pregnant and nursing mothers, and adolescent girls at the Anganwadi centres and the second

78 is ensuring that all eligible beneficiaries are connected with the Anganwadi centres. The services which fall under the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme are designed to ensure the complete and all-round development of the intended beneficiaries. The delivery of these services is being monitored by the H&N team in 229 villages covering 390 Anganwadi centres.

7.3.1 Vaccination Vaccination of children and pregnant mothers is one of the most important service provided at the Anganwadi Centre. To ensure maximum coverage for vaccination the team worked with the Health Department in 229 villages of Udainagar, Kantaphod, Bagli, Punjapura, Hatipalya. 8143 children under the age of 5 and 5802 pregnant mothers were vaccinated for diseases like measles, polio, whooping cough etc. Another effort of the team was to organise vaccination camps for the people who had missed out on vaccination due to reasons like migration for work etc. These camps helped children like Radhika who had been left out as her family lived on a farm away from the village. Having received no information about the day on which the vaccinations are administered, she missed her chance. Moreover, two pregnant women from the Loharda missed their vaccinations due to similar reasons of being far from the main village. Members from the H&N team informed the woman about vaccination and coordinated with the ANM and got them registered at the Anganwadi centre.

7.3.2 Operationalising Anganwadi Centres At the Kantaphod location, the team helped in operationalise the Anganwadi centre in the village of Beragada. After years of using the community hall for the Anganwadi, the panchayat had given land to the construct an Anganwadi centre. The land was originally donated by Ramdas Baba to the Gram Panchayat on the condition that he will receive a house under the rural housing scheme. But having never received the house, Ramdas had not allowed the use of the centre even though the construction work was completed. The issue was raised several times at the Gram Sabhas but nothing but unfulfilled assurances came out of this. Finally, after holding several meetings with SHG members and the sarpanch, the permission for a new Anganwadi centre was granted. The keys to the centre were handed over at the Gram Sabha held on 15th of August. The Anganwadi centre in the village of Borpadav that comes under Punjapura Pragati Samiti was not in use. Parents in the area were concerned for their child’s safety as the well in the centre’s backyard did not have a boundary wall. They had refused to send their children to the centre till the wall was constructed. The team rallied for this cause and proposed this construction at the Gram Sabha repeatedly. Finally, the work on the boundary wall was initiated by the Panchayat in the month of September and was completed in October. The centre is finally operational.

7.3.3 Improvement in Anganwadi Performance through MSS The Sanjha Chula and Anganwadi nutrition programme are mired with issues that lead to children and pregnant mothers not getting their required nutrition. Funds are often not transferred on time, they are transferred to the wrong accounts, permits for avail the grains are not given on time, and the salesman at the FPS does not allot the supplies to the group. This is the cause for many mothers refusing their children to the Anganwadi centre itself. The inefficiencies lead to a vicious circle where pregnant mothers and children don’t attend the Anganwadi which leads to a lapse in the Anganwadi’s performance. Hence, our effort has been to mobilize the community to take collective action through institutions such as MSS and SHGs which work with the Anganwadi staff and stay connected to the officials to ensure quality in the delivery of services. Last year, in the villages of Amaltaj, Chilkhi, Borpadav, Barodamafi, Nimasa, and Rampur problems related to the Anganwadi were solved through collective action. In Jhabria, a village close to Satwas, there were problems with the operations at the Anganwadi Centre. The centre would not open on time, children’s attendance was low, and they were not getting their food on time nor according to the stipulated menu. The situation required the MSS to address the issue but many of its members had permanently moved out of the village. The team mobilised 26 women from the village and held a meeting, reconstituting the MSS and replacing the migrated members. At the meeting, issues around the performance of the Anganwadi supervisor and helper were discussed. Along with the problems in the Anganwadi’s operations, the staff did not make any home visits for the malnourished child identified in the village or pregnant women. The meeting had a positive impact and the Anganwadi has been functioning better now.

7.4. Targeted Public Distribution System & Antyodaya Anna Yojana SPS is engaged in the rolling out of National Food Security Act (NFSA) at the grassroots level. Under the Act, the Priority and Antyodaya households are eligible for subsidised grain from the Fair Price Shops (FPS) on a monthly basis. Under the Targeted PDS, each beneficiary family is entitled to receive food grains at Rs 1 per kg and the members must receive 5 kg each. The families benefiting from Antyodaya Anna Yojana are also stipulated to receive a minimum of 35 kg of food grains periodically. The H&N team, in league with the community members, is monitoring the operations of the TPDS scheme in 115 FPS’. In the past few years, many families had to travel 5 to 6 kms to get their allotted ration as many villages lacked an FPS. The people with the help of the H&N team have been trying to tackle this issue through Jan Sunwayis, Gram Sabhas, formal applications to several official with only few cases of success. Now new orders have been passed by the government which mandate each gram panchayat to have its own FPS. This has led to the opening of 40 to 45 new ration shops in a span of 6 to 8 months. This has led to some relief for the beneficiaries of the scheme. . .

7.5. Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) Under the National Rural Health Mission, the National Child Health Programme or Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) run by the Central Government with the aim of improving survival, development and quality of life of children in the age group of 0 to 18 years through early detection of defects at birth, diseases, deficiencies, development delays including disability and follow-up for appropriate management and treatment, if required. Given the weak economic condition of so many in the countryside, critical conditions relating to the heart, brain, limbs etc. go untreated due to the financial burden they come along with. The scheme has helped significantly in ensuring that such cases do not persist. Our team’s outreach and familiarity with village communities has allowed us to ensure that the benefits of this scheme can reach the ones who need it. The cases identified by the programme are brought to the RBSK team who follow the case from thereon. In the last year, 12 children were able to avail treatment under the scheme through the efforts of the H&N team. Being a centre sponsored scheme, the implementation is managed at the district level. This makes it difficult for people in remote interior village to access the district hospitals where the treatment is administered. Communicating with the doctors and following up on the case becomes difficult for the people due to their limited education. Visits to the hospitals are therefore coordinated by team and a team member accompanies the family to make the process easier.

7.6. Malnutrition The problem of malnutrition has persisted in India for decades despite various efforts of the government to address it. These efforts have not yielded the desired results as there are many gaps in their implementation. To help fill some of these gaps, the H&N team has been taking various steps and working along with the government and the community to minimise the problem of malnutrition in the area. 1345 severely malnourished children were identified across locations in the past year. Through community driven efforts, awareness programmes, and close monitoring of government schemes 429 severely malnourished children have moved out of the severely acute malnourished category. Some of these efforts are:

7.6.1 Kitchen garden An effective way to fight undernutrition has been the setting up of kitchen gardens. By allocating a small piece of land to grow a mix of vegetables, the household can ensure substantial nutritional for its members. The kitchen garden also leads to decreased dependence on the market for food allowing for some degree of savings while increasing the intake of green vegetables. Further, these kitchen gardens allow optimal utilisation of water in areas where water is scarce as large part of the garden can be irrigated by the water used in other household chores. The team’s focus has been to provide kitchen garden kits to the families that have severely malnourished children, pregnant women and even the midday meal cooks at Kantaphod, Udainagar, and Satwas. The kit includes seeds of 10 types of

81 vegetables (two kinds of Sponge Gourd, Beetroot, Radish, Spinach, Methi, Bottle Gourd, Pumpkin, Coriander and Ladyfinger). A total of 125 kitchen gardens have been set up in the previous year.

7.6.2 Sorghum festival (Jowar Utsav) Jowar (sorghum) has been integral part of people’s life in the region but now seems to be disappearing from people’s food basket. The H&N team organized an awareness program about the use of Jowar in 5 villages in which the mothers of malnourished children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, Anganwadi workers, Anganwadi helpers, and SHG members were present. The festival was aimed at teaching quick jowar recipes as laddu, halwa etc. to increase the presence of coarse cereals (jowar) in their food. Jowar has much more nutrition than maize and wheat which form the staple in the region. It is our belief that incorporation of Jowar in people’s diet especially among children can play a crucial role in tackling malnutrition in the area. These festivals have also helped in bringing forth people’s recipes and dishes made of Jowar that they fondly remember from their childhood.

7.6.3 Providing Milk and Bananas to children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (Dudh-Kela) At the Kantaphod location, 7 severely malnourished children were identified in Ward 12 of the Loharda Nagar Panchayat. A meeting was held at the various levels to discuss a course of action to improve these children’s condition. Through PICO screenings and discussions with the mothers of children with moderately acute malnutrition, Anganwadi workers, Matri Sahyogini Samiti it was decided that the Dudh-Kela Programme would begin in the ward. The process of implementing this round of the programme was aided by the showcasing of the positive results from the programme in Ward 15. Despite being the second round in the area, the team still faced resistance in getting the programme running in the form of lack of cooperation from the Anganwadi worker and beliefs in shamans and local healers.

7.6.3 Screenings of “Buniyaad”- a film on Malnutrition SPS Community Media’s 2018-19 production “Buniyaad” based on the misconceptions around the subject of malnutrition among children among the people was screened extensively by the team. Through 20 Mobile Cinema screenings and 501 PICO screenings the team was able to reach a wide audience and effectively communicate the severity and reasons for malnutrition. Most importantly, the movie helped making people understand malnutrition as a critical condition widely prevalent in their area. The screenings were also followed by extensive discussions with the audience on concepts of proper nutrition, hygiene and institutional support that the government provides for the same.

7.7. Public Healthcare

7.7.1 Jan Sunwayi On the 1st of February, 2019, a Jan Sunwayi was organised at the Neemkheda Kendra which had 200 women from four federations- BPS, PPS, UPS and HNPS participating in it. Ms. Rani Bansal, the SDM of Bagli, Ms. Kiran Gehlod, the tehsildar from Udainagar presided over the event. The Sunwayi was a follow up of the health petition submitted last year where the federations listed the huge gaps in the public health system to the administration’s notice. Further, 58 complaints were filed and submitted to the SDM with 12 of them publicly sharing their experiences before the SDM. After the formal deliverance of the complaints, more women from the audience spoke up and shared their experiences with the government health system and also suggested ways to make it better. The SDM listened to all the complaints and promised to take immediate steps to curb the corruption taking place in the community health centre, primary health centres and the sub-centres. These corruptive practices range from asking for bribes to misallocation of funds, refusal to send the ambulances for institutional deliveries, lack of equipment in the hospitals and repeated harassment in various forms to the patients. The women travelled with other members of their federation to Neemkheda Kendra to attend and be a part of this event.

7.7.2 Health Camps for Pregnant Women Working in collaboration with the Department of Health, 31 health camps for women were organised in various villages across the 7 locations that provided proper health check- ups and the necessary medication. The villages where the camps were conducted which had terrible indicators relating to women’s health. Cases of expecting mothers with low haemoglobin, no mandatory vaccinations, and women with other medical problems were several. The reason for such a condition has been the inadequate number of ANMs and in some cases the neglect by current ANM. There have been several cases of absenteeism as the ANM does make the required visits due to the remoteness and backwardness of the area. There has been little focus on these issues that has been shown by the department.

7.7.3 Provision of a full-time ASHA worker For the village of Tipras and Sikandarkhedi under Satwas location did not have a dedicated ASHA worker. This meant that the ASHA workers of the nearby villages were in charge of the vaccinations. These villages were second priority for the workers which meant that the vaccinations would not happen on time. Further, pregnant women faced problems at the time of delivery as the ASHA worker who is supposed to assist them would be delayed. The H&N team discussed the matter with the Gram Panchayat and helped create an application for the appointment of a full-time ASHA worker for the two villages. Together with Sima Bai of Sikanderkhedi and Rina Bai of Tipras, a team member approached the Supervisor the Department of Women's Child Development to submit the applications. The application was approved and ASHA workers were appointed in the two villages.

8. KUMBAYA

Consolidation. That is the word for the year that went. Recollecting Kumbaya’s movement through each month, the performance, the achievements, the possibilities that have opened up – it feels as though the years of effort and struggle, chaos and improvisation have finally come together to form an integrated functional system. Exports, large orders, regular work for our artisans, reaching stores across the country, better machines to work with, product design capacity, raw material procurement, quality; and most important, a team of skilled people with the commitment and competence to make all this happen. Things are falling into place. Here are some of the things at Kumbaya that went well and not so well. 8.1. Exports

8.1.1 LaVisby, Sweden The year began with our first ever export order to a Swedish brand called LabVisby in April 2018. We were able to successfully deliver this export order of more than 400 pieces to Sweden in spite of the sudden exodus of many of our artisans due to the peak marriage season that fell exactly in the two weeks that we had reserved for production. Our Swedish buyers appreciated the quality and promptness of our work and even named two of their styles after members of the Kumbaya team. In addition, at our request, they have been extremely gracious in allowing us to use their patterns only within India, and so we have gained 14 new styles that are labelled separately as a collection acknowledging Camilla, the designer. In January 2019, LabVisby returned to Madhya Pradesh and worked with us on new styles, with new fabrics. Our relationship with the business owners, Camilla and Stefan, has grown into a lovely friendship based on harmony, trust, a shared idealism and respect. Working with them is a beautiful experience and it makes everyone at Kumbaya so happy. The visit culminated in 11 new styles in garments, 2 new bags, and three designs of double and single bed covers and pillows using our embroidery. This order was made in three different fabrics, Mulmul from Kala Swaraj Foundation, handloom fabric from WomenWeave and Cotton Canvas dyed by one of our long-term suppliers in New Delhi. This entire order was successfully completed and shipped in two parts, April and May 2019.

8.1.2 Faircloth, USA Phoebe Dahl, a designer and the founder of Faircloth, a sustainable and ethical fashion brand in USA, contacted Kumbaya in July 2017, through our friends, Women Weave. Over conversations, drawings, email and WhatsApp, we worked together on creating samples of a women’s half sleeve shirt and a drop crotch pant. These were couriered to her for approval and fittings by August.

In January 2019, Phoebe and her partner Tatyana visited Kumbaya and worked directly with the team on more samples, and also spent time at the bhavans in order to understand Kumbaya’s work and meet the women and men who we work for. Her own brand reflects many of the values that have been the foundation for Kumbaya for many years. Phoebe placed an order worth Rs 2.78 lakhs for her brand. These directly sent to some stores and were also showcased at trade shows. Her brand is an internationally renowned name and fights the good fight for ethical and sustainable fashion.

8.1.3 Sakala, Sussex UK Sakala in Pali and Sanskrit, means whole, entire, a circle. It was indeed through a circle of goodwill that Helen Hitchcock found Kumbaya and we suddenly find our designs in a store in the UK. Vanita Nayak Mukherjee, a friend and well-wisher of Kumbaya right from the beginning, met Helen in Goa and told her about us. Helen is a person who loves India, is the founder of ‘Helping Elsewhere’ that seeks to help people in need in different ways, and also of ‘Sakala’ Steyning, an ethnic lifestyle store in Sussex. Helen stayed with us for a few days in January 2019, visited Satwas and Neemkheda, and ordered her first consignment worth Rs 2 lakhs for her store. So that is how now Kumbaya is available at Sakala, a store situated at 50 Highstreet, Steyning, West Sussex.

8.1.4 Uplift Fairtrade, Blue Mountains, Australia We recently came to know that some of our designs have been available in the Blue Mountains Australia for the past few years! Ms. Anna Dohnt is the founder of Uplift Fairtrade, a shop in Katoomba, a tourist town in the Blue Mountains in Australia. She has been sourcing Kumbaya products from MESH (our retail partner in Delhi) for her store for some years. Kumbaya’s team met with her recently at a visit to MESH, and she was keen to learn more about Kumbaya’s range of products. The first thing we saw was that her personal handbag was a well-worn Kumbaya Square Bag! In a long and productive meeting, we told her our story, showed all our garments, bags and home décor samples and she purchased many of our items as samples for a future order. We are looking forward to hearing from her in this year.

8.1.5 Kumbaya’s Value Proposition to a Designer or Buyer It has taken a long time but finally we are being recognised as a brand and a social enterprise working on ethical, sustainable design that empowers marginalized communities, works on recycling and creating value from waste. All our clients, from the different parts of the world have one thing in common, a dedication to work ethically. Their interest in meeting the producers, and learning the difficult circumstances in which their designs are stitched to reality, makes collaborating a mutually enriching experience. With the growing concern for fair trade and sustainability in today’s fashion industry, more and more designers make a

88 conscious choice to have their production process just and humane, and find Kumbaya perfectly in alignment with their cause. Today Kumbaya’s expertise in drafting patterns and making prototypes, our craftsmanship in sewing and embroidery, our transparent way of working, our honest pricing and careful quality check systems are strong attributes that designers find reassuring and trustworthy. Our synergy with Women Weave and Kala Swaraj also offers advantages for our clients who source handwoven fabric from these organisations dedicated to weaving communities in the same region, as also the operational ease of our being able to directly communicate with them as and when the specified weaves are ready: easing away a whole challenging step in the entire process for the designer.

8.1.6 Kumbaya’s Learnings from Designers Working with designers from other countries, and within India too, gives the rare and otherwise unimaginable opportunity to our producers, sitting in a village in the middle of a rural Madhya Pradesh, to know more of the world. They get a glimpse of totally different people who want a completely different aesthetic for different weather and ways of dressing; and yet, despite the differences and not knowing the language they realise how simple it is to communicate with warm intention and good wishes. They learn how deeply they are valued and glow in the warm and respectful behaviour shown to each one of them by our unusual guests. It also pushes every department of our team to learn and be perceptive about what people from different cultures need or are concerned about, how they approach details and specifications in design, or measurements, or finishing, or even how something as simple as a shirt or pant can be tweaked in infinite minute variations. An invaluable part of the process of working with international designers is that the team learns an entirely different language of design. Each designer comes with their own art and stylishness, from Lab Visby’s relaxed summer silhouettes for a Swedish countryside with some unisex basics, to Faircloth’s androgynous flair in trousers, shirts and jumpsuits. Working with new people from all over the world also teaches our team invaluable lessons in conducting business, maintaining professional standards and being particular about details and deadlines. Moreover, exports have taught us a whole new set of rules and regulations that make up the logistic of international trade, a new language of accounting, couriers, documentation, paperwork, customs etc.

8.2. Bulk Orders

8.2.1 TRIFED A major boost came from the Rs. 33.82 lakh order that we got from TRIFED this year. Kumbaya’s strategy of taking on bulk orders is primarily to provide stability in employment

89 through the year. However, there are many other positive outcomes and spin-offs, along with a few difficulties as well.

Capacity Building The ability to complete bulk orders for Trifed amounting to thousands of pieces improve efficiency, quality and cost effectiveness. Our assembly line system truly becomes seamless when working on large volumes, enhancing everyone’s capacities and productivity. TRIFED orders play a key role not only in the utilisation of full capacity but also moves Kumbaya towards reaching its potential. For instance the cutting team is able to work at full speed on large quantities of the same style; the quality assurance team has set new protocols for Trifed that have greatly benefitted all of our production; and the packing and inventory management team has learnt to work more efficiently boxing up hundreds of items with care according to different order forms from multiple cities. Guaranteeing employment TRIFED orders keep our bhavans teeming with work for a several months in a year. This has a huge impact on every producer, as it increases their wages, making Kumbaya better able to deliver on its mandate of guaranteeing employment through the year. In part, thanks to TRIFED the total wages paid this financial year 2018-2019 were Rs. 39 lakhs compared to Rs.19.57 lakhs in the previous year - a 100% jump or double!

Kumbaya in Every City Large orders from TRIFED make the Kumbaya brand reach every corner of the country through Tribes India Stores. Our styles have been sent to Jaipur, Delhi, Dehradun, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar and Kolkata, which has helped Kumbaya reach a pan-India presence!

A Challenging Change of Systems Previously, all orders from different cities across the country would go to Bhopal, our regional headquarter. We would then receive a consolidated order from Bhopal and we would have to deliver the entire order as and when different consignments were ready, back to Bhopal; from where the Regional Office was responsible for distribution to Tribes India stores in different states and cities. In the middle of the year, from August 2018, a State based order system was suddenly put into place. While previously we would send the consignments and receive the payment centrally from the Bhopal head office, this new system resulted in us having to hold on to stock for months beyond the financial end of the year without receiving payments until the confusion of who had ordered what from where had cleared at the TRIFED Bhopal. After many conversations with an extremely helpful and supportive Mr. Shekhawat, the Madhya Pradesh Regional Manager, we finally got a list of where to supply the stock. We successfully shipped consignments worth Rs.17 Lakhs to 9 different Regional Offices in April.

However, payments worth 35 lakhs that should have come in by March were delayed until June 2019. As a result, the total Kumbaya sales for the year that could have been over a crore remained at Rs.86 lakhs only.

No Working Capital Even for such large orders Trifed does not pay an advance or provide working capital loans to their suppliers to complete orders. Their recommendation for a loan from Narmada Jhabua Bank at 5% interest also did not work. We have only been able to function and complete these orders because of the long- term relationships of trust we have established with our suppliers of fabric over the years. With payments further delayed indefinitely because of the new system, for the first time in the history of Kumbaya, relationships with different fabric suppliers came under some strain. This experience has urgently opened up the need to seek working capital loans at affordable rates of interest from different debt providers and financiers.

8.2.2 Emerald Heights International School Emerald Heights School, in Indore has placed orders with KPCL twice in the past before, for conference mementos, wallets etc. In December 2018, they placed a large order with Kumbaya for an upcoming international conference in October 2019. Securing such an order has many benefits. An international conference provides Kumbaya valuable branding and visibility. The order, which is worth 12 lakhs, consists of 1500 rucksacks, 1500 lanyards and 1500 file folders, in Kalamkari patchwork. Securing a large order from a school nearby in Indore is a pivotal achievement for Kumbaya. The delivery date for this order is the end of August, 2019.

8.2.3 Asian Heritage, Delhi Asian Heritage Foundation, an organization founded by Rajeev Sethi, works with artisans from across the country to champion the cause of handicraft work. They placed an order with Kumbaya in December, as part of their work with Bagh block printing artisans from Dhar, for multiple garment such as men’s and women’s kurtas, dresses, half kurtas, and bag styles like square bags, potli bags, and wallets. While the order was small, it helped take the conversation forward with Asian Heritage Foundation and establishing Kumbaya as a skill building institution that can aide and train other NGOs as well. Asian Heritage Foundation, reached out to Kumbaya to train 14 of their artisans in the art of basic stitching for an 8-day period in March. Kumbaya also trained 2 additional women from Asha Bhavan (Kolkata) in this training. The trainees were artisans from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh from Madhubani and Jhabua districts. The trainees were taught how to stitch items such as women’ and men’s kurtas and shirts, and bags. They were also taught how to check for quality, and manage assembly line production. The training was a big success. Our producers were best suited as master trainers, attentively and diligently teaching the

91 specifications of each style because they could understand the learning process perfectly having undergone the challenges themselves. There was a lot of positive feedback from all the trainees who felt empowered at the end of the training.

8.3. Our Team

The Gamechangers – Pattern Masters, Quality Assurance and Bhavan Supervisors Kumbaya now has the power to imagine and make any design that we want. We have two Pattern Masters, Vishwanathji and Durgeshji, whose expertise and experience comes from working in the mainstream export-oriented apparel industry for years. After so many years of struggle, the sheer joy of seeing all our design dreams come true is indescribable. They can implement challenging new styles, and have enabled Kumbaya to take on international designers as clients. In this year itself, we have made over fifty new styles, most of which have gone on to become popular new additions to Kumbaya’s repertoire! It is an absolute privilege and fascinating to watch Nandkishoreji, our Master Cutter place a pattern on a print in such a way that the motif or design is perfectly centred and symmetrical, and so a simple kurta becomes a work of art. He makes perfection seem effortless. In this year, because of Nandkishoreji we have not only been able to increase our bulk cutting, but we have also been able to refine the art of cutting to mastery. The first step in ensuring absolute quality is the exact measurements of the cut pieces that make up the garment so that the producer stitching up the pieces cannot go wrong. Earlier it was always a struggle to get this right – invariably there would be the need to trim away excess before stitching, or salvage a print that got cut wrong. Today the piles and bundles of cut pieces are flawless. Along with Nandkishoreji, Kailash Kaka, our most senior member who used to help out at the cutting table, has blossomed as his cutting partner. Together they maintain the entire collection of patterns in such a way that each style and its gradations hang safely and are instantly accessible. One of the biggest tensions sometimes used to be the hunt for a pattern and its parts! Further, Nandkishoreji has taught the art of cutting, layering, placing patterns and using cutting machines two of senior producers from Neemkheda, Basu and Urmila. This process has equipped them with a new skill, and made them an integral part of the Jatashankar production team. This was an extremely crucial step for Kumbaya in self-reliance and the process of empowering women to take control in a largely male-dominated field of master cutters; while simultaneously doubling the productivity of the cutting team! Building on his work from the year before Pavan our Quality Assurance Manager has set up intricate inline and end line systems for quality inspection and trained producers to take on the role of quality checkers. This has ensured that hundreds of pieces produced at all the different bhavans are not only examined minutely for flaws but the producers themselves take ownership for this during production. His uncompromising standards have greatly

92 improved the quality of our work but more importantly, given us trustworthiness, peace of mind and a secure grip on the system - where even in the event of a quality issue, we know exactly where and how it happened by whom and we can block it from reaching the customer. Production Centre Supervisors, Trilok and Vishwapratap are professionals from the apparel industry in Indore, placed at Neemkheda and Satwas bhavans. Their experience at getting things done, ensuring a certain output from each centre, following procedure and total focus, have been critical in enabling the producers to use their time efficiently, make fewer mistakes, produce more and earn more. Supervisors are a critical addition to the team, without whom such large orders, quality, and production on time could not have been achieved. Ultimately the viability of each centre depends on their hard work and skilfulness at managing innumerable variables through the day. Their addition to the team has also freed up dedicated and experienced people like Pushpa Dabral to take on more challenging roles.

Emerging Local Leadership Right from the beginning we have had a clear vision that the leadership of Kumbaya must emerge from this place that we work in. We have been absolutely committed to building the capacities of the people who belong to the area, who live here and feel a part of the larger community of Samaj Pragati Sahayog to take over the running of Kumbaya. In 1995 it was a distant dream. Today it has come true. It has been one of the most difficult things to achieve because it actually means understanding the ‘ten thousand things’ that make Kumbaya. Design, sourcing materials, manufacturing garments, bags, home linen; sustainably, while reducing and reusing waste, building capacities, being just to and caring for producers, delivering products of international specifications and quality to markets, finding resources to keep afloat, all this and more without the support of a professional team. It is one of the most intricate businesses, that demands a high level of skill, perception, focus, interest, stamina, quickness, consistency, precision, and only those who find joy in the everyday task of caring deeply enough about the smallest of things are able to immerse themselves in it.

Leading Operations Pushpa Dabral has been working with Kumbaya for the past 20 years and is in charge of operations. She has been critical to Kumbaya’s growth in innumerable ways, but most of all in her amazing skill at teaching people of disability the art of stitching. Finally, this year we could broaden her role and responsibilities. Her longstanding experience and in-depth knowledge of supervision of the expanding production centres of Kumbaya is now helping the team at Jatashankar perform better. She also coordinates the work at all the 3 bhavans, Neemkheda, Bagli and Satwas, to manage the flow of production. Pushpa didi, is now working on multiple projects simultaneously, some of which include deciding where to send items based on prior knowledge of capacities of each bhavan,

93 training quality checkers and overseeing the trainings held at all Bhavans. She holds an orientation for the new supervisors who have joined Kumbaya on how a bhavan is run. She is an effective communicator, mediating between the producers while working with clients from around the world. It is a dream come true to see a local member of Kumbaya take on a senior position due to her extensive knowledge of process management, understanding the producer’s perspective, and the nitty-gritty details of the back end of Kumbaya’s production.

Leading Kumbaya Producer Company Limited (KPCL) Vikas Vishwakarma leads every aspect of Kumbaya today. He joined Kumbaya only six years ago, as a young boy seeking a job opportunity to support his family. He had just gotten married. He belongs to Bagli, has been educated in Indore and completed his MBA while working at Kumbaya. He is also an artist. In these six years we have watched him struggle in the beginning with invoices and production schedules in Microsoft excel in English, to mastering these very quickly. He taught himself everything, from English, graphic art programmes like Corel Draw and InDesign, how to deal with customers, handle all our client relations and correspondence to each and every part of the business, including accounts, when we did not have an accountant for more than a year, so that work at Kumbaya does not stop. His natural inclination and quick grasp of design enables him to understand the intricacies of the materials, styles, markets and trends while having a complete grounding in the constraints we face as a social enterprise working in a remote rural area. His has been an extraordinary journey in Kumbaya and he stands poised today to take Kumbaya into the future.

Making Satwas Succeed Six years ago Seema Yadav had the rare courage to venture into unknown terrain and set up the Kumbaya Satwas centre from scratch working with SHG members from the most marginalised communities - very poor women who had settled in Satwas having been displaced from their native villages by large infrastructure projects, and Muslim women who were traditionally not permitted to seek work outside their homes. It was one of the most difficult centres to work with in terms of skills, distance, inadequate support from us and yet in the last two years with help from Nighat, Rizwan and the supervisors from the garment industry, the Satwas bhavan, is fast overtaking the others in performance.

Sales and Marketing for KPCL Raashi Raghunath has joined us in September 2018 after completing the Young India Fellowship to assist Nivedita Banerji in her various roles across SPS - Kumbaya, architectural work, and in creating gender-related content for SPS. She is a naturally competent person with many interests, talents and abilities, making her the perfect person to happily take on the innumerable, often unpredictable responsibilities that come up everyday to get things done at Kumbaya.

A major part of her work is in driving sales and creating a marketing plan for Kumbaya’s expansion. She has worked extensively on exhibitions this year, and visited nearly every retail outlet that Kumbaya sells to - Kriti Eco boutique (Pondicherry), Serenity and ANT Craft Store (Bangalore), Maya La Boutique (Mysore) and Gram Bharat (New Delhi) and worked with the store managers to understand the clientele of each store and with the team, suited future consignments according to these findings. She is also working on social media for and on an online store for Kumbaya.

Purchase Officer and Inventory Management Imran Ali and Sunil Makwana began as producers and worked their way up by doing anything and everything that was required, from packing, cutting, sorting, sample making, production training, sample stitching, making patterns, to fabric wash tests, purchases, booking consignments on trucks and trains to handling exhibitions. They are the strong, reliable, multifaceted, hardworking young people on whom the Kumbaya team can completely depend upon to get challenging things done. Today Imran Ali is our Purchase Officer who can magically find a particular buckle in Sadar Bazar Delhi, or locate a dealer for a YKK zippers in Mumbai and an interlining is just a phone call away. He is now well known in the wholesale markets for textile accessories and hardware of Indore and Delhi. Sunil has become Inventory In-charge, particularly of receiving, inspecting, and testing for colour fastness and shrinkage in the thousands of meters of fabric we source in the year. He also is the documenter, the creator of our fabric files that code and record the specifications of each fabric that is bought. Santosh Bhadoriya is our Senior Data Entry Operator who enters the expenses in Tally, maintains stock records of raw material and of finished goods, coordinates with all Kumbaya centres to prepare payment details. He holds the critical repository of all the numbers that tell the Kumbaya story.

8.4. GST Chaos

Some examples of the exacting things we have to do! Retail Store Consignments – Kumbaya sells consignments to 9 retail stores across India, for which GST rules apply. In order to sell to store on a consignment basis, after new GST rules, the unsold stock at the store has to be returned to Kumbaya in six months’ time from the time of delivery of consignment. If this is not followed, this unsold stock, which most stores prefer keeping for up to a year, will be considered as sold, and Kumbaya has to pay tax on the items that have not been sold in under six months. Exhibition Sale – Each time Kumbaya participates in exhibitions organised by other parties like Pause for a Cause, we have to apply for a temporary GST for the respective state

95 in which the exhibition is conducted. The stock selected for the exhibition has to be sold first to the temporary GST number, and during the exhibition, these items will be sold against this GST number. For these sales, taxes have to be paid as well. When the stock returns after the exhibition, the items have to be sold back to our permanent GST number and for this, taxes are to be paid again or have to be adjusted. Return Filling – Earlier in VAT, we had to only file 12 returns per year, one per month, but now there are 24 returns per year; at least 2 tax returns (GST-3B & GST-R1) per month apart from an annual GST-R9.

8.5. Capacity Building and Trainings

8.5.1 Gond Painting Workshop The new financial year started in a very colourful way for Kumbaya as the well- known Gond artists Mr. Rajendra Uikey, Ms. Jayanti Uikey & Ms. Chandrakali Pusham spent fifteen days with Kumbaya in April 2018. The artists developed a new range by painting on Kumbaya products. We arranged workshops for all our artisans to enjoy the pure pleasure of painting. All our producers took part in these workshops and learned the value, mythologies, and techniques of Gond art. Apart from the Kumbaya team we also organized workshops for all SPS members, some of whom took part. We hope that a continued collaboration with these artists provides a channel for creativity and expression and opens up many new products and markets.

8.5.2 Srishti School of Art Design and Technology students’ visit On the 3rd of December, Kumbaya hosted students of Srishti School of Art Design and Technology at the Neemkheda bhavan as part of their visit to Samaj Pragati Sahayog. Approximately 20 students interacted with the producers at the bhavan, learned of Kumbaya’s history and tried their hand at using sewing machines to stitch a patchwork Jhola Bag. The activity was greatly appreciated, as we were told during a feedback session, as it gave them a chance to learn through application and they reported a newfound appreciation for garment production.

8.5.3 Jamia Milia Islamia students’ visit 50 students from the Department of Social Work from Jamia Milia Islamia visited Kumbaya’s Neemkheda bhavan as part of their Rural Camp at Samaj Pragati Sahayog on the 19th of December. We aimed to provide a comprehensive insight into the workings of a social enterprise like Kumbaya. The students had many questions regarding the production operations followed, the agency of the producers etc.

8.5.4 Internship visit by Laure D’Harcourt During the month of February, we had an intern from France. Laure was a foreign exchange student from Paris studying business at IIM Indore, and wanted to work at Kumbaya for her internship. She analysed data regarding our cost coverage in various operations, like cutting, and explored what a living wage should be for producers that covers their expenditures. She also happily helped in the day to day activities of Kumbaya like packing consignments and checking inventory. 8.6. Media Coverage

Fibre2Fashion Interview After a chance meeting with a journalist on a plane, Kumbaya’s founder Nivedita Banerji gave an interview to the popular magazine Fibre2Fashion Magazine. This was a wonderful opportunity for Kumbaya, as the 3-page interview covered the journey, its achievements and its values. Article in Dainik Bhaskar After a visit from reporters from Dainik Bhaskar, Dewas, a rich report in Hindi was published in the newspaper about Kumbaya’s history, its outreach and the kind of products we make. We are grateful for all this media attention that Kumbaya has received in this year!

8.6. New Styles A total of 35 new styles were incorporated in our collection this year: Table 8.1: New Designs in 2018-19 April-June July-September October-December January-March Kumbaya CJ Kimono Blazers for women Dress Swing New Bathrobe Top Sleeveless Reversible

Kumbaya CJ Artisan Cushion Covers for Dress Swing Cap Hakoba Straight Tunic Sukriti Kajaria Sleeve Reversible Trouser

Kumbaya CJ Strappy Smocked Strappy Lavisby Bucket Bags Hosiery Line: Top Cross Back Dress hosiery T-shirt and dress Kumbaya CJ Phoebe Drop Crotch Boat Neck Top Full Ladies Shirt Dress Fisherman Pant Pant Sleeve Reversible (Front and Back)

Kumbaya CJ Box Phoebe Button Down Wallet with flower Top with Pleats and Shirt pattern maintained Belt across different segments Kumbaya CJ Skirt Satya Halter Turkish Trouser Belt Box Pleats Long Backless Top Skirt (Long and Short) Kumbaya CJ Skirt Kanika Kimono

Balloon Kumbaya CJ Square Kanika Tunic Box Top Kumbaya CJ Shirt Kanika Panel Dress Half Sleeve Kumbaya CJ Trouser Elastic Laptop Sleeve for Gramantara

Kumbaya CJ Jacket Wallets with Gond Paintings Square Bags with Gond Paintings Godri Work Stoles Total: 14 Total: 11 Total: 6 Total: 4

8.7. Performance Indicators from the year 2018-19 Table 8.2: Sales from Retail Stores in 2018-19

Sales from Retail Stores Percentage of Total Organization Sales Amount Store Sales TRIFED, Bhopal Rs 14.61 lakhs 23.04% Maya La Boutique (Kraftwork), Mysore, Rs 8.28 lakhs 13.06% Karnataka Trifed RO, Chandigarh, Haryana Rs 7.98 lakhs 12.58% SPS Neemkheda Campus and Jatashankar Head Office, Madhya Rs 7.06 lakhs 11.13% Pradesh Trifed RO, Guwahati Rs 5.63 lakhs 8.88% Faircloth Supply, USA Rs 2.78 lakhs 4.38% Labvisby, Sweden - 62156 Rs 2.67 lakhs 4.21% Kriti Eco Boutique, Pondicherry Rs 2.27 lakhs 3.58% Trifed RO, Delhi Rs 2.2 lakhs 3.47%

Sakala C/o Helen Hitchcock, UK Rs 2.09 lakhs 3.30%

Trifed RO, Ranchi Rs 1.7 lakhs 2.68%

The Ants Craft Pvt. Ltd. Bengaluru Rs 1.46 lakhs 2.30%

Serenity, Bangalore Rs 1.08 lakhs 1.70% M/S Believe India, Gram Bharat New Rs 0.75 lakhs 1.18% Delhi The Emerald Heights International Rs 0.74 lakhs 1.17% School, Indore

Sasha Association Kolkata Rs 0.58 lakhs 0.91% Jaivik Setu Indore Rs 0.55 lakhs 0.87% Mesh, Local Shopping Centre, New Rs 0.42 lakhs 0.66% Delhi

Ginger Sparrow, Bangalore Rs 0.31 lakhs 0.49%

Cocoka, Gita Travels & Tours, New Rs 0.13 lakhs 0.21% Delhi

Asian Heritage Foundation, New Delhi Rs 0.12 lakhs 0.19%

Total Rs 63.41 lakhs 100%

Table 8.3: List of exhibitions that Kumbaya participated in

Sales from Exhibitions Sales Per day No. Percentage Amount sale Name and Location Dates of of Total (in Rs. rate Days Sales Lakhs) (in Rs.) Trifed Delhi Exhibition 16th to 30th November 2018 15 8.44 36.55% 56267 Zee Jaipur Exhibition 24th to 28th January 2019 5 3.25 14.08% 65000 Trifed Pondicherry 1st to 10th March 2019 10 3.13 13.56% Exhibition 31300 PFAC Bangalore Exhibition 30th to 31st January 2019 2 1.26 5.46% 63000 NGO Expo, Mumbai 22nd to 23rd May 2018 2 0.9 3.90% Exhibition 45000 PFAC Gurgaon Exhibition 11th to 12th October 2018 2 0.88 3.81% 44000 Trifed Indore Exhibition 12th to 21st October 2018 10 0.84 3.64% 8400 PFAC Chennai Exhibition 22nd to 23rd February 2019 2 0.81 3.51% 40500 Trifed Goa Exhibition 15th to 24th March 2019 3 0.79 3.42% 26333 PFAC Bangalore Exhibition 21st & 22nd June 2018 2 0.77 3.33% 38500 Chinmaya Sewa Trust Delhi 6th to 8th December 2018 3 0.62 2.69% Exhibition 20667 Gram Bharat Exhibition, 13th to 14th October 2018 2 0.61 2.64% Delhi 30500 Trifed Bhopal Exhibition 16th to 30th December 2018 15 0.47 2.04% 3133 Trifed Bhopal Exhibition 1st to 8th August 2018 8 0.32 1.39% 4000 Total 23.09 26.69%

Sales in 2018 – 2019 were only Rs. 86.50 lakhs. They could have been over a crore but for the consignments that TRIFED did not pick up in this financial year.

8.8. Exhibitions in the year 2018-19

8.8.1 TRIFED This year has been dotted generously with TRIFED Exhibitions in Bhopal, Indore, Delhi, Pondicherry and Goa! These exhibitions are huge learning experiences for our producers, some of whom step out of their villages for the first time, to participate in 10-day long exhibitions, meeting customers from around the world, eating new cuisines and traveling on escalators and metros! In August, we received a last-minute invitation for a Bhopal exhibition, but we were quick to respond and put together a team and a large consignment. Exhibitions are often announced very late, posing the team with several challenges. The first challenge is that suddenly this hinders all other commitments and immediate work, such as consignments to be sent to stores, design work etc. Secondly, we do not have much of a choice, TRIFED decides who attends the bigger exhibitions, based on who attended the smaller ones. So, we have to show our presence for most exhibitions, putting aside all else as we spend resources on exhibitions where it is difficult to break even. 8.8.2 Pause for a Cause Another great contributor to our exhibitions this year was Pause for a Cause: 4 exhibitions, in 3 metro cities-Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai! These exhibitions are short, provide a very small, expensive exhibiting space, but are power packed and provide high per day returns. We also meet a different clientele which provides a very different experience of marketing and branding.

Challenges during Exhibitions While exhibitions are an invigorating experience, they’re not all fun and games, and we’ve had some challenges thrown in our way this year with some of our best exhibitions. In January, the Jaipur Literature Festival 2019 began with a major setback-rain on an open exhibiting space! Once again, our team hastened to protect lakhs worth of stock. And at the beginning of a very promising exhibition in Goa, the team was alerted at midnight to an early pack-up, due to the untimely demise of the Goa CM Manohar Parrikar, leading to state-wide mourning and the shutting down of an exhibition that had only just begun! All these challenges definitely have taught the team new lessons, to prepare Kumbaya for even more exhibitions in the future!

8.9. Indicators of training, production, and Kumbaya’s SHGs

Table 8.4: Details of Trainings and Production for 2018-19 Training and Production 2017-18 2018-19 1 Total Number of Producers Working at 3 Production 92 101 Centres (and Jatashankar)

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2 Number of New Producers Who Joined in this Financial 34 40 Year at 3 production Centres 3 Trainees in this Financial Year at 3 Production Centres 70 88 4 Pieces Produced at 3 Production Centres 14000 20,000 5 Number of Patches from fabric waste produced at 3 3000 7288 Production Centres 6 Value of Patchwork Products Made Out of Waste Rs. 5.04 Lakhs Rs. 5.88 Lakhs 7 Value of Patchwork Products Sold this Financial Year Rs 3.50 Lakhs Rs. 4.42 Lakhs 8 Value of Fabric Purchased this Financial Year Rs. 40.20 Lakhs Rs. 34.31 Lakhs 9 Value of Honey Purchased this Financial Year Rs. 0.59 Lakhs Rs. 3.80 Lakhs 10 Total Wages Paid to Producers this Financial Year Rs. 19.57 Lakhs Rs.39.02 Lakhs

Table 8.5: Data from Kumbaya SHGs in 2018-19 Neemkheda Bagli Satwas Total Name of SHG Kumbaya Kumbaya KPCL- Pehchaan Pehchaan 5 groups Group Pragati Pragati Pragati -1 -2 Samuh-1 Samuh-2 Samuh Total Members 12 11 18 12 15 68 Savings per month 400 400 400 400 400 400 in INR Total Savings in 42438 45151 46137 55626 50196 2,39,548 INR Loans distributed in 0 0 37075 0 0 37,075 INR Total Corpus 0 0 0 0 0 0

8.10. Plans for the Future

8.10.1 Maheshwar Kumbaya Store and Weaving Centre One of the milestones we hope to achieve while expanding Kumbaya Producer Company Limited is to work with women weavers and have a presence of the company in Maheshwar. Nivedita Banerji with Sunita Verma, who has been working with Kumbaya from the Maheshwar location for the past year to set systems in place for the project, are working towards the next stage of the Maheshwar Weaving Centre. This was the result of conversations over the years with the Maheshwar SHG weaver members who want to be self- reliant and not depend on master weavers and traders for wage work. On the 29th of August 2018, a location for a Kumbaya retail outlet at Maheshwar was confirmed, and in October, a loom was rented for weaving sample fabric. We are currently working on making a weaving grid blanket with a variety of colours and gradients in its warp and weft. This blanket will aid the process of deciding the colour combinations for yarn dyeing and fabric construction in the future.

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8.10.2 Operation Manuals In the long years of working from a remote area, we have designed systems and methods that have enabled poor women and people of disability to participate in a robust social enterprise, in the making of a brand and in founding a producer company called Kumbaya. In the last two years these systems have become stronger and better with the help of our new team members who have long experience in working with the garment industry in Indore. A new initiative that we wish to take up is the writing of operation manual for different procedures which will provide detailed information about the flow of work, the process and responsibilities, and the protocols to achieve these that must be followed in Kumbaya. The purpose of the manual is to create a written record of the standards that Kumbaya mandates, and to help streamline activities. We also hope it will benefit newcomers to easily grasp concepts, terminology, and procedures to be followed. This project will be undertaken by Raashi Raghunath, under the guidance of Nivedita Banerji and the Kumbaya team offering role specific-inputs.

8.10.3 Online Store In today’s day, the demand for an online store for Kumbaya is constantly increasing. The advantages of creating an online store for Kumbaya are many: greater outreach, quickening the sales process, establishing a greater online presence, and appealing to new customers. Due to Kumbaya working in a geographically remote area, an online store will help us reach out to more people across the country, and possibly other countries. Apart from the speed and volume of sales, we also hope that having an online store will be a direct way to conduct sales, in comparison to expenditure-intensive exhibitions; and create a consumer feedback forum where we can enhance the customer’s experience of shopping at Kumbaya. Fortunately, Kumbaya’s existing website has the option of adding an online store to its platform. We are also planning to utilize our extensive outreach on social media platforms on Facebook and Instagram, to conduct sales through the e-commerce options they offer. In the upcoming year, we hope to have a functional online store.

8.10.4 Kumbaya Film In the upcoming year, an exciting project that will be completed will be the film on Kumbaya that is being done with the help of the SPS Community Media Team. The team has been involved in writing the script, visualising and shooting sequences. Showcasing all the intricate details that make Kumbaya - the people, their bhavans, their products, has been an exciting process. Photoshoots took place for the new designs that have been produced for our summer collection. Shooting of these photoshoots for the film also took place. Many archival photos were unearthed for the film. The film is now in post-production and we are looking forward to seeing the final cut.

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8.10.5 Extension work in Neemkheda Bhavan Neemkheda Bhavan has been a crucial part of Kumbaya’s history since its inception. Now, as the most important and longest standing bhavan of Kumbaya Producer Company Limited, there has been a need to expand its capacities, and make room for more producers. This is why, major construction plans are underway at Neemkheda Bhavan. In October, a new wing was added to the Bhavan, to accommodate the growing number of producers and trainees. This wing, previously an open space, now allows more trainees to work, with additional space for production preparation. In addition, more space at the end of the building will be converted into an extra bathroom for the producers. This space will also have a kitchenette area, where tea, snacks and other refreshments can be stored and accessed.

8.10.6 Collaboration with Badlav Samiti, Indore: On the 23rd of February, Nivedita Banerji and Vikas Vishwakarma visited the LGBTQ rights advocacy NGO, Badlav Samiti. The organization works with members of the LGBTQ community, and was eager to collaborate with Kumbaya for vocational training. In the coming year 2019-20, we are hoping this collaboration will evolve into workshops with our team at Kumbaya, to talk about gender and identity, to sensitize our teams about the myriad of communities living among us. We hope to provide trainings for the members of the NGO for basic stitching skill-building that could evolve in the future into another production centre working in partnership with Kumbaya.

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9. SPS COMMUNITY MEDIA

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9.1 SPS Community Media SPS Community Media is a fulltime in-house media unit, articulating all SPS endeavours, translating ideas, practices and knowledge into films in a dynamic, interactive process in partnership with the community. SPS Community Media has so far produced nearly 250 films – social documentaries; community videos and training films on watershed managements, sustainable agriculture, nature-based livelihoods, women’s empowerment, health, environment, etc. SPS has initiated local youth in filmmaking, empowering them in articulating concerns through the language of cinema. The significance of the media unit is that these films are primarily made for the village audience taking the best practices to the people, sharing experiences and new ideas. This year, SPS Community has diversified the content creation to producing a weekly e-magazine which is internally circulated amongst team SPS and the SHG members.

9.1.1 Film Production

This year SPS Community Media produced the following 8 films:

Table 9.1: Details of Films Produced in 2018-19 S. No. Title and Filmmaker Month Brief

1. Short Film on ACWADAM works countrywide “ACWADAM” to change the mindset of the Pinky Bharma June people towards the most Choudhury and Shobhit exploited commons of our time – Jain groundwater. 2. The children of Jatashankar “Ek Din Banenge village lead a campaign to Number One” July manage the toxic waste that Aajad Singh Khichi engulfs the entire village every year during the shivaratri mela. 3. A film on community groundwater sharing. Kaliratdi a remote village near Kantaphod has been facing a huge water “Kaliratdi Gaon ke crisis. The natural geology is logo ki Samudaik such that shallow dug-wells do Pahal” September not bear water and the possibility Rabindra Kumar Barik of bore-wells is also limited to few locations in the village. Not everyone can afford to gamble on drilling bore-wells, even those who have them are not able to

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afford a submersible pump or a pipeline to irrigate their land. The SPS Participatory Ground Water (PGWM) team and Kantaphod Pragati Samiti (KPS) SHG federation brings the village together to share the water from the few bore-wells with farmers who do not have access to water. 4. Malnutrition is a very serious problem in our area. There are many misconceptions surrounding malnutrition in the community. This film presents the endeavour of the Health & Nutrition (H&N) program team “Buniyad” of SPS constantly trying to change this belief. While Laxminarayan Devda, following the work of the team, Akash Basumatari, October the film brings out important Pradeep Lekhwar understanding regarding the severity, identification and reasons of malnutrition. It also portrays the challenges faced by the H&N team every day in pursuit of sending the severely acute malnourished children to Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRC). 5. Mira Bai from Ratatalai village has been practicing non-pesticide management (NPM) farming for the past three years. She believes that chemical farming is expensive and extremely harmful “NPM Chana” for the soil health. She collects Aajad Singh Khichi November local and easily available leaves and makes bio pest repellents for her crops. This repels the pest that attacks grams and at the same time reduces the input cost in her farm. She has been setting an example in her village and has been endorsing non-chemical farming to other people in the

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nearby areas.

6. “Jaadui Jungle Experiencing the enchanting life (Magical Forest)” in the forest through the children and then there is the stark reality Archana Chandrasekhar of forest fire. 7. Through the work of ACWADAM, an NGO working on generating knowledge of hydrogeology for participatory “The Aquifer Maze” groundwater management, The Pinky Bharma Aquifer Maze brings out the story Choudhary & Shobhit of groundwater situation in the Jain whole of India – the complex derivatives of the combination of

demand, supply and availability of groundwater resources in different terrains across the country. 8. Devnaliya village is situated on black rock, which is very compact and therefore does not allow ground water storage. March Wells and bore wells do not store much water. The community faces water scarcity right after the monsoons, even drinking water have to be fetched from kilometres away. The women Participatory from the Self-Help Groups Groundwater (SHG)s brought this up in the Management SHG cluster meetings which got the Participatory Groundwater Laxminarayan Devda Management (PGWM) team into action. The team formed a water user group of 18 farmers and arranged water by setting up a pipeline from Mahigaon Dam 3-4 km away. An agreement has been put in place for the smooth functioning of a water sharing system. The farmers have agreed to not dig new wells and bore wells for the next 25 years, grow less water intensive crops and shift to non-pesticide

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management (NPM) farming.

9.1.2 E-Magazine: Food Diaries - Maousami Khajana SPS Community Media has started a weekly e-magazine on seasonal food called “Food Diaries – Maousami Khazana”. The idea behind the series is to document as well as expand our understanding of the seasonal food and their values – seasonal food that are grown in and around the area, food that are ecologically sustainable. Each issue is a story of one food item of the season, flavoured with recipes, traditional knowledge, nutrition facts and intricate personal stories of experience of the writers around the food. The magazine is circulated internally amongst the members of SPS through emails and other electronic media. The first issue was published in November 2018, so far 22 issues have been circulated.

9.2. Film Festivals “Jowar Gatha” a documentary film directed by Laxminarayan Dewra was the Official Selection at the 11th International Documentary and Short Film Festival, 2018 organized by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy for the Department of Cultural Affairs. Nominated in the Short Documentary film category.

“Nagar aur Paani, Phir Wahi Kahaani” a documentary film directed by Iqbal Hussain, Aajad Singh Khichi being the recipient of Special Jury Award 2018, was part of the CMS Vatavaran touring film in different parts of the country. It was screened in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Darjeeling, Shiliguri, Bangalore and Indore.

SPS Community Media had produced 9 films by independent filmmakers from across the country with special focus in the north-east of India in 2016-17 for Films Division, the premier government documentary funding institute. These films are continuing to be well appreciated in many international film festivals. The following list is the recognition received by the films over the last year:

1. “An Uncertain Winter”, a short documentary by Munmun Dhalaria  Winner of ICIMOD Mountain film Award at KIMFF, Kathmandu, Nepal.  Official Selection, Pakistan International Mountain Film Festival, 2018.

2. “A Can of Fish” a short animation film by Aditi Chitre  Official Selection, Vienna at the Tricky Women 2019 festival, in their festival category 'Work Affairs & Fair Play' on 8th march 2019

3. “Kaktarua” a short fiction film by Moinak Guho

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 Premiered in the esteemed Mumbai International Film Festival, 2018 (MIFF).

4. “The River Story”, a short documentary by Yapangnaro Longkumer  Official Selection, The International Association of Women in Radio & Television (IAWRT) Asian Women’s Film Festival 2019 in New Delhi.  Official Selection, First edition of Guwahati International Documentary, Short and Animation Film Festival (GIDSAFF)

5. “La Mana”, a short documentary by Tarun Bhartiya  Official Selection, 5th Kolkata People’s Film Festival, 2018

6. “Fireflies”, a short documentary by Johnson Rajkumar Festivals:  Official Selection, Frames Film Festival, Mumbai (2018)  Official Selection, National Documentary and Short Film Festival, Thrissur (2018)  Official Selection, Chennai International Short Film Festival (2018)  Official Selection, South Asian Short Film Festival (2018)  Official Selection, Naogoan International Film Festival, Naogoan (2018)  Official Selection, International Film Festival “Cinema and You”, Mariupol, Ukraine  Official Selection, 5th Darbhanga International Film Festival, 2018.  Official Selection, Human Rights Short Film Festival, Dhaka, 2019  Official Selection, Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival, DPIFF 2019 Public Screenings:  St. Joseph's College, Bangalore  St. Xavier's College, Mumbai  Amnesty International India, Bangalore  Mount Carmel College, Bangalore  Kafnu Bangalore

9.3 Documentation of Local Food System All over the world, studies on nutrition are now showing the growing importance of eating food that’s local and seasonal. At the same time there’s an increasing awareness of the harmful effects of pesticides and preservatives in our everyday food that is sourced from the markets. Today, there is a growing recognition of the fact that a person’s health and well- being is centred on eating naturally grown, locally produced, seasonal food as they tend to have the least external inputs. In the light of these trends, the Media team began their project

110 on documenting local food systems to create an archive of the wild & uncultivated edibles which grow naturally in the fields and forests in our area. The process started off with the selection of interns from various domains to be a part of this documentation process. Initial research revealed that a large percentage of the wild green vegetables are eaten within a narrow time-window during the rainy season, which made it extremely important to document them before they grow out of season. Finally, a team of 5 interns started out the project in the month of August. A three-day workshop conducted by renowned nutritionist, Salome Yesudas, along with SPS founder members - Dr. Debashish Banerji and Dr. Mridula Banerji was organised to orient the team in the scientific as well as anthropological aspects of the project. Over the course of two months, the team of interns visited two selected villages and through their interactions with the locals gathered 40-50 samples from various trees, shrubs, herbs and creepers which were then ranked in terms of their availability, taste, medicinal values etc. Elders across the villages vouched for them being nothing less than ‘super-foods’. Ironically, among the youth uncultivated foods are a taboo deemed unfit for consumption as for them they are ‘jungli’. It was observed that a change in people’s mindset, accompanied with forest degradation, pesticide driven farming and a modern market-centric lifestyle which have contributed to these uncultivated foods’ slowly vanishing from a villager’s diet. With the help of Ms. Yesudas, SPS got a chance to present these foods and more at the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad. The team representing SPS included Bhuri Bai Bachania & Tara Bai Kamlesh - from Punjapura Pragati Samiti; Sukhram Baghel from the Agriculture Programme; and Pinky Brahma Choudhury & Archana Chandrashekar the Media team. At the three-day long exhibition in November the team showcased samples of the diverse varieties of seasonal fruits, vegetables, grains, millet, uncultivated edible plants, forest produce, including some ready-to-taste traditional delicacies from our region. There were about 40 items on display, each supported with its scientific name, local names and nutritional facts of the food item.

9.4 Campaigns and Out-Reach

9.4.1 Kanwar Yatra The largest kanwar group in Dewas district Bol Bam Kanwar Yatra Mandal begins its ritualistic walk every monsoon from Dharaji and goes all the way to Mahakal in Ujjain to dispense the sacred water of the Narmada river. This walk routes itself through the forest near Dharaji and Barjhai ghat, a catchment area for the Narmada River and a few of its tributaries, in order to enable the pilgrims to collect water on their way to Ujjain. Since the past three years, Samaj Pragati Sahayog has been engaging in a cleanliness drive to stop the use of plastic in the kanwar yatras. In order to reduce the generation of plastic waste in the areas of Dharaji and Barjhai ghat, SPS has introduced awareness programmes on cleanliness and engaged the people and the pilgrims in it. The organization arranged for film and

111 documentary screenings along with multimedia presentations for the pilgrims of Kanwar Yatra and the members of the Seva Samiti. These screenings presented ideas about waste management and environmental pollution and what measures should be taken in order to reduce them along with suggestions about alternatives to plastic and plastic bags. Multiple meetings between SPS and the members of the Seva Samiti made them take active responsibility and steps towards the reduction of plastic waste and proper waste management procedures. Plastic cups were replaced with paper cups, bowls made out of palash leaves were used for serving fruits and prasad, stainless steel glasses were used for drinking water and proper allocation and usage of waste bins during the walk not only reduced the potentials of plastic waste generation but also ensured organized collection of all the waste generated. The Seva Samiti could thereby achieve a hundred-kilometre stretch (Dharaji to Badod) of Kanwar yatra almost completely devoid of any plastic waste.

9.4.2 Jatashankar Shravan Somvar The historical and religious relevance of Jatashankar temple makes it a major site of attraction for tourists as well as locals. A swarm of devotees come to the temple during the monsoons to offer their prayers to Lord Shiva. There is a rampant use of plastic bags by the devotees who use these bags to bring their offerings. This leads to littering of plastic bags all around the temple making its premises and surrounding polluted. To minimize the use of plastic bags in the temple this year, SPS made arrangements for bamboo baskets during the Shivratri fair and installed waste bins in every corner of the event. In association with the Bagli Municipal Corporation solid wastes generated during the festival was collected and dumped. This attempt for cleanliness led to a ban on the use of plastic in the temple and consequently resulted in a cleaner Shivratri fair. To regularise and further this good practice, bamboo baskets were going to be used for Shravan somvar with the installation of separate dustbins for bio-degradable and non-bio-degradable waste. To actualize this effort of segregating waste, prior to the month of Shravan, the media team of SPS screened a movie – “Ek din banenge number one”, a movie about the efforts towards a cleaner environment during shiv ratri by the Jatashankar Swachhata Samiti. This event happened through mobile cinema at the cluster level across six villages and amongst twelve clusters which has an audience base of about 1200 children. These children eventually took up the cause and went around their localities, families and households campaigning against the use of plastic bags and for the proper use of waste bins. Consequently, during the event, the devotees brought their offerings in cloth bags and recognized the idea of banning plastic in Jatashankar with affirmation. Following the footsteps of the Jatashankar Swachhata Samiti, the Mandir Seva Samiti dismissed the use of plastic cups and used stainless steel glasses for tea instead. Bagli Pragati Samiti came forward with their support for this programme for the successful and smooth implementation of this programme.

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9.4.3 Traverse in the Forest To add to SPS’s initiatives towards protection of the environment, the Media team organized a weekly traverse in the forest in collaboration with the Forest Department and local schools. The aim was to inculcate an understanding of environment and nature-based livelihoods to future generations by engaging with children of the area. During the traverse, the focus was on observation and sharing of experiences about the vegetation and wildlife of the area aided by the officials from the Forest Department and SPS professionals. The past winter saw children from the following schools taking part in the activity:  Jatashankar Middle School, Jatashankar village,walking with them in the Badshah hill, Deri-Bori Forest;  Barjhai Middle School, Barjhai village, walking with them in the SipahiKhodra area in the Barjhaighaat  One Star Public School, Pandutalab village, walking with them in the Bishali- Narsingpura hill in Dongarkheda forest  Pankua Middle School, Pankua village, walking with them from Pankua to Ramgarh hill  Ratatalia Middle School, Ratatalai village, walking with them in the Ratatali forest till the SambriyaKund.  Mansinghpura Middle School, Mansinghpura village, walking with them in the Mansinghpura forest till the Joshi Baba Forest.  Potla Middle School, Potla village, walking with them in the Potla forest till the Kawdiya hill Forest.

9.5. Media Dissemination The films produced by SPS are screened throughout the year within the organization, in different locations and villages, through small portable projectors (Pico projectors) and open air mobile cinema screenings (People’s Mobile Cinema) for large audience. On the average 200 screenings are conducted every month. Screenings are conducted to create awareness among people of different locations under SPS and to spread the work of the organization. They also help in connecting more and more people to the different programmes of SPS. Screenings are also a platform for locations to present their work to as many as 150- 200 people. Discussions are always held afterwards, enabling constructive dialogue between people from the village, beneficiaries, and the SPS programme teams. Films about malnutrition and health during pregnancy are shown to women and girls. These films raise awareness and provide them with information and facts about things they might otherwise ignore. Films that touch upon environmental or social issues like the SPS film on ill-effects of plastic are also shown in schools so that it creates awareness among children who would further go and talk to their family about it.

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9.5.1. People’s Mobile Cinema – open air screening for large audience “Jowar Gatha”: The Agriculture and Health & Nutrition teams together screened “Jowar Gatha” at different villages using the People’s Mobile Cinema. The movie centred around the process of cultivating jowar, its benefits and the rich history and cultural significance it has had among the people of the area, was used to promote its cultivation in the region. It was very well received by the community which could be seen in instances of women joining in chorus as the songs of jowar featured in the film. Many fascinating stories and recipes of jowar also came up in the post-screening discussions. The real success of these screenings was reflected in the fact that almost 20-25 farmers sow jowar in a section of their fields in the villages where the movie was screened. “Buniyaad”: Taking up the subject of the high incidence of malnutrition and its grave consequences, one of the past year’s productions – “Buniyaad” was screened extensively across all the locations where the H&N team is working. With varied ideas and opinions on malnutrition among people of the community, the issue requires a serious dialogue with people and an understanding of the causes, effects and the role of the government’s services in its cure. This was the aim of the mobile cinema screenings that were held. The dialogue established with the people was also a reflection exercise where women discussed the extent of awareness around the incidence of malnutrition in the area, issues of early marriage of their daughters, improper focus on diet and nutrition of the girl child, and inadequate time gap between two children. The movie also depicted how children with severely acute malnutrition can be helped by admitting them to the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) which has been a challenge that the H&N team has been facing. After the screenings, the team has seen a decline in the resistance among parents in admitting their child to the NRC. Due to elections at the state and national level, the Mobile Cinema could not operate in the ‘Model Code of Conduct’ period.

9.5.2. Screenings in small groups SHG - Our SHG team screened ‘Apna Bazar’ in the new locations to initiate and expand our SHG work in new locations like Bhikangaon, Lalkheda and Sanawad. This is a tedious exercise involving continuous engagement with the women from the villages. This process, carried out by our Mitaans (Community Resource Persons), is made easier by screening films in a close knit interaction sessions through hand-held projectors. Our film ‘Apna Bazar’ on bulk purchase of essential household commodities not only helped in not only initiating women to join SHG but strengthened the belief in collective strength of women’s groups. Livestock – Films on livestock management and livestock health was were screened to gain confidence of the people to take up livestock as livelihood options at our new locations of Kannod and Khategaon. Due to lack of appropriate veterinary services in the area, the animal owners are unable to take any action when their cattle, small ruminants or poultry are

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infected by disease. An example of this is that animals are only vaccinated for the disease once they have contacted it. Films highlighting the appropriate livestock management practices and information provided by our trained livestock team helped in connecting with the farmers. Health and Nutrition – The H&N team’s work with adolescent groups in Punjapura, Bagli, Kantaphod, Satwas has been aided by interactive film screenings as well. Understanding the crucial intergenerational link between the girl child and their future children remain one of the key components in development programmes. In India, we have high incidence of undernourished girl children who grow up and become anaemic mothers. Through film screenings, the team has been able to address critical issues such as menstruation and menstrual hygiene, malnutrition and anaemia and disseminate measures that can be taken to avoid health issues. Another contribution that these screening sessions made is providing a platform where girls can speak about their problems to other girls and their mothers. Melghat – With the introduction of the agriculture programme in the Melghat location, there was a pressing need for convincing farmers to shift to an NPM mode of farming. This was a difficult task given that many farmers are accustomed to the conventional mode of farming with indiscriminate use harmful pesticides and ignoring the need to build up soil health using organic materials obtained from the farmyard such as cow dung and urine. To explain and show the contrast between the conventional and NPM mode of farming, 70 screenings were conducted across villages to motivate farmers to join the agriculture programme and move away from chemical-based farming.

Table 9.2: Location-wise Details of Film Screenings in 2018-19

S. Pico Average no. District Location Pico Villages SHGs Cluster Aanganwadi No. Screening of viewers

01 Hatpipliya 3 29 236 21 06 - 3500-3600

02 Bagli 3 50 215 33 02 26 3200- 3300

03 Punjapura 2 21 138 27 07 16 2000-2100 Dewas 04 Kantaphod 5 25 172 21 04 23 2500-2600

05 Satwas 2 27 112 34 06 19 1700-1750

06 Kannod 2 31 182 84 02 - 2700-2800

07 Khategaon 2 21 99 50 - - 1500-1550

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08 Udainagar 6 52 307 55 05 - 4500-4700

09 Barwah 5 34 238 76 01 - 3300-3500

10 Sanawad 2 20 47 25 - - 600-700

11 Khargone Lalkheda 3 27 127 16 02 - 1800-1900

12 Bhikangaon 2 28 130 49 08 - 1900-2000

13 Maheshwar 1 15 68 45 06 - 900-1000

14 Amravati Melghat 3 16 232 45 - - 2700-2800 32000- Grand Total 41 396 2303 581 49 84 33000

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10. NETWORKS AND PARTNERSHIPS

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10.1. National Consortium of CSOs on MGNREGA The National Consortium on MGNREGA is a loosely federated collective of civil society organizations that have come together to try and make MGNREGA a success. The consortium that came into existence in the year 2008 with the initiative of Samaj Pragati Sahayog, is now operational in 11 states of central part of India working with 64 partners stretching over 78 backward districts. The consortium is committed to ensuring that rural livelihoods, particularly for the poorest and disadvantaged segments i.e. women, adivasis, dalits, landless, small and marginal farmers must focus on creating durable livelihood assets like land and water through leveraging NREGA funds. It is built on participatory principles, where an effort is made to involve the people in planning and management in partnership with PRIs and other line departments. The Consortium’s interventions on the ground are centered on three core areas that are fundamental and lie at the base of all the challenges that the rural poor is faced with. Broadly its activities can be said to focus on drought, poverty and distress migration. The consortium seeks to address these issues through: - Drought mitigation through effective management of land and water. - Poverty alleviation through livelihoods skill building - Stemming of distress migration by facilitating livelihood options.

10.1.1. Work Done and its Impact

Organising and mobilizing Wage seekers It was felt by the consortium partners that the first step would have to be organization and mobilization of MGNREGA wage seekers so that they can act as an aware group pressing for entitlements under the Act. Continuous awareness campaign and follow up ensured that the job demand can be created on the ground. This collective also becomes a more effective means to work with the administration. Together 330 wage seekers committees have been formed as on date with a membership of approximately 10,000 wage seekers. The local administration has had a history of discouraging people from applying for work to avoid the responsibility of unmet demand. With increased awareness, people have started applying for work when they need it and have started to demand receipts with proper dates against their application. In case the panchayat functionaries do not accept their work application, the wage seekers are now able to approach the Block for work. There is also a growing confidence in natural resource management (NRM) works as a way to reduce/check distress migration. This has come with an understanding that a strong natural resource base through land and water infrastructure enhances the agriculture productivity. For the success and longevity of the interventions, people’s participation is an essential component. Villagers have to contribute their stake/share (voluntary labour etc.) and feel the ownership of the project.

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Further, the job-seekers committee at the village level have made the effort to create a common forum for a continuous dialogue on MGNREGA and its implementation in the village. This has helped activate the grievance redressal cell and identification of fake job- cards. This has reduced fake enrolment and corruption to a great extent. At the same time, a cadre of volunteers along with jobseekers’ federation identified migrant families which had left their job cards at the panchayat office at the time of their migration. They scrutinized the attendance in the muster role and checked for the duplicate enrolments. The village federation used social map as a tool to identify left-out households, migrant households to put pressure on respective panchayat functionaries for work under MGNREGA. In this process, the job seeker committee could arrest the distress migration to a great extent. The foundation of this work begins with correct enumeration of households and registration of job cards. The lack of proper registration of the household and job seeker has been a major hurdle in making employment guarantee work. Through continuous campaigns our partners have been able to achieve 95% coverage in terms of job card registered given the total households. The following are the statistics for the work of our partners:

Table 10.1: Details of Job Card Generation by Consortium Partners Percentage No. Name of Total Job Name of the Name of the Total of of the cards Organisation Block Households household GPs District coverage covered Niswarth 30 Karal Shivpuri 23922 23188 97% Seva Samiti Gram Sudhar 30 Kusumi Sidhi 21090 20387 97% Samiti Lokshakti 30 Kharsia Raigarh 24637 23188 94% Samiti SATHI-UP 30 Haringtonganj Faizabad 26756 24990 93% Total 120 96405 91753 95%

The community also felt that it must participate in planning and implementation process in an organized manner, both at village level and panchayat level. The jobseekers’ federation at panchayat level took all steps to ensure that the gram sabha meetings were organised regularly. The participation of people has increased tremendously and its improvement could be seen in the conduction of meetings. People have also showed interest in ensuring transparency in the implementation process through social audits. In non-operational Gram Panchayats, the social audit is generally conducted with a handful of close supporters of PRI members and the condition for quorum fulfilled by the panchayat peon collecting the token signatures. Operational Gram Panchayats, in contrast,

120 have seen jobseekers taking active part in the social audit and ensuring a proper verification of the muster rolls with their job cards. The jobseekers committee has taken the MGNREGA programme well towards creating its identity as more than just a public works scheme mired with corruption by building relationships with local administration and other functionaries in the panchayat and creating a widespread awareness among the common mass.

National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) Focussed Micro Plan preparation The consortium partners focused on installation of effective systems at different levels from hamlet/village to gram panchayat and panchayat samiti (block) for proper planning, execution, monitoring and smooth flow of funds. A major thrust of the consortium’s efforts has been to help the gram panchayats to develop treatment plan (land and water) which can be implemented by leveraging MGNREGA funds. NRLM focused micro level planning for all 1890 operational villages with active participation of community and PRI functionaries was carried out. Overall, detailed micro plans worth Rs. 74.68 crores have been prepared by the partners in the concerned panchayats. Of these, projects worth 5.44 crores are in the implementation stage. Rs.3.8 crores have been budgeted for soil and moisture conservation and erosion control measures such as contour bunds, trenches and farm bunds. Rs. 64 crores have been budgeted for water harvesting structures such as percolation and irrigation tanks.

Interface with Government and PRI The partners adopted an approach of systematic and routine meetings between Block functionaries and wage seekers. This interface served as an effective platform for wage seekers for bringing the problems and issues in implementation to the notice of block and district administration. This helped in speeding up the process. Through block level interface meetings between wage seekers and department officials along with PRI functionaries, following issues were raised and most of them are now solved:  Delay in wage payment for more than one month.  Worksite facilities  Tools not provided on worksite  Field assistant not taking proper measurement.  Job cards not updated  Accident compensation not paid  Works not being started though there is a demand

10.1.2. Research, Documentation, Advocacy and Policy Reforms Consortium’s continuous research and analysis of different aspects of MGNREGA provides feedback to the Rural Development Department, Government of India in particular

121 and other civil society organization as well. As on date, the consortium has conducted 4 major studies on operationalization of NREGA and its impact on sustainable rural livelihoods, distress migration and climate change. It also drafted two annual reports of MGNREGA in the year 2009 and 2011, showing how MGNREGA implementation could be improved if GPs were provided the requisite support. The reports also made several recommendations for policy level changes. Further, it made two documentary films titled ‘The Road Back Home” and “Nari Sangha”. The first film explained how MGNREGA was instrumental in reducing distress migration in Western Odisha, whereas the second film highlighted how women can come together to take over the leadership in the implementation of MGNREGA. Further, the Consortium has developed around 120 successful case studies with an intention to inform policy and the general public that MGNREGA is the only flagship program of Government of India which directly helps to build sustainable rural livelihoods by creating durable assets both at individual and community level. As an outcome, the operational guideline of MGNREGA implementation has been modified in the year 2013 and the provision of Cluster Facilitation Team CFT has been introduced and implemented at the block level to make MGNREGA effective and a success.

10.2. Water Practitioners’ Network The Water Practitioners Network (WPN) is a grassroots initiative to promote the adoption of a paradigm shift in water management among water practitioners including water users, civil society organisations, researchers, institutions and policy makers. It provides a knowledge-sharing platform through the identification of a range of best practices and proofs of concept which would facilitate such a paradigm shift in the management of water resources in India. The vision of WPN is to bring together the wisdom of a wide range of water practitioners across the country on crucial issues like demand management, water quality and groundwater protection. The network of practitioners put together form a huge repository of valuable experience of working on the theme of water as a common good. Hence, within the group of water practitioners, there is the immense possibility of cross-learning, which the network aims to facilitate. Consolidation of experiences would help various constituents of the network to think in terms of expanding and scaling up their efforts, individually and collectively.

10.2.1. Setting Up of Advisory Group In early August, the Advisory Group of WPN was set up and its first meeting was held in the HUF regional office in Delhi. The Advisory group had come together to arrive at a collective understanding of the water crisis and to forge an informed road map for WPN. The group constituted of the following members:

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Table 10.2: List of members of WPN Advisory Group Name of Member Name of Partner Organisation Shri Badrish Singh-Mehra CHIRAG, Sitla, Uttarakhand Dr. Debashish Sen People’s Science Institute, Dehradun, Uttarakhand Shri Sachin Oza Development Support Centre, Ahmedabad, Gujarat Smt Nivedita Banerji Samaj Pragati Sahayog, Bagli, Madhya Pradesh Dr. Yogesh Jadeja Arid Communities and Technologies, Bhuj, Kutch, Gujarat Dr. Sunderrajan Krishnan INREM Foundation, Anand, Gujarat

10.2.2. Communications and Outreach Over the past one year (2018-2019), WPN forged new partnerships with Himmothan Society in the north, Green Hub in the north-east and Centre for People’s Collective in Central India. We now have partnerships with 23 organisations across the country working on water management. WPN has planned extensive documentation for understanding the work and techniques of practitioners, through which we can generate evidence for the potential of an eco-system perspective on water. The WPN website was formally launched at the Advisory Group meeting (http://waterpractitioners.org). It is a unique platform for water practitioners, academicians, researchers, students etc. where one can get useful information on some of the best practices on water conservation by linking them to relevant organizations and persons. Over the past year, we have visited 17 NGO partners across the country, working on water for the past several years. Through our travel and interactions with various groups, we have developed several stories from practitioners’ sites which are being published on the website. To ensure maximum readership, the articles are circulated to the entire network via email as well. These stories have been republished on significant platforms like The India Water Portal. This has greatly contributed to our online membership which is growing significantly day by day.

10.2.3. Second Annual Partners’ Meet (26-27 October 2018) The Second Partners meeting of WPN on the Demand Management in the Agriculture was held at the Foundation of Ecological Security (FES) campus in Anand, Gujrat. Organised in late October, 30 participants from 15 organizations came together to share their experiences on Water Demand management, Crop Water Budgeting tool, techniques, CLART and Agriculture software.

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10.2.4. Workshop on the Application of Remote Sensing and GIS for Natural Resource Management (21-22 February 2019) The use and applicability of spatial data has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years, yet there lies a huge scope in leveraging this technology in Natural Resource Management. With this vision, WPN hosted a two-day national level capacity building workshop on “the Concept and Application of Remote Sensing and GIS for the Natural Resource Management” to help practitioners plan their work better. The event at the Baba Amte Center for People’s Empowerment, Neemkheda, Madhya Pradesh. The purpose of the event was to transfer the digital mapping skills and empower water practitioners as well as other professionals working in the field of natural resource management. The course also attempted to introduce the participants with recent developments and features of digital mapping that could be incorporated in their area of work. This program was being conducted jointly by Society for Promotion of Wasteland Development (SPWD), Udaipur and Samaj Pragati Sahayog (SPS), Bagli.

10.3. Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network (RRAN) SPS has been part of RRAN since its inception in 2009. Through interface with various state governments and central government ministries and departments, RRAN has been able to move the agenda of increased public investments in rainfed agriculture. With an attempt to pool together the accumulated learning of policy related work of the previous decade. RRAN organised a three-day convention at India International Centre in February 2018. Being a member of the network, SPS played an active role in several sessions of the RRAN Convention. Dr. Mihir Shah, Secretary, SPS, gave a public address at the Valedictory function of the Convention. The main theme of his address was that in order to bring in a paradigm shift in water, a fundamental shift in agriculture as a whole and rainfed agriculture in particular is necessary. Increased public investments and people-centred planning concentrating on neglected regions and crops can bring about a breakthrough in Indian agriculture, taking it along a path of long-term sustainability. Several other members of SPS, including community leaders, participated in the individual sessions on water, livestock, agricultural markets and millets promotion. The lessons harvested by the convention is being put together into a publication which shows the way forward in rainfed agriculture in India.

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