vss_final

VILLAGE STUDY SEGMENT (MRM 2008-10)

VILLAGE REPORT

VILLAGE: GHATAKA PADLIYA AND KESARPURA DISTRICT: DUNGARPUR

STATE: RAJASTHAN

HOST ORGANISATION: Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)

SUBMITTED BY: VIKAS RANA (8201040)

RAMAN SHARMA (8201025) VIKRAM SINGH (8201041)

SANDEEP KUMAR (8201075)

School of Rural Management

Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India

2009

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Acknowledgement

Our fieldwork Segment provided us with an opportunity to stay in the villages of Dungarpur

District in Rajsthan. It provided scope for us to achieve vast range of experience and huge

exposure to a different culture and society. This improved our insight into the day-to-day

activities of the village life and increased our understanding about the ground realities of rural

life. This stay gave us confidence that we can adjust and adapt in any situation of life.

At the commencement we are grateful to Prof. L. K. Vaswani who showed the direction for our

study on different aspects of Village Study Segment. We also thank Dr.V.Venkatakrishnan, our

Village Study Segment coordinator as well as our VSS guide Prof. Soumya Mishra for providing

us an opportunity to learn about the rural life and rural society. They guided us on our survey and

methodology during our village stay by personally visiting us and clarifying our doubts.

We also thank Prof.AVR Acharyulu for giving valuable information about rural life. We are

grateful to Prof.Jyotirmayee Acharaya, Prof. Rajshree Bedmata, Prof. Sanjit Das and Prof. Rabi

Narayan Subudhi who guided us and took the pain of briefing about the difficulties and

amenities prevailing in the village.

We also thank the members of SEWA for providing us the support, guidance and facilitating our

stay in the village by sparing some time from their busy schedule to apprise us about rural life.

We thank all the villagers of Kesarpura and Gataka Padaliya village who co-operated us heartily

and made our stay successful.

In last we would like to thank all who helped us in achieving our goal directly or indirectly.

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Table of Contents

1. Background……………………………………………………………… 1 2. Objectives………………………………………………………………... 2 3. Source of data…………………………………………………………… 3 4. Research methods……………………………………………………..... 4 5. Geography and social structure……………………………………….. 5 6. Weather and seasonality………………………………………………. 13 7. Natural resources………………………………………………………. 14 8. Infrastructure…………………………………………………………... 17 9. Local economy………………………………………………………….. 23 10. Consumption…………………………………………………………… 31 11. Political and governance system………………………………………. 34 12. Local community based organizations………………………………... 37 13. Relationship with other communities and wider societies…………… 39 14. Village development plan………………………………………………. 40 15. Conclusion………………………………………………………………. 44

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List of Abbreviations

1. MRM- MBA in Rural Management 2. VSS- Village Study Segment 3. NREGS- National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 4. FMR- Female- Male Ratio 5. PMGSY- Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana 6. RGGVY- Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana 7. HRD- Human Resource Department 8. MDM- Mid Day Meal 9. PHC- Public Health Centre 10. APL- Above Poverty Line 11. BPL- Below Poverty Line 12. SHGs- Self Help Groups 13. GP- Gram Panchayat 14. PS- Panchayat Samiti 15. ZP- Zila Parishad 16. CBO’s- Community based Organizations 17. PEDO- People’s Education and Development Organization 18. SEWA- Self Employed Women’s Association 19. HYV’s- High Yielding Varieties

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1. Background

Village Study Segment forms an inherent part of the MRM programme at KIIT

School of Rural Management (KSRM). The segment requires us to undertake an

uninterrupted stay at the village for almost ten weeks.

We had the opportunity of working with the tribal community of Dungarpur for a

span of about nine weeks and at the same time sharing their social and cultural traditions.

Moreover we also got an insight into the political and economic aspect of their lives.

The village study was done under the rich guidance of our host organisation, Self

Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). We were allotted two villages for detailed village

study i.e. Ghataka Padliya and Kesarpura. We stayed at Dungarpur town because our host

organization didn’t allow us to stay in village. The reasons for this are many but two major

reasons are that there is shortage of water in this area and secondly, the rate of migration

among men is quiet high.

Our report is the outcome of personal experience, research and extension activities

during our village study segment.

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2. Objectives

The objectives of the detailed village study are:

• To get exposure and understanding of the rural environment and the socio- cultural

aspects of the rural life.

• To develop a holistic understanding of rural livelihood and to get an insight on the

lives of the villagers through selected case studies about their livelihood.

• To understand the status of women, their contribution and the role they play in

developing rural entrepreneurship.

• To experience and understand the actual rural scenario after having classroom

sessions.

• To understand with the organization's (SEWA) functioning in the rural areas.

• Identify the problems confronted by villagers, their aspirations, hope and their vision

about future.

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3. Source of Data

In order to conduct any comprehensive and meaningful study the basic requirement is

of accurate and reliable data. In the case of any village the problems with the first hand

information collected i.e. the primary data are of the ignorance of the villagers with regard to

the actual figures and at times manipulations of the data in the hope of getting benefiting by

some government schemes. Thus, the need for the cross checking of the data obtained from

various primary sources arises. In our study we have collected data from both these sources in

order to meet the true purpose of our study.

3.1 Primary Sources

• Unstructured and semi-structured interviews

• Focus group discussions

• Informal group discussions

• Questionnaires

• Case studies

• Field visits

3.2 Secondary Sources

• Records of taluka panchayat

• SEWA

• Anganwadi

• Schools

• Self help groups (SHGs)

• Internet

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4. Research Methods

4.1 Rapport Building

We took interest in their day to day activities and we tried to give an impression that we have

come to that village to learn from them. This helped us in taking out their apprehensions and

anxieties as regard to the purpose of our visit.

4.2 Baseline Survey

Under this method we moved around the village trying to get information about the general

micro realities of the village by observing and having informal chats with villagers. This

helped us later in the comparison and the validation of the data we got from the PRA

methods.

4.3 Participatory Rural Appraisal Methods

The PRA tools employed were Time line, Resource map, Social map, Chapatti diagram,

Seasonal diagram etc.

Limitations

• The villagers were quite hesitant to reveal the exact data about the land, the produce

and real income etc. They feared that the data could be used against them at any point

of time.

• One of the primary limitations during the study was that there was a busy schedule for

villagers. The reason was that the NREGS work was in its full swing. So it is not

possible to spare much time with us for discussion. At this moment there is no other

option except going to their site and discussing with them while working.

• During our initial days in the village most of the respondents were not assured about

the purpose of the study and so they may have concealed the correct information.

• There was no accommodation available in the village for us. So we had to stay at

Dungarpur town. So we were not able to discuss with villagers in the evening time

which was free time for villagers.

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5. Geography and Social Structure

5.1 Location and access

The village Ghataka Padliya is located in Sagwada Tehsil of Dungarpur District, 43 Kms

from Dungarpur town whereas village Kesarpura is located in Dungarpur Tehsil of

Dungarpur District, 16 Kms from Dungarpur town. Dungarpur town is located 180 Kms from

Ahmadabad (Gujarat).

5.2. History

The village Ghataka Padliya has a very interesting history. The village was more than 200

years old. The village was started with only 5 families. Initially, the people use to consume

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forest products only but later on they got their land levelled for practicing agriculture. The

King of Dungarpur opposed for the establishment of the village, but the families forcefully

established the village. Later on, during the formation of governing body, a common

panchayat was formed for Village Gata ka gaon and Ghataka Padliya. Since then there is

common Panchayat for both the villages consisting of 7 members.

The village kesarpura is 90 years old. The Village is inhabited by tribal settlers. Initially, the

village was started with only 7 families. There was no agriculture at that time. The reason for

no agriculture was due to lack of water and awareness. Till now most of the population of the

village is available for migrant labour but this tendency of migration is decreasing due to

intervention by different institution and SEWA is one of them.

5.3. Demography

5.3.1 Population

The census data about the demographic details of the Villages Ghataka Padliya and

Kesarpura are as follows:

The survey of the Ghataka Padliya village gives following details:-

• Total Population – 1074

• Male Population – 514

• Female Population – 560

• Children ( 0-5) - 135

• Female-Male Ratio – 1089

• Total Households – 148

• Average Household Size ~ 6-7 approx

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The survey of the Kesarpura village gives following details:-

• Total Population – 843

• Male Population – 408

• Female Population – 435

• Children ( 0-5) - 116

• Female-Male Ratio – 1066

• Total Households – 125

• Average Household Size ~ 5-6 approx

5.3.2. Caste Structure

Among the scheduled Tribes, the highest concentration is noticed, according to 2001 census,

in Dungarpur district where their proportion to the total population of the districts comes to

68.46 per cent.

Bhils, along with their sub-groups, Damor, Pargi, Parmar etc. constitute the major tribal

groups found in the Village Ghataka Padliya and Kesarpura.

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5.4. Social Life

The Tribal family does not represent in any way the joint family system of the Hindus. When

a grown-up son marries, he is separated from his parents and establishes a new family. The

separation is complete in that the son and the father do not work on the common farm but a

separate piece of land is allotted to the son for his maintenance on which he along operates.

The Tribal family, therefore, is essentially a family of procreation. It consists of a male head,

his wife or wives and unmarried children. It is governed by the father or the eldest male

member of the family in the absence of father

5.4.1. Position of Women in the Family

The position of a daughter-in-law in the family creates a problem of accommodation. As the

consequence of the exogamous nature of marriages, and Tribal villages being clusters of one

or two or three clans, she usually comes from a different family of a different village and is,

therefore, confronted with altogether new sets of social interactions. Unlike caste Hindus who

normally live in joint family, the Tribal daughter-in-law is subjected to lesser difficulties of

adjustment, for she remains in her in- laws' house only for a short period. As soon as her

husband is able to plough the fields independently, she shifts to another house made by her

husband.

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An unmarried daughter is supposed to be sacred, for she symbolizes fertility and thus,

because of the symbolization, is potent with enormous powers. At the time of crops she is

always given the first raw grains, for it is supposed to result in prosperous fields. During

marriage celebrations she welcomes the bride-groom; she carries an earthen pitcher over her

head on the occasion. She also ties and unties the garments of the newly wedded couple

during the marriage rites. Her crossing a street is, to a man going for some important work, a

good omen.

The position of the wife conforms to the form of the marriage. In a polygamous family, the

position and status of a wife are accorded in relation to the degree of preference she gets from

her husband. However, if she be the senior most, she enjoys a better say in family affairs

relating to rites and ceremonies and other social matters, for otherwise she often quarrels with

the husband or with her other co-wives. The relationship between co-wives is often strained.

For the wife who receives greater affection from her husband exercises greater dominance in

relation to domestic matters. As mother, her position is happy and strong. The father is

usually busy in the field and it is she who controls the children. No family ritual can be

performed in her absence. At the time of marriage when the bridegroom strikes the toran- the

wooden arch- she goes with pitchers on her head and taking the bridegroom's garments in

hands, drags him to mandva - the marriage place. Actually all rites from birth to death are

performed by her. She is highly revered by her children and more so by the daughter, to

whom she imparts most secret things of her life.

For a woman, the widows do not have to suffer for they take to remarriage (natra) after the

period of mourning. Only old women, who do not remarry, remain as widows. As a widow,

she is revered by the family. Often she is given the place of a family counselor. The

traditional Hindu attitude towards widow is absent among tribals and she is not considered to

be inconspicuous. She joins marriage parties and attains all ceremonies.

5.4.2. Adoption

A person having no male issue may adopt a son to perpetuate his line of succession. The act

of adoption is completed with a religious ceremony. It is officiated at by the Brahmin who

offers oblations to fire. It confers upon the adoptee the same rights and privileges in the

family of the adopter as those of the legitimate son including the right of inheritance. All his

rights and liabilities are terminated in the natural family of his birth.

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5.4.3. Kinship System

The kinship may be related through the members of the family, namely, father, mother,

brother, sister and other blood descendents. Among the Tribals the addressive terms are

limited and the other terms are mere extensions of these terms to denote various relationships

through them. They show the following relationship:

Ba (Father)

Aii (Mother)

Kako (Uncle)

Mota Ba (Grandfather)

Baba (Maternal grandfather)

Bhai (Brother)

Maho (Mother's sisters husband)

Mamo (Mother's Brother)

Phupho (Father's sister's husband)

Soro (Son)

Hau (Mother-in-law)

Haharo (Father-in-law)

5.4.4. Marriage

Marriage among Tribals is not a sacrament, Like the Hindu marriage it is not indissoluble.

For a Tribal, both male and female, getting married is a mark of adulthood and maturity. As

agriculturists they require the assistance of helpers whom they get in the form of wife and

children. Young or old, a Bhil must have a wife and he does obtain one either through a

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negotiated marriage or through nata or though elopement. Economic hardships which abound

in his life, never prove to be unsurpassable hurdles to cross in the way to matrimony, for be

never hesitates to run into debt to procure a wife. House, wife and children stand for one's

prospects in the Bhil way of life and tradition. They also bestow on him an enhance status

which every Bhil endeavors to attain through marriage.

5.4.4.1. Selection of Marriage Partners

The Bhils pay first consideration to the amount of bride price. After having decided this,

there are several other considerations which receive their attention. The status of the family

carries immense weight. For Tribals, the status of a family consists in its economic and social

well being. The family should be in a position to serve guests and fulfill other obligations. In

the selection of a girl, importance is attached to a few of the qualities of her body and to her

ability do house hold and other work properly. A beautiful girl is supposed to be one who is

like the flames of the Holi-hori-ni-jhar or the lightening of the clouds - bijali, a girl of

medium stature is liked more and a tall one or one of short stature-dubli is supposed to be

dishonest and worthless. Further, long face is preferred to the flat-head and black and large

eyes to the blue. A person with green-yellow eyes- majari is considered mischievous and full

or power of magic. A long nose is given preference and a hairy body is looked upon with

disfavor. The Tribals do not attach any importance to the virginity of the girl.

5.4.4.2. Forms of Marriage

Normally, a Tribal resorts to marriage by purchase or exchange for service. Other forms of

marriage are not recognized by the society. Should an unengaged girl take a fancy to run

away with some man, her father and brothers, as soon as they find out her whereabouts, either

attack the man and his family or put his house on fire. The same procedure is followed by a

husband if his wife has eloped with someone. Elopement leads to enmity and even to murder.

If the injured side is weak the quarrel is settled not by the sword but through the mediation

and realization of compensation from the offender. There are cases of marriage by capture;

most of them with the full consent of the bride, but all against the will of her father or

husband. In such cases war- drums are beaten to announce the abduction of the woman or

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girl. All available men of village assemble with bows, arrows and swords to capture or track

down the offender. If they succeed in capturing the culprit he is beaten black and blue and the

abducted woman is recovered. If he is found out, he must pay over twice the amount of "the

would have been" bride-price of the girl in question, but this is never realized without a great

deal of talking, threatening and quarrels.

5.4.4.3. Marriage with Elder Brother's Wife: DEWAR VATTA

Yet another kind of marriage widely prevalent among Tribals is the marriage with the

deceased elder brother's wife. It is called Dewar Vatta or marriage with the husband's

younger brother (Devar). A wife is the possession of the family, especially entrusted to the

husband. In case her husband dies, it, however, in no way affects the ownership. The family

would like to see her remarriage to the deceased's younger brother. This marriage would not

mean any loss to the family. However, it shows the property concept involved in woman.

5.4.4.4. Natra Marriage

Quite unlike the high caste Hindus, another Tribal form of marriage is Natra or marriage by a

widow or a woman who has left her husband or has been abandoned by him. The Tribal

widow marries after the mourning period of the deceased husband is over. The natra is

solemnized without the usual pomp and show and the bride-price taken is not very high.

Normally it varies from Rs.1000 to 2000. The amount of bride-price is divided between the

parents, widow and the relatives of the deceased husband.

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6. Weather and seasonality

The climate of the area is dry and temperature peaks in May with mean daily maximum of +

41.50c and maximum +450c. The coldest month is January with temperatures falling to

around +50c during night but with day temperatures still above +200c. The following graph

shows the rainfall in Dungarpur and Sagwada tehsil (and surroundings), which can be safely

assume true for the subject villages.

Source: DRDA office

The average rainfall of District is 710 mm and occurs with great variations from year to year

and drought situation is the normal condition. This area falls under arid to semi-arid climate.

Rainy Season: July to Mid Sept, and very humid (upto 90%)

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7. Natural Resources

7.1. Land

Total Geographical area of the Village Ghataka padliya and Kesarpura is 234.27 (2928 bigha)

and 148.36 Ha (1854 bigha) respectively.

NOTE: 5 bigha = 1 Acre

77.8% of the total land holdings fall under the category of marginal and small holdings. High

scope for non- crop land-based activities. Food security is a major challenge due to low share

of area under plough (Net Sown Area). Coverage of pasture and grazing land is more in the

tribal areas, which prompts the scope for developing animal husbandry as a potential source

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of income and employment in the tribal area. There exists potential for forest based

livelihood system in the tribal belt of Rajasthan.

The soils are red and yellowish. The soils on very steeply sloping side slopes are shallow,

excessively drained, and coarser in nature, whereas the soils of gently sloping pediment and

undulating plains are deep, finer in texture and have better structural development. Sand/silt

ratio is greater than 0.2mm. Though, a larger tract is parched and dry.

7.2. Water

Water resources in Village Ghataka padliya are:

Water Resource Number

Pond 2

Total Well 60

Dry Well 30

Community Well 1

Tube-Well 2

Hand pump 15

Water Resources in Village Kesarpura are:

Water Resource Number

Pond 1

Total Well 15

Dry Well 4

Community Well 1

Tube Well 1

Hand pump 9

45% of the wells are going out of use in both the villages when taken together. The ground

water level in Village Ghataka padliya and Kesarpura is ranging between 30-70 feet. Quality

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of water in all the hand pumps is good and there are no chances of water born diseases in the

villages, but the scarcity of water for irrigation is the major problem for the villagers. The

level of the ground water is gradually going down.

7.3. Forestry

Against forest area of 15.2% at the district level, the forest area is relatively less in the

Village Ghataka padliya and Kesarpura collectively i.e. 11%. Rich in teak, mahua, mango,

neem, seesum, cactus, ber, bamboo, saras, kikar, kajri, sagwan and date trees, also plays

residence to a wide variety of wildlife including the jackal, jungle cat, Indian fox, hyena,

monkey, porcupine, and mongoose. Thick forests also have a substantial aviary population

like eagles, vultures, peafowls, partridges, quails and cuckoos. Apart from the flora and

fauna, the terrain here is perfect for trekkers and for those who would love to take a walk in

the jungles. Illegal cutting of trees is prevalent and government has taken many steps to

prevent illegal cutting of the forest.

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8. Infrastructure

8.1. Roads and Transportation

There is good connectivity of roads to the village; the roads are made up of RCC. Village is

connected both by district head quarter and Tehsil. The condition of roads and transportation

is relatively same in both the villages. There are both types of roads in the villages; kuccha

and pucca but pucca roads are limited. The means of public transport was a bus which was

run by the government. There are some private buses also for public transportation. The

villagers have to walk 2-5 Kms to come to the bus stand. Pukka roads are made under the

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). Besides this, the personal vehicles in Village

Ghataka padliya and Kesarpura are as follows:

Ghataka Padliya Kesarpura

Cycle(15) Cycle(60)

Scooter(20) Scooter(2)

Jeep(1) Jeep(2)

Tractor(3) Tractor(NIL)

Bullock Carts(1) Bullock Carts(4)

8.2. Electricity

Village Ghataka Padliya was electrified in 1995 whereas Kesarpura in 2006 under the Rajiv

Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY). All the 148 households were electrified in

Ghataka Padliya whereas out of 125 households only 14 households were electrified. Basic

infrastructures such as distribution transformer and distribution lines are provided in the

Village Keaspura. Electricity is provided to public places like schools, panchayat offices,

health centres, dispensaries, community centres etc. During our stay we found through FGD

that electricity remained there only for 8-10 hours per day, which is also not scheduled.

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8.3. Communication

Telecommunication facilities are available in the villages. There is a STD shop in the village

Ghataka Padliya. Many young people have mobile set in both the Villages. Number of

landline connections in Village Ghataka Padliya and Kesarpura are 3 and 1 respectively. All

vernacular news paper is available in village according to their demand. The distance of Post

Office from the Village Ghataka Padliya and Kesarpura are 2 and 6 Kms respectively.

Besides this, the Village Ghataka Padliya has:

• 10 Televisions

• 8 Radio

• 12 Tape-

And, the Village Kesarpura has:

• 15 Radio

• 10 Tape-recorders

8.4. Social Infrastructure

8.4.1. Education

When it comes to availability of educational infrastructure Ghataka Padliya have one

Primary and one Middle School. Both the schools are co-educational. Primary School was

established in 2000 whereas Middle School in 1975.

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Middle School Details (as on 2nd Feb’09)

Number of students 135

Boys 65

Girls 70

Number of teachers 7

Teachers to Pupil ratio 1:20

Total number of teaching days/year 210

Effective number of teaching

days/year

150

Teacher training days/year 20

Vacations (days/year) 30

Government duties by teachers

(days/year)

5

Functions (days/year) 5

Drop-out rate 0 %

Pass Percentage 100%

Average Attendance 70%

Source: Middle School Records, Ghataka Padliya

Primary School details


Boys 17

Girls 21





days/year

150



Source: Primary School Records, Ghataka Padliya

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Kesarpura has only a co-educational Primary School.

Primary School details


Boys 35

Girls 27





days/year

150



Source: Primary School Records, Kesarpura

Teachers told us that the villagers due to one or the other reason don’t send their wards to the

school and irregularity of student is the reason they lost their appetite for teaching. Even the

govt is spending a lot of money in the name of Sarva Sikhsa Abhiyan but till now the

household don’t have the information about the importance of education. The schools have a

course for the migrant family children but we don’t find anyone in the village that have the

information about it, except the school teachers who does not belong to the village.

Educational Status of Village Ghataka Padliya:

Total

Population

Male Female

No. of literates 322 216 106

No. of illiterates 752 320 432

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Educational Status of Village Kesarpura:

Total

Population

Male Female

No. of literates 253 170 83

No. of illiterates 590 238 352

Both the Villages have access to Anganwadi having 25-30 Children each. The Anganwadi

provides the following facilities:

• Provides weekly meals to pregnant women.

• Daily meals to Undernourished Children.

• 6 Kg/ month wheat is provided to underweight young girls between 11-19 Years.

8.4.1.1. Schemes and Scholarships

There are a number of schemes and scholarships that are offered by the central and the state

governments, these include the following:

• Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan: The school gets a grant of Rs. 16500 annually from the

central government (Ministry of HRD), which is either utilised for the purpose of

strengthening the existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class

rooms, toilets, drinking water etc. and most importantly it is made sure that every

child in the village gets access to quality elementary education.

• Jan Jyati Chatravriti: Under this scheme the central government provides scholarship

to boys and girls belonging to Scheduled Tribes.

For Boys Rs 15/ Month

For Girls Rs 20/ Month

• Aap ki beti: This scheme of State Government provides Rs 1100/month as scholarship

to those girls whose father or mother passed away.

• Mid-Day-Meal (MDM) Scheme: This program is being run by the central

government all over the country for the students of primary schools. This scheme was

started to keep a check on the cases of malnutrition or under-nutrition in kids. It has

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been running successfully in all the schools since 1995. A contractor from the village

has been selected by the government for providing the required food to the children

on daily basis.

8.4.1. Health

The health facilities available in Village Ghataka Padliya are:

• There is no private and govt. hospital facility available in the villages.

• PHC is 3 Kms away with sub-center at the village itself. It was established in

February 1992. The staff nurse here is Ms. Geeta Pattidar. The catchment area of the

sub-centre is 300 sq. Km. Only 44% people have visited to the PHC. In rainy season

when there is problem of seasonal diseases; it’s very difficult for the patient because

of poor road and lean period in employment to avail the timely facilities.

The Health facilities in Village Kesarpura are:

• PHC is 6 Kms away. There is no sub-centre in the Village.

• In the village some diseases like diarrhoea, cough, general fever; they use their

traditional method for treatment. For the example in the diarrhoea they give lemon

juice and curd for treatment.

Government Hospital is at Dungarpur town which is 16 Kms from Ghataka Padliya and 43

Kms from Kesarpura. The people in Villages are aware of government scheme Janani

Suraksha Yojana in which government provides rupees 1700 to rural maternity if delivery is

done in government hospital, it will bring reduction in child and maternal mortality rate.

8.4.2. Sanitation

Latrine facilities are very poor in the village. People use open space for it. There are only few

private lavatories in the whole village, but they also not in use. When we ask the reason

behind it most of them told that they like open space for latrine, because they are habitual of

it. Women are aware of sanitation benefits they use to keep clean their household and nearby

area regularly, on special occasions they also wash their households.

8.4.3. Drinking Water

The source of drinking water is through Hand pumps only. There are 15 hand pumps in

Village Ghataka Padliya and 9 in Kesarpura. The quality of water is average with excess of

fluoride content. Fluoride content is responsible for yellow stains on teethes.

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9. Local Economy

9.1. Income Sources and Livelihoods

9.1.1. Agriculture

Villagers grow crops in Kharif and Rabi season only. The kharif crops are grown in the rainy

season, in the months of June to November whereas the Rabi crops are grown in the winter,

October to April. In both the season their farming depends on the monsoon, if the monsoon is

favourable and there is no natural calamities it turn in to good yield, if it is adverse they

suffer a huge loss. Kharif crops are totally rainfed while Rabi crops are somewhat irrigated.

In summers temperature exceeds up to 45 degree Celsius on the other hand in winters it goes

down up to 4 degree Celsius. But matter of the concern is the intensity of rainfall which is

decreasing gradually by the influence of deforestation, resultant annual rain fall of this area is

limiting up to 710 mm. The following graphs give a snapshot of the distribution of land under

major crops grown in this area.

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24

Crop Sector Features in District Dungarpur:

1. Crop production is dominated by Cereals (maize & wheat), Pulses (black gram &

chickpea) and Oilseeds (soyabean & groundnut) in the southern tribal belt.

2. Food grains account for 92.7 per cent gross-cropped area in Dungarpur indicating that

food for human population and fodder for livestock population are the main

consideration of the cropping pattern.

3. Share of kharif cropped area to gross cropped area is 79.2 per cent in Dungarpur

indicating that the tribal belt is a kharif dominating rainfed area.

4. Kharif crops are grown under rainfed condition and share of irrigated area in kharif is

very low in the tribal belt.

5. By and large, the tribal belt is deficient for pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits.

6. The yield level of crops is poor in tribal belt as compared to other area.

Village Report 2009

25

7. The chance of substitution of area of food crops by non-food crops is very low in the

tribal belt in view of the concern for food security of people and fodder security of

animals.

Against 66 per cent of work-force depending on agriculture at state level and 75.2 per cent at

district level, the dependence of work-force on agriculture, as cultivators or agricultural

labourers, in the Village Ghataka Padliya and Kesarpura is relatively high. With limited land

resources, too much dependence of work-force on agriculture makes the return to labour,

non-remunerative.

Due to less rainfall for the 3 consecutive years, the present season is dry and there is shortage

of water in the villages even for drinking. Half of the wells and ponds were dry.

9.1.2. Livestock

The tribal belt is basically a cattle dominant area with non-descript cattle specially to meet

the animal power requirement for farm operations. It is a goat belt also due to grazing

potential and low capital requirement. Poultry enterprises are also common.

The Village Ghataka Padliya has:

Livestock Number

Cow 150

Buffalo 200

Bullocks 150

Sheep 100

Goat 300

Camel 0

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The Village Kesarpura has:

Livestock Number

Cow 59

Buffalo 51

Bullocks 200

Sheep 50

Goat 150

Camel 0

Coverage of pasture and grazing land is more in the tribal dominated villages, which prompts

the scope for developing animal husbandry as a potential source of income and employment

in the tribal area.

9.1.3. Migration

It is found that about 50 percent of the households send at least one of their family members

to earn to some cities/towns (Household Survey of 286 Households in both the villages).

Remittances from out-migrating persons provide vital economic support for up keeping the

families and meeting various socio-economic needs given underdevelopment of agriculture in

the district and lack of alternative income opportunities. It is found that about 50 percent of

the total out-migrating persons stay less than 90 days at their respective out-migrating places.

Literacy and business status of family and distance of village from district headquarter are

positively affecting the outmigration, while service status of family and intervening income

opportunities are negatively influencing the volume of out-migration.

Out of the total 286 surveyed households in both the villages collectively, 50.3 percent of the

households send at least one of their family members outside to earn: 30.1 percent of the

households send one member, 15.4 percent send two members and 4.9 percent of the

households send 3 members for earning. Out of the 144 households, which send at least one

Village Report 2009

27

of their family members for earning in some cities / towns, 32.6 percent get yearly remittance

below Rs.5,000, 17.4 percent get remittances between Rs.5,000 and Rs.10,000, 11.8 percent

get between Rs,10,000 and Rs.15,000, 6.3 percent get between Rs.15,000 and Rs.20,000, 8.3

percent get between Rs.20,000 and Rs.25,000, 13.9 percent get between Rs.25,000 and

Rs.40,000, and the rest get between Rs.40,000 and Rs.60,000. Thus, the remittances provide a

vital economic support to people in this economically underdeveloped district.

There is a seasonality of migration in the district. Migrants generally return to their respective

families during rainy season or during kharif season. However, during rabi season they

generally stay at their migratory places, for lack of rain and irrigational underdevelopment

there is hardly sufficient agricultural activity to provide employment in this season. Holi and

Diwali are two other occasions when most of the out-migrants return to their respective

families. From the surveyed data it is found that out of the total 216 out-migrating persons

from 144 families 50 percent stayed at their migrating place less than 90 days, 25 percent

stayed between 90 to 180 days, and rest of the persons stayed between 180 to 300 days.

Examining places of out-migration, we find that Ahmadabad is the most preferred place

followed by Mumbai. Out of the total 216 out-migrating persons, 41.5 percent go to

Ahmadabad, and 34.0 percent go to Mumbai. Dungarpur town attracts 15.0 percent of the

total out-migrants.

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9.1.4. NREGS

The tribal-dominated Dungarpur district of Rajasthan has bagged the prize instituted by the

Union Ministry of Rural Development for outstanding performance in implementation of the

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). External Affairs Minister Pranab

Mukherjee gave away the prize to the three districts at a function in New Delhi marking the

completion of three years of the Centre’s flagship scheme on Monday. United Progressive

Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh

Prasad Singh were among those present. Dungarpur Collector Arushi A. Malik and previous

Collector Neeraj K. Pawan, received the certificates of merit from Mr. Mukherjee. Dungarpur

district achieved the first position in the online muster roll feeding scheme and got the highest

average score in providing 100 days’ employment to NREGS.

About 50 per cent of all the families in the Village Ghataka Padliya and Kesarpura now have

at least one member employed under the scheme, at least 25 per cent have two. 80 per cent of

the sign-ups were women. The average wage earned by the NREGS labourers in Village

Ghataka and Kesarpura is Rs 65/day for 100 days.

Lighting up their lives: A CASE

Hardship is a habit for Dungarpur’s tribals. But work in their own villages is scripting a new

story

EIGHT months after the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme took off in

Dungarpur; it brought unforeseen rewards into the poorest tribal homes of the district: Sweets

during Diwali. Some families bought new clothes, others actually had money spare for diyas.

A little over 40, Devilal Hujaji Rout saw a dream come true when he plastered the walls of

his mud hut with cement. “I worked as a mason under the NREGS for more than 70 days and

earned an extra Rs 5, 000,” says the skilled worker. “That’s how I managed to fulfill this

long-cherished ambition of mine. We celebrated Diwali like never before.”

Before NREGS came to the district, says Devilal, local tribals had no option but to move to

Gujarat or Madhya Pradesh in search of work. “There was no work here, except for some

Village Report 2009

29

seasonal farming. But running two establishments—one in Gujarat and one here—was

expensive and ate into whatever we earned,” he says.

Poor and uneducated, the most the tribals could hope for work as unskilled labour.

Construction work was hard, but usually earned just about enough to meet daily expenses.

And for those who could not migrate, the sole annual source of sustenance was the earnings

from seasonal farming, which was never much.

For the first time in living memory, the festival of lights saw actual celebration in this

impoverished district.

9.1.5. Shops

The Village Ghataka Padliya has two retail shops and two general stores. On the other hand,

Village Kesarpura has five general stores and one Public Distribution Shop. All the Shops are

run by local people. The Public Distribution centre sells all items including rice, wheat,

kerosene, oil, sugar and other ration items at subsidized rates. It is a common shop for three

villages. They had divided the families in to two broad categories, APL and BPL. The centre

gets all the items from Dungarpur godown.

9.2. Services

Number of Government employees is very few. And a handful of people are working in

private sector.

Status of Village Kesarpura:

• 1 School teacher

• 1 Retired employee from Irrigation department.

• 3 Employees serving in Irrigation department.

Status of Village Ghataka Padliya:

• 3 School Teachers

• 1 Sub-Inspector in Rajasthan Police

• 2 line man in Bijli Board

School and Anganwadi also provide employment to atleast 6 and 4 persons in Village

Ghataka Padliya and Kesarpura respectively.

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9.3. Market Linkage

• The nearest market is at 16 km and 43 Km away from Village Ghataka Padliya and

Kesarpura in Dungarpur.

• Generally, 90% of the farmers do not sell their output (the produce is only enough to

sustain their own needs for half a year)

• The price of the output is decided on the basis of quality of the output.

• Rest 10% of thefarmers bear the transportation cost themselves and take their output

to Dungarpur.

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10. Consumption

10.1. Food Security and coping strategies

Sustainable food security is defined as ‘physical, economic, social and ecological access to

balanced diets and safe drinking water, so as to enable every individual to lead a productive

and healthy life in perpetuity. The smaller the farm, the greater is the need for marketable

surplus to ensure cash income. For many indigenous farmers, reducing risk from droughts is

more important than maximizing production. Work is not just about earning a wage. It brings

with it a way of living, a sense of security and dignity. To local people, knowledge is of

importance only if it is necessary for their survival and for coping with daily problems.

Adaptation strategies based on indigenous knowledge are largely concerned with natural

systems including agriculture, forestry, water resources etc. Food security is generally

understood to mean availability of eatable food at affordable and reasonable prices. Food

availability is affected by various natural and artificial factors such as failure of monsoon,

non availability of water for cultivation and other conditions including drought and other

natural disasters. On the other hand taking advantage of the low production the traders tend to

create artificial scarcity and hike prices of concerned food items. These sorts of situation with

lack of employment create difficulties for the people particularly belonging to socio-

economically weaker sections to manage their day to day feeding requirements. Therefore, to

avoid such adverse situations it is necessary to have a system where food could be procured

easily and at reasonable cost by the people specially belonging to poor sections of the society.

Food security thus becomes a priority area not only for the Government but for the

community at large. Along with ensuring availability of food it is necessary to see that

nutritional requirements of different age groups are also met.The local panchayati raj

institutions or other forms of local bodies should be fully involved both in identifying

constraints that limit production and in removing them.

Coping strategies are the specific efforts, both behavioural and psychological, that people

employ to master to minimize stressful events. The farmers have evolved and put into

practice anticipatory as well as response strategies to live with natural hazards over centuries.

There have been a number of development interventions that have contributed, both

positively and negatively, in enhancing or weakening the coping strategies of farmers against

natural hazard-induced disturbances.

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We have tried to classify the risks faced by the farmers into production, marketing, legal,

social and human aspects.

• Production risk is the random environmental variability associated with the farming

process and includes the variability in yield and quality due to weather, soils, diseases

and pests.

• Market risk is due to the uncertainty of prices in buying inputs, selling crops or

livestock, and the accessibility of inputs.

• Legal and social risks are due to the uncertainty of governmental policies influencing

production practices, such as ownership of land and other production factors, changes

in price and income supports, tax, credit and environmental policies of the

government. Since almost all the farmers in this village require credit to carry out

their agricultural operations, any change in the interest rate of loans would affect the

farmers.

• The human sources of risk are those due to poverty (social class), labour, education,

health and input management factors present in agricultural production.

10.2. Housing

Most of the houses in the village are thatched made up of sand, clay and stones. The pakka

houses in the Village Ghataka Padliya and Kesarpura are 11 and 1 respectively. The size of

the houses also depends upon the economic and social status of the people. The Tribals

ordinarily have thatched houses only. The villages are spread over the distance of 5 to 8 kms,

Tribals love to live in huts either set up on a hillocks, overlooking their fields or where

hunting and fishing is possible. Formerly their indulgence in anti-social activities like

committing thefts, lifting animals and molesting women, motivated them to live in isolated

houses. A Tribal living in a hilly country is called Palwi Bhil. The Tribal houses have low

roofs, hardly six feet high, mostly thatched, or, in some cases, tiled, supported by four mud

walls with no windows' holes or apertures for light and air. They are walled with bamboo

matting. On an average, such a house measures about 19'x 8'.

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10.3. Credit

Poor people need and use financial services all the time like everyone else. The financial

services available to the poor, however, often have serious limitations in terms of cost,

security, and convenience. The poor rarely access services through the formal financial

sector. They address their need for financial services through a variety of financial

relationships, mostly informal. Credit is available from money-lenders but usually at a very

high rate of interest. SHG (Self Help Group) approach is becoming very popular these days

as it serves dual purpose of Women empowerment and providing financial services. The

access to credit is mainly through the membership of SHG Program run by SEWA in Village

Ghataka Padliya whereas in Kesarpura the SHG formed was only few days old (recently

formed as a part of our Rural Action Component). We can say that most of the

moneylender’s chunk has been replaced by SHG loans as deducted from FGDs. This can be

considered as the biggest impact of the program as women have developed their own source

of easy credit. All the SHG members have a bank A/c on their name and they have deposited

money continuously into this account in the past one year as savings. They themselves

manage the A/c i.e. deposit or withdraw money.

The average loan taken from SHG is increasing gradually with every loan. This shows that

credit absorption capacity of members is increasing. Many people are taking loans for

agriculture and daily needs. This can be seen as a prudent investment, which may lead to

good returns after some time. People are also taking loans for rearing cattle, health needs and

Social events very frequently. Almost all the women are using the loan for the same purpose

for which it has been taken except for some cases. The amount of loan sanctioned by the bank

is primarily based on first grading which is done one year after the SHG’s is formed. The

amount of loan sanctioned is directly proportional to the no. of grading done. There is also

provision of inter-loaning within the SHG’s.

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11. Political and Governance Systems

Gram Panchayat is the primary unit of Panchayati Raj Institutions. Each Gram Panchayat

comprising some villages. The election of Sarpanch, Upa-Sarpanch & members are

conducted according to the provisions of the Rajasthan Panchayat Election Rules. Sarpanch

as the head of the GP is elected by the G.P. members.

The Gram Sabha is the most powerful foundation of decentralized governance by ensuring

elected representatives are directly and regularly accountable to the people. The aim of the

government has been to strengthen the Gram Sabha by introducing favourable policy

changes. However, the Gram Sabhas are yet to become operational entities and to do justice

to their potential for making the Panchayat system truly self-governed and a bottom-up

structure.

Some of the key features in relation to Gram Sabhas are as follows:

• The quorum for a Gram Sabha meeting remains one tenth & it is essential to have

one-third of the quorum as women members.

• The Gram Sabha will work as a supervisory body and audit and regulate the

functioning of Gram Panchayats.

• Recommendations of the Gram Sabha will be binding on the Gram Panchayat.

• The Gram Sabha can approve as well as audit expenditure up to three lakhs.

• The Panchayat Karmi (Panchayat Secretary appointed by the Panchayats but drawing

salary from the state government) can be removed from his/her post only if the Gram

Sabha approves it.

• All the villages within a Gram Panchayat can have separate Gram Sabhas.

• The Gram Sabha will have the right to recall the Sarpanch after two and a half years

of commencement of his/her tenure.

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The key roles entrusted to the Gram Sabha are microplanning, social audit of Panchayat

functioning, ratification of Panchayat accounts, balance sheets, identification and approval of

beneficiaries, and supervisory and regulatory functions.

The following indicators were chosen for assessing the prevailing situation in the field:

• Participation and level of awareness of the Gram Sabha.

• Issues of discussion and the process of decision-making.

• Pattern of leadership.

• Capacity of Gram Sabhas.

• Transparency and accountability of the three tiers (GP, PS & ZP) to the Gram

Sabha.

Fig. 11.1. Governance System

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Fig. 11.2. Structure of Gram Panchayat

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37

12. Local Community based Organizations (CBO’s)

All such organization, institutions or congregation of people, which have local area/ village-

based presence, maturity and structural arrangements. These are owned and managed by

members. They are formal, legal entity or informal registered organizations maintaining

separate books of accounts, systems & ways of working. They have group identity-

membership. They should not be affiliated to any religious, political or separatist’s parties/

groups.

Why CBO’s?

• Provides more grassroots democratic experiences, although the Panchayats-

(represents people’s democratically elected bodies).

• Alternate mechanism to registered bodies/ institutions, more sustainable and internal

way of managing.

• Promotes management and operating systems locally-- through communities.

• Builds local awareness, capacities, ownerships and benefits. People allocate resources

to capability. Finally they feel recognized and take pride.

• Avoids conflicts, by people’s localized resource allocation and use.

• Enhances capacities to plan, develop and manage resources effectively and overcomes

“time-lags” as people are central at all levels and the decisions are taken by them.

• Wide variations in research can be carried out and workload can be efficiently

managed, results shared and uptake is enhanced

• Avoids misuse and better regulation of resources, maintain transparency and

accountability. Effective use of resources finally leading to good governance.

• Reduced mismatch between the real needs and the gapss between people and

institutions, leading to quick decisions.

• Greater insights and experience in the local ecological, environmental knowledge.

This wisdom needs to be exploited

• Challenges the local power structures/political systems for more responsive way of

working.

• Priorities people’s sensitivities in terms of poverty-focus, equity, gender relations.

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The Villages Ghataka Padliya and Kesarpura have no other CBO’s except SEWA. Two

SHG’s are working in Ghataka Padliya whereas in Kesarpura the SHG formed was only few

days old (recently formed as a part of our Rural Action Component). In Ghataka Padliya the

two groups include 28 women which were saving Rs 50/month. Each group has a leader

(Agewan). The eligibility criteria for being an Agewan is that-

• The women member must be greater than or equal to 21 years of age.

• The women member must be able to do signature.

• The women member must be active and holds the capability to motivate others.

Following are the main objectives of the SHG’s:

• To provide loan to its member when they need the most.

• To increase a spirit of self reliance among women.

• To reduce dependency of women on their men for financial support.

• To increase awareness about saving habits in women.

• To bring women in the decision making process of all village activities.

Rs.5 is taken as entry fee for joining this group after this all members have to pay Rs 50 as

monthly saving deposit.

One more Organization People's Education and Development Organization also known as

Jan Shiksha Evam Vikas Sangathan came into existence in 1980 in the Bichchiwada block of

Dungarpur District with the objective of working with the poor and socially deprived,

especially the women of the area. Its mission is to promote value based people's institution to

utilize the existing resources for poverty alleviation and environmental degradation. There is

no intervention of PEDO in our treatment villages.

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13. Relationship with other communities and wider societies

The breaking down of caste barriers is not yet a noticeable phenomenon in the area. Tribes

are very lenient towards marriage and most of the marriages are love marriages. Polygamy is

the common practices among bhils and grasiyas. Dapa is the tradition of marriage practiced

in both the tribes in which in-laws of girl gives money to the in-laws of boy. There are many

types of marriage practised in the bhils community. The bhils who cannot afford to give

money, forcefully kidnap the girl and make marriage with her with all the traditions and

customs of the society and the parents of the girls are informed. Death funeral is done

according to hindu traditions. Only males take part in the funeral. The ashes of the dead body

are thrown in the river. The shock of the condolence is continued till the first festival arrives.

In this period of condolence the male wears white safa. The end of the condolence is done by

the son-in-law or the brother-in-law. On this occasion males drink liquor and talks about the

dead person.

Baneshwar fair: This is a religious festival with simple and traditional rituals. On this

occasion, tribes from the neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan join

together to offer prayers to lord Shiva. The baneshwar fair is predominantly a tribal fair with

more than half of congregation consisting of bhils. The bhils attending Baneshwar fair sing

traditional folk songs in high pitched voices sitting around a bonfire every night. Groups of

villagers are also invited to participate in the programme. The fair resounds with a gaiety of

songs, folk dances, magic shows, animal shows and acrobatic feats. Adding to the excitement

are the joy rides on merry-go-rounds and swings.

Relations among all the communities are friendly. The communities are using the available

resources in better and efficient manner without discrimination to a particular community.

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14. Village Development Plan

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41

Indicators of Village DevelopmentTechnology Capital

Diesel pumpTelephoneHYV’sFertilizersTractorsHarvesters

Long term (Land, equipment, Machinery, Basic Infrastructure)Operating (Fuel, Fertilizer, Seeds, Other raw materials)Public (Road, School, Hand pumps, Wells, Forests, Pasture land)Private (Seed, Fuel, Fertilizer, Cultivable land, House, Livestock)

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42

Based on the various village level indicators of development we have tried to develop a

village level plan. When we started thinking on it we arrived at a conclusion that until and

unless we brace ourselves with the ground level realities it is not possible to come with a

concrete village development plan.

General Welfare

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43

First we tried to identify the vulnerabilities of the villagers. The threat of crop failure due to

adverse climatic condition and pest attack, health issues, burden of interest payments and no

constant and reliable source of income were some of the most prominent vulnerabilities of the

people. Coming down to their securities their savings in the SHG’s, the co-operation among

the villagers, their insurances are their most important securities.

In the table below, we have put forward the present and aspired states of the people in our

treatment Villages:

Present state Aspired State

• Low income • Higher income

• Disruption in family life due to migration

• Food security throughout the year

• No high school • High school in the village

• No primary health centre • PHC in the village

• No permanent source of income • Better and certified inputs to reduce vulnerabilities at the hands of nature

• Inadequate supply of agricultural inputs

• Regular supply of irrigation

If keeping these things in mind, strategies are made the villages will for sure traverse the path

of success.

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15. Conclusion

The village stay definitely has been an experience of lifetime. Probably, an opportunity that

may never return. Simply put, it has been an eye-opener of sorts. Exposing us to the harsh

rural realities, it has inculcated in us a deep sense of respect for the villagers. We strived hard

to be able to do justice to our understanding of the multi-dimensional folds of the village,

form understanding farming practices to the present political scenario; from the stated ground

provisions to actual quality of life; from people’s aspirations to their issues of concern, we

attempt to encompass this entire gamut into one of the most enriching learning’s of our lives.

We believe that the field work segment has paved a way towards greater sensitivity in each of

us and this should only contribute to preparing us for the challenges ahead as rural managers

and making us better human beings.

1 | P a g e

Annexure 1: Outcomes of PRA

2 | P a g e

3 | P a g e

4 | P a g e

5 | P a g e

Annexure 2

HOUSEHOLD SCHEDULE

FOR A SURVEY OF THE

SELF EMPLOYED WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION

PILOT IN DUNGARPUR DISTRICT,

RAJASTHAN, INDIA.

JANUARY 2009

STUDENTS MRM (2008-10)

SCHOOL OF RURAL MANAGEMENT KIIT UNIVERSITY, BHUBANESWAR

ORISSA, INDIA.

District: Tehsil/Block: City/Town/Village: Date of Interview: Interviewer: Time Interview begins: My name is …………………… and I am working with SEWA. We are conducting a survey about women’s employment and household decision making. We would very much appreciate your participation in the survey. I would like to ask you some questions about your household, your employment status, and how you make decisions in your home. This information will help plan future services for women. Participation in this survey is voluntary. If you decide to participate, you may stop answering questions at any time. Whatever information you provide will be kept confidential. We hope that you will participate in the survey since your views are important. Do you want to ask me anything about the survey before we begin?

1. Household Composition

Name What are the names of the people who live in your house, beginning with yourself?

.Head of Household

Is this person the head of the household?

1: Yes 2: No

(choose only one member as head of household)

Relationship How is the person related to the respondent? 1: Spouse 2: Sibling 3: Parent 4: In-law 5: Child 6: Other

Sex 1: F 2: M

Age How old is this person in years?

Education How much education have they completed? 1: None 2: Some Primary 3: Primary 4: Some secondary 5: Secondary 6: Other

Marital Status 1: Married 2: Unmarried 3: Widowed 4: Divorced

Current Employment Status 1: Self-employed 2: Employed by someone else 3: Unemployed

Was member a migrant worker or absent from household for more than 3 months in the last year? 1: Yes 2: No

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

2. What is the highest level of school completed by the following individuals? 2.1. Your father?

• None • Some Primary • Primary • Some Secondary • Secondary • Other (specify...............)

2.2. Your mother?


3. In general, how would you describe the present living condition of your village?

• Very bad • Fairly bad • Neither good nor bad • Fairly good • Very good

4. In general, how would you describe your own present living conditions?

• Very bad • Fairly bad

• Neither good nor bad • Fairly good • Very good • 5. Looking back how you would rate the following compared to 12 months ago:

5.1. Your village’s living conditions?

• Much worse • Worse • Same • Better • Much better

5.2. Your own living conditions?


5.3. Today, what are the two most important issues facing your village? (Rank 1st, 2nd)

• Lack of drinking water • Lack of sewage and sanitation • Poor conditions of roads and transportation • Lack of electricity • Lack of maintenance of school and education • Limited access to health care • Few opportunities for work and employment

6. Over the past month, how often, if ever, has you or your household members gone without: 6.1. Clean water

• Never • Just once or twice • Several times • Many times • Always

6.2. Electricity


7. Do you feel that you know what authority to go to when you experience the following problems? 7.1. Problems with clean water/ sewage

• Yes • No

7.2. Poor quality of roads

• Yes • No

7.3. Lack of electricity

• Yes • No

7.4. Limited access to healthcare

• Yes • No

8. In the last seven days did you or anyone else in your household go to sleep hungry because there was not enough food?

• Yes • No

9. Respondent’s employment in past 12 months (general questions)

Over the past 12 months, what work did you do? Codes: 1: Own-farm activities 2: Non-farm self-employment (collection, foraging etc) 3: Casual labor (farm and non-farm) 4: long-term agricultural employment

During which months did you do this activity? How many days in each of these months did you do this activity? (begin with month 11 months before survey date)

How many hours per day did you do this activity?

Where did you do this work? 1:At home 2: Own Village 3: Another Village 4: Urban Area

# Description Code J F M A M J J A S O N D 1. 2. 3.

4.

5.

10. Source of Income

Copy from general section all activities

Was this work done as part of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme? 1: Yes 2: No

How were you compensated for this activity? 1: Piece rate (including money from sale of goods) 2: Daily wage 3: Salary 4: In kind 98: Was not compensated 99: Other

How much were you paid in cash per day for this work? If piece rate, estimate cash earned per day. If salary estimate cash earned per day

What did you get In-kind per day? Codes: 1: Paddy 2: Wheat 3: Barley 4: Maize 5: Gram 6: Other Leave blank if no In-kind payment was received

Were you provided with any of these by your employer while doing this work? A: Meals B: Snacks C: Childcare 1: Yes 2: No

# Description Rupees Code Quantity Unit A B C 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

11. Do you yourself own land?

• Yes • Do not own land, Go to 14

12. What best describes your ownership of your land?

• I own it independently • I share ownership with my spouse • I share ownership with another household member • I share ownership with another person outside the household

13. Do you use your land for agricultural activities?

• Yes • No, Go to 24

14. If you use more land than you own for your own agricultural activities, how do you get this extra land?

• Land rented • Land mortgaged • Land received from employer • Does not use more land than what is owned

15. How much of the land that you farm is irrigated, as opposed to rain-fed?

• Less than one-quarter • Less than one-half • More than one-half • No land is irrigated

16. What is the way you irrigate your land?

• Tube well

• Canal • Pond/Tank • Another natural source • Mixed methods

17. What example do you think better describes your access to water for farming:

• My access to water is bad. It is always time consuming, expensive or inconsistent. • My access to water is adequate. It is sometimes difficult to obtain and unavailable. • My access to water is good. It is easy to obtain and reliable.

18. Have you ever paid a side payment or bribe to gain access to water for farming?

• Yes • No

19. Do you own a pump for irrigation?

• Yes • No

20. How is your land compared to other land in your village for agriculture?

• Better than average • Average • Worse than average

21. In the last 2 years have you ever rented out your land?

• Yes • No

22. Use of seed and fertilizer

Have you used the following in the past 12 months? 1: Yes 2: No

How much have you used in the past 12 months?

How much did you for this amount?

Quantity Unit Rupees Seed KG Urea KG DAP KG Phosphate KG Complex or other fertilizer KG

IF NO TO ALL, GO TO 23

23. Farming equipment Do you own

any of the following items? 1: Yes 2: No

How many do you own?

How much would it be to buy one of these?

Do you ever borrow this item from another person? 1: Yes 2: No

What is the fee associated with borrowing this item? If no fee, enter 0.

Quantity Rupees Rupees Borrow period Tractor Plowing implements

Cart Thresher Trolley Fodder cutter

Other (specify)

24. Whose decision was it for you to work to earn income?

• Respondent’s decision • Respondent’s husband/partner • Respondent and husband/partner • Someone else (specify……………) • Do not work, GO TO 26

25. What do you do with the money you earn? • Respondent gives all of it to husband/partner/other household members • Respondent gives some to husband/other member • Respondent keeps it all

26. If you are/were not working, why are you not working?

• Husband/partner/in-laws will not allow • Society doesn’t like it • Do not want to • Do not need to • Unable to work due to illness • Unable to work due to impairment or disability • Unable to find work • Other (specify……………) • Does not apply (working)

27. I would like to ask a few questions about how you manage your household items and finances. Who in your household decides whether to buy the following items? 27.1. Vegetables or fruits?

• You alone • You with someone else • Someone else alone • Do not buy this item

27.2. Clothes for yourself?

• You alone • You with someone else

• Someone else alone • Do not buy this item

27.3. Medicines for yourself?


27.4. Cosmetics such as soap, toothpaste, shampoo or perfume for yourself?


28. Please tell me if you alone, or jointly with your husband or someone else, own any of the following: 28.1. Any house or dwelling

• Does not own • Owns jointly • Owns alone

28.2. Jewelry or gems


28.3. Livestock • Does not own • Owns jointly • Owns alone

29. Do you have a bank account or an account in other savings institution in your own name or jointly with someone else?

• Yes own name • Yes jointly • No, GO TO 33

30. Have you deposited money into this account in the past six months?

• Yes • No, GO TO 33

31. How much money did you deposit in this account in the past six months? Amount (Rs.) …………… 32. Do you yourself manage the account, that is, sign checks or deposit or withdraw money, on your own or jointly with someone else?

• Yes, on your own • Yes, jointly with someone else • Someone else manages account

33. Have you ever been asked by any of the following individuals for side payments or bribes: 33.1. The police

• Yes • No

33.2. A local government official

• Yes • No

33.3. A Rajasthan state government official • Yes • No

33.4. A federal government official

• Yes • No

33.5. A business person or other private individual

• Yes • No

34. Do you know of any programs in this area that give loans to women so that they can start or expand business of their own?

• Yes • No

35. Have you yourself ever taken out a loan either in cash or in kind?


36. Who provided you with this loan?

• Local money lenders • Banks • Relatives/friends

• Special organization/NGO 37. What was the amount of the loan and what was the interest charged? Amount (Rs.)……………

Interest rate (annual %)…………… GO TO 39 38. Why did you choose not to take a loan?

• Do not know whom to ask • Too expensive • Asked but was unable to obtain one • Do not need one

39. Are you usually permitted to go to the following places on your own, only if someone accompanies you, or not at all? 39.1. The local market to buy things?

• Alone • Not alone but accompanied by someone else • Never

39.2. To a local health center or doctor?


39.3. To homes of friends in the neighborhood?

• Alone

• Not alone but accompanied by someone else • Never

39.4. To a nearby shrine/mosque/temple/church?


40. Have you done any of the following in the last 12 months? 40.1. Seen a medical professional yourself?

• Yes • No

40.2. Taken your children to a medical professional?

• Yes • No

41. I would like your opinion on some aspects of family life. Please tell me if you agree or disagree with the following statements: 41.1. The important decisions in the family should be made only by men in the family

• Agree • Disagree • DK/Depends

41.2. If the wife is working outside the home, then the husband should help her with household chores

• Agree

• Disagree • DK/Depends

41.3. A married women should be allowed to work outside the home if she wishes


41.4. The wife has a right to express her opinion even when she disagrees with what her husband is saying


41.5. A wife should tolerate being beaten by her husband in order to keep the family together


41.6. It is better to send a son to school that it is to send a daughter


42. Who in your family has the final say on the following decisions? 42.1. Who takes decision about children’s schooling?

• Respondent • Husband/partner

• Respondent and husband/partner jointly • Respondent and someone else jointly • Decision not made/not applicable

42.2. What to do if a child falls sick?

• Respondent • Husband/partner • Respondent and husband/partner jointly • Respondent and someone else jointly • Decision not made/not applicable

42.3. How children should be disciplined?


42.4. Whether to have another child?


42.5. Whether or not to use contraception to avoid having children?



43. Who takes care of your children?

• Respondent • Respondent has access to childcare • Respondent’s relatives/friends • Other • Respondent has no children, GO TO 52

44. Do you know where the local Anganwadi is?


45. Do your children attend the local anganwadi?


46. What kind of Anganwadi services does you and your children use (select all that apply)?

• Non-formal school education • Supplementary nutrition • Immunization • Health check-up • Referral services • Nutrition and health education

47. How many of your children under the age of 15 do not attend school?

Record number of total children: Record number of children not in school: If number of children who do not attend school = 0, GO TO 49 48. What are top three reasons they do not attend school?

• Is/was too young • Disabled/illness • School is too far • Cannot afford schooling • Family doesn’t allow schooling • Poor in studies/not interested in school • School not considered valuable • School not safe • To work for pay or family business or farm • Help at home with household chores

49. Have you heard of the Gram Panchayat?


50. Do you know the names of any members of the current Gram Panchayat?

• Yes • No

51. Have you ever conducted any business with or made any requests to the Gram Panchayat?

• Yes • No

52. Have you heard of Gram Sabha?


53. Have you ever attended a Gram Sabha?

• Once or twice • Several times • Many times • Never, GO TO 58

54. Have you attended a Gram Sabha in the past 12 months?

• Yes • No

55. How many days/weeks in advance you know about the Gram Sabha?

• Less than a week • One or two weeks • More than two weeks

56. Do you typically know what would be discussed in advance of the Gram Sabha?

• Always • Sometimes • Rarely • Never

57. Of the following statements, which one best characterizes, your participation at the Gram Sabha:

• I do not understand what is being discussed at the Gram Sabha

• I listen, but do not want to raise questions or voice my own opinion • I listen and want to raise questions or voice my own opinion, but do not feel comfortable doing this • I raise questions and voice my own opinion, but do not feel that other participants listen to me • My questions and opinions are well received

58. Please describe your participation in the following types of elections: 58.1. Local election

• You always vote • You sometimes votes • You never vote • You are too young to vote

58.2. Rajasthan state election


58.3. National election


59. Are you a member of SEWA?


60. When did you join SEWA? • 0-4 months ago • 5-8 months ago • 9-12 months ago • More than 1 year ago

61. In what SEWA activities do you participate? (Select all that apply)

• Participated in SEWA survey • General meeting • Have joined a Self-help Group (SHG) • Have opened a bank account • Child care activity • Health education • Health services • Water related activity • No activities, GO TO 65

62. How often do you participate in SEWA related activities?

• More than once a week • Once a week • Once every two weeks • Once a month • Less than once a month

63. Do you hold any leadership (Agewan) position in a SEWA group?

• Yes • No

GO TO 65 64. Why are you not a member of SEWA?

• Didn’t know about it • Didn’t think it would help • Could not afford membership fee • Was not allowed to join by household members • Was encouraged not to join by SEWA • Other (specify……………)

65. Are you a member of any type of association, self-help group, or club which holds regular meetings, other than SEWA?


66. What kind of association or group or club is it? Other village self-help group (name……………) Other local association (specify……………) 67. Have you acquired any new skills or received any education in the last year?

• Yes • No, GO TO END

68. What have you learned?

• A craft (such as sewing or knitting of fabrics or embroidery) • Agricultural technique • Managing household finance/debts • Other (specify……………)

69. Who provided you these learning’s? • SEWA • Other local association or self-help group (specify……………) • School • Family or friends • Other (specify……………)

70. Have you used these skills in some way that had earned you and your family money?

• Yes • No

END

Village Study Segment MRM (2008-10)

Village Report Theme Paper

Rural Action Component Organizational Profile NSS Activities Report

Host Organization

Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)

Submitted by: Raman Sharma (8201025)

Vikas Rana (8201040) Vikram Singh (8201041)

Sandeep Kumar (8201075)

School of Rural Management Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University

Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India 2009

i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Fieldwork Segment of the MRM course at KSRM provided us with an opportunity to stay in the

villages of Dungarpur District in Rajasthan. This improved our insight into the day-to-day

activities of the village life and increased our understanding about the rural life.

The theme paper added more insights through the framework given as well as through the

various interviews that we conducted in our villages. For helping us in achieving this we wish to

express our sincere thanks to our host organizations Self Employed Women’s Association

(SEWA) headquartered at Ahmadabad (Gujarat) for facilitating our stay in the villages and for

the valuable inputs provided.

At the commencement, we wish to thank our faculty guide Prof. Achryulu (MRM coordinator)

and our Director Dr. L. K. Vaswani who provided us with valuable insights into the essence of

the study for our fieldwork and gave us some insight on the situations of rural markets. We also

thank Prof. V. Venkatakrishnan for his valuable inputs as our coordinator for VSS.

We also thank our reporting officers Ms. Varsha Bhatt and Indiraben who helped us in study by

their valuable and timely suggestion.

Wishing thanks to our parents for giving us a chance to explore ourselves is always a task, which

provides us the motivation to go on to explore ourselves.

In last we would like to thank all who helped us in achieving our goal directly or indirectly.

ii

Contents

1. _ Introduction……………………………………………………....1

2. _SHG Programmes and Business Linkage…………………………3

3. _Objective of Study………………………………………………...6

4. _Methodology…………………………………………………........8

5. _ Profile of people………………………………………..………..12

6. _ Social Impact…………………………………………….………14

7. _ Economic Impact………………………………………………. .18

8. _Attitudinal Impact………………………………………………..20

9. _Hypothesis Testing……………………………………………….21

10. _ Conclusion……………………………………………..………..23

_ Annexure

“Impact Assessment of SHG Programmes and Business Linkage of SEWA at Dungarpur District (Rajasthan). 2009

School of Rural Management, KIIT University. Page 1

1. Introduction

This section introduces the impact assessment study. It gives the background, details about the

tehsil, SHG Program implementing agency, and the Research team. This section tells about the

methodology, sample size, tools used and the research team.

1.1. Background

Poor people need and use financial services all the time like everyone else. The financial

services available to the poor, however, often have serious limitations in terms of cost, security,

and convenience. The poor rarely access services through the formal financial sector. They

address their need for financial services through a variety of financial relationships, mostly

informal. Credit is available from money-lenders but usually at a very high rate of interest. SHG

(Self Help Group) approach is becoming very popular these days as it serves dual purpose of

Women empowerment and providing financial services.

1.1.1. Dungarpur Tehsil

Located in one of India's most neglected, drought-prone tribal enclaves of the Dungarpur district,

Rajasthan. This area typifies the most difficult problems faced by a vast majority of tribal in rain

fed. This tribal pocket where the project is located is a chronically drought prone area. The area

typifies the most difficult problems faced by the dry lands of India. Dungarpur tehsil is a

drought prone area and are both socially and economically backward with tribals practicing

subsistence agriculture. The traditional economic base of a tribal household is a combination of

agriculture and wage labour. Migration is very prominent. They cultivate Jowar, Maize, Wheat

and Paddy. Their cultivation is for household purpose only because of small land holdings and

large family size. Over the years the productivity of these assets has been eroded due to land

fragmentation, continuous drought and environmental degradation and survival in a full time

occupation. Due to small and fragmented land holdings and complete dependence in rain,

agricultural produce can barely support a family for half a year. Survival is dependent on the

credit accessed from local sahaukars. Repayment is dependent on the survival of the crops and

another year of drought is enough to send them into a vicious cycle of debt. If they try to raise

their livelihood through Livestock Production, the scope is negligible viz. there is no market in



and around the village for milk and milk products and if they rear sheep the wool they fetch from

them sells at only Rs 2 per Sheep in one trimming. Most of them are hence dependent on wage

labor and migrate to nearby districts and states for search of work. Seasonal migration is

common with most men going to Udaipur or Gujarat to work as agricultural or industrial

laborers. Usually children work as waiters in small hotels, canteens and dhabas. In some cases

elder girl in the house also migrate with their father. Despite being an egalitarian society, the

overall status of the tribal woman is low. Women are not entitled to inherit land from her family

but are entitled to a part of the husbands' property.



2. SHG Programmes and Business Linkage

2.1. A Rural Distribution Network

Rural Distribution Network is to provide food security to SEWA’s members while

simultaneously strengthening the Village economy. Through rural distribution, the small

marginal farmers and laborers who are SEWA’s Members can sell their product and buy the

necessities in their village.

2.1.1. Operating Mechanism

At present the pilot initiative is in the Dungarpur tehsil of Dungarpur District (Rajasthan) where

SEWA has started its work in 2006. The pilot phase is estimated to cover 32 and more villages in

the district. The distribution system involves three stages-

• Procurement from rural producers through their District Association.

• Sales and Distribution

• Inventory Management and Control

A sale with Rural Distribution is a unique experience for small producers. Firstly, the

procurement team collects the product from the member’s home thus eliminating transportation

charges. Secondly, the rate given to the members is an average of rates prevailing over the past

few years. Hence, she gets a fair rate for her product. Last, but not the least, payment for the

produce is made to the member on the spot. Thus the sale is conducted in a hassle-free manner,

without any incidental expenses. Saleswomen among the members have been identified for the

purpose of sales and distribution. The women have been trained in the art of selling and

promoting their products. The various mediums used for promotion are-

• Poster displays

• Banners

• Door to door campaigns

• Participation in fairs, festivals etc in the villages

• Pamphlet distribution

• Advertisements on All India Radio.



Apart from sales through selected saleswomen, it also relies on promoting its product through

corporate tie-ups, “krishi bazaars”, and exhibitions. At present the saleswomen takes the item

from distribution centre on credit, and deposit the money after the sale has been completed.

However, this encourages dependence and therefore venues like SHG’s in the villages, savings

of the saleswomen and other venues are being explored to enable the women to take a loan in her

name and directly purchase the products from the distribution centre.

The rural women manage the supervision and monitoring of movement of stock at rural level.

Product list at a glance-

• Bed Sheet

• Agarbatti

• Napkin

• Detergent Powder

• Towel

2.2. The Programme Impact Assessment

It is about two years since SEWA started its SHG Programme in Dungarpur District. They asked

us for an independent evaluation of the impact of their SHG program and business linkage with

the findings to be reported to the SEWA officials. Its main objective is to assess whether the

SHG program have had the desired impact on individuals, households and communities.

2.3. Objectives

• To examine the social and economic impact of microfinance program of SEWA on SHG

member’s household to help in designing better microfinance services and products.

• To get the present information about members need and aspirations.

• To get the information on the income of family members so that further programs

can be formulated in future.



The Research Team

We the students of KIIT School of Rural Management (KSRM) joined the SEWA for our

Village Study Segment (VSS) in January 2009. When we have completed our Village Study

Component (VSC) our host organization offered us to do an impact study for their SHG program

for our Theme Paper along with some other options. As the Theme Paper is considered to be a

part of our VSS in which the students have to learn the ground realities with the choice of host

organization.

So we started our task with the help of SEWA family especially Ms Varsha bhatt, Ms Indira ben,

Ms Dharmistha ben and Ms Hansaben



3. Objective of Study

3.1 Problem under Study

SEWA has started to work on the theme of SHG Programmes since 2006 in the 32 Villages in

Dungarpur. But not all the villages have achieved desired level of development. We have given

two model villages for study. So our topic was the comprehensive impact analysis of the

interventions done by SEWA since year 2006 on the model villages and compares it with the

previous conditions in those villages. In other words we have to find out the conditions which

lead these villages as model villages and how these models can be used for other villages.

3.1.1 Main objective of this study

To explore the diverse socio-economic impact of Sustainable Community-based Livelihood

Enhancement projects on the community people.

3.1.2 Specific objective

• To explore the existing Village Organizations and people’s participation to access and

control over SEWA services including any governance, government and non-government

infrastructure and openings if at all.

• To analyze various dimensions of the current and long term innovative and livelihood

enhancement strategies and people’s participation.

• To design a framework to structure the existing and emerging strength and therefore the

potentiality of the studied villages as model scale village.

3.2 Rationale of Study

We tested the SEWA microfinance program, to establish whether in fact the microfinance

Programme shows evidence of the intended impact. It analyses the evidence and the potential of

the approaches adopted to achieve the intended impact.



The impact of client participation in microfinance programs is assumed to occur at distinct

levels: the individual, the household and the community. But the impact chain is complex – there

is a host of mediating factors such as program attributes, client characteristics, geography, social

structure and power relationships, infrastructure, and the macro economy. So it is really difficult

to establish cause and affect relationship between the impact and the work done. To get proper

assessment of impact of SHG program on above items, benchmark data was needed to compare.

But because of unavailability of the benchmark data, we tried to assess the impact for only those

SHGs which are quiet old.

Figure 1- Impacts of Interventions on Development



4. Methodology

Figure 2- Study Implementation Flow Chart.

PHASES

PREPARATORY WORK

PHASE‐I

SAMPLE DESIGN FIELD WORK DATA ANALYSIS REPORT WRITING

PHASE‐II PHASE‐III PHASE‐IV

USE OF STATISTICAL

TOOLS

DRAFT REPORT

REPORT WRITING DATA ANALYSIS

DECIDING TOOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION LIKE QUESTINAIRRE

SAMPLE DESIGN

SAMPLE COLLECTION

PRA FORMATS

FIELD WORK

PRA

FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION

GENERAL DISCUSSION

PERSONAL INTERVIEW

SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION

FINAL REPORT

PHASES



4.1 Research Design

4.1.1 Selection of Study Area

Dungarpur tehsil is the selected area for research. The reason for the selection of this area is that

SEWA is doing work in this region. In this cluster two model villages Hathai and Devki were

selected. We have to assess the socio-economical and other interrelated impacts on the people of

these villages.

4.2 Sample Design

4.2.1 Sample Size

We have selected people from all income groups so as to find out the impact on whole village.

We have selected 50 samples from each village.

4.2.2 Sampling Method

The responded were selected on the basis of proportionate and random sampling. The samples

cover almost all categories of beneficiaries of the villages and also cover all type of interventions

done in the areas.

4.3 Survey Design

4.3.1 Collection of Primary Data:

Primary data are collected with the help of a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was

tested beforehand and necessary corrections were incorporated after pre-testing in the field. The

revised questionnaire was finalized then for survey. We have started approaching to the villagers

with the help of Village level workers of SEWA. The organization has given us their references.

The aim of survey and purpose of use of the questionnaire was explained properly to these

workers in detail before starting household survey.



Some primary information was collected through Rapid Rural Appraisal Method and

Participatory Rural appraisal method. Initially some group discussions were conducted about

some important facts, issues before and present situation of the beneficiaries. These discussions

continue for 2-3 hours. This gave us the opportunity to think in this direction and analyze the

situation. Important argument and information were ranked according to their priority, check list

were also used to facilitate the discussion. Some of the information was collected about the

general household conditions and their daily routine work also. We also participated in their

marriage ceremony to understand the cultural dimensions of the villagers.

4.3.2 Collection of Secondary Data:

Some of the secondary data were provided by the organizations. They have provided the list of

interventions in that area and also the beneficiaries in those villages. The information related to

the no. of households and population of the villages has collected from village Panchayat. The

primary school from each village has provided the information about no. of school going boys

and girls, dropout rate, various facilities provided by the government to raise the standard of

education and about the level of awareness and education in those villages. SHGs (Self Help

Groups) helped us to know about social issues of the villages and also about the saving and co-

operative nature of the villagers.

4.4 Methods of Data Analysis

Microsoft excel is used as a major tool for analysis of primary data. The other tools like

frequency distribution, mean analysis, averages, hypothesis testing are also used.

4.4.1 Tools and Techniques

• Semi Structured interview Schedule: For the primary respondents

• Observation

• Informal Interaction: To know the issues of the community.

• Focused Group Discussions (FGD)

• Case Study: To know the gradual development of a SHG member (Randomly selected)



• Case study: To know how various interventions impacted the economic, social and

attitudinal characteristics of the individual.

• Hypothesis testing.

4.5 Hypothesis

The following hypothesis is made to conduct the study as defined in the objectives.

Hypothesis 1.There has been significant change (positive) in the income level of the members

Hypothesis 2. There is positive relationship in the expenditure pattern and the income of

villagers

Hypothesis 3. The poor women in the villages are benefited very much with Self Help Group

Hypothesis 4. The people with lower income group have purchased more productive assets

4.6 Limitation of the study

i. The villagers were quite hesitant to reveal the exact data about the land, the produce

and real income etc. They feared that the data could be used against them at any point

of time.

ii. One of the primary limitations during the study was that there was a busy schedule for

villagers in those days. The reason was that the NREGS work was in its full swing. So

it is not possible to spare much time with us for discussion. At this moment there is no

other option except going to their site and discussing with them while working.

iii. During our initial days in the village most of the respondents were not confident about

the purpose of the study and so they may have concealed the correct information.

iv. There was no accommodation available in the village for us. So we have to stay at

Dungarpur town. So we were not able to discuss with villagers in the evening time

which was free time for villagers.



5. Profile of People

This section gives an idea about the profile of people who were surveyed. It includes their Age

group, Education status, Caste group, Economic status, marital status and their participation in

the SHG Program.

• Age Category:

Average age of the sample is 39 yrs. 48 % is below 35 years of age. 26% falls in 35-50 yrs and

26 % is equal to 50 years or more. This suggests that most of the SHG members are in the

productive age group. This can lead to higher impacts on the target Households.

• Education:

70 % of members are illiterate. Average age of women who have studied upto primary or more

is 25 yrs. This indicates that young women are more inclined towards studies.

• Caste Category:

Majority of women members belong to Schedule Tribe. 92 % of the sample members are from

scheduled tribes and 4 % belongs to other backward castes.

• Economic Category:

25 % people are below poverty line. Hence we can say that SEWA is mainly working with the

poor women. 41 % sample population is above poverty line.

• Marital status:

Almost all the women are married. There are 8 widows in the sample. There are some cases of

second wife in tribal people. No other caste people have second wife.



Membership in SHGs

It came out of the focused group discussions that the main objective of forming the groups was

to do small savings and to use that as small credit for household needs. Prior to the program most

families were taking loan from moneylenders at very high rates (about 10% pm) and they used to

mortgage ornaments and lands. To end this exploitation they thought of joining SHGs. The major

hurdle was the negative attitude or apprehensions in the minds of male members of the families.

They used to discourage/ stop women from attending the group meetings. SEWA took the

village leaders to exposure in successful groups and it helped in removing the apprehensions.

Savings in SHG

Initially the sample groups were saving an average amount of Rs.25 and presently they are

saving an average amount of Rs.50. Saving amount has increased about 2 times, this is a very

good indicator of positive impact. But still the amount of saving is not flexible and members are

saving amount that is generally suggested by SHG members on collective basis.

Loan from SHG

The average loan taken from SHG is increasing gradually with every loan. This shows that credit

absorption capacity of members is increasing. Many people are taking loans for agriculture and

daily needs. This can be seen as a prudent investment, which may lead to good returns after some

time. People are also taking loans for rearing cattle, health needs and Social events very

frequently. Almost all the women are using the loan for the same purpose for which it has been

taken except for some cases. The amount of loan sanctioned by the bank is primarily based on

first grading which is done one year after the SHG’s is formed. The amount of loan sanctioned is

directly proportional to the no. of grading done. There is also provision of inter-loaning within

the SHG’s.



6. Social Impact

This section discusses about the social impact of the SHG program on the surveyed women. It

presents the findings about the increased involvement in Decision-making, awareness about

various programs and organizations increased access to such organizations. This section also

discusses about the increased expenditure on Health and Marriage events.

Focused group discussion suggested that there is a Change in the attitude of male members of the

families, now they are convinced about the concept of SHG and encourage women to participate

in the meetings. Also women reported that they have savings on their name and it gives them

confidence and increased self respect. Within family the respect and status of women has

increased. Children education has improved significantly. Especially girl education was very low

but now SHG members are sending their children including girls to school. The sanitation in

members’ households has improved and it has led to better health in members’ families. Now

women are taking treatment from qualified doctors, even if they have to travel to nearby towns.

Members are now confident enough to raise socially relevant issues in family and at village

level. Now women are actively participating in government programs like family planning,

immunization, employment guarantee scheme at mass level. But the change is happening with

some women coming forward.

6.1. Decision Making:

In sample group 12% women take their own decisions and 56% are involved in the decision

making process in their family. This shows a clear impact as more number of women are

participating in the decision making process as a result of their participation in the SHG program.

Before joining the SHG’s there was no role of women in the important decisions of the family

but now the status of women has increased and their family members too support them viz. if the

wife is working outside the home e.g. NREGS then husband or other family member helped her

with household chores.



In most of the decision making process the sample women are more independent and involved as

compared to the local population as came out from the FGD. This can be attributed to their

participation in the SHG program.

6.2. Raising Voice

6.2.1. Raising voice against beating and abusing

No. of members not raising voice before and raising voice now 44

No change 26

No. of members raising voice before and raising voice now also 15

No. of members raising voice before and not raising voice now 12

No. of member not in this purview or not applicable member 3

Total no. member interview 100

6.2.2. Access to various government/ non-government organizations

Awareness about Market 77%

Awareness about Anganwadi 68%

Awareness about School 90%

Sample women have higher awareness and access to the various organizations as compared to

the non members as came out from the FGDs. Most of the sample women have the basic

awareness about the various organizations. The percentages in the above table are a mix of

awareness level and access percentage. This has been derived by combining four/five questions



about awareness and access into a single percentage. From the data it is coming out that most of

the women are aware about the services available from various organizations but all the women

are not taking these services. It can be concluded that SEWA has spread enough awareness about

the services but now people should be motivated to take these services.

Data suggests that the sample women who belong to SHG program are much more aware about

the services offered by various organizations and have visited these organizations and have

availed the services more often.

Important incidents in the family:

Event Sample Reported Avg. Expenditure

Festivals 52 Rs 7,893

Marriage 49 Rs 25,297

Sample population is spending a lot on festivals. On an average the expenditure on festival is Rs.

7893. 49 % of sample group reported spending on festivals. On marriage the sample population

is spending on an average amount of Rs.25, 297. To meet these needs people are taking loans

from friends and relatives. Many people are taking their own capital in use. SHG is providing

loan only for small amounts. Some people are even going to friends and moneylenders in

addition to using their own capital. Besides all this, the members are presently aware about what

authority to go to when facing the following problems at village level-

• Problem regarding shortage of water.

• Poor quality of roads.

• Maintenance of school and education.

• Lack of electricity.

• Limited access to Health Care.

• Lack of Sanitation.



SHG members participated in their respective gram sabha on regular basis and aware about what

would be discussed in advance there. Earlier their questions and voice were neglected but now

their opinions are well received. There is significant awareness about the importance of elections

and voting.



7. Economic Impact

This section discusses about the Economic impact of the SHG program on the surveyed women.

It presents the findings about the various sources of Credit for the Households, Increased

household income, increased standard of living and increased food security.

Credit from various sources

We can say that most of the moneylender’s chunk has been replaced by SHG loans as reflected

from FGDs. This can be considered as the biggest impact of the program as women have

developed their own source of easy credit.

Type of Assets Purchased

Productive assets = (land+livestock+well deepening+ bullock cart) 45

Security assets = (jewellary+goats) 54

Assets for life style = (home construction+cycle+home

repair+bathroom+toilet) 80

Luxury assets = (radio+motorcycle+T.V.) 3

Total assets purchased after becoming member 182

% of productive assets purchased after becoming member 24

% of security assets purchased after becoming member 30

% of assets for lifestyle purchased after becoming member 43.9

% of luxury assets purchased after becoming member 1.6

% of total assets purchased after becoming member 100



Besides the above mentioned facts and figures it is being observed that all the SHG members

have a bank A/c on their name and they have deposited money continuously into this account in

the past one year as savings. They themselves manage the A/c i.e. deposit or withdraw money.

Economic Impact of Rural Distribution Network among the sample population

• Presently 6 women from the sample population are directly employed at various stages of

procurement, value addition, promotion and sales.

• Rural consumers are benefitted by getting a range of quality product at right price at their

doorsteps.

• Quality products assure rapport building within the rural consumers.

• Nearly 90% of the sales are re-circulated back into the village economy. Out of the every

one rupee of the sales through SHG members 90 paisa is spent locally thus the rural

money circulates within the rural area and contributes to strengthening the rural

economy.

• When the poor are able to sell their produce as well as buy food for consumption at fair

prices, their income as well as food security is ensured.

• The additional marketing opportunity through Rural Distribution Network of SEWA

means that the women are able to negotiate better terms of trade when they do choose to

sell to middleman.

Figure 3: Rural Distribution Network



8. Attitudinal Impact 8.1. Leadership

SEWA has involved the villagers in every intervention and try to give certain training for their

capacity building. The villagers not only participated in different intervention but also emerged

as leader. In every SHG there is a group leader (Aagewan) who takes all the major decision for

the group. The organization has established the institutional structure in such a way that it helps

the local people to behave as key person. There is a community organizer in the every village

who act as a connecting link between the organization and villagers. This community organizer

has a lot of opportunity to lead the villagers in different activities.

9.2. Awareness and Motivation

Awareness is not a game of single day. It needs lots of time. The organization started various

activities to make the local people aware about the development activities. They have used

means for awareness like group discussion, personal meetings, writings various motivating

slogans in their local languages on walls at common places.



9. Hypothesis testing

Hypothesis 1.There has been significant change (positive) in the income level of the

members

Sample size – 28 households

One tailed t- test give the support to the hypothesis

H0 : there is no change in the income level of the members.

H1: there is significant increase in the income level of members

Where H1 is the alternate hypothesis

The hypothesis is tested with significant level 0.005 and 99% confidence level.

It has been found by the single t-test at 99% confidence level that there is a significant increase

in the income level of the members. The main reason is that earlier there were only few

opportunities for work and employment but due to the interventions of SEWA they are able to

get themselves employed.

Hypothesis 2. There is positive relationship in the expenditure pattern and the income of

villagers

H0: There is no relationship between the increased income (present income-before income) and

the increased expenditure (present expenditure-before expenditure) level

H1: there is positive relationship between the income level and expenditure pattern of the

villagers

Here H0 is the null hypothesis and H1 is the alternate hypothesis

Increased income contributed to the increased expenditure of the beneficiaries. The following

hypothesis will test the correlations between the two mentioned above.

The correlation coefficient from the test is 0.95.

Hence r = 0.90

This means that 90 % increase in expenditure is contributed by increase in income.



Hypothesis 3. The poor women in the villages are benefited very much with Self Help

Group

H0: The poor women are small fractions of the beneficiary of Self Help Group

H1: The poor women are main beneficiary from self Help Group

Here H0 is null hypothesis and H1 is alternate hypothesis

The self help group was initiated for the help of poor people specifically women. The member

women of the group used to do saving of Rs. 25 to 50 per month. This collection of money is

deposited in the bank; they can withdraw the money in the time of need. So this has inculcated

the habit of saving among the women in the villages. But this is not the main objective of the

group. There are around thirty members in each group. Out of 30 members, there are 24

members who belong to poor family background. When there is emergency in the home of any

member she can avail the inter-loaning facility from the group and comparatively lower interest

rate than any moneylender. So, the group is more for the benefit of poor women who are around

73% of the total members. So this large share of poor women among the beneficiary cause the

rejection of null hypothesis and acceptance of alternate hypothesis

Hypothesis 4: The people with lower income group have purchased more productive assets

H0: There is no relation between purchase of the productive assets and income group

H1: There is association of lower income group and purchase of productive assets

The chi square test has shown that the null hypothesis is rejected and alternate hypothesis is

selected.



10. Conclusion

SHG Programme clearly plays a vital role in the lives of the poor. The program in various

clusters seems to be very successful in reaching poor clients; there is evidence of increased

household incomes. This is a very significant indicator of impact. Standard of living for the

program participants have increased and also the food security is much more for the program

clients. There is also compelling evidence of the welfare-maximizing role played by the financial

services provided by the SEWA-supported programs at the household level. Furthermore, one of

the most important roles played by SEWA seems to be helping clients to cope with vulnerability.

Programme loans are one of the main ways clients overcome food insecurity with sickness,

disease, emergencies and crises, where program participants seem to transfer the loan source

from friends and moneylenders to SHG loans to meet these expenses. At the individual level,

there is evidence that the program attracts already relatively empowered people and that

empowerment occurs among some clients through program participation. The process of

empowerment manifests itself in increased self-esteem. Programme participation is also

associated with changes in decision-making at the family level. Program participants are aware

about the various programs and have an access to these organizations. We came to see many of

the success stories in the village where poor women are benefitted from SHGs. Every month they

meet at a common place and discuss about their common problems and other problems in the

village. After assessing the Economical, Social and Attitudinal impacts on these two villages of

the interventions done by SEWA we find that there is a significant improvement in the living

standards of SHG members.

Annexure

HOUSEHOLD SCHEDULE

FOR A SURVEY OF THE

SELF EMPLOYED WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION

PILOT IN DUNGARPUR DISTRICT,

RAJASTHAN, INDIA.

JANUARY 2009

STUDENTS MRM (2008-10)

SCHOOL OF RURAL MANAGEMENT KIIT UNIVERSITY, BHUBANESWAR

ORISSA, INDIA.

District: Tehsil/Block: City/Town/Village: Date of Interview: Interviewer: Time Interview begins: My name is …………………… and I am working with SEWA. We are conducting a survey about women’s employment and household decision making. We would very much appreciate your participation in the survey. I would like to ask you some questions about your household, your employment status, and how you make decisions in your home. This information will help plan future services for women. Participation in this survey is voluntary. If you decide to participate, you may stop answering questions at any time. Whatever information you provide will be kept confidential. We hope that you will participate in the survey since your views are important. Do you want to ask me anything about the survey before we begin?

1. Household Composition

Name What are the names of the people who live in your house, beginning with yourself?

.Head of Household

Is this person the head of the household?

1: Yes 2: No

(choose only one member as head of household)

Relationship How is the person related to the respondent? 1: Spouse 2: Sibling 3: Parent 4: In-law 5: Child 6: Other

Sex 1: F 2: M

Age How old is this person in years?

Education How much education have they completed? 1: None 2: Some Primary 3: Primary 4: Some secondary 5: Secondary 6: Other

Marital Status 1: Married 2: Unmarried 3: Widowed 4: Divorced

Current Employment Status 1: Self-employed 2: Employed by someone else 3: Unemployed

Was member a migrant worker or absent from household for more than 3 months in the last year? 1: Yes 2: No

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

2. What is the highest level of school completed by the following individuals? 2.1. Your father?


2.2. Your mother?


3. In general, how would you describe the present living condition of your village?

• Very bad • Fairly bad • Neither good nor bad • Fairly good • Very good

4. In general, how would you describe your own present living conditions?

• Very bad • Fairly bad

• Neither good nor bad • Fairly good • Very good • 5. Looking back how you would rate the following compared to 12 months ago:

5.1. Your village’s living conditions?


5.2. Your own living conditions?


5.3. Today, what are the two most important issues facing your village? (Rank 1st, 2nd)

• Lack of drinking water • Lack of sewage and sanitation • Poor conditions of roads and transportation • Lack of electricity • Lack of maintenance of school and education • Limited access to health care • Few opportunities for work and employment

6. Over the past month, how often, if ever, has you or your household members gone without: 6.1. Clean water


6.2. Electricity


7. Do you feel that you know what authority to go to when you experience the following problems? 7.1. Problems with clean water/ sewage

• Yes • No

7.2. Poor quality of roads

• Yes • No

7.3. Lack of electricity

• Yes • No

7.4. Limited access to healthcare

• Yes • No

8. In the last seven days did you or anyone else in your household go to sleep hungry because there was not enough food?

• Yes • No

9. Respondent’s employment in past 12 months (general questions)

Over the past 12 months, what work did you do? Codes: 1: Own-farm activities 2: Non-farm self-employment (collection, foraging etc) 3: Casual labor (farm and non-farm) 4: long-term agricultural employment

During which months did you do this activity? How many days in each of these months did you do this activity? (begin with month 11 months before survey date)

How many hours per day did you do this activity?

Where did you do this work? 1:At home 2: Own Village 3: Another Village 4: Urban Area

# Description Code J F M A M J J A S O N D 1. 2. 3.

4.

5.

10. Source of Income

Copy from general section all activities

Was this work done as part of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme? 1: Yes 2: No

How were you compensated for this activity? 1: Piece rate (including money from sale of goods) 2: Daily wage 3: Salary 4: In kind 98: Was not compensated 99: Other

How much were you paid in cash per day for this work? If piece rate, estimate cash earned per day. If salary estimate cash earned per day

What did you get In-kind per day? Codes: 1: Paddy 2: Wheat 3: Barley 4: Maize 5: Gram 6: Other Leave blank if no In-kind payment was received

Were you provided with any of these by your employer while doing this work? A: Meals B: Snacks C: Childcare 1: Yes 2: No

# Description Rupees Code Quantity Unit A B C 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

11. Do you yourself own land?

• Yes • Do not own land, Go to 14

12. What best describes your ownership of your land?

• I own it independently • I share ownership with my spouse • I share ownership with another household member • I share ownership with another person outside the household

13. Do you use your land for agricultural activities?

• Yes • No, Go to 24

14. If you use more land than you own for your own agricultural activities, how do you get this extra land?

• Land rented • Land mortgaged • Land received from employer • Does not use more land than what is owned

15. How much of the land that you farm is irrigated, as opposed to rain-fed?

• Less than one-quarter • Less than one-half • More than one-half • No land is irrigated

16. What is the way you irrigate your land?

• Tube well

• Canal • Pond/Tank • Another natural source • Mixed methods

17. What example do you think better describes your access to water for farming:

• My access to water is bad. It is always time consuming, expensive or inconsistent. • My access to water is adequate. It is sometimes difficult to obtain and unavailable. • My access to water is good. It is easy to obtain and reliable.

18. Have you ever paid a side payment or bribe to gain access to water for farming?

• Yes • No

19. Do you own a pump for irrigation?

• Yes • No

20. How is your land compared to other land in your village for agriculture?

• Better than average • Average • Worse than average

21. In the last 2 years have you ever rented out your land?

• Yes • No

22. Use of seed and fertilizer

Have you used the following in the past 12 months? 1: Yes 2: No

How much have you used in the past 12 months?

How much did you for this amount?

Quantity Unit Rupees Seed KG Urea KG DAP KG Phosphate KG Complex or other fertilizer KG

IF NO TO ALL, GO TO 23

23. Farming equipment Do you own

any of the following items? 1: Yes 2: No

How many do you own?

How much would it be to buy one of these?

Do you ever borrow this item from another person? 1: Yes 2: No

What is the fee associated with borrowing this item? If no fee, enter 0.

Quantity Rupees Rupees Borrow period Tractor Plowing implements

Cart Thresher Trolley Fodder cutter

Other (specify)

24. Whose decision was it for you to work to earn income?

• Respondent’s decision • Respondent’s husband/partner • Respondent and husband/partner • Someone else (specify……………) • Do not work, GO TO 26

25. What do you do with the money you earn? • Respondent gives all of it to husband/partner/other household members • Respondent gives some to husband/other member • Respondent keeps it all

26. If you are/were not working, why are you not working?

• Husband/partner/in-laws will not allow • Society doesn’t like it • Do not want to • Do not need to • Unable to work due to illness • Unable to work due to impairment or disability • Unable to find work • Other (specify……………) • Does not apply (working)

27. I would like to ask a few questions about how you manage your household items and finances. Who in your household decides whether to buy the following items? 27.1. Vegetables or fruits?


27.2. Clothes for yourself?

• You alone • You with someone else

• Someone else alone • Do not buy this item

27.3. Medicines for yourself?


27.4. Cosmetics such as soap, toothpaste, shampoo or perfume for yourself?


28. Please tell me if you alone, or jointly with your husband or someone else, own any of the following: 28.1. Any house or dwelling


28.2. Jewelry or gems


28.3. Livestock • Does not own • Owns jointly • Owns alone

29. Do you have a bank account or an account in other savings institution in your own name or jointly with someone else?

• Yes own name • Yes jointly • No, GO TO 33

30. Have you deposited money into this account in the past six months?


31. How much money did you deposit in this account in the past six months? Amount (Rs.) …………… 32. Do you yourself manage the account, that is, sign checks or deposit or withdraw money, on your own or jointly with someone else?

• Yes, on your own • Yes, jointly with someone else • Someone else manages account

33. Have you ever been asked by any of the following individuals for side payments or bribes: 33.1. The police

• Yes • No

33.2. A local government official

• Yes • No

33.3. A Rajasthan state government official • Yes • No

33.4. A federal government official

• Yes • No

33.5. A business person or other private individual

• Yes • No

34. Do you know of any programs in this area that give loans to women so that they can start or expand business of their own?

• Yes • No

35. Have you yourself ever taken out a loan either in cash or in kind?


36. Who provided you with this loan?

• Local money lenders • Banks • Relatives/friends

• Special organization/NGO 37. What was the amount of the loan and what was the interest charged? Amount (Rs.)……………

Interest rate (annual %)…………… GO TO 39 38. Why did you choose not to take a loan?

• Do not know whom to ask • Too expensive • Asked but was unable to obtain one • Do not need one

39. Are you usually permitted to go to the following places on your own, only if someone accompanies you, or not at all? 39.1. The local market to buy things?


39.2. To a local health center or doctor?


39.3. To homes of friends in the neighborhood?

• Alone

• Not alone but accompanied by someone else • Never

39.4. To a nearby shrine/mosque/temple/church?


40. Have you done any of the following in the last 12 months? 40.1. Seen a medical professional yourself?

• Yes • No

40.2. Taken your children to a medical professional?

• Yes • No

41. I would like your opinion on some aspects of family life. Please tell me if you agree or disagree with the following statements: 41.1. The important decisions in the family should be made only by men in the family


41.2. If the wife is working outside the home, then the husband should help her with household chores

• Agree

• Disagree • DK/Depends

41.3. A married women should be allowed to work outside the home if she wishes


41.4. The wife has a right to express her opinion even when she disagrees with what her husband is saying


41.5. A wife should tolerate being beaten by her husband in order to keep the family together


41.6. It is better to send a son to school that it is to send a daughter


42. Who in your family has the final say on the following decisions? 42.1. Who takes decision about children’s schooling?



42.2. What to do if a child falls sick?


42.3. How children should be disciplined?


42.4. Whether to have another child?


42.5. Whether or not to use contraception to avoid having children?



43. Who takes care of your children?

• Respondent • Respondent has access to childcare • Respondent’s relatives/friends • Other • Respondent has no children, GO TO 52

44. Do you know where the local Anganwadi is?


45. Do your children attend the local anganwadi?


46. What kind of Anganwadi services does you and your children use (select all that apply)?

• Non-formal school education • Supplementary nutrition • Immunization • Health check-up • Referral services • Nutrition and health education

47. How many of your children under the age of 15 do not attend school?

Record number of total children: Record number of children not in school: If number of children who do not attend school = 0, GO TO 49 48. What are top three reasons they do not attend school?

• Is/was too young • Disabled/illness • School is too far • Cannot afford schooling • Family doesn’t allow schooling • Poor in studies/not interested in school • School not considered valuable • School not safe • To work for pay or family business or farm • Help at home with household chores

49. Have you heard of the Gram Panchayat?


50. Do you know the names of any members of the current Gram Panchayat?

• Yes • No

51. Have you ever conducted any business with or made any requests to the Gram Panchayat?

• Yes • No

52. Have you heard of Gram Sabha?


53. Have you ever attended a Gram Sabha?

• Once or twice • Several times • Many times • Never, GO TO 58

54. Have you attended a Gram Sabha in the past 12 months?

• Yes • No

55. How many days/weeks in advance you know about the Gram Sabha?

• Less than a week • One or two weeks • More than two weeks

56. Do you typically know what would be discussed in advance of the Gram Sabha?

• Always • Sometimes • Rarely • Never

57. Of the following statements, which one best characterizes, your participation at the Gram Sabha:

• I do not understand what is being discussed at the Gram Sabha

• I listen, but do not want to raise questions or voice my own opinion • I listen and want to raise questions or voice my own opinion, but do not feel comfortable doing this • I raise questions and voice my own opinion, but do not feel that other participants listen to me • My questions and opinions are well received

58. Please describe your participation in the following types of elections: 58.1. Local election


58.2. Rajasthan state election


58.3. National election


59. Are you a member of SEWA?


60. When did you join SEWA? • 0-4 months ago • 5-8 months ago • 9-12 months ago • More than 1 year ago

61. In what SEWA activities do you participate? (Select all that apply)

• Participated in SEWA survey • General meeting • Have joined a Self-help Group (SHG) • Have opened a bank account • Child care activity • Health education • Health services • Water related activity • No activities, GO TO 65

62. How often do you participate in SEWA related activities?

• More than once a week • Once a week • Once every two weeks • Once a month • Less than once a month

63. Do you hold any leadership (Agewan) position in a SEWA group?

• Yes • No

GO TO 65 64. Why are you not a member of SEWA?

• Didn’t know about it • Didn’t think it would help • Could not afford membership fee • Was not allowed to join by household members • Was encouraged not to join by SEWA • Other (specify……………)

65. Are you a member of any type of association, self-help group, or club which holds regular meetings, other than SEWA?


66. What kind of association or group or club is it? Other village self-help group (name……………) Other local association (specify……………) 67. Have you acquired any new skills or received any education in the last year?

• Yes • No, GO TO END

68. What have you learned?

• A craft (such as sewing or knitting of fabrics or embroidery) • Agricultural technique • Managing household finance/debts • Other (specify……………)

69. Who provided you these learning’s? • SEWA • Other local association or self-help group (specify……………) • School • Family or friends • Other (specify……………)

70. Have you used these skills in some way that had earned you and your family money?

• Yes • No

END


“Reflections on Rural Action Component (RAC)”

Activities carried out are: Formation of SHG’s

Installation of Hand Pump Commencement of Anganwadi

Household survey in 32 Villages

Host Organisation Self Employed Women’s Association

(SEWA)

Submitted by: Raman Sharma(8201025)

Vikas Rana(8201040) Vikram Singh(8201041)

Sandeep Kumar(8201075)

School of Rural Management

Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India

2009

i

Table of contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………1

2. Objectives………………………………………………………………...2

3. Activity Profile…………………………………………………………...3

4. When and Where………………………………………………………...6

5. Aims and Targets………………………………………………………...7

6. Implementation…………………………………………………………..9

7. Achievements…………………………………………………………….12

8. Key Success Factors……………………………………………………..13

9. Lessons Learnt…………………………………………………………...14

10. Individual Role…………………………………………………………...16

11. My Experience as a grassroots worker………………………………...17

Rural Action Component 2009

1

1. Introduction

RAC is an integral part of VSS Component; it includes various social works like developing

activities towards the development of community. The main objective of Rural Action

Component(RAC) is to engage students as grass root workers in social mobilization of rural

communities and their grass root work act as interface between the organization and

downtrodden (member clients).The students mainly indulge in the important tasks like;

Providing mindful cognition amongst the backward communities towards many economic and

social issues.

The host organization will decide the engagement of students for the RAC component amongst a

range of issues relevant to host organization. Our host organization Self Employed Women

Association(SEWA) wanted to do the survey of 32 villages that will provide effective

information about the situation of villages and services provided by them to the villagers. The

services mainly are like providing loan to various SHG’s and construction of infrastructure

(hand pumps, Anganwadi etc.) and business linkage of various small enterprises in various

villages of Dungarpur district. Similarly our host organization SEWA wanted us to work more

for four topics under RAC i.e. SHG formation in Kesarpura village, Installation of Hand pump in

village Dungar, Opening an Anganwadi centre in Dungra village.


2

2. Objective

• To explore the existing Village Organizations and people’s participation to access and

control over SEWA services including any governance, government and non-government

infrastructure and possibilities if at all.

• To document cases by using narrative methodologies and quantitative approaches

reflecting on the coping capacity of the community people with the old and new village

institutional practices.

• To create awareness on various government facilities this will enhance the quality of life

of the marginalized and less privileged people in the village community.

• To create an improved access to quality education, health and livelihood opportunities.

• To improve and stabilize income levels for the villagers.

• To demonstrate convergence of state government, SEWA and villagers in working

towards the eradication of poverty and holistic development of villages.

• To enable planning of credible and transparent systems in the village that will ensure

equitable and sustainable development.

• To design a framework to structure the existing and emerging strength and therefore the

potentiality of the studied villages as model scale village.

• To analyze various dimensions of the existing and long term innovative and livelihood

enhancement strategies through people’s participation.


3

3. Activity Profile

The methodology adopted by us for our study consisted of setting our targets collecting data both

from the primary as well as the secondary sources, analyzing that data, making certain

observations and then implementing the solutions through the activities.

S.No. Activity When & Where

1. Formation of SHGs On 14th Feb’09 in Village Kesarpura

2. Installation of Hand pump On 20th Feb’09 in Village Dungra

3. Commencing an Anganwadi centre On 26th Feb’09 in Village Dungra

4. Sample Household Survey in 32 Villages (700 households).

Covering 3 tehsils of District Dungarpur

a. Primary activities

3.1.1. Selection of the villages

I started my RAC work from surveying 32 villages in Dungarpur District and then selecting

villages like Kesarpura, Dungra separately for SHG formation, commencement of Anganwadi,

Installation of Hand pump under the rich guidance of our host organization.

3.1.2. Personal Interviews

As the plan involved studying the whole village and in particular all sections of the society, we

carried out a household survey in both villages(Dungra,Kesarpura) for the purposes like

• SHG formation.

• Commencement of Anganwadi.

• Installation of Hand pump.

3.1.3. Informal Discussions


4

After building rapport with the villagers, I conducted several informal group discussions. These

helped us in gaining their confidence as we showed interest in their village, its beauty and its

problems. This method proved to be very informative and gave us an opportunity to cross

examine our secondary data obtained from different sources. Generally we tried to interact with

them in Gram samuh meetings conducted by Sewa so we didn’t face any major problem. In that

period I took some snaps with them.

3.1.4. Self Observations

We really enjoyed and were actively involved in the things happening around us this was really a

good learning experience.

3.1.5. Focused Group Discussions

We used this technique when we attended the meetings of the villagers. Sometimes we called

them especially for the purpose of our RAC work and sometimes when villagers gather to

interact with Sewa workers that we used to interact with them. In these meetings, focus is on

certain matters like condition of villages, functioning of our host organization etc. Most of the

villagers took active part in these meetings including women. A lot of discussions took place on

the basis of questionnaire given by our host organization.

3.1.6. Unstructured and Semi Structured Interviews

We conducted interviews sometimes with any one particular villager (Gram panchayat member)

or with small groups. These were semi structured in the sense that these were not fully formal.

We had a small set of questionnaire regarding villager’s livelihood, their use of cultivation

practices in Agriculture, and other activities like credit system etc and we used to ask them in an

informal way.

3.1.7. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) Methods

PRA activity was conducted. Social mapping and resource mapping were carried out for this

purpose. These PRA exercise were useful in the sense that the villagers were confronted and

participated in this activity. But there was a limitation of the PRA exercise, as women are

considered to be less aware of the reality outside the confines of the household, compared to

men. This may also be due to their less involvement in the public affairs.


5

We used certain PRA tools (some of them are mentioned below) for the purpose of our RAC

work:

• Focused group discussions.

• Transect walks.

• Interviews.

• Informal Interaction: To know the issues of the community.

• Questionnaires.

• Case studies.

• Field visits.

3.2. Secondary Activities

• Creating awareness among the migrants about their rights.

• Creating awareness among women about the importance of forming SHGs.

• Creating awareness about proper sanitation.

• Awareness about diseases like malaria, diarrhea and TB and when and why ORS is

given to the babies.

• Creating awareness about the advantages of availing proper medical facilities for

treatment of diseases.

• Making people prioritize their requirement according to the availability of resources.


6

4. When and Where

• Formation of SHGs ---- On 14th to 18thFeb’09 in Village Kesarpura.

• Installation of Hand pumps ----On 20th to 25th Feb’09 in Village Dungra.

• Commencing an Anganwadi --- - On 26th Feb to 1st Mar’09 in Village Dungra

• Sample Household Survey in 32 Villages (700 households) ---- Covering 3 tehsils of

District Dungarpur

As a part of our village segment, we were interns with on organization named SEWA. This

organization works for the development of the villages in and around Dungarpur district in a

various domain like SHG’s formation, women and child development, health care, economic

activities etc. Initially, we were given 32 villages for the purpose of survey and then we had

selected two villages i.e Kesarpura and Dungra to carry on our RAC. Since the project was on

formation of SHGs and developing the infrastructure of both the villages (i.e Anganwadi, Hand

pump, we divided our time for both the villages.

The first activity was conducted in the village Kesarpura. The first few days of our work mainly

involved in rapport building with the villagers. The actual work was started on 2nd February.

Then we decided to find out the number of members interested in joining our host organization

in the village. The places we decide for the work was the primary school, the community centre,

house of the ward panch in Kesarpura, NREGS work sites.

Similarly, the activities were conducted in the village Dungra in the third week of February. The

availability of drinking water per household was fairly bad and there was lack of Anganwadi

centre in the village. The places we chose were the Public health centre, the Gram Panchayat for

the data of number of children between 0 to 4 years and total number of hand pumps in village.


7

5. Aims and targets

The Rural action component aims at deriving following objectives;

• Understanding the conditions of the village – the main aim was to understand the local

conditions of rural life. The project required us to assess the present status of the people in

both the villages keeping in mind various social, economic and political aspects. The

activities mainly aimed at studying the experiences of rural life.

• Assessing the opportunities available with the present resources – another aim of our

rural action plan was to identify opportunities which the villagers can make use of with the

available resources. It was found that they were less aware about the facilities provided from

government and various organizations for their economic upliftment and development of

infrastructure in the villages. Therefore our main aim was to make a village development

plan on the basis of explore possibility of unused resources towards further development.

• To develop convergence of the organization, state government and villages in

developmental activities – another important aim was to facilitate the convergence of these

stakeholders in the developmental activities in the village. While assessing the present

conditions of the village, it was felt that sustainable development can only be achieved when

these three institutions work in consonance with each other to achieve the aforesaid targets

for the village.

• Making the villagers a part of the development activities - another aim was to make the

villagers realize what their needs are. They were made to deliberate upon their present

condition and assess what their needs are. This was done as we realized that just making

development activities in the villages does not actually help their condition. It is only when

those activities are conducted or those requirements are met for which the villages actually

feel the need, and then the developmental activities are successful.


8

• Making the villagers prioritizes their requirements – the villagers expressed their needs.

But it was important that their needs were prioritized so that the essential ones could be first

taken care of in the short term plan and the others could be included in the long term plans.

• Identify activities that would bridge the gap – the aim was also to identify the activities

which could be conducted so that the gaps in the developmental activities could be filled.

• Awareness about credit and subsidy policies – the foremost aim was creating awareness

about credit and subsidy policies after SHGs formation by NGO’s as well as from

government side.

• Making the villagers aware about water table depletion – another aim was to provide

aware about importance of water table in near future among villagers; and to reduce the

accessibility of drinking water for their own use for various purposes.

• To understand the productive activities of villagers in different fields like Agriculture,

Education and Health etc.

• To understand the cropping plan, cropping pattern, use of fertilizers, seed requirement,

cultivation practices etc to calculate estimate cost of crop production.

• To understand SHG and Craft formation by SEWA for other allied income generating

activities like

• Bed Sheet Making.

• Agarbatti Making.

• Napkin Making.

• Detergent Powder Making.

• Towel Making.

5.1. Other targets are:

• Changing the mindset of people towards the development of village by opting for alternative

income generating activities like opening enterprises other than agriculture.

• Helped the villagers to prioritize their needs according to the requirements in daily life.

• Make people understand the importance of education.

• Making people understand the importance of cleanliness making them aware of the

prevailing diseases like TB, diarrhea.


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• Encouraging the women folk of the village to form a group and telling them about their roles

in various decision making process of the village.

• Encouraging the teachers to create awareness among villagers about the disadvantages of the

traditional system of agriculture and curing of diseases.

6. Implementation

One of the important component of the project was to make a develop plan of both the villages.

So it was very essential to have a complete knowledge of the villages. It was only then that we

would be in a position to make developmental plans for the villages. For this were first divided

our time and then started with the village like KESARPURA and DUNGRA.

• The first step was to build a rapport with the villagers. It was only then that we could expect

them to be responsive in telling us the existing conditions of the village. This exercise

involved knowing all the sections of the village that is the men, women, children and the

older generation.

• The next step was to conduct household survey. We had based our survey on a sample basis

where we selected a few household from each hamlet of the villages. We then scrutinized the

whole house on every indicator possible. This helped us analyze the household conditions in

both the villages. As we had taken samples from each hamlet, we were able to survey each

category of population be it BPL and APL families and data collection of children between

the age of 0 to 5 years and availability of hand pumps per in the villages.

• The next step was to carry out a PRA of both the villages. This exercise helped us in

understanding the present status of the resources and infrastructure like Anganwadi, Hand

pumps, Primary Schools, Roads, Credit accessibility available in their village and what they

need in near future. It also helped us understand the potential resources that could be

developed to make a fruitful development plan for the village. This exercise helped us

identify social structure of the villages, economic structure, wealth status, natural resources

available, settlement patterns etc.

• The next step was to make membership in SHGs ‐ It came out of the focused group

discussions that the main objective of forming the groups was to do small savings and to use


10

that as small credit for household needs. Prior to the program most families were taking loan

from moneylenders at very high rates (about 10% pm) and they used to mortgage ornaments

and lands. To end this exploitation they thought of joining SHGs. The major hurdle was the

negative attitude or apprehensions in the minds of male members of the families. They used

to discourage/ stop women from attending the group meetings. SEWA took the village

leaders to exposure in successful groups and it helped in removing the apprehensions.

• The next step was to increase savings in newly SHGs formed ‐ Initially the sample groups

were saving an average amount of Rs.25 and presently they are saving an average amount of

Rs.50. Saving amount has increased about 2 times, this is a very good indicator of positive

impact. But still the amount of saving is not flexible and members are saving amount that is

generally suggested by SHG members on collective basis.

• The next step was to provide accessibility of loan from banks on the ground of their newly

formed SHGs ‐ The average loan taken from SHG should increase gradually with every loan.

This shows that credit absorption capacity of members is increasing. Many people are taking

loans for agriculture and daily needs. This can be seen as a prudent investment, which may

lead to good returns after some time. People are also taking loans for rearing cattle, health

needs and Social events very frequently. Almost all the women are using the loan for the

same purpose for which it has been taken except for some cases. The amount of loan

sanctioned by the bank is primarily based on first grading which is done one year after the

SHG’s is formed. The amount of loan sanctioned is directly proportional to the no. of grading

done. There is also provision of inter-loaning within the SHG’s.

• The next step was vigorous transect walks throughout the village Dungra. As our main aim

was to collect data of children between the age of 0 to 5 years for starting Anganwadi

centre(because initially there was no Anganwadi in the village) and finally we got the names

of 30 children (which fulfills the requirement of starting Anganwadi i.e. 25 children) during

the survey we had find out the various diseases like Marasmus, floursis (due to excess of

fluoride in drinking water), fever, malaria, chickenpox etc in children below 6 years of age

due to less awareness about vaccination in their parents. So we had started an Anganwadi

with the help of our host organization for providing initial education to the children and

awareness about vaccination from public health centre.


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• The next step was to make the villagers prioritize their needs. The developmental activities

can only be a success if they actually fill the gaps in the rural areas. So we found that the best

way of ensuring the success of the development plan of the villages was to work on the needs

of the village. This could best be done by asking the villagers themselves to identify their

needs. The villagers were asked to identify their needs on the basis of three categories –

Basic infrastructure, Agriculture, its allied and other income generating activities.

• The next step was to identify activities that would help in satisfying the needs of the

villagers. The activities identified were done keeping in mind the parameters of the state

government, organization and the village. The limitations of the topography of the village, its

social and economic structure were also kept in mind.

• In the next step we had find out the problem of drinking water in the village Dungra, due to

less availability of hand pumps i.e. one hand pump for 75 houses (because more than 45% of

hand pumps was not working).So we collected the data of households from gram panchayat

for the installation of hand pumps and finally we could conclude that there is a need of

another hand pump in the village.

• Under the rich governance of our host organization. The installation of hand pump was

completed properly which costs near about 15000Rs.

• The next step was to link the allied agriculture activities with the available markets. No plan

is successful until it is actually linked with the market. The activities only yield benefits

when its benefits in the economy are studied so that it proves economical for the villagers.

Therefore the market linkages of each activity were done whether it really yields benefit for

the villagers.

• The next step was to identify a productive plan for these activities. It was felt that

development is only sustainable when the newly formed SHGs, Anganwadi, and hand pump

working properly and it should maintained properly in near future. A monitoring plan was

also identified which would regularly oversee the activities of the villagers so that transparent

and credible systems could be established.

• The last and the final step was to motivate the villagers for development process. The

development in the villages can only be achieved when the villagers themselves are focused

on what they want and how they could achieve. It is only then that the developmental efforts

of any organization or state government are actually fruitful. So we identified ways where we


12

motivated the villagers towards reality and paved a path for them which would help them

make their village a much better place with the consonance of works of the state government

and the organization.

7. Achievements

• We created awareness amongst people that what authority they should go to when they

experience the problems with drinking water availability, Lack of Anganwadi, Limited

access to healthcare, Lack of maintenance of schools and roads etc.

• During our household survey we had interacted with the women in the villages and gave

them the suggestion to start a SHG. We told them how this group can be beneficial to the

villagers by providing loans to the needy. Even we told them that they can undergo training

for tailoring and then consider it as an additional livelihood option along with performing the

household works. We were successful in this work which resulted in formation of SHG at

Kesarpura village.

• The impact of focused group discussion could help in bringing a change in the attitude of

male members of the families, now they are convinced about the concept of SHG and

encourage women to participate in the meetings

• Also women reported that they have savings on their name and it gives them confidence and

their self respect. Within family the respect and status of women has increased. Children

education has improved significantly. Especially girl education was very low but now SHG

members are sending their children including girls to school

• Encouraged villagers to opt for the alternate livelihood options other than agriculture for

increasing their income level.

• On the occasion of Republic day celebration we motivated the villagers to send the children

cleanly to the school and daily and encourage them to grow more and more trees.

• On the same occasion we tried to convince the villagers to send each child to school and gave

them awareness about the importance of vaccination to their children at the proper time of

their age.

• While performing the individual interviews with the ladies we gave them the information

about ORS and why it is needed wherever we felt that the respondent doesn’t know about. In


13

addition we told the importance of using toilets for the sanitation purpose to each of the

individual respondents we came across.

8. Key Success factors

Our success in achieving the aforesaid targets can be attributed to the following factors

• Responsive attitude of the people – the people of both the villages were very responsive in

their attitudes towards us. They firstly helped us to get familiarized with the surroundings

and secondly they themselves created platforms for discussions and also gave full

participation in the same.

• Goodwill of the organization in the village – the good will established by SEWA in the

villages was of great help to us in our work. The people had a lot of confidence in the

organization and its activities. This was seen through the confidence and trust they had

placed on us as grass root workers.

• Guidance by the staff members of SEWA – the guidance provided by the staff members of

SEWA helped us at every step of our work. They provided us clear guidelines on how to go

about it and how to carry out the survey. This was of great help to us in carrying out our

work.

• Support of our Livelihood worker – We are very grateful to Mr. Avtar Vaso and Mr. Haker

Damor, inhabitant of villages like Kesarpura and Dungra respectively and other workers of

SEWA. He had excellent knowledge about both the villages. He also had the right insight on

how to go about the work, the people to meet, rapport building with the villagers. He also

helped us in carrying out the PRA activities in the villages.


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9. Lessons learnt

9.1. Key solution to the credit accessibility

The moneylender’s chunk has been replaced by SHG loans as this information could be derived

after FGDs. This can be considered as the biggest impact of the program as women have

developed their own source of easy credit. The average loan amount taken from SHG is

increasing gradually with every loan. This shows that credit absorption capacity of members is

increasing. Many people are taking loans for agriculture and daily needs. This can be seen as a

prudent investment, which may lead to good returns after some time. People are also taking loans

for rearing cattle, health needs and Social events very frequently. Almost all the women are

using the loan for the same purpose for which it has been taken except for some cases.

9.2. Local participation

Any programme which aims at the empowerment of a particular group is possible only when

their participation is ensured. Local participation has been defined as “giving people more

opportunities to participate effectively in the development activities”. It means empowering

people to mobilize their own capacities, manage resources, make decisions and control activities

that affect their lives. The participatory approach is different from beneficiary approach, in this

they are only economically benefited, but empowerment is possible only when they are involved

in decision making. Before joining the SHG’s there was no role of women in the important

decisions of the family but now the status of women has increased and their family members too

support them viz. if the wife is working outside the home e.g. NREGS then husband or other

family member helped her with household chores.

9.3. Awareness about the authority for solving their problem


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Besides all this, the members are presently aware about what authority to go to when they face

the following problems at village level-

• Problem regarding shortage of water.

• Poor quality of roads.

• Maintenance of school and education.

• Lack of electricity.

• Limited access to Health Care.

• Lack of Sanitation.

SHG members participated in their respective gram Sabah on regular basis and aware about what

would be discussed in advance there. Earlier their questions and voice were neglected but now

their opinions are well received. There is significant awareness about the importance of elections

and voting.


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10. Individual role and experience as a grassroots worker

(I) Raman Sharma Role

1. Formation of SHG’s in Kesarpura village

• Firstly I was meeting with ward members to know about the situation of village from various

aspects i.e. education, infrastructure, economic accessibility etc and other group had taken

household survey.

Collect information about the Village(through PRA)

• its credit needs and analysis of sources of Credit.

• its incomes and seasonality.

• Social &Resource Mapping-Availability of natural resources/location of

households, location of drinking water facilities, grazing land, cultivatable land,

forest.

• Skills available.

• Markets existing.

• Peoples perception about Poverty” Why are you Poor” and “What are the

resources required for the development of your family?

• Affinity groups available in village.

• Wealth ranking Exercise.

• Meet with men and women in village and explain to them the purpose of your intervention.

• Conduct several meeting over the 8-10 days and set an agenda for each meeting

• Talk about family issues/Community issues using the data collected

• through PRA


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• Talk about saving and lending.

• Talk about the self help concept or self help groups.

• Talk about rules and regulations in self help groups.

• Familiarize members with Books to be maintained in SHG.

• Elect Representative and explain responsibilities of Members.

• Give the group a name and help open a Bank account (with cheque

facilities if possible)

2. Installation of Hand Pump in Dungra Village

• In this village I found out tried to get information on the availability of hand pumps per

household with my other group members, this can be done through household survey to know

the number of hand pumps in a Dungra village.

• I priortize tried to identify the exact location for newly installed hand pump this was possible

with the help of our host organization workers and village people,

3. Commencement of Anganwadi Centre in Dungra Village

• In the village I attended several meetings with women, to find out the problems related to them

when they were going for NREGA work i.e. children security and their development.

• While doing household survey we got the names of 30 children (which fulfills the requirement

of starting Anganwadi i.e. 25 children) during the survey we had find out the various diseases

like Marasmus, floursis (due to excess of fluoride in drinking water), fever, malaria, chickenpox

etc in children below 6 years of age due to less awareness about vaccination in their parents.

• My experience as a grassroots worker

• It was for the first time in my life that we had gone to villages that were reeling under poverty.

We were made to stay in a Dungarpur town. We were skeptical about the kind of reaction village

people could give at our arrival. The starting days were simply spent in familiarizing myself with

the surroundings and its inhabitants with whom I had to spent the coming few days.


18

• Away from my family, KSRM The fieldwork was like an eye-opener to the rural realities. It

has given me such great insights about life, which have if not completely then at least partially

changed my whole philosophy of life. The people were full of life and enthusiasm though they

were poor, marginalized.

• The PRA was conducted with the local people was also a great experience where I came to

know how helpful is the meetings for the members and it solves most of their confusions.

• As my theme paper is “Impact Assessment of SHGs and their Business by SEWA” it gave me

ample opportunities to interact with the villagers and to have a closer look at their lives and

understand their position within the society and family. From all what I learned from the

childhood that women have no preference in the family and community matters or decision

making process like everywhere else, but here we saw some exceptions. The women have

come out of their veils and reached to the outer world. There were useful experiences and

some living examples, which enhanced my learning and will also guide me throughout my

life. I was most impressed by Indra Ben, Dharmistha Ben, Hansa Ben worker of SEWA. All

of them are really active and confident workers. In our works, we were helped by the

Sarpanch and other gram panchayat members of the village, a villagers working for SEWA

acting as a bridge between the villagers and the organization. They helped us in meeting the

right people who would give us all the data. They also helped us in our transect walks in the

villages, without it would have been very difficult to complete our project.

• The RAC Component showed us that it is actually very difficult to work as a grass root

worker. The work of a grassroots worker is to mobilize the community in achieving

sustainable development for the village. He has to do this keeping in mind the objectives of

the organization and the mindset of the village. He has to synchronize the two in such a way

that the path for development of the village is set. For this purpose, he has to keep in mind a

number of socio, economic and political considerations. He has to keep making the villagers

aware of their roles and the opportunities around. He has to constantly be in touch with all

the people around. Not forgetting, this is done without any resources in the hands of the

worker. Hence, the village stays actually helped us experience the life of a grassroots worker

and made us realize the potential difficulties and the conditions in which he has to work in.

• These are the useful experiences and living examples, which enhanced my learning and will

Guide me throughout the life.


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(II) Vikas Rana

Individual role and my experience as a grassroots worker: Vikas Rana

1. Formation of SHG’s in Village Kesarpura • I had conducted meetings with the villagers particularly women and made them

understand about the prospects of joining SEWA viz. access to credit, earning by sitting

at home etc.

• Conducted training by giving live examples of the model villages of SEWA regarding

“Changing the mindset of people towards the development of village through alternative

income generating activities.”

In the mode of formation of SHGs, I have discussed the following things with the members:

• In the first meeting names of the group, leader, Secretary and Treasurer are to be decided.

• The amount of voluntary saving by a member per month is to be decided.

• A code of conduct is to be devised.

• A Savings Bank A/C is to be opened in the service area Bank Branch. The amount of

savings is to be credited there regularly.

• Internal lending among the members of the group is to be done. Rate of interest is to be

fixed by the group.

2. Installation of Hand pump in Village Dungra • We had approached several times regarding the permission of installation of hand pump

to BDO’s office with the SEWA officials. • With the help of the SEWA’s workers and some other members from nearby villages, we

had organized a dummy presentation to show the procedure to repair the hand pump, if required.


20

3. Commencement of Anganwadi in Village Dungra • I had listed out the necessary items and utensils etc needed initially for commencing an

anganwadi. • Conducted a meeting with the women of the village to convince them to send their

children to anganwadi.

4. My experience as grass roots worker

The RAC Component showed us that it is actually very difficult to work as a grass root worker.

The work of a grassroots worker is to mobilize the community in achieving sustainable

development for the village. He has to do this keeping in mind the objectives of the organization

and the mindset of the village. He has to synchronize the two in such a way that the path for

development of the village is set. For this purpose, he has to keep in mind a number of socio,

economic and political considerations. He has to keep making the villagers aware of their roles

and the opportunities around. He has to constantly be in touch with all the people around. Not

forgetting, this is done without any resources in the hands of the worker. Hence, the village stays

actually helped us experience the life of a grassroots worker and made us realize the potential

difficulties and the conditions in which he has to work in. During starting days I felt that it is too

hard to live within this environment like tribal people, scarcity of water and low availability of

services like electricity, internet etc. I was most impressed by Indra Ben, Dharmistha Ben, Hansa

Ben worker of SEWA. All of them are really active and confident workers. In our works, we

were helped by the Sarpanch and other gram panchayat members of the village, a villagers

working for SEWA acting as a bridge between the villagers and the organization

(III) Vikram Singh Role

1. Formation of SHG’s in Village Kesarpura

As SEWA is working for women only that’s why I tried to get a rough idea of the no. of women interested in forming the SHGs. Then I discussed in detail along with the SEWA officials, the


21

rules and principles necessary for forming a SHG with the interested members. The rules, as designed by SEWA, for the formation of SHGs are:

• The number of members should between 10-20

• Only one member per family to be covered in the SHG

• Weekly meeting on a fixed day & time should be made compulsory

• All the transactions & discussions should be made compulsory

• All the transactions & discussions should be done in the meeting only

• For the first 3 months emphasis should be on regularly of meeting, 100% participation,

regular saving & regular deposit in the bank & book writing

• Between 3-6 months a SHG concept training has to be arranged for all the members

• Grading is compulsory before linkage

• An SHG has completed six months is functioning well &shouldn’t be deprived of Bank

loan for long

• Participation of bank officials in the SHG meeting at least once in 3 months is essential

for maintaining the quality of SHG

• The SC/ST & OBC constituted 83% of the total sample

• It is called as a small saving group

2. Installation of Hand pump in Village Dungra

I identified the sites where the new hand pump can be placed with the help of the villagers,

experienced people and SEWA in order to ensure success in digging the bore well and to ensure

access to safe less fluoridated water for the villagers. The villagers are handed over the

responsibility to look after the hand pumps in order to ensure that the pump does not get miss

utilized, damaged, no water clogging takes place, and also to ensure the after care. By means of

the installation of the hand pumps, a solution is found for the fetching water from long distances.

Thereby, awareness created towards hygienic practices towards protection and judicious use of

community owned resources, and towards the importance of water and saving it.

3. Commencement of Anganwadi in Village Dungra:


22

In the general meeting with women of the village, I discussed the objectives of commencing an

Anganwadi in their village. I further encouraged the women to send their children (below 5 year)

to the respective Anganwadi initiated by SEWA.

The objectives are :-

• To improve the nutritional and health status of pre-school children in the age-group of 0-

6 years;

• To lay the foundation of proper psychological development of the child;

• To reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school drop-out;

• To achieve effective coordination of policy and implementation amongst the various

departments to promote child development; and

• To enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and nutritional

needs of the child through proper nutrition and health education.

4. My experience as a grass root worker:

It was the first and interesting part of my life when we were at Dungarpur town of Dungarpur

district of Rajasthan by the rich guidance of our host organization SEWA. We were skeptical

about the kind of response that village people would give at our arrival. During starting days I

felt that it is too hard to live within this environment like tribal people, scarcity of water and low

availability of services like electricity, internet etc.

As my theme paper is “Impact Assessment of SHGs and their Business by SEWA” it gave me


understand their position within the society and family. From all what I learned from the

childhood that women have no preference in the family and community matters or decision

making process like everywhere else, but here we saw some exceptions. The women have come

out of their veils and reached to the outer world. There were useful experiences and some living

examples, which enhanced my learning and will also guide me throughout my life. I was most

impressed by Indra Ben, Dharmistha Ben, Hansa Ben worker of SEWA. All of them are really

active and confident workers. In our works, we were helped by the Sarpanch and other gram

panchayat members of the village, a villagers working for SEWA acting as a bridge between the


23

villagers and the organization. They helped us in meeting the right people who would give us all

the data. They also helped us in our transect walks in the villages, without it would have been

very difficult to complete our project.

RAC made me realize the real challenges a mobilizes faces at the field level in achieving

sustainable development for the village. He has to synchronize the two in such a way that the

path for development of the village is set. For this purpose, he has to keep in mind a number of

socio, economic and political considerations. He has to keep making the villagers aware of their

roles and the opportunities around. He has to constantly be in touch with all the people around.

Not forgetting, this is done without any resources in the hands of the worker. Hence, the village

stays actually helped us experience the life of a grassroots worker and made us realize the

potential difficulties and the conditions in which he has to work in and the most delighting thing

I want to say through this is that there is something the rural India has still preserved and the

urban has lost and that is the Indian tradition of ‘Atithi devo bhav’.It will always be in my

memories when all of us were in the field and were hungry and a women villager invited foe

lunch at her place for ‘dal bati’.

These are the useful experiences and living examples, which enhanced my learning and will Guide me throughout the life.

(IV) Sandeep kumar Role

1. Installation of Hand Pump in Dungra Village

• I found that the availability of drinking water per household is very low in this village. After that

I discussed about the procedure of installation of Hand Pump with village level member of our

organization and our coordinator.

• Then according to the procedure first I discussed with the village people and i made them agree

to install a hand pump for 20 households in one location which was suitable for all.

2. Commencement of Anganwadi Centre in Dungra Village.

• First I discussed and shared knowledge about Anganwadi with the village women and its

importance in education of children.


24

• I also told them about the facilities given for pregnant women and other primary precautions for

the child health.

• I attended several meetings with women and convinced the villagers for admission of all the

children below 5 yrs in the Anganwadi because it is very useful for their future.

3. Formation of SHG’s in Kesarpura village

• Firstly I met with some women in the village with our SEWA workers to know about the

situation of the village and its major problems.

• Then I gathered information like, no work is available without NREGA in the village, lack of

drinking water and some other problem.

• I identified that a group of women who were more interested in SHG formation and told about

the profit given by the government after its formation.

• Then I met all women in the village and gave some knowledge to them about SHGs importance.

• Finally I told them about the benefits and the opportunities that they would get after the

formation of these SHGs.

4. My experience as a grass root worker

It was the first time in my life that we had gone to villages that were reeling under poverty. We

were made to stay in a Dungarpur town. We were skeptical about the kind of reaction village

people might give at our arrival. The starting days were simply spent in familiarizing myself with

the surroundings and its inhabitants with whom I had to spent the coming few days.

Away from my family, KSRM The fieldwork was like an eye-opener to the rural realities. It has

given me such great insights about life, which has influenced me not completely but at least

partially changed my whole philosophy of life. The people were full of life and enthusiasm

though they were poor, marginalized.

The PRA was conducted with the local people was also a great experience where I came to know

how helpful is the meetings for the members and it solves most of their confusions.


25

As my theme paper is “Impact Assessment of SHGs and their Business by SEWA” it gave me


understand their position within the society and family. The stay in the village showed us that it

is actually very difficult to work as a grass root worker. The work of a grassroots worker is to

mobilize the community in achieving sustainable development for the village. He has to do this

keeping in mind the objectives of the organization and the mindset of the village. He has to

synchronize the two in such a way that the path for development of the village is set. For this

purpose, he has to keep in mind a number of socio, economic and political considerations. He

has to keep making the villagers aware of their roles and the opportunities around. He has to

constantly be in touch with all the people around. Not forgetting, this is done without any

resources in the hands of the worker. Hence, the village stays actually helped us experience the

life of a grassroots worker and made us realize the potential difficulties and the conditions in

which he has to work in. I was most impressed by Indra Ben, Dharmistha Ben, Hansa Ben

worker of SEWA. All of them are really active and confident workers. In our works, we were

helped by the Sarpanch and other gram panchayat members of the village, a villagers working

for SEWA acting as a bridge between the villagers and the organization. They helped us in

meeting the right people who would give us all the data. They also helped us in our transect

walks in the villages, without it would have been very difficult to complete our project.

There were useful experiences and some living examples, which enhanced my learning and will

also guide me throughout my life.


Organizational Profile


(SEWA)

Submitted by: Vikas Rana(8201040)

Vikram Singh (8201041) Sandeep Kumar (8201075) Raman Sharma (8201025)



Table of Contents

1. Organization Overview…………………………………………………1 2. Structure…………………………………………………………………2 3. Personnel………………………………………………………………...2 4. Target Community……………………………………………………...3 5. Activity Profile…………………………………………………………..3 6. Growth…………………………………………………………………...4 7. Key Focus………………………………………………………………..5 8. Impact On Target Communities……………………………………….5 9. Networking & Network policy………………………………………….6 10. Salient Achievements……………………………………………………7 11. Funding Sources………………………………………………………...8 12. Future Plans …………………………………………………………….9

Organizational Profile 2009

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1. Organization Overview

1.1. Vision

To become a role model or a living laboratory of learning for others to adopt in their own area for sustainable development.

1.2. Mission

Establish itself as a premier organization for sustainable rural development in collaboration with other organizations.

1.3. Objective

To provide a farmer driven, location specific watershed development combined with bio diverse agriculture, other nature based livelihoods and microfinance to raise rural income leading to an enduring panacea to the suicide ridden dry lands.

1.4. Goals

Poor women’s growth, development and employment occurs when they have work and income security and food security. It also occurs when they are healthy, able to access child care and have a roof over their heads. In order to ensure that we are moving in the direction of our two goals of Full Employment and Self Reliance, constant monitoring and evaluation is required. In a membership-based organization, it is the member’s priorities and needs which necessarily shape the priorities and direction of the organization. Hence, it is appropriate that member’s themselves developing their own yardstick for evaluation. The following ten questions have emerged from the members and continually serve as a guide for all members, group leaders, executive committee members and full-time organizers of SEWA. It is also useful for monitoring SEWA’s progress and the relevance of its various activities and their congruence with member’s reality and priorities. It also increases the accountability of SEWA’s leaders and organizers, to their members.

1.5. The Eleven Questions of SEWA:

• Have more members obtained more employment? • Has their income increased? • Have they obtained food and nutrition? • Has their health been safeguarded? • Have they obtained child-care? • Have they obtained or improved their housing? • Have their assets increased? (E.g. their own savings, land, house, work-space, tools or

work, licenses, identity cards, cattle and share in cooperatives; and all in their own name.

• Have the worker’s organizational strength increased? • Has worker’s leadership increased? • Have they become self-reliant both collectively and individually?


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• Have they become literate?

Questions 1 to 7 are linked to the goal of full employment while 8 to 11 are those concerned with SEWA’s goal of self reliance. However each of these is interconnected to each other. In 1998 "aagewan’s" suggested including education in the broadest sense as the eleventh question to be addressed by SEWA. We have included this as part of the member’s yardstick

2. SEWA's Structure

SEWA is registered as a trade union under the Indian Trade Unions Act of 1926. The union is open for membership to self-employed women workers all over India. The membership fee is Rs. 5 per year. The union is governed by a two-tier level of elected representation. The members of each trade elect their representatives in the ratio of 1 representative per 100 members. These representatives then form the Trade Council (Pratinidhi Mandal). In addition, and parallel to the Trade Council are Trade Committees (Dhandha Samiti) in each trade. The Trade Committee has no fixed proportion to number of members but varies between 15 to 50 members. The Trade Committees meet every month and discuss the problems of their trades and possible solutions to them. Trade Council members are members of their respective Trade Committees as well. The organiser of a trade group is the Member Secretary of that group's Trade Committee.

Every three years the Trade Council elects an Executive Committee of 25 members. The representation on the Executive Committee reflects the proportion of the membership.

The office-bearers of the trade union are elected from among the Executive members. It has become a practice to elect the President from the trade with the largest membership.

3. Personnel

SEWA’s Executive Committee No. Name Designation 1 Elaben Bhatt Founder, First

GeneralSecretary 2 Bhanuben Danabhai Solanki President 3 Manaliben Shah Vice President 4 Maniben Haribhai Patani Vice President 5 Gauriben Ramabhai Brahman Vice President 6 Jyotiben Macwan General Secretary 7 Rahimaben Shaikh Secretary 8 Mittalben Shah Secretary 9 Namrataben Bali Treasurer 10 Varsha Bhatt Field Cordinator


3

4. Target Community

SEWA members are workers who have no fixed employee-employer relationship and depend on their own labour for survival. They are poor, illiterate and vulnerable. They barely have any assets or working capital. But they are extremely economically active, contributing very significantly to the economy and society with their labour. In fact, 64% of GDP is accounted for by the self – employed of our country. There are four types of self-employed women workers:

• Hawkers, vendors and small business women like vegetable, fruit, fish, egg and other vendors of food items, household goods and clothes vendors

• Home-based workers like weavers, potters, bidi and agarbatti workers, papad rollers, ready-made garment workers, women who process agricultural products and artisans, and

• Manual labourers & service providers like agricultural labourers, construction workers, contract labourers, handcart pullers, head – loaders, domestic workers and laundry workers.

In addition to these three categories there is emergence of another category of women workers.

• Producers & Services who invest their labour and capital to carry out their businesses. This category includes Agriculture, cattle rearers, salt workers, gum collectors, cooking & vending etc.

5. Activity Profile

The various functional programmes going on at the community level for holistic development of villages.

• Home-based Workers’ Campaign • Vendors’ Campaign • The Water Campaign • Campaign for Forest Workers • Campaign for Agricultural Laborers • Campaign for Recognition of Dais (Traditional Birth Attendants) as Village

Health Workers • Campaign for Child Care as a Basic Service • Campaign for legislation entitling workers on the informal economy to social

security.


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6. Growth of SEWA's Membership: 1973-2005 (India)

Year No. of Members Year No. of Members

1973 320 1990 25,911 1974 3,130 1991 46,076 1975 3,850 1992 45,936 1976 1,630 1993 53,570 1977 1,748 1994 1,43,702 1978 730 1995 2,18,797 1979 2,041 1996 2,12,016 1980 4,934 1997 2,11,124 1981 6,087 1998 2,09,250 1982 10,733 1999 2,15,234 1983 13,386 2000 3,18,527 1984 22,739 2001 4,20,208 1985 15,741 2002 6,94,551 1986 20,811 2003 7,04,166 1987 15,144 2004 6,88,743 1988 19,554 2005 7,96,755 1989 29,133 2006 9,59,698

While the overall trend is upward, there have been periods of fluctuation over the past decade. Membership increases occurred as a result of campaigns which developed into mass movements in some rural districts, concrete gains from organizing of some categories of workers like vendors and home based workers and also because of support during crises.

Till 1994, SEWA’s membership was predominantly urban. This was partly due to our origins and base being at Ahmadabad. However, in the late eighties, SEWA intensified its rural organizing, with the resultant increase in membership from rural areas.

7. Key Focus • Cooperative Education & Development Services

Members’ Education Board of Directors’ Education Other Educational & awareness activities like linkages with SEWA &

sister organizations; government schemes etc. • Business Development Services

Pre-registration & Registration procedures Governance Trade facilitation


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Accounts Legal procedures & advice

• Institutional Development services Revival of Cooperatives Review and Monitoring Promotion of Cooperatives based on 5 point parameters

• Human Resources Development services Capacity building & enhancement Technical Trainings & workshops Vocational Trainings On the job trainings Special trainings in support with governmental and non-governmental organizations Administrative support

• Market Support Services Sales & Marketing outlet Buyers-Sellers interface Exports Exhibitions E-commerce Design & Product development Customized orders

• Policy Advocacy services • Research & Publications

8. Impact on Target Communities

According to our own observation systematically gathered at the community level during our stay in the villages.

• SEWA is basically working for poor women’s growth, development and employment by ensuring income security and food security.

• the members are presently aware about what authority to go to when facing the

following problems at village level like problem regarding shortage of water,poor

quality of roads,maintenance of school and education,lack of electricity,limited access

to Health Care, and lack of Sanitation etc.

• Rural consumers are benefitted by getting a range of quality product at right price at

their doorsteps.

• Quality products assure rapport building within the rural consumers

• Nearly 90% of the sales are re-circulated back into the village economy. Out of the

every one rupee of the sales through SHG members 90 paisa is spent locally thus the

rural money circulates within the rural area and contributes to strengthening the rural

economy.


6

• The additional marketing opportunity through Rural Distribution Network of SEWA

means that the women are able to negotiate better terms of trade when they do choose

to sell to middleman.

9.Networking & Networking Policy

Currently,SEWA is actively working in various states like Gujarat,Rajasthan,Bihar,U.P,Delhi

M.P,Maharashtra,etc and also working in other countries like Afganisthan,Sri Lanka,

Pakistan, Peru,etc.In addition SEWA is working with other sister organization to achieve

their goals in different areas.

• SEWA Trade

Facilation Centre

• Sewa Gram

Mahila Haat

• Banascraft/Kutchc

raft

• Shree Mahila

Sewa Sahakari Bank Ltd.

• Gujarat State

Mahila SEWA Cooperative Federation

• Shri Mahila

SEWA Anasooya Trust

• SEWA Insurance

• SEWA Academy

• Video SEWA

• SEWA Bharat

• Homenet South

Asia

• SEWA ICT

• SEWA Sanskar

10. Achievements


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SEWA had shown several noteworthy events and achievements in various areas. Both individual members and colleagues were recognized and obtained awardsfor their contributions to the workers’ movement, and also SEWA and its sister organizations’ contributions were recognized. While recognition is only given to a few,We gratefully and humbly acknowledge the continuing support and contributions of thousands of women workers, their families, our well-wishers and friends. It truly has been and is a team effort to further the SEWA movement.SEWA’s new Executive Committee was elected on January 26th, 2006 for a threeyear term.

• SEWA became an affiliate of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), now called the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC).

• SEWA became an affiliate of the International Federation of Building and Woodworkers (IFBWW).

• Construction workers obtained recognition as workers eligible for welfare and social security measures.

• In November, the Gujarat High Court stayed the eviction of streetvendors. They can now sell their wares in marketplaces and streets of the city. This judgement was in response to a SEWA’s petition in the High Court.

• A rally of 400 workers was organised on the occasion of Literacy Day in Septemeber. • Lok Swasthya cooperative opened a low cost medicines-cum-medical advice centre,

its forth such centre, in the Chamanpura area of Ahmedabad. • Sangini Childcare cooperative’s crèche “graduates” gave testimony at a national

convention on child care and child nutrition. • The Finance Minister of India inaugurated SEWA Bank’s new pension programme

for women workers in partnership with the Unit Trust of India (UTI). • SEWA Bank opened a new extension counter in the Chandkheda area of the city. • 1200 artisan women from Kutch and Patan districts assembled at our “Banas na

Aana” premises in Radhanpur, Patan district to collectively embroider 1000 metres of cloth. This dawn-to-dusk feat was covered in a special programme by Z TV.

• The Commerce Minister of India visited Gram Haat and Unnat Bazaar, our national and international marketing organisations.

• A new outlet for artisans world-wide was inaugurated in Washinton D.C. by the former President of the World Bank. SEWA’s products were also on sale, and our representatives were present.

• Unnat Bazaar entered into a partnership with Exim Bank of India for expanding artisans production and marketing.

• A SEWA team visited Afghanistan for two weeks to suggest how livelihood promotion for women could be further developed, at the invitation of the Afghani and Indian governments.

11. Funding Sources

The major funding bodies associated with the SEWA organization are

• Government of India • UNDP


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• UNFPA • World Bank • Swiss Agency For Development and Cooperation(SDC),Oxfam Australia • Swallos,Hellsinki (Finland) • Government of respective states in which our host organization actively working

i.e.Gujarat, Rajasthan,Bihar, U.P, Maharashtra, M.P etc.

12. Future Plan

The future development strategies of the organization has in consolidating its existing interventions and diversifying into new activities.

• Help building and providing an assured market to more than three lakh rural producers members

• In futire RUDI(Sewa enterprise) will cover 14 districts and reach to 1750 villages of Gujarat.

• ICT intitiatives for women needs continous guidence from experts in related areas especially starting ICT trainings, handholding, repairing, marketing, management, etc.

• Help in cunducting trainings for building proper sanition facilities in the villages possibly common as well as private,separate to the customs prevaling in the villages

• To identify potential economic programmes,that provide sustainable employment. • Finalize the operational plans of the economic programmes(including business plans). • Facilitate in setting up fund managemant.


National Service Scheme Activities


(SEWA)

Submitted by: Vikas Rana(8201040)

Vikram Singh (8201041) Sandeep Kumar (8201075) Raman Sharma (8201025)



NSS Activity 2009

1

A report on N.S.S Activity

The National Service Scheme was launched in 1969. It aims at the involvement mainly of

undergraduate students on a voluntary basis in various activities of social serviced and national

development which while making a contribution to socio-economic progress would also provide

opportunities to the students to understand and appreciate the problems of the communities,

awaken social consciousness and inculcate in them sense of dignity of labour. There has been a

great deal of enthusiasm among the students in various programmers taken up under the scheme.

At the same time, there has been a demand from several quarters that opportunity should be

provided to the youth going out of the universities and colleges to engage themselves on a whole

time basis for a specific period in activities of social and national service.

Motto:

The motto of the National Service Scheme (N.S.S.) is "Not Me, But You", This expresses the

essence of democratic living and upholds the need for selfless services and appreciation of

another man's point of view and also show consideration for fellow human beings. It underlines

the welfare of an individual is ultimately dependent on the welfare osf society as a whole.

therefore it should be the aim of the N.S.S. to demonstrate this motto in its day-to-day activities

Aim:

This programme is to inculcate the social welfare thoughts in the students, and to provide service

to the society without any prejudice. NSS volunteers work hard day and night to ensure that

every one in our society who is needy gets the every possible help from them so that they can

also enhance their standards and lead a life of dignity in the society with all of us. In doing so,

the volunteers themselves learn a lot from the people in villages like how to struggle and how to

lead a happy life in the extreme scarcity of resources and so on.

NSS Activity 2009

2

Schedule of N.S.S activities conducted by KSRM Students during Village Study Segment

S. No. Date Activities Participants

1. 26-01-09 We celebrated 26th January in a school of Devki village. we gave speeches on various issues like Girl Education, Water conservation etc.

School children, sarpanch as a chief guest & Principal of that school.

2. 27-01-09 Rally on Water Conservation in one of the SEWA’s model village (kesarpura)

Villagers specially women, children, SEWA members & school teachers.

3. 01-02-09 Pulse Polio Day we attended a camp in Hathai village and gave polio drops to the children door to door also.

Our group of 4 students, our local coordinator of SWEA & a Doctor.

4. 10-02-09 to 17-02-09

Children’s education awareness programme in village Kesarpura

One school teacher, our group & school children

Activities in details:

1. 26th January Celebration:

It was a nice experience to celebrate the 6oth republic day with the kids of Prathamik Pathshala

of Devaki village. We took the permission from the principal of the school on 25th evening for

doing our N.S.S. activity with their children. The programme started at 8:00 a.m. Sarpanch was

the chief guest in the function.Flag Hoisting was done by the chief guest at 8:30a.m. There were

11 cultural programmes by the students of the school such as folk dance, poetry, patriotic song

etc. Vikram gave a speech on ‘tree plantation and water conservation’ for 5 minutes. Next was

Sandeep who took the floor and gave a speech on ‘checkdams’(Med Med par Ped Lagao).Raman

gave a speech on ‘Girl Education’.The children enjoyed the programme a lot and it was

memorable experience for us too.

NSS Activity 2009

3

2. Rally on Water conservation awareness:

We took a rally on 27th January in Kesarpura village with the SEWA staff to spread awareness

on water conservation. The main reason behind the rally in that village was because we selected

that village as a model village for detailed study that is why we organized an awareness rally for

the social welfare of village residents. Around 75 people participated in the rally and thereafter

Vikas gave a short speech on Water conservation practices & its merits.

3. 1st Feb (Pulse Polio Day):

We went to a village Hathai and participated in ‘Pulse Polio Abhiyan’. We gave polio drops to

children in their school village. The people of that village were very cooperative and friendly

also and we had already visited that village for 2-3 times and they gave us a very good response

every time, so we decided to help the villagers by creating awareness. On the next day we went

the home of those children who had not came to the school i.e. we had complete our task on that

day by door to door service and gave them polio drops and completed our pulse polio

programme.

4. 10th-17th February (Children’s Education Awareness Programme):

When we saw the condition of the school of the village Kesarpura we were really disappointed

because only one teacher was there for the whole school. So we decided to help the students by

spending some time and teach them in a play way method for one hour, till we were there i,e. for

7 days.The students enjoyed the play way method with us and we loved their company a lot. The

We suggested the school principal to employ some staff members so that the future of the

students can be enriched.

Experience while performing NSS activity:

It was a great experience while performing these activities as it has brought us near to the

villagers. Although we are from villages but the realities of these small and poor village of

Rajasthan has motivated all four of us to work for these people in future as much as possible.

vss_final

Documents

village life

village report village

village study segment

vss village study segment

village development

rural society

gataka padaliya village

ground realities of