Designing Sustainable
Livelihoods
The
TARAgram Initiatives
Geeta Vaidyanathan
Most
predictions indicate that the world is heading towards economic,
environmental and social catastrophe. At TARAgram, however, we
believe that the human story has just begun to unravel. We believe
that our society is capable of taking stock of its situation and
reversing this trend. One such effort is our story; the TARAgram
story.
TARAgram is today an appropriate technology resource and training
centre for Bundelkhand located in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh. What
began as an effort at setting up a pilot hand made paper unit of
Development Alternatives in a rural area has today evolved into a
model for creation of livelihoods in the villages in the vicinity of
the centre. It has set the ball rolling for training and
establishing large number of home based livelihoods and enterprises
which will be sustainable for the reason that they all respond to
the local need, and feed into the local economy. It aspires to be
an expanded version of what Gandhiji envisaged as a self sustaining
village society : meeting local needs with the local resource base
in a decentralised manner.
In the beginning....
“The earth was without form and void”
In
July 1995, the 10 acre site of Bawedi Jungle was leased to
Development Alternatives, Jhansi for an Appropriate Technology
centre. The technologies envisaged then were hand made paper,
cleaner fuel and building materials including ferrocement, Micro
Concrete Roofing tiles, Compressed Earth Blocks and Stonecrete
blocks. These solutions were derived from surveys conducted to
assess the local resource base and the needs in Jhansi and Tikamgarh
districts while searching for a suitable site for the project. A
core team was immediately formulated consisting of a
multidisciplinary staff from Delhi and Jhansi.
The guiding theme was ‘Regeneration to sustainable utilisation’.
Some of the first efforts were at rejuvenating the existing root
stock, checking soil erosion through gully plugging and ground water
charging by building a checkdam on the stream running along the site
boundary. This also led to training of the workforce on land and
water management practices. The labour engaged was also trained on
making charcoal from Lantana and Ipomea harvested during site
clearance. The charcoal was effectively used for the cooking needs
on the site. This pioneering team assumed the role of TARAgram
stakeholders; each developing a specialised skill and moving up from
the unskilled, underemployed category to the semi-skilled and even
highly skilled category. We began dreaming together of a future
that aims to be sustainable.
The task of doing the masterplan would have normally relied on a
contour plan and a few site visits to evolve the zoning. This was a
different experience. We had for the initial layout of the handmade
paper unit, a 2.5 acre drawing board and pick-axes and trowels as
the drafting tools. The design has been evolved almost organically
on the basis of site topography and existing vegetation, ensuring
that minimum number of trees were cut but without sacrificing the
functional requirements of the buildings. Zoning was also done
segregating the areas of high noise levels from the silent zones
through provision of buffer zones. The bottomline in the design
brief was that this should be a fun place to work in. Today the
building bears a testimony to the synergies that existed between the
structural engineers, the architect and the process engineers,
without forgetting the users.
The Evolution
While the design was being evolved, there was on-site training of
the local masons on good construction practices. Building
construction began and stone available on site was prolifically used
as its collection and dressing improved the labour component in our
buildings. As the buildings emerged from the red murum of the site
it was early September. While buildings were being completed for
the paper unit all our building technologies were being validated,
our work-force being trained and our dream slowly turning to
reality. It also offered us an opportunity to expose women to some
of our technologies and upgrade them in tune with the evolutionary
process of TARAgram. Women were encouraged to be equal partners and
not mere objects to lift materials and weights on construction
sites. It was a learning process for all of us. It became evident
that if women were to be equal partners in earning the bread, the
children would either be made to takeover the household chores or
would be left unattended. This would actually jeopardise the future
of these children. If we were to impact the lives of our workers
in totality, we needed to readjust our on-site activities to include
a balwadi for these children. This was how the balwadi was born.
Soon children of school going age joined the balwadi. A vehicle has
been organised to take them to the school at Orchha. They begin
the day from the balwadi on site and finish again on our site,
returning home with their parents.
The selection of the trainees for the unit involved a rigorous
procedure where need for income was a major deciding factor along
with the willingness and enthusiasm to earn a livelihood. In the
case of the paper unit comprising today of 35 people, likely to
double very soon, more than 70% are women. Of this, half were
selected owing to their potential to be leaders while the other half
were truly needy. An artisanal profile is being maintained which
traces the progress of the trainees on site at work as well as back
home outside our sphere of direct influence. With the constant
effort to upgrade skills, we also have literacy classes for half an
hour everyday for three basic categories: those with no education,
those with primary level education but no accounting skills and
those with secondary level education. Each class has teachers
appointed from among themselves. There are monthly exams and
trainees are encouraged to move up in the classes. It is
encouraging to know that the unit does not depend on the Development
Alternatives staff for such routine operations.
The physical health of all, specially the women who are normally
neglected in the rural areas, is monitored regularly by doctor.
Besides routine examination, he is also available for counselling of
all the trainees as well as their family members. A lady doctor was
also engaged for the check up of the women trainees. An area of
equal stress is of occupational health and precautions are taken
upfront specially for those exposed constantly to dust. The
effluent from the paper unit is treated through settlement tanks
before being allowed out. We take pride in showing everyone our
pollution treatment area which is being developed into a landscape
garden.
January 1996 saw us completing the buildings and the machine
installations began. Recruitment commenced in the month of March
and during April our first batch of paper trainees were welcomed
aboard by the older building material and energy group. The family
had grown and with majority of the new recruits being women; the
centre had ensured gender equity.
The birth
22nd April 1996 is a historic day in the TARAgram calendar. Our baby
had arrived. Our first handmade paper was produced while the unit
was totally off the power grid (as it is today). We generate our
own electricity from ipomea; a waste weed growing along the nullah
beds. We are actually almost self-sufficient with respect to all
major raw materials.
While the commissioning of the paper unit was a turning stone for
TARAgram it also marked the formal entry of about 70 of the
trainees, from 25 villages around our centre. There is a six month
gestation period during which all of them have been given an
opportunity to establish their stake in the sustainability of the
entire operation. They are made aware that their progress is
linked with the productivity of the centre and its self-sustaining
ability.
TARAgram Awas
Pramod Dubey, Sanjeev Sen,
Jawahar Yadav, Dileep
The building material
units have the oldest trainees who have been with us for over
a year now. The unit also has a fine team of masons
responsible for constructing over 1000 sqm of functional space
in less than a year. Our units include :
Stone cement blocks; Commissioned August 1995,
production capacity 500 blocks per day, team consisting of 5
men and two women who are also trained machine operators.
Micro Concrete Roofing Tiles; commissioned July
1996, Production capacity 150 tiles, team consisting of 3 men
and one women also trained as machine operator.
Ferrocement roofing products: Commissioned Sept
1995, Production capacity 12m of 0.82 cm channels per day,
team consisting of one mason and two helpers.
Compressed Earth Blocks: Commissioned August
1995, operating as a livelihood project for a village housing
project. Team consisting of one trainer and 6 men from the
local village, Production capacity 800-1000 brick sized
blocks.
An important venture has been the building of
50 houses in the Azadpura village 3 kms from the centre. As
the village consists of a population below the poverty line,
the aspect of building with beneficiary contribution of at
least 10% seemed a momentous task. Constant village meetings
and creating livelihood opportunities within the village has
today led to dramatic effects. We are today building using
Balram blocks with about 65 kg/sqcm compressive strengths, and
low water permeability which are much better than the locally
burnt poor quality bricks. Good integration of aesthetics,
ventilation and lighting requirement together with their need
for a roof over their heads has lead to truly improved and
more importantly affordable shelter : 150 sqft for
approximately Rs. 10-12,000/-.
We at TARAgram will be a single window access
to technology, finance and marketing support besides training
artisans and reviving the age-old practice of guilds, in the
field of construction. |
Today while the hand-made paper unit is operating at still half its
capacity, the levels of efficiency and productivity are commendable
for relatively inexperienced staff. The building material units are
in the process of influencing the state of shelter of their region
by augmenting supply of building materials which are also
environmentally sound. At least four new materials for roofing and
walling are being processed for developing into technology packages,
so that they may be liberated through enterprises for large scale
dissemination. Many of our trainers shall graduate into
entrepreneurs while others shall be trainers to potential
entrepreneurs. TARAgram has pledged to become a model training
ground for new technologies appropriate for the region, liberating
the proven ones while initiating newer interventions. It will
provide a single window access for technology services for all the
districts in Bundelkhand.
The working model
TARAgram is presently attracting a workforce from about 25 villages
within a 15 km radius. The map of our region indicates Orchha as
our epicentre of operations and flowing out from this we have two
concentric circles at 5kms and 10 km radius. We have targeted at
least 5 villages in the 5 km radius, within the first concentric
circle (map) for impacting through our off-site interventions within
this year. Eventually we hope to bring in more villages into our
fold. A similar level of activity is expected to grow with Bijouli
as a secondary epicentre which currently provides roofing services.
This node is expected to grow gradually to cater to other needs
also. It is now clear that TARAgram will gradually develop into a
place for value added products and at the village we would set up
small home based enterprises for part processing of materials.
A
small beginning has just been made in the field of green manuring
using dhaincha : Sesbania bispinosa. Between the rabi and kharif
period when the fields are normally left fallow, we have encouraged
the farmers to grow this legume which produces root nodules which
fix nitrogen. The plant may be ploughed back in 45 days providing
the required nutrients for the wheat harvest, or may be harvested in
late November. If properly grown, the stems can be used as fuel for
the gasifier, while the fibres can be removed and used for
ropemaking. This versatile plant can also be used to make gum from
its seeds and the residue can also be used as cattlefeed. Last
year‘s harvest from the farmers field; has already established the
potential of the plant and this year we have mobilised more farmers,
besides trying it on a test plot ourselves to reap further benefits
and establish the potential for value addition to this fibre. This
could actually be an important venture into biomass based
micro-industrial estates, a truly sustainable livelihood base.
We
are committed at TARAgram to a reconstitution of our future :
“ Meet basic needs without compromising the environment”.
We make our own destiny. Today we have a destiny to create.
q
The Team |
80 shareholders from 25 villages
AVM Sahni, Dr. Arun Kumar, Wg. Cdr Pramode Sawhney, Prema Gera,
Sanjay Dubey, T.N Subramanian, Geeta Vaidyanthan, KK Singh,
Rajeev Gupta, Hriday Rai, Dileep, Shilendra, Ashok, Pramod Dubey,
S P Singh, Kailash, Sanjeev Sen, Lala Ram, Vinay Sriavastava, Om
Kumari, Neeta Goel, Naval Garg, Subroto Roy, Anand, Mishraji,
Manish, KL Kohli, Rai Babu, Param Lal. Rajesh Bajpai, Rupinder,
Neetu, Shashi Mohan.
Nuruzzama, V. Sriraman, Zeenat Niazi, Aswini Pai, Bhaskar
Goswami, Akhilesh Tiwari, S. Suresh, J.P. Singh, H.S. Hora,
Narayan Sarma, Ramesh Sharma.
Development Alternatives Jhansi and New Delhi. |
Projects Supported by |
• |
Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi. |
• |
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). |
• |
International Development Research Corporation (IDRC), Canada. |
• |
Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), New
Delhi. |
• |
Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology
(CAPART), New Delhi. |
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