The WOTR Newsletter  
Second & Third Quarters 2007

Dear Friends,

The Human Development Report, 2006, published by the United Nations has very aptly stated its theme as ‘Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis’. The water crisis is here, and here to stay. We need urgent measures before it becomes the cause of all strife worldwide. The ones who are already marginalised find themselves in such a situation that the basic requirement of water for drinking is denied to them in remote, rural areas.

We would like to reiterate what a precious resource it is to many as told in the article mentioned here - the real story of 50 years of struggle in this issue of our newsletter. Democracy is a slow process, but like the hamlet Nandale Pathar of Wankute village where WOTR worked with people, it is the only way.

Critics can argue that water as an issue has had more than its rightful share of time and space in a multitude of local, national as well as international forums. What is pertinent is that despite these seemingly meaningful engagements, the actual achievements are rather dismal. Environment is an experience, a way of life. Water is what marks it out as a life-giving experience.

Awareness of the situation by everyone on this planet, not just non–profits, is necessary if objectives and targets are to be achieved. This assumes greater significance in the context where communities are at the epicentre of the issue. The first step on achieving a target is ‘awareness generation’ and we are still at this very preliminary stage. We begin with open minds ready to absorb and experience rural empowerment. Thankfully, for the children of Gunjalwadi, environment is not a textbook subject. With an initial spur from WOTR, their teachers guide them to learn and earn their way through organic farming.

We at WOTR are always charmed by first-time visitors. They are taken aback by our actual work vs research reports. They wish to reach out and contribute to the goals that WOTR has set out to achieve. The work of WOTR and its awareness is but a drop in the ocean of humanity. This, in terms of contribution towards ascending and achieving the ‘Water Goals’; but certainly it has made a difference in the lives of many communities. The inter-relation of all the elements of nature is recognised at all times and in this newsletter we share with you aspects wherein the reader may take a moment to nod in agreement that "Water Gives Life"; which has been our long-standing motto. We at WOTR also wish to channel the goodwill and intention of the environment conscious. ‘Community-based Rural Tourism’ is one such effort in the direction.

Meanwhile, a young ‘concerned’ contributes a poetic tribute to water. Indeed water and life go in a moment, giving us a chance to make the most of it. As trusted friends merge with eternity, we at WOTR grieve over the loss of lives of our dear colleagues. Mr. Rambhau Lodhe was a shining example of age being no factor in doing good work. WOTR and Sampada Trust also lost Mr. Parag Sunkar and Mr. Lala Jadhav, our colleagues and social workers involved in the field of rural development for decades.

A very important highlight of this quarter is that we have successfully established yet another sister organisation christened Sanjeevani Institute for Empowerment and Development and (SIED). We look forward from our readers to get back to us if they wish to know anything more in greater detail or wish to initiate discussion on any topic of concern to them.

Best Wishes,

Editor

To address the situation, the various education departments have introduced a subject/topic on environmental education in the text books right from the early school years. Here is how this subject is taken up in the remote village of Gunjalwadi by the Zilla Parishad Primary School at Gunjalwadi Pathar in Sangamner Taluka in Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra.

Environmental education for Gunjalwadi Pathar, has a three-pronged strategy: green environment by promoting seed and sapling plantations; protect the earth of pollutants by promoting organic farming; and encourage the parents and children by helping them earn while they learn. Father Hermann Bacher, the Chairman and Co-Founder of WOTR laid the stepping stone in this initiative. It began in 1995 when the watershed development project started in the village. Fr. Bacher encouraged the children to take up sapling plantation on the hillock where their school was located. This was to create awareness amongst the children regarding plant conservation. From then on the school headmaster and the teachers took the idea ahead.

Around 25 students from each class (2 to 7) participate in this activity. It is executed during the summer and winter vacations. Therefore children make good use of their time during the holidays and get themselves acquainted with organic agriculture through this project. The seeds collected and stored include those of Custard Apple, Jatropha, Mango, Gulmohar, Berries, Bakan (Mahaneem), Neem, Subabhul etc. These seeds are stored in gunny bags and tin cans. The children promptly hand over the collected seeds to the headmaster of the school after the vacations when school reopens. These seeds are then weighed and categorized on the basis of their weight and type. Properly packaged seeds are then ready for sale. In 2006-2007, 9 kgs of Berry seeds, 3 kgs of Custard Apple seeds, 2 kgs of Neem seeds and 5 kgs of Jatropha seeds were sold to SHGs at the rate of Rs. 250 per package. They were sold to WOTR at the rate of Rs 7 per kg. Large quantities of seeds were provided to the Sangamner Sugar Factory (in Sangamner Taluka in Ahmednagar District) free of charge.

Neem extract acts as fertilizer and pesticide in organic farming. School children were involved in the monitoring of these activities. This had the effect of improving the work efficiency and the children were laterally exposed to organic methods of farming. Actual seed plantation was done in the main village as well as in the areas surrounding the village once the requisite quantity of seeds was collected. Optimum harnessing of natural resources can help not just to protect the environment but also to improve the quality of the yield. Apart from the core activities of collecting, storing and planting of seeds, there was also a lot of brain-storming. This project thereby gave the children open space to discuss and learn about tropical issues such as climate change and its impact on agriculture and daily existence in general, increasing extinction of natural resources, poverty etc.

The spirit of these children was definitely worthy of attention and they were awarded for it. In May 1996, Fr. Bacher visited Chandanpuri Ghat in Gunjalwadi while the children were collecting Jatropha seeds. This evoked a warm sentiment in him and he decided to arrange for funds for all the necessary apparatus for the smooth functioning of the school laboratory. They were provided with a computer, chemicals, and musical instruments. In 2006, a group of 12 ladies from the Indus International Club, Mumbai, while on their visit to the watershed areas, visited the school too. So taken up by they were with the enthusiasm of the children that they donated a computer to the school.

There are plans for the future too. The children would like to procure the required machinery for obtaining neem extract which is greatly useful in organic farming. There are also plans to set up a bio-diesel project since there are a large number of Jatropha seeds in the plateau region of Gunjalwadi. The project has already been flagged off but it still has a long way to go. Teachers have taken a keen interest in the project and they envisage many more of such schemes for the self-employment of the children so that they remain in the village and don’t seek escape routes to cities in the pursuit of jobs. These are tell-tale manifestations of a more spirited future for the village.

Then, for many rainy seasons to come, we can hope to hear the favourite rain song of children in rural Maharashtra. "Saang, saang, Bhola Nath, Paoos padel kaa" (Tell me, O friend of God, My ox, Will it rain?).

You can have a glimpse of the children of Gunjalwadi in the film, ‘My School On The Watershed’, available with WOTR.

50 Years of Thirst, Now Satiated   
      By Thomas Palghadmal

Like many tiny hamlets in rural India, Nandale Pathar is a tribal hamlet located at a distance of 2½ km away from its main village of Wankute in the Sangamner block of Ahmednagar district. This hamlet is situated on a hilltop plateau at a height of 500 feet. The hamlet consists of 19 households with a population of 350 having 35 hectares of poor agriculture land. The people depend on daily wages labour for a living, working on construction sites, rearing animals or as farm labour. Due to the poor soil quality, the cropping pattern is predominantly rain fed. The frequent crop failures had hampered the prospects of any sustainable farming. Their everyday existence was a continuous challenge.

Within the hamlet an un-constructed well scooped out by the locals provided ‘drinking’ water from June/July to November/December each year. For the remaining part of the year, people had to walk for 1 km to 2 ½ kms (depending on the location of the available source of water) climbing each time the height of 500 ft with the water on their heads. The animals too suffered due to the lack of water. Families along with the livestock had to compulsorily trudge early every morning to the foothills to fetch water. They would stay down and after the completion of their work in the evening, all, including children, with pots of water on their heads, would climb back to their homes on the hills. This practice was continued for the past 50 years or more, every day between November/December – June/July. It was a way of life for anyone born into this hamlet.

Watershed development was initiated in Wankute by WOTR in March 2003, and the work of land treatment was carried out in this hamlet during the summer of 2005. At that time about 125-150 villagers were working on the watershed site. These workers had to fetch water from a distance of 1 km located at the foothills.

Then there was felt a need among the villagers to solve the problem of drinking water in their village, and hence they approached WOTR for support. The drinking water project was initiated in the village with the financial support of the Blue Planet Run. The Samyukta Mahila Samitee–SMS (apex body of SHGs) had taken the responsibility to implement this activity in their village. The Gram Panchayat of the village granted permission to the SMS to undertake this activity and guidance and support was given to the SMS when required. The SMS was made accountable for the maintenance, cleanliness, distribution of water and purification.

Accordingly, a well was dug 50 feet deep in hard rock. The project was completed through voluntary labour. There was no transportable approach road to the hamlet to bring the construction material such as sand, stone, cement, steel, iron etc. The village community had to construct an approach road right from the base to the top of the hill of about 1,000 meters length and 500 feet height by the use of shramdaan. While doing this work, the community faced several difficulties such as transportation for machinery, availability of water, managing their daily livelihood etc and yet gave top priority to this work, addressing the problem on a collective front. Today, vehicles can drive straight up to the hamlet on the hills.

For the first time, this past summer, water proved to be sufficient for domestic purposes and even for the livestock. The drudgery of the women has reduced. They now have time for their children as well as themselves. The older people say that after 50 years their drinking water problem has finally been solved. This small activity, implemented by the Thakar community of Nandale Pathar hamlet, has set an example to others - that if people come together for a common cause they are capable of taking on and changing any difficult situation.

Since the last two years, supported by the Blue Planet Run, WOTR has assisted 5 remote villages access clean water for domestic consumption and in another 13 villages the project is in progress. A total of 9,706 individuals will access to safe water every day. And there are many more villages and remote hamlets that are in need of this basic survival need – water.

Water:
A Poetic Tribute
      By Parthiv Shah (Age – 10)

Splash!
When I go into the sea,
I feel tiny air bubbles rushing up.

Their power is over; it has gone to another element.
An element that cannot break apart in the Strongest wind,
An element that can quench even the Hottest fire,
An element that can break apart the Strongest earth,
An element that has no more, only equal.

Life cannot go on without it,
But we have endless supply.
But we pay for that supply.

In other words, we pay for life.
But other people,
They are forced to waste their life for life.
To spend their whole day to get water.
But in vain,
For dozens die a day from disease and drought.
But there is a cure.

A cure that has been possible for years but never Has been done.
Until. Now.
A group of people have realized the true weapon;
Not for war, But for water.
Not for ourselves, But for life.
Not for fame, But for earth.
Not for money, Not for mankind, Not for anything or anyone But for all,
In other words;
Nature.

Rural Tourism : taking You to the "Grass Routes"

This is an initiative to give you an opportunity for a get-away and to savour rural life the way you would like it. You may choose from (i) Home stays that give one an opportunity to live with a host village family, but in a separate room of earthen walls having clean basic amenities. Your host family will cater to your needs. (ii) You may decide to stay in a tent, (iii) Or live in a simple but clean guest room. (iv) You may come as an individual, as a couple and family, or in groups.

There are 3 conventional tourist locations, namely, The Wilson Dam, Harishchandragarh and Mt. Kalsubai. The latter would be appealing for those who like trekking.

What you would enjoy is a rural experience with women serving local cuisine inside their mud houses. You may indulge in various simple rural life activities like tending the buffaloes or preparing traditional dishes, trying your hand at agriculture etc. One would learn what watershed development is all about and how this helps conserve the water and soil, and the various nuances of agriculture as practiced in remote villages. And if you are lucky, you may have an opportunity of enjoying festivals the traditional style.

Rural tourism, while it provides the visitor with tranquility, clean air and refreshing exercises along with an encounter with the heart of the countryside, is beneficial for the locals too. It provides them with income opportunities: villagers act as tour guides, attend to house cleaning and women provide the meals. These are incentives that reduce survival migration of villagers to the cities for work. But more importantly, it provides interactions and exchanges with the outside world, an understanding of other cultures, incentives to widen their horizon and opportunities to enhance self-confidence.

There are certain things that cannot be expressed but only experienced; like simply gazing at star lit skies at night, the modest village homes lit up with tiny lamps, eating local food with a family on the dung floor or going for a walk at night and listening to the village women sing a folk song while grinding fl our or sitting by a river with nobody around and feeling the breeze on one’s face. Isolation, realization and peace galore is what is in the offing at our modest tourist spots. Recently a documentary about the entire process has been shot with volunteers from Mumbai who stayed over in the village for 6 weeks. In this initiative, WOTR provides the villagers with the requisite appropriate training to develop and enhance their hospitality skills.

Rural Tourism - A Humane Viewpoint
"Your Presence will be my immeasurable fortune"

On a tour to Purushwadi, one of WOTR’s project villages, you can experience it for yourself. The changes that water brings into people’s lives! They have learnt community participation, with voluntary work. They are now ready to receive the world with newfound confidence. With the presence of water and new prosperity, they are ready to welcome guests. As a guest, you may not notice all the change right away. The simple village people await you for many reasons. Guests are synonymous to prosperity for them. It is not just a belief but a heartfelt reality that reaches out to your heart. Things change for better, as time and tourists find their way to Purshwadi.

Zunkabai is a simple village woman who will cook a meal for you at Purushwadi. She is one of the two landless laborers in village Purushwadi As a widow and mother of four young girls, making a living is vital and difficult at the same time. Her main source of income is as migratory labor. This is tough, as she has to look after her children too. Her other seasonal source of income is to also take care of a few goats of some households. It contributes Rs 300- 350 per annum. But the money barely suffices for all her needs.

Zunkabai was one of the first women to be selected to cater for the ‘community-managed tourism’ project. As a part of the project, to welcome guests, she was encouraged to spruce up her appearance and hygiene. The change in Zunkabai was so obvious that most villagers were pleasantly surprised. They complimented her on her changed appearance.

On the first day she was, but naturally, visibly shy while serving food to the tourist group.

However, by the end of the second day, she was comfortable in chatting with the guests and telling them her life story. Her view of the world as a human being and a mother opened up to new horizons. Her children who earlier wore a messed up appearance are now cheerful and clean. Zunkabai’s catering for the tourists for two days has ensured her the same income that she would have received if she had migrated for eight days to work elsewhere.

The women of the village cook traditional food. It varies with seasons, the availability of garden fresh vegetables cooked with simplicity and pride. Their own meals are very simple comprising of roti (made from bajra, jowar, rice, wheat or nachni), dal, rice, the occasional vegetable, pickle and onion. Like most gracious Indian housewives, they will deliberate over "what quantities to cook?" and "what to cook?" or "how to serve?". All the makings of a memorable meal!

Feedback from the tourists along with information, knowledge and experience sharing among women has resulted in more guest-friendly cooking. They have toned down spices. They serve sugar in a separate bowl for tea. Their authentic pickles and chutney are remembered by most guests as a flavour to carry back home. This also brings in smiles and support to the community at large, women in particular.

The shy village women have also taught us many practical lessons. Their concern in serving hot food has reversed the serving pattern. Previously the food was delivered from their home to the guesthouse. As a guest you now walk into their house for the home-cooked meal. This was a very welcome move both for the tourist as well as the hostess in her village home. It proves to be an enriching village experience while the women folk have the security and comfort of working from their home.

Initially, the women were appointed as housekeepers. After a few visits, the women suggested that the youth take over the housekeeping responsibilities, an important part of which involves heating of water for bathing. Water used to be heated in the housekeeper’s home and then brought in steel pots to the campsite of the tourists. This was a very laborious task. While discussing the experiences of various service providers, after each tourist visit, the housekeepers stated this problem. An important aspect of any rural development project is never to thrust one’s ideas and solutions. The villagers themselves resolved this problem. They came out with a possible solution. They requested for a big container to be bought; the container would be heated near the campsite of the tourists, thereby reducing the labour needed for providing hot water for bathing.

Gangaram is one of the few youth in village Purushwadi who has passed his 10th class exams. First impressions show him to be an introvert. But after a short while with him he will tell you a variety of stories. Gangaram, as with most of the people in Purushwadi, speaks only Marathi. When Gangaram was appointed as a guide, he did not know what to do. He was nervous and mostly quiet throughout the first visit. He was shy of even speaking in Hindi. However, with encouragement and training, and interacting with more groups of tourists, Gangaram has not only fine-tuned his communication in Hindi but now attempts the ‘queen’s language’. He cheerily greets tourists with "good morning" and "How are you?" Gangaram’s aspirations have turned a new chapter. He is currently studying to become a teacher.

(Inir Pinherio, Managing Director of Grass-Routes, has witnessed these changes first hand in the village and its people, at Purushwadi and other villages. Email: inir.pinheiro@grassroutes.co.in / Webpage: www.grassroutes.co.in)

Benefits of Community-Managed Rural Tourism

Financially Sustainable Model:
The uniqueness of this "community-managed rural tourism" financial model is that besides the initial set up costs, running costs are only incurred when tourists visit the village. There are margins of profit for all the stakeholders: the local service providers, the community and the marketing agencies.

Livelihood Venture:
Farming is the main livelihood; however, diminishing returns have forced the villagers to seek alternative opportunities for earning. This type of tourism is found to provide the villagers the opportunities needed to augment their income from agriculture. We broadly estimate an increase of 550-600 person days of employment per annum.

More Livelihood Opportunities:
With tourism in the village, the villagers are encouraged to set up support ventures like pickle-making, selling of packaged water, rural transport, selling of organic produce (grains, pulses, fruits etc) and poultry.

Reduced Migration:
Being remote, alternative livelihood opportunities are few, if not non-existent in these village economies. Villagers are forced to migrate to well-irrigated farmlands or cities in search of livelihoods to augment their incomes from agriculture. Migration leads to exploitation of villagers, increase in communicable diseases, increase in social disharmony among close-knit communities and many more problems. Our model provides villagers the opportunities to earn by staying in their village.

Empowerment of People:
Villagers are trained in service industry skills through their interactions with the tourists; we have found an increase in the self-esteem of service providers. Another observation is the increase in cooperation amongst the people.  When a woman undertakes the responsibility of cooking for a group of tourists, it is observed that women who had previously undertaken the responsibility come and assist the current cook.

Conservation of Culture And Environment:
Since the local communities are in charge of the functioning of the tourism, they ensure the conservation of their culture and the regenerated environments.

Boosting of Local Economies:
Our broad projections of around 200 tourists per annum frequenting these villages should annually boost the local economy by over Rs 2.5 to 3 lakhs (utilising the tourism output multiplier of 1.8). Moreover, since there is extensive utilisation of local goods and services, it is the local economy that benefits the most.

Our Benefactors:
The SAG-Karl Kubel Stiftung and the SDC have made this possible. We thank you.

And finally, we invite you for a weekend to enjoy the quiet countryside and at the same time contribute to rural development. For more information please contact:

1. Grass Routes Rural Adventures
    Mr. Inir Pinheiro
    Mob: +91 9969101861
    EM: inir.pinheiro@grassroutes.co.in
    Webpage: www.grassroutes.co.in

2. Rural Tourism
    Ms. Komal Singh
    Mob:+91 9970233517
    EM:singhkom@gmail.com
    Watershed Organisation Trust
    Paryavaran, Behind Market Yard
    Ahmednagar - 414001,
    Maharashtra
    Tel:  +91 241 2450188/2451460
    EM:info@wotr.org
    Webpage:www.wotr.org

Schedule of Sponsored Programs for the year 2007-2008

OBITUARIES

Visit of the Chinese Delegation to WOTR

A team of 12 government officials from the Beijing Forestry University, Shanxi Forestry Academy and State Forestry Administration, Beijing, China visited WOTR from the 8–11 August 2007. The team had come on a Study Tour to India of Component 4 and 5 of the Sino-German Program on Forests and Sustainable Development organised from 1 to 15 August 2007 by the GTZ China under the Participatory Approaches in Agriculture and Forestry (PAAF) programme.

The main focus of this study tour was to observe and share the experiences of NGOs and Government applying participatory approaches in Natural Resource Management Programmes. It also aimed to learn the techniques of combating desertification and to gain first hand knowledge on the impacts which the community has been able to identify in the implementation of various programmes.

The four day programme included in-house sessions and exposure visits. The sessions focused on capacity building, natural resource management, micro finance, micro enterprises development and women’s empowerment. Technical aspects in treating watershed for better conservation of soil, water and vegetation was also shared.

To further understand the functioning of the various programmes implemented by the government departments an interactive session with the government authorities and NGOs working in the field of Natural Resources Management (NRM) was held. The officials from various government departments [the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Groundwater Survey and Development Agency (GSDA), Forest Department, Social Forestry Division, Additional CEO, Zilla Parishad, and the State Agriculture] made a presentation of their departments respectively. The participants interacted with the officials and were able to clarify many issues on the different programmes being implemented and the approaches adopted by the Government.

The NGOs working in the area of watershed development were also invited to share their experiences with regard to the implementation of government funded participatory watershed programs. Discussions were also held on the overall role of NGOs in policy advocacy, the need and formation of NGOs etc.

Exposure visits were organised to Damalwadi and Darewadi watershed projects. The team had good interactions with the watershed community members and villagers. The impacts of watershed treatment and social cohesion were appreciated by the team. Further, they visited the Gunjalwadi (a completed watershed project) school where the school children have played an active role in the watershed programme. The villagers and the teachers were very happy to share their experience of the involvement of the school children in watershed work. A cultural programme on the theme of watershed development and ethos of Maharashtra was presented by the students of the Gunjalwadi school. Songs and dances were presented by the children which were very much appreciated by the group.

On the last day there was wrap-up of the visit facilitated by WOTR. The workshop reflected on the experiences of the visit and identified learning’s to perceive what would be possible to replicate or adopt in their own working areas.