Understanding the grassroots

The last year took up time with things that did not seem to get anywhere. I tried reaching out to people regarding the development of Kumraura but did not get far.

I have been to the village a few times and so has my team at Knowledge Advisory. Through a number of iterations and discussion, a draft document was prepared. I am posting it for the benefit of people who are interested in knowing more about it. This assessment was conducted in November 2012.

Kumhraura Empowerment and Development

 

1. Aim of the Project

Aim is to facilitate the transformation of Kumhraura village into socially stimulating, self-sustaining, growth-oriented community by examining the livelihood conditions of the village.

 

2. Statement of the Problem 

• The village is not very far from the Tata Motors production unit that builds Marco polo buses in which most of middle urban India commutes yet the people of the Kumhraura village are unemployed.

• There is a school in the village apparently thinly staffed with 4 teachers and a government school at the tehsil level where basic education is imparted till 8th standard.

• Children seem to be spending more time idling about or doing odd jobs than attending school or studying.

• Women at the village were mostly educated till class 8. But there is no women empowerment scheme being run in that village.

• The women wanted to learn something so as to increase their household incomes. The skills that they were interested in learning were kadhai, silai and bunai. Also they were ready to devote one or two hours daily at the centre.

• The main problem area of that village is casteism, which is deep rooted. They don’t eat food cooked by women of lower caste.

• There are no proper sanitation facilities.

 

3. Conceptual Framework

The inspiration has been drawn from Barefoot College.

Barefoot College is a non-governmental organization that has been providing basic services and solutions to problems in rural communities for more than 40 years, with the objective of making them self-sufficient and sustainable. These ‘Barefoot solutions’ can be broadly categorized into the delivery of Solar Electrification, Clean Water, Education, Livelihood Development, and Activism. With a geographic focus on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), we believe strongly in Empowering Women as agents of sustainable change.

 

4. Research Methodology

4.1  Coverage: Kumhraura is a small village in Banki Mandal in Barabanki District in Uttar Pradesh State. It has a population of about 1048 persons living in around 205 households. It has barely been a part of the development process.

A survey visit was made by the team of Knowledge Advisory Services and Consultancy.

Sampling methods: The research design used was exploratory research design because was made on Simple Random Sampling

Sampling size: 20 households

 

4.2 Data Collection: The study is based on Primary Data. The primary data was collected with the help of structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was prepared keeping in view the objectives of study.

Questionnaire contains two types of questions

Open Ended

Closed Ended

Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected during the survey.

 

5. Schemes and Applicability to Kumraura

5.1  Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana

 

As per the survey, people of Kumhraura Village were ready to learn some skills so that they can earn their income through it.

Thus, this scheme would help to bring the poor families above the Poverty Line by ensuring appreciable sustained level of income over a period of time. This is to be achieved by organising the rural poor into Self Help Groups (SHGs) through the process of social mobilization, their training and capacity building and provision of income generating assets. The SHG approach helps the poor to build their self-confidence through community action. Interactions in group meetings and collective decision making will enable them to identify and prioritize their needs and resources. This process would ultimately lead to the strengthening and socio-economic empowerment of the rural poor as well as improve their collective bargaining power.

It goes through three stages of creation:

• Group formation

• Capital formation through the revolving fund and skill development and

• Taking up of economic activity for skill generation.

The Government may also assists villagers in marketing their products by organizing melas or fairs, exhibitions, etc.

Activities Suggested:

• Carpentry

• Stitching & embroidery

• Handloom, handicraft, silk, cotton, power loom, jute sector.

• Training on tailoring, welding, electrical, poultry.

• Earthenware and pottery

 

5.2  Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan

 

We suggest this scheme because people in Kumhraura are not having sanitation facilities.

This scheme will bring an improvement in the general quality in life of villagers and accelerate sanitation coverage in the village.

It will also

• Motivate communities and Panchayati Raj Institutions promoting sustainable sanitation facilities through awareness creation and health education.

• Cover the remaining schools not covered under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Anganwadi Centers in the rural areas with proper sanitation facilities and undertake proactive promotion of hygiene education and sanitary habits among students.

• Encourage cost effective and appropriate technologies for ecologically safe and sustainable sanitation.

• Develop community managed environmental sanitation systems focusing on solid & liquid waste management for overall cleanliness in the rural areas.

 

5.3: Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan

 

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is already running in the Kumhraura Village so we would like to suggest Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan. This scheme would enhance access to secondary education as the village is lacking this presently.

Though there are some issues in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, 91 students still attend the school in current session. Thus this scheme will help these students in attaining secondary education.

 

5.4: Mahila Samakhya

 

We have suggested this scheme as according to past experiences of NGO’s, men often leave their village after being trained to work in metro cities and thus it does not result in empowerment of that village.

Women are the key to sustainable development; they are the passers of knowledge, they teach habits and behaviours, and if you develop women in this capacity, generations to come will continue to benefit from that greater understanding of impact on their own environment.

 

This scheme would help the women of the village to learn skills and improve their livelihood.

Providing women and adolescent girls with the necessary support structure and informal learning environment to create opportunities for education. Enhance the self-image and self-confidence of women and thereby enabling them to recognize their contribution to the economy as producers and workers.

 

Over all we suggest the following training / activities for the villagers as per their interest and capabilities:

• Metal work

• Plumbing

• Carpentry

• Earthenware and pottery

• Cycle, Car & bike repair

• Stitching & embroidery

• Making, Preserving & packing food items (snacks, pickles, sauce, fruit drinks, meat, fish, eggs, etc.)

• Nursing & Midwifery.

• Beehive, poultry, piggery and animal husbandry

• Zari-Zardozi Training

• Preservation and Processing of fruits and Vegetables

• Handloom, handicraft, silk, cotton, power loom, jute sector.

• Training women in reeling and weaving, as Etawah has weaving as an important household industry.

• Incense stick manufacturing

• Form cooperatives societies and collectively market their produce their wares in the urban and semi urban markets

• Training on tailoring, welding, electrical, poultry.

• Soil conservation training

• Training in use of agriculture equipment and machinery

• Mobile Repairing Training

 

6. Implications

·   Project will lead to encouragement of women to participate in the income generation activity of their household and will also lead to overall empowerment of women.

·   It will bridge the gap between Elementary and Higher education. In the past few years, Elementary education has greatly been uplifted with the induction of SSA Mission, and this has in turn created a demand for expansion and introduction of Secondary education in unserved and underserved regions of the state. 

·   It will ensure adequate availability of drinking water and proper sanitation facilities in rural areas with broader goal to eradicate the practice of open defecation. 

·   It will help to bring the poor families above the Poverty Line by ensuring appreciable sustained level of income over a period of time.