Priyanka Mahila Mahasangha, Koraput
district
Nature has bestowed beautiful resources on Koraput district
of Orissa for which the district has special importance in
the state. Number of researchers and tourists visit the districts
for its natural resources including Non Timber Forest Produces
(NTFPs) and especially medicinal species. The forest is rich
with harra, bahera, amla, Dhawai flower, pipala, satabari,
sarpagandha etc. The dependency of tribal people on these
produces is much more and in the agriculture lean season these
communities totally depend on forest for social, cultural
and economic uses.
An organisation named, NEWS, has been working
in Koraput and Dasmantpur block of this district. Its major
objective is to form Self Help Group (SHGs) in the villages
and also to promote them for management of non-timber forest
produces. In both the blocks several groups are formed by
and it was felt by the groups that there is lack of coordination
among them and they need to be untied. 51 SHGs from both the
blocks had come forward to form their own federation and named
it as Priyanka Mahila Mahasangha. The federation started functioning
on 5.01.04 with a 7 membered executive body (president, secretary,
treasurer and rest members). The general body of the federation
consists of 100 members from 51 SHGs and Rs 50 is being fixed
as entry fees for the members. The federation aims to work
on social as well as economic development of the poor people
in the region. As the federation is in its inception phase
it first take the initiative of NTFP marketing as most of
the people are dependent on it. The federation made contact
with NEWS for management of NTFP in their area. Though both
of them, NEWS and the federation, have limited financial resources
they asked RCDC, a state level organisation, also working
in Koraput district, for financial as well as marketing help.
Priyanka Mahila Mahasangha and NEWS started
documenting the NTFPs available in their region. They also
examined the current trade arrangement of those produces in
the local area. It was seemed that Dhawai flower is one of
the potential NTFP and largely available in the area. Although
all parts of this herb possess valuable medicinal properties
but there is heavy demand of flowers only. It is collected
and marketed for both industrial and medicinal purposes. The
flowers yield yellow and red dye. It also produces gum, which
is used as substitute to gum-tragacanth. Barks and leaves
are used for tanning. It is large deciduous 1m straggling
shrub, bark pale-brown, peeling off in fibres, young parts
with small black glands, leaves sub sessile, linear-lanceolate,
3-10 cm long, flowers in fascicled axillary racemes. Petals
are small and red. Stamens much exserted; filaments filiform,
red, ovary 2-celled. Fruits ellipsoid and enclosed by persistent
calyx-tube.
In Koraput climate it flowers during mid December
and continues till April. The flowers have multi purpose uses
and this is the reason for its high demand in the domestic
as well as global market. These flowers are traded in the
region in two ways; one is exchanged with cash and the other
with salt. The primary collectors generally prefer to exchange
with salt first and then with cash. The traders give one kg
of salt for two kg of flowers and also Rs 2 for each kg of
flower.
Priyanka Mahila Mahasangha tried to provide
more income to the primary collectors of these flowers and
also started procuring through SHGs. It borrowed Rs 50,000
from Chacha and Jharigaon (both are regional forums of Nabarangpur
district) without any interest. This money had been distributed
among the groups and they groups started procuring Dhawai
flowers in the region. RCDC helped those groups in marketing
the produces by establishing a linkage with a trader at Chhattisgarh.
The trader signed in an agreement to buy the produces at Rs
3.40 per kg. Based on this agreement the SHGs started procuring
from the primary collectors at Rs 2.75 – 3.00 per kg.
By this arrangement the primary collectors got double profit
than the previous. Some of the SHGs also invested their own
money in the business. Nine groups were involved in this trade,
invested Rs 97,200 and earned profit of around Rs 8,800. The
details have been given in the table.
Dhawai flower traded by different
groups in the season 2003-04
| Name of the village |
SHGs |
Money borrowed |
Quantity collected |
Collection price |
Selling price |
Profit |
| Banuaguda |
Dhengadasil and Bhiriki |
13,940 |
8.5 |
26,400 |
28,000 |
1600 |
| Panas |
Madibudi, Nialimali, Sankular |
8,190 |
4.03 |
12,900 |
14,500 |
500 |
| Bisali |
Taraprasad |
9,978 |
5.07 |
17,100 |
19,100 |
1050 |
| Nandigaon |
Jodimali, Gupteswar, |
5,000 |
5 |
18,000 |
20,400 |
1150 |
| Kharaguda |
Kanyachhuan |
14,000 |
7.03 |
22,800 |
24,000 |
1400 |
Future plan
By the success of Dhawai flower trade, Priyanka Mahila Mahasangha
now plans to get involve in other forest produces in future.
It also plans to give more income to its groups and the primary
collectors who are totally dependent on NTFPs. It will also
need the help of RCDC and NEWS for training and information
on collection, value addition and marketing of NTFPs. It will
also try to double its business in the next crop season.
Mahadev Mahila Mahasangha, Rayagad
district
Though not significant, some changes have been seen in the
life style of the tribal people in Ragada district. Goyalkana
village is one of the best examples of it. There is a federation
consisting of four SHG groups in the village named Mahadev
Mahila Mahasangha. The village is situated in Bisam Cuttack
block of Raygada district. The total House Holds in the village
is 69 out of which 67 families belong to Kondh tribe and the
rest OBC. The village can be located on the way from Raygada
to Bhawanipatna road. The language that has been practaised
by the kondh tribes is kui and the major source of income
of the people are daily labor and forest based resources.
The effort made by the villagers and an organisation
named “Vikas Niketan” has brought a sea change
on the life of these people. The inspiration and the financial
support of the organisation have lot of impact on the change.
There is a village level forest protection committee in the
village and the committee has been protecting forest of around
40 acres decades before. A good number of forest produces
were available in the forest long ago but due to the illiteracy
and simplicity of the tribal people the local traders had
been undervaluing the produces and the tribals also.
After the intervention of the organization
and the change in attitude of the tribal people there is a
little change in the situation today. The tribal people are
getting to some extent the right price in comparison to before
on produces like siali leaf, bamboo, tamarind, amla, harra,
bahera, different tubes and roots. Their dependency on forest
produces gradually increases. The people are now more conscious
on their rights and duties. In order to fight against the
exploitation they form SHGs in the village. Vikas Niketan
has helped the villagers in organizing these four groups.
In the village Goyalkana, a social worker named, Amita Kutka,
is able to organize all the SHGs and has brought into an umbrella
named Mahadev Mahila Mahasangha. Rupika Kikka is the president
of the Mahasangha and Amita Kutruka is the secretary. After
the formation of this federation, the villagers especially
the women are able to be united and think for holistic development.
The Mahasangha has been able to take lot of income generation
activities like candle making, agarbati making, khali stitching
and marketing of turmeric powder etc.
Decades before
The tribal people of this village have been depending on forest
long time before. By increasing deforestation the tribal could
not get adequate amount of produces from the forest and as
a result they depend on the local landlords (sahukars) for
their livelihood. They started borrowing. Once they got loan,
they had to refund it with 3-4 times more than the principal
amount. As they were not able to refund the loans on time
it gradually increased and was very difficult to refund. As
result they had to give all the forest produces to the landlords
and sometimes their land had been captured. Today most of
the cultivable lands of the village are in the hand of the
local businessmen. The villagers didn’t have any idea
on value addition and marketing of the produces also for which
they could not be able to earn more money from the produces.
There was no storage facilities available in the village to
store the produces and on the way to local haats they were
caught by kutchias and the latter exploit them by under weighing
their produces and paying fewer prices. Some of the produces
had been bartered with salt.
The situation today
The villagers are able to know the rules and regulations of
government, value addition, marketing etc. The organization
Vikas Niketan based at Muniguda block of Rayagada district,
is constantly engaged in dissemination of NTFP information
to the people. The most successful story of the village is
the increase of income level by stitching of siali plates.
Among the forest produces available in the nearby forest,
siali leaf, locally called sunar patra, has much importance
for the tribal people. These leaves are available in the forest
round the year and based on the importance of the leaf Vikas
Niketan organized a training programme for the members of
the Federation in Sarangaguda village of Phulbani district.
The members were trained how to stitch plates. After getting
trained they have been able to earn around Rs 20 to Rs 25
per day individually. They are not selling the plates and
leaves to the local traders at low prices. Even they collect
the leaves from the neighboring villages and are able to store
with adding value at their level. The youth association in
the village is actively involved in the business. Once a bulk
of plates prepared, Amita Kutka, sell those at Bhubaneswar
and Raipur markets. She has established a good market link
with important traders based at different cities across the
country.
Today the people are not facing any difficulties
in marketing of siali plates. The profit earned in the business
is being distributed equally among the members of the federation.
Impressed by the collection, processing and marketing activities
of the Mahasangha DRDA has granted Rs 25,000 loan to the Mahasangha
with a subsidy of Rs 10,000.
The way ahead
The dream of the Mahasangha is to be a model one in the state.
All the members of the Mahasangha have dreamt this. Regarding
the future plan of the Mahasangha Amita Kutka, the secretary
of the Mahasangha says, “ we have to make different
types of plates using advanced technologies and try to sell
in the neighboring states. We have to increase the income
of the Mahasangha any way”
Hitamayee Dei- a grass root leader
Hitamayee Dei, a ST woman married in 2004, has been able to
mobilize more than 550 women to form a cooperative in Kalahandi
district. She is able to provide organizational success to
the cooperative. The real story began when the then Chairman
Mr. Farooq of Antodaya, a voluntary organisation, arrested.
He was the live helper of the tribals at Thuamul Rampur block
of Kalahandi district. He had been constantly encouraging
the tribals to fight against government tyranny and monopolistic
attitude of the traders operated in the area for NTFP trade.
In January 1993 he was arrested by the mafia group with hand
in gloves of the forest department, police, TDCC etc. This
incidence punched the mind of the tribal girl named Hitamayee
and also inspired her to fight against those groups. She was
so fired at that time that she came forward with her fire
bard tone to rescue her leader and also shouted against the
illegal activities.
Koriguma village is located at 40 km away
from Bhawanipatna to Thuamul block where the tribal lady resides.
Initially 35 young tribal girls united in the village who
totally depend on forest and its produces, and started assembling
hill brooms and tamarind. But the law did not permit them
to process those though they have the harvesting right.
With the way of time, Hitamayee felt that
unless and until they united and have their own organisation
it is very difficult to fight against those mafias. So she
roamed village to village, motivate the villagers on the need
of a community based organisation and finally able to manage.
Initially she organized a group in Kaniuma village and Antodaya
people helped her a lot to go ahead.
Initially she faced lot of hurdles but self-determination
and self-confidence led her to organise the cooperative by
collecting Rs 15 from each member and developed their own
community enterprise. The soul aims of the community are:
To run micro finance programmes to meet
the financial need of the women
- Fight against NTFP trade exploitation
- To safe guard their natural resources
like forest, water, land etc.
- Provide social security to women
Keeping all these objectives in their mind
a women cooperative organisation was established by her industrious
effort from 1994 to 1996. The lady believes in decentralised
governance and their federation was established with an elected
board of directors for its management. The general body of
the federation known as Banashree Mahila Sanghathan elected
Hitamayee as secretary. Then the secretary and the rest members
decided to explore viable enterprises that would have sustainable
and positive impact on the poor.
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Hill broom, the untapped local resource was chosen by the
organisation for procurement and marketing through proper
understanding among the members. They thought that with a
little bit of value addition on hill brooms could make them
more beneficial and they also succeed. The success of the
initial activity and the benefit sharing mechanism adopted
by the members inspired them to get into tamarind, amla and
harra. But they could not get more benefit from amla due to
both internal and external factors. Hitamayee set herself
to revive the process based on the week points of the team.