`The association Etudiants et Développement, The Fond de solidarité et de développement d’initiatives étudiantes, the région of Val de Marne and the City of Châtenay-Malabry had financed the project Epices'centre.
For nearly forty years, V.C.D.M ( Village Community Development Movement) which has come into being has a result of the work of V.C.D.A NGO ( Village Community Development Association) is working in rural areas of Maharashtra for empowerment - upliftment of socio-economically challenged communities and overcoming divisions created by castes, class, economical-political power and gender, which still codifies social relations despite their formal denial. V.C.D.M brings together citizens, mainly rural, irrespective of these differences at meetings, workshops, social-educational- cultural events to raise awareness of common issues to encourage the emergence of an organized group around shared interests.
V.C.D.M promotes and disseminates mobilization tools (self-learning, theater, socio-political movement etc) so that these people take charge of their development and are no longer subject hostages and the goodwill of the decision-making classes who act according to their interests.
To know more about our partner V.C.D.M, please visit their website.
The Team of V.C.D.M
A brief list of sucessufull projects done in the last years :
- A bridge, a way for citizens to connect with the world : Four month per year, during monsoon season, backward caste hamlet of the Kolawade village was cut from the world due to flooding waters. One could not visit the hospital without, risking one's life, funeral processions needed to pass from chest deep water, no school for children due to very high risk of drowning. During 14 years, along with Tarabai Ubhe and Leelabai Kambale, two V.C.D.M animators, with the citizens of the village, fought to build a bridge over the river. The power class which controlled the village did everything in their power to deny this life line. This fight was fundamental for the citizens. They could understand the importance of collective action, raising the awareness, education and discussion, and its impact. Slowly, their awareness and confidence increased. They tackled together the challenges skillfully and succeeded in building the bridge. 200 people were benefited by this project. This project has been completed in 2005.
Inhabitants of Kolawade locality are posing on the bridge
- « A school without walls for everyone programme » has been initiated in 26 localities of remote mountainous villages in west Maharashtra ( Mulshi, Mawal and Welhe Taluka). There were no facilities for education. From scratch, under a tree, on the village square, animators started gathering children for school. V.C.D.M withdrew from these villages, years ago, and, the state accommodated the said program in its official projects. 200 children got education in these schools.
- Water Managing project in Kohor’s Village : for years, Kohor’s villagers noticed a soil erosion, and diminishing of water levels of wells and rivers which caused drought like conditions. Water surly plays an important role, in an agricultural economy. To counter this issue, Waghire, a V.C.D.M animator, initiated a project to build small dams, barrages, and dig ditches along the mountainous slopes in the entire village. He managed to motivate 700 villagers for the said project. All the aforementioned problems were resolved. The water level in wells and streams increased dramatically. Underground water level increased. Soil erosion reversed. Water storage facilitated through small dams. Mobilization of villagers was the main concern, as the success of this project was dependent on it. For months, Waghire, initiated an open and democratic dialogue, animation and awareness building, which included the extensive use of one on one meetings and group meetings. After experiencing inaction and false promises by the local leaders, there was a serious trust deficit which needed to be bridged. 5000 villagers have benefited by the said project. 700 peoples worked on this project, along with 8 animators formed by Waghire. This project has been completed in 2007.
Map of Kohor, maked by the inhabitants. It shows the streams of the village and damns builded during the project.
- Water Management in Ajiwali’s village : Only four month per year, water is available to villagers due to monsoon. But what about the rest of the year ? Even drinking water may become scares. Villager's, accompanied by Bababai Layghule, a V.C.D.M animator, built a reservoir in the mountain to collect water flowing from mountain tops during monsoon. This ensured the supply of drinking water and facilitated farming all along the year. Solar energy was used to pump the water from the reservoir to the village. An other essential project emphasizing the importance of saving electricity replacing it by renewable energy source. This also lightens the economical burden on the shoulder of villagers.11000 villagers have been benefited by this program. 500 people were involved in its execution. This project has been completed in 2016.
From last years, we can notice an escalation of rural exodus :
This is the result of different issues : mechanization of farming, genetically modified or company seeds, pesticides and chemicals which destroy farmlands and increase economic burden. The farming is equated with gambling by the farmers as the rate of the products are always influx, this creates insecurity and hamper organisation and development of the farming. Hence, farmers get meager profits and say this profession cannot be sustained as hard cash is the primary necessity in this era. Farmers are handicapped more and more as the governments have been part of the said problem and not the solution.
One of the primary goal of V.C.D.M is to give confidence to farmers by creating solutions with their involvement, to live an economically viable and dignified life. V.C.D.M believes in having balance between modernity and traditional farming methods.
Planting of rice, in Kolawade
To counter these problems, different projects are being run in rural aeras vis a vis :
- In Kohor village, Waman Waghire along with a team of animators is coaching 50 families to maximize their resources to identify the economically viable solutions, while protecting the nature. For example goat farming : purchase of a single goat is risk free ( compared to cow or buffalo) as the losses are bearable in case of failure. Goat reproduces every 6 months increasing their numbers rapidly. It can be sold directly without middle man and attracts good price. Its milk can be used for children or sold to the dairy. Its excreta can be sold as fertilizer or used in one’s own farm.
- In Dongargaw’s village, Shejwal, V.C.D.M’s animator is facilitating macro-economic groups for rural women. Through this, women are able to manage better the founds they have raised through farming and others business related to farming. They planned the use of the founds to maximize the profit through democratic discussion and with the help of animator. Founds they gather under the banner of their group is use to give personal loans, taking care of monitory emergencies and needs of the individuals time to time. Through democratic discussion using V.C.D.M’s methodology, women find solutions to particular problems and visualize different projects for their social and economic empowerment. For instance : experimentation of organic farming to protect their land and have a better price for their products, or processing the agriculture produce and creating finished products to increase the value of the goods.
- Chintaman Utale, a V.C.D.M animator, resident of a tribal mountainous village called Chawand, has initiated a creation of society of farmers wich aim to produce and sell milk in a cooperative structure. 80 farmers in the village and areas around earn approximately 200000 rupees every 1 month and half as a result of this initiative. Before this project it was economically not feasible for the farmers to transport the milk to the dairy. This initiative has made farmers economically independent.
For empowerment of rural girls : Pabal’s house is hotsing 16 girls from 8 years old to 18 years old, they all come from socio-economically challenged backgrounds which didn’t allow them to get education and study in a stable and safe environment. Pabal is surrounded by a garden of 1 acre, one part is given for farming, the other is a playground for girls ! Girls are going to school everyday. Thai and Gare are accompagning the girl in their home work, they are providing for her a safe, stable and lovely environnement where they feel part of family. Girls are introduce to severals activities like yoga, social theater, danse, all this opportunities are news spaces given to them to express themselves, explore their body, speak up and slowly shape their confidence.
Sexual education and creation of organic sanitary pads by village womens : this new project tackles various problems from a large range issues : environmental, social, cultural. Menstruation is taboo in rural India, hardly we hear people speaking about it. V.C.D.M ‘s goal, is to open a space for dialogue with women of different generations. How does my body work ? What is my relation with my body ? Why society consider this as taboo ? What could be various sanitary solutions ? What are their ecological and socials impacts ? How to free women from the physical and mental conditioning related to menstruation which hampers her development ?
In 1947, caste system was officially abolished in India, but it will take time for it to fully vanish from the culture and social strata. Although many strides have been made toward eradicating it, it still lives on as undercurrent in the society. Caste system is still used as a tool for political and social oppression.
Traditionally divided in castes and sub-castes and social interaction is influenced heavily by this. This division is one of the main causes of social oppression, injustice and lack of unity. V.C.D.M methodology has succeeded to bring together a vast variety of animators irrespective of their backgrounds.
We have chosen to animate against this lac of unity at the grassroots rural level.
Epices'centre project was financed by the association Etudiants et Développement, the Fond de solidarité et de développement d’initiatives étudiantes, and by the region of Val de Marne and the city of Châtenay-Malabry.
