New Initiatives & Activities
CNI SBSS’s programs are now focusing on education, health, water & sanitation, sustainable livelihood options, entitlement of social security schemes and models of church mission engagement. With the new interventions in the project areas, CNI SBSS has initiated new programs and activities in accordance to the need of the community. Some of the new initiatives are:
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
PRA is an approach used by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other agencies involved in development work. The approach aims to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of rural community in the planning and management of development projects and program. CNI SBSS conducted series of training for the DBSS staff on PRA to help them comprehend its community better and plan programs and activities in light of that understanding.
Workshop on PRA for the eastern region was conducted from 3rd – 7th November 2016 at Kolkata, West Bengal. The staff from DBSS Kolkata, DBSS Barrakpore, DBSS Cuttack, DBSS Chotanagpur, DBSS Durgapur, DBSS Patna and CNI SBSS participated in the workshop. Children from Arunima Hospice in Kolkata performed a dance and skit to inaugurate the workshop. The theoretical sessions started with the importance and significance of PRA, various steps such as Base Line Date Survey, Primary Analysis and Social mapping was discussed in detail. Following the theoretical sessions, a visit to a local slum area was conducted, where the participants were asked to draw a map depicting various assets and location of public facilities on the map. Another practical activity was conducted to the put the PRA process into practice. The participants were divided into three groups to map the village specifically on different characteristics, viz. Geography (to map the geographical aspects of the village), Education (to map the educational status of children in the village) and WASH (to map the facilities and aspects related to Water, sanitation and Hygiene). This was followed by discussion with community members to share with them the findings of PRA. The following day, they conducted in-depth analysis of the mapping that they had done through tools like time line mapping, problem tree analysis, seasonality calendar, institutional mapping etc. this exercise too was done along with community members. On the last day, the participants presented all they had learned in the workshop along with the micro plans for their respective DBSS.
Workshop for the northern and western regions was conducted from 10th – 14th November 2016 at Aurangabad, Maharashtra under the auspices of Marathwada DBSS. The workshop was inaugurated by Rt. Revd. MU Kasab, Bishop of Marathwada Diocese, Vice- Chairperson of SBSS, Chairperson and other office bearers of Marathwada DBSS. The staff from DBSS Amritsar, DBSS Mumbai, DBSS Marathwada, DBSS Nasik, DBSS Kolhapur, DBSS Nagpur and CNI SBSS participated in the workshop. The module of the workshop was same as that of the workshop conducted for eastern region. This process has helped the participants to understand the situation and needs of the community better so that the interventions can be more effective and relevant.
Bee Keeping
Non-timber forest product (NTFPs) is an alternative and important source of livelihood in the tribal pockets of Jharkhand. DBSS Chotanagpur had been working in this area from last 25 year for the upliftment of rural poor and improving the quality of life and livelihood. The DBSS carried out a base line study in the region to understand the requirements and need of the community and thereby design a project suitable to the local context. In the year 2016, CNI SBSS started a new project “Let my People Go” with a much focused objective of developing socio economic condition of Tribals and Dalits by facilitating and enabling measures for sustainable income generation. The regions of Chirubeda and Sijang village of Bano block attracted the attention of the DBSS due to the lack of efforts made in the direction of social and economic development of the Tribals and Dalits. In the findings of the livelihood mapping and local market survey, it was found that 60% of the household income comes from the selling of NTFP and the remaining from other sources like agriculture and labour work which involved migration to nearby cities. Agriculture is meager with only one monsoon crop due to lack of irrigation facility in summer.
Community Enablers of the DBSS identified the groups based on traditional skills to start the pilot of Bee keeping intervention. At present an SHG comprising of 10 women farmers with 10 boxes has undertaken bee keeping as an alternate source of income generation. After the pilot study, this intervention can be replicated in other DBSS. This intervention will help the traditional collectors of honey to recognize better prices for their produce. Traditionally the tribal people collect honey from the forest for their consumption and to trade. But with the progress of technology, apiculture can be taken up as an alternative livelihood option for the economic development of the people. Product diversification (from honey to Mahua/ Kranj/ Lichi/ Jamun/ Sunflower) will also help the community to realize the economic value of such products that are usually considered to have no commercial value. The initiative can not only result in availing better price for honey (and other forest products) but can also ensure additional income to the family.
Non-Timber Forest Products collection Centre
The NTFP collection center has been facilitated by DBSS Chotanagpur in Bano Block. It is aimed to collect and market of locally available forest products such as Mahua, Tamarind ,Jamun which are found in abundance in the forest. The SHG federation (Van Utpadan Vaywashayik Mahila Sanghathan, Bano) has been formed to undertake collective actions; CNI SBSS has given a grant of Rupees One lakh to the SHG federation for entrepreneurship activity that can improve the livelihood of the community. A Self Help Group was identified who could manage and take up the entrepreneur activities involving all the members. They have now rented a warehouse to store the aggravated quantity of forest products. They also provide secure buy back facility for the collectors. The forest products collected is marketed in larger volume which enables them to negotiate a better price for the products. The intervention is designed to ensure both economic and ecological sustainability for the tribal community.
Skill Development training and placement
This program is being carried out in collaboration with PRATHA and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana. A joint community mobilization drive was organized at DBSS Chotanagpur by PRATHAM on providing skill development training for youth and appropriate placements. Approx. 40 community members and candidates had attended the event. The candidates were screened on different parameters and were guided to select electrical training or computer training according to their aptitude. Total 12 students have been enrolled to undergo skill development training and placement thereafter.
