RID POVERTY & HUNGER IN 50 INDIAN TRIBAL VILLAGES

Earth Trust has been working in villages for the last 10 years. Since setting up health training for village health workers in the forest area, it became clear that nutritional problems were affecting the health of men, women and children. One of the primary aims of our work is to ensure that each & every intervention strengthens the community & does not weaken it.

LOSING TOUCH WITH FOREST RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND HEALTH

On further studies it was apparent that one of the reasons is the breakdown of the communities. There is a transitional loss of traditional knowledge of resources for food & health as the living styles change and children leave the families for school education out of the communities. As communities are pulled out into the external world knowledge is being left behind.

DISAPPEARANCE OF FOREST SPECIES IMPORTANT FOR NUTRITION & HEALTH OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS.

In discussions with the communities it is apparent that many species previously used by them are disappearing. In the last six months we have conducted 3 programmes to start the documentation of these species with them to identify exactly what has disappeared locally. We have also identified land available in the villages which are interested to re-establish these species in their forest gardens along with other trees important for nutrition like Aegle marmelosa, Moringa, and Garcinia varieties which have high nutritive value. Every family is to have two moringa trees and promotion of local fields of moringa will be encouraged.

Setting up of forest gardens by local families to regenerate the local forests & restore the important species for the future generations is key to the restoration of traditional knowledge, and health

3. RELIANCE ON WHITE RICE INSTEAD OF THE RICH FOREST DIET AVAILABLE

In an effort to address nutritional problems the government has set up a system for distributing what is known as “Ration Rice” to poor families at one rupee a kg. Unfortunately this has actually made the situation worse for the forest people. It has also set up a crime situation where cheap rice is taken out of the state by lorry load and many who could afford good food are jumping on the bandwagon. In fact the white rice, which has no nutritional value issued is taken by the tribal families and eaten as an easy substitute for their traditional food which is full of nutrients.

As a result of our funding from Global Giving we have been able to extend our health training into more remote areas and from discussions with the local women and it was decided to encourage a “grandmother’s traditional food day” at each full moon so that the knowledge & practice of their traditional cooking is not lost.

On the 3 full moon days since we started, the Irula women from the edge of the forest have made: a honey with millet powder dish; Jackfruit jelly; Jackfruit flour chapatti from the seeds; Unripe Jackfruit poriyal, jackfruit chips & Bamboo sprouts dishes. Also Sinthamani cooked reyan tuber with honey and Mala made seeni chilli (sugar chilli).

The Kurumba women made green chutney with local wild leaves. Poonima also made a soup made from local greens called puvidok with cumin. They cooked goongai greens and an amaranthus dish with honey they had gathered from the high rocks in the area.

The Toda women from the grassland areas cooked Samai rice with their buffalo milk. Samai is an ancient grain used by them for their festivals. They spoke of their tradition of gathering greens & using them as salad. Needidevi used curd with wild root.

The Kotas used old varieties of wheat to make pancakes with raw brown sugar and sweet wheat flour dishes. With Raggi which is a high altitude kind of millet they made raggi balls to dip into spicy local sauces and porridge called ganji. The impact of these activities is affecting around 100 small villages in the tribal areas here on the eastern edge of Nilgiris.

This programme has created a lot of excitement among the women & some of the food which they are tasting has not been cooked since they were children. We want to extend this deeper & deeper into the wild food tradition in the months ahead.

Our most recent 12 module health programme has been started at Dhenalai village where we have been helping the children with their kitchen gardens for nearly five years. This year they have been taking their skills & knowledge back into their village and are growing 20 organic village home gardens with herbs & vegetables. This is a Badaga village and the women in the health training group are collecting & planning the cereals & plants traditionally grown in their communities for their own full moon food festival this month

Poverty in rural areas affecting nutrition of children

In the rural schools of the upper plateau of Nilgiris, school meals are an important part of the diet for children from poor homes. But again it is short of important nutrients. With the monsoon, a new planting season is underway in 11
of the poorest schools. Sowing has started & charts for seed treatment & growing practices are being made.

Documentation of herbal & nutritional plants in two tribal schools.

Two schools are involved in documenting & growing their traditional herbs & foods with help from the tribal elders. In Glenmorgan, the Toda children have started this by planting 60 indigenous trees in their small compound & a
start has been made by bringing in the elders.. In the South, Kilkunda school is involving in their own programme for this with the Kurumba elders. They have already completed the documentation of their traditionally used plants and will create a community of plants in their compound by planting these among the 58 indigenous trees already established by them.

Rs.10,000 monthly is needed for an “In-forest” programme to give a holistic education to the tribal children who have dropped out of school. This would just cover the cost of a teacher to live in the communities there & develop a forest based education.

Second herbal preparation unit

A second project site is being developed further south-east at Droog. This is an area on the edge of the forest ghat near Coonoor where we have developed herbal kitchen gardens & given trainings earlier. Following the success of this and the impact of the Kolikarai project venture we have started another centre for preparation of herbal medicine. This new initiative is meeting the needs of women who would have to walk 7km & stay overnight to attend any training or reach any urban centre.

This is on track for the long term aim to facilitate another 7 gene-pool nurseries, each supporting a medicinal herb preparation unit with a complex of forest gardens. They would be set up around the Nilgiri ghats in 7 tribal villages.

Together with the health training programme this will impact 90 villages and a population of around 1,500 people.

The outcome would be:

• Improvement of livelihoods based on traditional herbal knowledge
• Well nourished & healthy communities
• Self respect & confidence acquired by tribal families through increased knowledge & skills
• A replicable model to incorporate into the Forest Department programme as part of a strategy for creating richly biodiverse forest areas (value: carbon sequestration, protection from global warming, protection of water sources as well as the safeguarding of traditional knowledge.)
• A powerful protection of forest resources which have been decimated in the past by predatory companies- who have also broken the link between many tribal groups & their environment.

After two years in Kolikarai it is very easy to measure the changes in the confidence & happiness of the women involved, they are able to continue with or without inputs from ET and they WANT to continue. Sovereignty over the context within which they live is primary.

One of the most important aspects to be considered is whether we want strong & confident tribal people to contribute in the outside society/world. From a strong & confident family, young people are able to go out into the world with much to contribute. From a weak family will come only people who struggle to find their place. This is exactly what can happen in tribal communities where development has not been thought through. If we want them to send out strong young people into society we need to strengthen their base…

ET is making the local communities its top priority. The village health workers who make the medicines are supplying their families & clients in the villages where they work. It is being closely monitored by the health team manager and a Siddha doctor. Siddha medicines are being supplied at ET HIV positive programme as prescribed by a Siddha Doctor. Clinical trials are being done. The results are giving people back their lives.

A local state of the art hospital is being built at Kotagiri where agreement has been reached to set up a high tech Indian Traditional Medicine Unit which will provide an outlet for the primary herbs prepared by the small tribal units.

Other markets are also available.

Thulasi Group Village Health Workers

Success Stories

Total no of Beneficiaries in Kolikarai area from the work of the village health workers running the Thulasi Group Herbal Preparation Unit– 1500 people in 90 Tribal Villages

Introduction This group of tribal women from 12 main villages have an outreach into many small & remote village. Mainly they deal with primary health care issues of coughs & colds, headaches & fevers. They all keep detailed records which are monitored each month.These are a few of the more dramatic stories from them

Name of Village Health Worker -

Mrs.Ammini amma Working in Thiruchikkadi, a Kota village

Case study: Srija,

Aged 2 years

She was not able to walk. The family took her to the local hospital several times but there was no improvement. Then they heard of Amminiamma’s work in the village. They came to her house and she gave Srija a massage daily using Centella oil for two months. Now she is able to walk perfectly.

Name of Village Health Worker:

Mrs.Kalliammal

Case study: Herself:

For a long time she was suffering from a stomach ulcer. She took allopathy treatment from NAWA hospital and was admitted there for one week without improvement. Then she came to Kolikarai unit and took the sagadevi herbal tablet. Now she has no more problems.

Case study: : Getten & Lakshimi. S

Admitted in NAWA Hospital for cold and cough.

Kalliammal suggested the couple take the sagadevi herbal tablet for one week. They are now better.

Case study:

One old man from Annaikatty village had a paralysed leg and arm. Kalliammal did massage for him with Centella oil resulting in easing of the arm movement and enabling him to start walking again.

Name of Village Health Worker :

Saroja Working Villages: Kollikarai, Athipadugai

Case study : Meena

A Pregnant lady from Sundapatty was admitted in NAWA hospital in Kolikarai. The doctor told her that it will be a complicated delivery as the shoulder & leg were presenting & he would probably have to do a caesarian. Saroja gave a herbal decoction to the lady. After she took the decoction, the baby turned & presented a normal delivery within 24 hours.

Name of Village Health Worker :

Ponnamma. Working Villages: Ariyur, Kakkagundu,Ariyurmattam, Kallor

Case study: Patient suffering from
Russel viper snake bite: Ponnamma gave dandagidu herbal medicine. She recovered
within a day.

Name of Village Health

Worker Malliga. Working Villages: Mettukal, Addugodu Estate, Kothimooku, Guest house, Badgur

Case Study: Hydrocele . Her herbal medicine gave good result

Name of Village Health Worker :

Babyammal. Working Villages: Pudhu Kothagiri, Kil Kothagiri

Case study:Lalitha.

She had skin Allergies for four years. She took the herbal medicine from Babyammal and it is much better.

The Earth Trust is supporting these women make a transformational shift in their lives and the lives of the communities they live in - the progress is slow but the effect is sure and long-lasting.With the the help of donors of Global Giving we hope to do much more.

THE NILGIRIS HILL DISTRICT has been described as the lungs of South India, due to its rich biodiversity and dense shola (stunted evergreen) forests. The densely-populated district is part of the Nilgiris Biosphere

Reserve and is the main source of water for the rivers of south India. Its temperate climate favours year round cultivation. Over time, tea and coffee plantations have become the dominant crops while in the remaining 25% of agricultural land, very small farms grow vegetables, spices and condiments.

In a nationwide effort to boost food production in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the Green Revolution introduced chemical agriculture to the Nilgiris. Increasing and indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides reduced soil fertility, leaving degraded agricultural land in its wake. Instead of growing a wide range of crops that in turn supported a varied diet, the Green Revolution encouraged fewer, mono-culture crops. In this very poor region, these changes led to a more limited local diet.

With agriculture still in decline, young people continue to leave the land for the cities, and local schools face declining enrolment. For the young people that remain in the Nilgiris area, poverty, a lack of skills and low confidence hold many back.

In 2007 in response to these trends, the non-profit Earth Trust established Eco-Clubs at 2 disadvantaged schools in the region. The success of the Club’s extra-curricular activities at these two schools, lead teachers at neighbouring schools to request that the program be expanded. As a result, the program quickly expanded to 16 schools. 

With an aim of developing a green consciousness and social responsibility, Eco Clubs promote waste recycling, composting, organic gardening and the efficient use of school land. At the outset, the program introduces group-building outings to natural forests and organic model farms which also helped these 9–11 year old students appreciate the importance of both. These two outings also enabled students to observe first-hand the deterioration in their local environment and to begin to investigate what they can do to stop the deterioration.

The Shola Forest is one of the Nilgiris’ most spectacular natural features, consisting of patches of high-altitude (around 2000 meters) stunted evergreen forest separated by undulating grasslands. Since the Shola Forest is 25 kilometres away from the nearest school in a region with few private vehicles, most students have no other chance to visit this special area.

Once permission from the forest department was obtained, these day-long trips for up to 40 Eco Club members were designed to provide exposure to both indigenous Shola forests and nearby manmade eucalyptus tree plantations. During the day, students observed the diversity of species in each of these contrasting forests, and learned about the natural, soil-building processes through which a forest matures.

In the following month, each Eco Club visits a model organic farm. Back at school, during the Club’s before and

after school activities, they gain organic and biodynamic gardening skills, which they use to grow vegetables for their meals at school. They collect traditional seeds and grow older varieties of millets, amaranth and other grains. For children from desperately poor, often remote villages, it has been a passionate and mind expanding program.

One key to the success of the two outings is the way they link local forest eco-systems to a school organic garden. By observing nature, and then undertaking a variety of recycling and composting activities back at school, both students and teachers began to understand the principles and the benefits of organic farming. Confidence and self-esteem of Eco Club students has markedly improved, and an interest in environmental issues has percolated into local communities and government.

With their new understanding of how natural systems work, Eco Club students have started organic gardens at each of their schools. For the first six months, they focus on improving the health of the soil. Then the students moved on to organic gardening, experimenting with mixed cropping, crop rotation, composting, preparing growth promoters, and harvesting seeds.

Almost immediately, these gardens became lighthouses for the rural populations around them. With once a month parent-teacher association meetings, parents began to notice the organic gardens and the activities of the Eco Club at their children’s school. This encouraged many parents to create their own organic “kitchen gardens” at home. For example, at Thenali School, this lead to the creation of at least 22 organic home gardens.

Eco-Club participants are strongly encouraged to share their knowledge with others. It is fantastic to see how the self-confidence of these disadvantaged students has been enhanced by their new “life skills” and to see the enthusiasm and knowledge that they have gained. These children have become models for their peers, acting more responsibly and transferring eco-friendly practices to their villages. The schools also benefited from the program. Many visitors, including those from overseas, were attracted to the school gardens, which did a lot to further increase the self-esteem of children and teachers. The organic gardens also won praise from higher officials, the local community and neighbouring schools. Eco-Clubs make a difference in creating new life skills, and model for peer groups, social responsibility, and self esteem to both teachers and students.

Vanya Orr is the Project Director & Mohan Kumar is the Education Manager for The Earth Trust in The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, in southern India.

Acknowledgment

Our sincere thanks to Mr. David Pople, Friends of Hope, U.K. and Mr. Phil Crook for their constant support to carry out this project 

Find out more about Earth Trust at www.earthtrustnilgiris.org

Read the article and see the pictures in the online magazine of Green Teacher Page 22, at the link posted below

• Green Teacher Article (PDF)