Women in India Protect Land & Foster Self-Reliance

Manavi is actively collecting traditional varieties of paddy seeds (used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops). Over 90% of paddy fields in North Bihar contain hybrid seeds (some belonging to multinational corporation terminal seeds). Until now, Manavi has found around 70 varieties of paddy seeds and are aiming to locate around 125 varieties. From next crop season onwards, Manavi is hoping to propagate these seeds and develop a gene bank with support from local farmers.

With the support from the Ministry of Food and Supply, Manavi has been able to distribute more than 400-grain storage bins to self-help group (SHG) members. Manavi already successfully provided storage bins to SHG members in Dumka, Jharkand. As a result, Manavi is replicating this model to SHG members in Bihar.

Manavi, India

Manavi is a grassroots organization founded in 1991 with the goal to promote women’s empowerment, especially those from the scheduled caste population and with tribal communities in the southern part of Bihar. Manavi works with some 2,000 women in 40 villages in Bihar. IDEX started working with Manavi in 1999.

One of IDEX’s critical roles is to carry out a thorough monitoring and evaluation report of the projects we support, together with our partners. IDEX staff visits partners regularly to see their work and accomplishments. At the same time, our partners provide detailed semi-annual reports, including a financial accounting of the use of funds.

Nevertheless, it is heartening for us to have other organizations participate in the monitoring and evaluation of the projects IDEX supports. This year, GlobalGiving partnered with GiveIndia to review organizations in India, including Manavi. The following report is part of GlobalGiving’s interview report of Manavi.

IDEX note on Funding and Accountability - IDEX works as an intermediary/project sponsor, which means we fundraise on their behalf. Likewise, IDEX submits all reports on behalf of Manavi, and meets any other compliance measures or requirements. IDEX has a multi-year partnership agreement with Manavi in which it commits to providing a minimum of $13,000 to Manavi each year, or more if IDEX is able to raise additional funds, as well as to provide other non-financial resources and support to enhance their visibility and organizational capacity. In keeping with IDEX’s commitment to transparency, IDEX is able and willing to provide a breakdown to Manavi of all funding received on behalf of Manavi – those funds received from Global Giving as well as other sources making up the $13,000 grant. However, this is not information that IDEX would expect or require Manavi to know.

If you would like further information on IDEX or Manavi and our relationship, please contact Gillian Wilson at IDEX, 415-824-8384.

Interview Report

Understanding the Relationship with GlobalGiving Manavi knows GlobalGiving through IDEX. IDEX raises funds from different sources but Manavi does not know the exact amount of funds raised from GlobalGiving. Crafting of project descriptions is done by IDEX by asking questions to Manavi but no direct tools have been received from GlobalGiving. Manavi is also satisfied with the descriptions but believes that adding more brief case studies gives more value. Organic farming description is in general but Manavi wants more on local information, maps, photos and why the donors donate to Manavi. Even though Manavi is happy with 100% funding they expect more interaction through emails and, if possible, direct contact with their donors.

Strategy

Manavi addresses the impacts of globalisation on people living B.P.L. (Below Poverty Level), which are generally women & tribal members and provides training in leadership, organic food, food security and human rights. For four to five years they have been working on organic farming. Agriculture is the primary source of income and for food security organic farming is needed but the problem of multinational companies being an obstacle still exists. The area has an excellent history of agriculture and the reasons for the problems are known, Manavi is conducting different experiments to demonstrate benefits of organic farming. Participatory Rural Appraisal and feed back from beneficiaries and volunteers helped Manavi in many ways and the results are visible now. Vermicompost is more popular among farmers than fertilisers. Beneficiaries are selected within the Bihar and Jharkhand region on the basis of skill, aptitude and need. This strategy increased the confidence level of farmers and momentum was achieved. Farmers know better on how they can get loans from banks and the acceptance of organic farming has increased. However, male members feel threatened and multinationals have become less assertive. Manavi believes their strategy is not a stagnant process but it is a learning and modification process towards positive results. With the past experience they want to be strong in their interaction with the government so that they can change and mobilise support. In addition, they want to improve media support and strong networking between NGOs at the national level.

Governance and Management

There are seven board members with different backgrounds such as journalists, botany, social works, village administration and education. The board is legally responsible for the organisation. Decisions are made by meeting four times a year with seven members and twice a year by holding general body meetings. Collective decisions are taken from the discussion. The project is managed according to the predefined guidelines given to project coordinators and also monitoring & progress is also observed from time to time. The board takes decisions relative to the project and gives inputs according to their specialised knowledge.

Sometimes Manavi takes advice and updates information from expert groups on things such as new agriculture policy, W.T.O., patent bill, etc. Beneficiaries, staff and IDEX do project descriptions and project budgets collectively. Reporting of project activities is shared with IDEX on monthly basis. The staff is given complete freedom to provide inputs and if any beneficiary tells them about a particular seed, a complete analysis is done from growth to the marketing level. Even from outside the organisation, a scientist’s visit will give ideas and Manavi will use them to conduct experiments. The accountant and board members take financial decisions of Manavi. Beneficiaries are aware of the budget allocations, and every two months financial details are sent to IDEX. Project Sponsor Relationship

Manavi’s relationship with IDEX is positive. IDEX helps to raise funds from various sources and provides a $13,000 grant for the organization’s capacity building. IDEX also increases project’s visibility. Manavi is not aware of the display of the project on the GlobalGiving site.

Learning from project implementations

Manavi’s achievement process was slow but they learned it is a slow process because of the nature of experiments. Now they are getting expected results. After implementation, the staff and beneficiaries offered their views. Even views of local leaders are important to the organisation.

Projects results were clearly visible and people are now eager to practice organic farming. The hindrance part is the marketing strategy in pricing and distribution.

The unexpected success is that more people are coming to implement, but Manavi is unable to handle this because of a lack of staff, resources, money, skills etc. An Unexpected difficulty has been that people want profits and are not concerned with organic farming and the positive effects of this farming practice.

Networks and Collaborations

Manavi collaborates with many organisations such as IDEX; American Indian Friend Association, USA; DFID, UK; Population Foundation of India, New Delhi; Jharkhand Education Project, Ranchi; DRDA, Ministry of Rural Development; Ministry of Woman and Child Welfare, Government of Jharkhand; etc. Manavi manages these relations through meetings, emails, and participation in projects. Manavi interacts informally with 15 organisations because they cannot get results alone. Within IDEX network, the value of work done by Manavi is recognised. Manavi staff is hired at different places to implement organic farming. Most of the fund raising organisations consider only project costs but actually, there are other costs like administrative and maintenance costs, which should be funded.

Funding

Manavi feels that the cost of the project was assessed adequately but is not aware of the exact amount raised from GlobalGiving since IDEX raises funds from different sources and directly gives the total amount raised to Manavi. They are happy with the $13,000 grant they receive from IDEX but they are not aware of the exact amount from GlobalGiving. Manavi received some support in the form of land for organic farming by tribes in Patori.

Accountability

Since there is no direct contact with GlobalGiving Manavi is unaware of its reporting obligations but is ready to give reports if GlobalGiving wants.

Lastly Manavi wants more interaction and updates about social issues from time to time so that it can enhance the learning and relationship with GlobalGiving.