Sanghatitha Shramadanam
Sustainable and continuous development of a village can be achieved when villagers participate in development. Sometimes we expect a gram panchayat or government to solve every small issue. But, through collective efforts many of these issues can be resolved easily.
Sanghatitha Shramadanam (Collective Voluntary Service) program has started from this idea. Through this program villagers participate 1 day of shramadanam in a month. Through Farmers Club of the village road repairs, drainage works, water tank cleaning, tree plantations, etc. are taken up.
Currently this activity is performed in 25 villages in Adilabad district in Telangana.
Sanghatitha Shramadanam
Sustainable and continuous development of a village can be achieved when villagers participate in development. Sometimes we expect a gram panchayat or government to solve every small issue. But, through collective efforts many of these issues can be resolved easily.
Sanghatitha Shramadanam (Collective Voluntary Service) program has started from this idea. Through this program villagers participate 1 day of shramadanam in a month. Through Farmers Club of the village road repairs, drainage works, water tank cleaning, tree plantations, etc. are taken up.
Currently this activity is performed in 25 villages in Adilabad district in Telangana.
Vanagarai Village, Paderu Mandal, Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Rain fed agriculture is the major source of income for this village with 46 households is at 1350 m above the sea level. There are numerous perennial flows in the surrounding region. Water couldn’t be used for cultivation due to lack of proper water harvesting infrastructure and rapid flow of water. As a result, they are able to grow only single season crop.
To facilitate irrigation for the second season arresting of water by constructing 78 m stone bund is necessary. Later it was observed that, it would be more effective, if it were extended to another 27 m. This bund was to pass through a villager’s land and he denied for the extension of the structure. Villagers collectively conducted three meetings and convinced him to extend the stone bund through his land. To compensate the exceeded budget, villagers volunteered for Shramadanam for four days to carry the pitching stones required accounting to 180 manhours worth Rs. 90,000.
Grama Sahayaks
One of the initiatives taken up by Ekalavya foundation in this project is identification of voluntary Village Volunteers or Grama Sahayaks. They are primarily local youth identified and allotted by the villagers through farmer clubs. Initially these volunteers will be empowered by trainings and skill development who would act as change agents in the village.
They will monitor bookkeeping, strengthening of farmer clubs, supervision of Natural Resource Management works and package of practices of chemical free agriculture. This would empower the villages to sustain the development, carry forward the maintenance activities of the projects executed by Ekalavya Foundation and future convergence activities with the supporting agencies.
Currently the program is implemented in 20 villages and will be extended all villages where Ekalavya implementing some project.
