Sustainable Livelihood for Women:

Goat rearing and ardu plantation

(Process Document on sustainable livelihoods
for women in villages of Rajasthan)

Dr. Amit Kumar

Isabel Sofia Lopes Antunes

Financed by Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), Mumbai

Kumarappa Institute of Gram Swaraj

Jaipur (Rajasthan)
2014

Copyright (2014)

All rights reserved.

Any part of this work may be translated or copied in any form, by any means, without written
prior permission, as long as the source is properly acknowledged.

The views and interpretations expressed in this report are of the author's and do not
necessarily reflect those of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT).

Photographs:Amit Kumar, Hanuman Sahay Sharma

Authors: Dr.Amit Kumar, Isabel Sofia LopesAntunes

About theAuthors:
Dr. Amit Kumar is Project Director with Kumarappa Institute of Gram Swaraj in Jaipur. He
has been working in the field of rural development especially in water resource management,
rural livelihoods and micro finance for more than 15 years.
Ms. Isabel Sofia LopesAntunes is research scholar at Research Institute of Social Sciences,
University of Coimbra, Portugal.

Published by:
Kumarappa Institute of Gram Swaraj
B-190, University Marg, Bapu Nagar, Jaipur 302015
Rajasthan (India)
Phone: 91-141-2708695
Email: kigs_in@yahoo.com, kigs_in@rediffmail.com
Website: www.kigs.org

Contents
Chapter 1

Background

4-7

Chapter 2

The Goat Program

8 - 21

Chapter 3

Ardu Plantation

22 - 28

Chapter 4

Agriculture - Green Manure and other Initiatives

29 - 40

Chapter 5

Conclusion

41 - 43

Chapter 1

Background

The state of Rajasthan, especially in the villages, has been facing several problems
related to agriculture and farming. The unfertile and arid land along with the continued use of
poor agricultural techniques by the farmers makes this activity almost unprofitable. The
traditional way of doing farming is therefore outdated. There is a considerable hesitance in
implementing with new types of plantation, soil fertility etc. in the agriculture fields.
Insufficient productivity of the animal farming adds to the problem. The villagers don't have
access to information, or either knowledge to improve a good rear or to increase their
productivity (in terms of giving milk or other breeds). Agriculture is even though one of the
most important sources of income in the village's families, but as an industrial activity is
quite rare and uncommon.
In that context Kumarappa Institute of Gram Swaraj (KIGS) decided to take actions
and initiated a project with the aim to tackle the insufficiency of agriculture and animal
farming production, in order to create a sustainable livelihood for women.
Women have an important role in the family, although they have to face several
challenges: taking care of their children and the family and also to overcome their difficulties
to work outside home, along with the non-rights of owning property. For widows the
situation is even more difficult, as they don't have any other source of income. The only way
for them to deal with these problems is doing farming and animal husbandry in order to
increase their self-confidence and contributing in the family income.
The project Sustainable Livelihood for Women's Cooperative Society and SHG
members was thus prepared in consultation with the program staff of Sir Dorabji Tata
Trust (SDTT) which was based on natural resources, ecology, manpower, animal force etc.
available in the villages. Efforts were made to empower the Community Based
Organisations (CBOs) and Federation to demand services and schemes from the government
departments at their door steps. The project's aim was to make the best use of natural
resources and manpower, so as to achieve the goal of overall development of the area.
Building Local Partnership
Kumarappa Institute of Gram Swaraj (KIGS) has been involved in promoting Self
Help Groups in Niwai block of Tonk district in Rajasthan from the last ten years. As a result

Background F 5

of the great efforts put up by KIGS workers and members of the SHGs, these SHGs have now
formed a women cooperative society Laxmi Nidhi Primary Women Multipurpose
Cooperative Society Limited, registered with the Cooperative Society office at Tonk on
March 31, 2010. This society is wholly owned and managed by women of the Niwai block.
Presently the society has about 975 members which are increasing continuously. This project
lasted for three years i.e. from April 2011 till March 2014. Along with the cooperative
society KIGS wants to highlight the importance of local ownership in order to: facilitate
empowerment of Gram Sabha (village council); to promote democracy and strengthen both
civil society and the security of the individual; to support full participation of women as
equal partners in the society and to strengthen the grassroots capacities by building
confidence, problem solving capacities, resilience and training for skills among local people.
This was a new initiative where all decisions and implementations are in the hands of rural
women and they need support in terms of information dissemination and training. Presently,
the members of the society are saving Rs. 100/200/500 per month as recurring deposit which
is given as loan to the members. The society has started livelihood initiatives through micro
finance and goat farming along with fodder plantation as one of its main component.
Similarly, programs of women empowerment and rural development are also being taken up.
The project is being implemented in nine villages of Niwai block in Tonk district and
its nearby hamlets covering about 700 families. The villages are situated within a radius of 15
km. from Niwai and are as follows:1. Sakatpura (Seendra Gram Panchayat)
2. Barodiya (Seendra Gram Panchayat)
3.Abhaipura (Khandwa Gram Panchayat)
4. Khandwa (Khandwa Gram Panchayat)
5. Nala (Khandwa Gram Panchayat)
6. Chikana (Khandewat Gram Panchayat)
7. Jhujharpura (Khandewat Gram Panchayat)
8. Damodarpura (Khandewat Gram Panchayat)
9. Hingotiya (Khandewat Gram Panchayat)
This project aims to increase food security and improve the socio-economic
conditions of the members of the Laxmi Nidhi Women Cooperative and SHGs through
interventions in goat farming and appropriate technology transfer in agriculture.

Background F 6

It also wants to tackle the development and promotion of sustainable agriculture

practices for small and marginal women farmers and agro-forestry through fodder crop
demonstration and plantation of fodder trees in the project villages which are relevant,
affordable, ecological, sustainable and replicable. All this must be done by the women
cooperative society and CBOs in order to develop their skills, and empower them by linking
them with technical and financial institutions. It will prepare them to align themselves to
governmental projects and programs through advocacy and follow up. One of the aspects of
'advocacy' in this project was taken under MGNREGA framework. Women have
participated in different trainings such as: women leaders on CBO promotion and
management; women leaders on leadership development and women leaders on basic
functions of PRI, rights-based approach and RTI use.
Finally the project aims at documenting the advancement in learning and enables
them to share them for the replication and adoption at larger level.
In conclusion, this project wants to provide different avenues for agriculture (for
instance ardu plantation and goat rearing).

Village Meeting in Progress

Background F 7

Women Co-operative Society Meeting in Progress

Chapter 2

The Goat Program

An Introduction to the Goat Program: The role of the Stakeholders

Kumarappa Institute in the beginning of the project didn't have a prior experience of
goat farming. The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) introduced them to The Goat Trust in
Lucknow to give them technical training. The technical expert and the Director of The Goat
Trust visited the project area to have an idea about the environment and the goats in the area.
After the field visit they were of the opinion that the quality of goats was good
enough and that there is no need to go outside the villages to buy Sirohi goats. This has saved
a lot of money and time which was used in purchasing more goats and improving the quality
of goats. The technical team of The Goat Trust has also given a practical training to the
selected Pashu Sakhi in the villages.
The importance of Sirohi rear in goat farming
The Sirohi breed goat and buck are species native to Rajasthan, as referred by FAO1.
This kind of rear is especially important as it provides a double source of income agricultural and animal (meat and milk). FAO does also recognize that this rear has a better
lactation even in severe weather conditions. In the Indian social context the goats can help
the provision of the livelihood and security for small farmers and to landless laborers, as it is
the case of most members of the women cooperative society. As Mahatma Gandhi stated, the
goat is Poor Man's Cow", as it used to be the only source of cash income for many families.
Therefore the goat has an overwhelming impact in rural India. It is also considered to be an
additional income and even acts as an insurance against disaster.
Goats are peacefully denoted in all religions (they are sacrificed to please God both
by the Muslims, and the Hindus to worship Goddess Shakti - Kali). There is no religious
taboo against goat slaughter and meat consumption is prevalent throughout the country.
Moreover goat has also a tremendous economic significance among rural societies as they
are one of the species that can efficiently survive on available bushes and trees and in adverse
environment with low fertile lands in which no other crop can be grown. In comparison with
other species like sheep, goat is 2.5 times more economical in severe weather conditions.
1. In FAO ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH PAPER 30,sheep and goat breeds of India, chapter 2, available in
http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/x6532e/X6532E03.htm#ch2.3.1

The Goat Program F 9

In addition to this, goats have also a great income because they are prolific breeders
and achieve sexual maturity at the age of 10-12 months. Their gestation period is short and at
the age of 16-17 months they start giving milk.
Realizing the importance of goat in the agrarian economy of the country, various
developmental activities have been taken up by Government of India. The Central
Government had established Central Institute for Research on Goats at Makhdoom, Farah,
Mathura District, Uttar Pradesh.
However, as it is pointed out by FAO2 the productivity of Indian goats is low. Some
major reasons are concerned with disease and serious lack of organized efforts for genetic
improvement. There is little selection of bucks used for breeding. Along with these problems
goats suffer also from deprivation of good food. Therefore this project has made compulsory
the plantation of ardu trees (fodder livestock) for those who wanted to carry on with goat
rearing, so that the quality of milk remains good.
In that sense, this program has given an opportunity to the participants to participate
in the micro credit program with the Cooperative Society, in order to learn all the methods to
achieve a good goat rear.
Micro-Credit program on goat rearing
The model works on the premises that the participants would be able to manage its
administrative expenses as well as improve the knowledge and self-confidence on goat
rearing. The distribution of the loans has taken this into account, assuming that the credit
should have ethical principles and give ownership to the women. This revolving fund was
given by the Cooperative of women which have preferred to ask for loans and not for a grant
(grants are non-repayable funds disbursed by one party grant makers). The loans schedule of
payback installments is trimestral; it creates a cycle of investments with the Cooperative
Society being able to make circulate funds thereby produced to offer further loans for the
purchase of more goats.
At present, the cooperative society provides loan to its members for goat farming.
Under this scheme a loan of Rs. 4000/- is given for one goat (Rs. 7,000 for buck) @12% p.a.
at reduced rate payable quarterly.
The project was launched planning to make available to the women cooperative
society 10 Sirohi bucks and 175 goats of genetically improved local breeds. The
reimbursement of the loan took place every 3 months with the scheme below:
2. FAO ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH PAPER 30,sheep and goat breeds of India, chapter 1, available in
http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/x6532e/X6532E02.htm

The Goat Program F 10

1st EMI (after 3 months)

Rs. 1000/- + Rs. 120 = Rs. 1120/-

2nd EMI (after 6 months)

Rs. 1000/- + Rs. 90 = Rs. 1090/-

3rd EMI (after 9 months)

Rs. 1000/- + Rs. 60 = Rs. 1060/-

4th EMI (after 12 months)

Rs. 1000/- + Rs. 30 = Rs. 1030/-

Total Rs. 4300/-.

A separate bank account was opened for this purpose where the entire capital as well
as interest is deposited. Approximately Rs. 10 lakhs have initially been transferred to the
cooperative society from the project for this purpose. In this way a revolving fund has been
created for women cooperative society for promotion goat farming in the project area.
The local ownership is at the same time always presented in the women cooperative
society. Firstly the cooperative of women could select the Pashu Sakhi (the name for local
veterinarian) in order to bridge the community with the governmental veterinarian among
other support services for the goat rearing for women. Secondly the women of the
cooperative lead the project deciding among them who should have the loan money and who
should purchase goats. Along with this decision several trainings and a monthly exchange
of experience with the local veterinarian has also been taken. This process started when two
project staff, along with one member of Laxmi Nidhi Cooperative went to The Goat Trust,
Lucknow, in order to have the technical support and the training to better understand which
goat to purchase by choosing the best quality of rear. It was referred by Geeta Devi (Pashu
Sakhi) that this training was an important step forward; they could know the basic diseases
of a goat (which kind of vaccination, medicine, how to feed a goat) and how to avoid some
health problems. Therefore, they could get from the project the first medicine kit. This
lesson learning provides to these women a tremendous autonomy to buy from themselves
and know which kind of medicine is most suited for their animals. At the same time they
could have a better perception about the nutrition that they should use and which
components should be present (it was discover that not enough quantity of salt is given to
goats). After that long training course about 13 days, another one has took place with more
than 30 women. Simultaneously the regular trainings from the veterinary of the government
from Niwai Hospital were also done in a regular basis. All these good practices described
above were also recognized by the government which gave to the cooperative more 20
bucks.

The Goat Program F 11

Table 1: No. of Goats and Bucks distributed

No. of Goats distributed

No. of families

No. of Bucks
distributed

Hingotiya Ki Dhani

43

24

Seendra

24

20

Chikana

52

44

Damodarpura

22

19

Abhaypura

55

43

Hameedpura

85

59

Nala

13

12

Khandwa

Barodiya

42

30

Sakatpura

42

19

Niwai

107

107

Sukhadiyanagar

32

30

Lodera

17

17

Jhujharpura

Palai

Total

557

446

31

Name of Village

The sustainability of the local ownership

The first step towards the empowerment of local ownership was the possibility to buy
goats locally with a good quality of breed. With this accessibility they could save the travel
and feeding costs, in order to buy more goats. This possibility paved the way for sharply
increase in the numbers of goats among the community as 2267 goats have been treated by
Pashu Sakhi. This is meaningfully as KIGS has distributed 31 bucks and 557 goats and it has
largely over passed the initial target of the project (175). More than 446 families have been
benefited from this project and this has been leading to proper management of the
community. This also defines the willingness of these women to improve by themselves and
manage their animal husbandry in the most profitable and cost efficient way.
Therefore one of the achievements of this project is that these women have been able
to generate goat milk worth Rs. 8,27,825. They could get Rs. 20,55,300 for selling goat, kids
and buck. This could be possible because of the regular efforts of Pashu Sakhi and the
women along with the local veteran doctor.

The Goat Program F 12

Actually this effort was largely considered when, in these areas the goat milk is not
sold in the market but made only for home consumption for children and making the tea. It
was during the training that women could get the information about how goat business was
undertaken. Early they used to sell bucks and goats without having any information about the
criteria of selling but under the project they were told that the price of goat depends upon its
weight. And they were also informing about various criteria on which the price of the goat
depends. For this a weighing machine was given to the cooperative society from the project
to regularly monitor the weight of the goats and their kids. Now the villagers are aware of the
goat business and they are able to make good gains from goats.
In this way the exploitation of the villagers in goat business has been reduced. Also
the mortality of goats has drastically decreased after the introduction of Pashu Sakhi in the
villages.
Earlier under the traditional system the goats were fertilized once in a year but now
with the introduction of good quality Sirohi Bucks and training given to the Pashu Sakhi they
are able to fertilize goats twice a year. This has doubled their income, also timely vaccination
by Pashu Sakhi and in house treatments have reduced the mortality of goats to its minimum.
Traditionally the villagers don't do insurance of their animals, but under the project it
was emphasized that women should be encouraged and be aware of animal insurance. After
lot of persuasion the villagers were ready, in October 2011 to get their goats insured. This
range of the time (6 months) after the launching of the project was necessary to settle down
the information sessions as well as the distribution of goats. One of the main reasons of not
getting their animals insured was that when an animal is insured their ear is punched and
there is a general belief among the villagers that punched animal is associated with some
government scheme and is of bad quality. So when the villager wants to sell this animal they
find difficult to get a buyer. But in the end they also agreed to pay the premium of their
animals and the project was able to save that money to buy more goats for the people.
The competitions of rears in the second year of the project, as well as, the
implementation of the best practices were good incentives of lessons learned by the
community. The larger number of participants 187 reveals the self-confidence and
enthusiasm of the people on rearing the best quality of Sirohi breed and to achieve the best
standards of procreation. This figure has widely over passed the initial target of the project
from 2 competitions to 8 competitions. More than doing goat rearing the villagers are now
building up their awareness about food security and sustainable livelihood income, and they
are proud to improve their animal husbandry perception.

The Goat Program F 13

In the competition of rears the winners were given some useful object to collect milk
such as milk drum, tub and bucket.
The social transformation was reached due to the savings and investment made by
the community which has allowed the addition of more families to this program. In addition
to this these women are able to do their own activities and participate with guaranteed
income for their families.
The initial targets were more than accomplished, 470 (446+24) families are being
benefitted from this project. As the table shows, the number of goats treated by Pashu Sakhi
is more than the double. This increase is reflecting the work done in the trainings as well the
experience and the exchange of best practices that the Pashu Sakhi has done among them.
Table 2: Summary of Goat activity
S. No.

Particulars

Target for the

project

Achievements
till 31 March
2014

10

31

1.

Sirohi Buck

2.

No. of families benefitted

24

3.

No. of bucks treated by Pashu Sakhi

427

4.

Induction Females (Goats)

175

557

5.

No. of families benefitted

446

6.

No. of goats treated by Pashu Sakhi

2267

7.

No. of trainings organised for Pashu Sakhi

8.

No. of Pashu Sakhi trained

10

31

9.

Exposure visit (Pashu Sakhi and goat

31

rearers)
10.

No. of people participated in exposure

visit

11.

Competition among rearers

12.

No. of competition organised

13.

No. of people participated

187

14.

Monthly meetings for Pashu Sakhi

30

27

15.

Income from sale of goat, kids and buck

Rs. 20,55,300

(between October 2011 to March 2014)

16.

Goat milk produced (between August

33,615 litres

2013 to March 2014)

Rs. 8,27,825

The Goat Program F 14

Goat rearing: a sustainable source of livelihood for village women

Sita Devi w/o Ladu Ram Nayak of village Hingotia (Hamlet: Nayakon Ki Dhani) and
her family (5 members) are not financially sound; family owns a 2.5 bigha (0.5 hectares)
piece of land, since the land is not big enough for crop cultivation, the family earns their
bread and butter by laboring elsewhere. Sita Devi is a hard working woman who has also
tried to rear goats as an income generation activity but failed due to inadequate knowledge.
During a session of the members of the cooperative society meeting she kept forward
her situation that because of not so good quality breed of goats and inadequate knowledge
about goat rearing she failed at this venture. So if we are provided with proper knowledge of
the goat rearing and money to buy a good quality goat, having a good breed, it will be very
helpful for their sustenance.
Thus, this time with proper knowledge at her disposal and money to buy a good breed
goat, Sita Devi bought a goat along with two kids from the animal market from the money
provided to her by the women cooperative society.
Sita Devi bought the goat of Sirohi breed and along with her a male and a female kid
on 20 October 2011 for Rs. 4000. Now Sita Devi was equipped with enough knowledge to
take better care of her investment. Sita Devi gave special attention to the health of goat and
ensured the timely vaccination as per the vaccination schedule. With proper maintenance the
goat started giving 1.25 litres milk per day.
By the help of the Kumarappa Institute the goat was fertilized by a Sirohi breed buck
available within the village on November 2011 and gave birth to 2 female and 1 male kids on
April 2012. With availability of the buck in village the goat was again fertilized on June 2012
st

and gave birth to one female kid on 21 December 2012. During 14 months' time the goat
gave milk for 5 months which fetched Sita Devi monetary return of approx. Rs. 5400/-.The
milk was used for family consumption and was not sold in the market. (value: 2.5 litre/day x
3 months x @Rs. 15/- litre = Rs. 3375; 1.5 litre/day x 1 month x @Rs. 15/- litre = Rs. 675; 1
litre/day x 1 month x @Rs. 15/- litre = Rs. 450). The female kid which was brought with the
th

goat also gave birth to one male kid and one female kid on 30 November 2012. She is giving
2 litres milk per day since then (value: 2 litre/day x 30 days x @Rs. 15/- per litre = Rs. 900/-).
On the occasion of Ed in October 2012 she sold two male kids for Rs. 10,000/- and repaid her
loan from the cooperative society.
In about one year time Sita Devi has increased her small animal stock from one goat
and two kids (total 3 animals) to 2 goats, one male kid and 4 female kids (total 7 animals in
December 2012). Apart from this she has also earned Rs.16,300/-. This she has achieved in

The Goat Program F 15

hardly 14 months' time (October 2011 to December 2012). She is very grateful to
Kumarappa Institute which provided her with proper knowledge of goat rearing and finance
at the time of need. Usually due to lack of proper knowledge of goat rearing and
unavailability of the buck, most village goat owners are able to get their goats fertilized once
in a year, among which mortality rate was high. Good quality breed goat and buck ensure less
mortality rate of the infants.
Table 3: Income from sale of goat and kids
S.
No.

Name of
Village

No. of animals sold (between October 2011-March 2014)

Goat

Male
Kid

Amount

Amount

Female
Kid
Amount

Hingotiya Ki
Dhani

16

1,46,400

40

1,01,900

7,500

Seendra

38,000

30

89,800

18,500

Chikana

31

1,53,500

81

3,65,500

14

36,500

Sakatpura

26,000

48

1,67,000

Abhaypura

12

78,000

34

1,66,300

6,000

Hameedpura

11,000

50

2,47,000

Nala

21,900

Sukhadiya
Nagar

22,600

18

47,800

1,100

Damodarpura

6,000

24

84,500

10

Barodiya

17

1,01,000

26

1,02,500

9,000

11

Grand Total

93

5,82,500

357

13,94,200

29

78,600

Total no. of goats along

with kids sold
Total Amount

479
20,55,300

Veterinary (Doctor) in the village: The case of Pashu Sakhi

Mamta Meena lives in Sakatpura village and she has studied up to class eight. In her
family she has one boy and two girls, she is a lady who believes in social service as well as
looking after the family. Her husband works in the police department and she engages herself
in agriculture as well in animal husbandry. Her husband always encouraged her for social
service. Since her childhood Mamta was interested in agriculture and animals and after
marriage at her husband place she has taken good care of animals; she is equally expert in

The Goat Program F 16

looking after small as well as big animals. And her family is very satisfied with her work.
Sometimes when animals get sick she used to treat them with traditional therapies but when
they become serious they have to take them to the doctor. Small animals are more prompt to
diseases and in many cases due to the non-availability of doctor small animals like sheep and
goat die in large numbers. As a result the family had to suffer financially and also they feel
very disappointed for this, but there was no way out.
In May 2011 when Kumarappa Institute was looking for Pashu Sakhi in her villages
she voluntary came forward to do this job, but she was a little hesitant to take up as she was
not very literate. Kumarappa Institute main focus was to look for such Para veterinary
volunteers who have love for animals and who could carry on this service once the project is
over. Mamta was seen as a perfect choice for this job. The Institute assured to give her
support and training. In return, Mamta showed full confidence and interest in doing her job
skillfully if she gets the training. When Mamta was selected she was very happy and went to
each family in the village and informed them that she has been selected as Pashu Sakhi of the
village. The Institute gave five days of training to Pashu Sakhi in which the experts gave first
aid and basic goat farming training. During the training sessions whenever Mamta was in
doubt she used to ask again and again. After five days of theoretical aspects of training,
Mamta got the first place in the exams. This shows her love and dedication towards the
animals and the Institute was confident that in future she will do a good job. Mamta had a
passion of learning new things and moving forward. She did more than her capacity and
always encouraged people to take good care of the animals.
After training Mamta started to look after goats in her village and slowly she also
started giving injections to them. Her self-confidence increased and her work was
improving. During the time of vaccination of goats she used to go from house to house to
each family in the village to give the vaccine. If some goat gets sick she was giving them
treatment and the villagers are very happy that they don't have to call doctors every now and
then. Mamta believes in the saying that prevention is better than cure and focuses on proper
timely vaccination and timely treatment. Now Mamta is also treating big animals. Her work
is so good that during government vaccination drive the government veterinary doctor takes
her help in giving vaccination to the animals around her villages. Due to her efficiency she is
able to approximately earn 600 rupees per month.
Promotion through goat rearing
Vimla Devi story tells us how she has made goat farming as the main livelihood
activity. Vimla and her husband Pappu Lal are villager laborers. Both of them are doing

The Goat Program F 17

agriculture and goat farming. In her family there are total six members - husband, wife, two
girls and two boys. Both husband and wife are very hard working and are simple in nature.
They both are illiterate. They earn their livelihood by agriculture and doing labor in the
villages. Both of them work very hard and what they earn is not enough to run the family, but
they want their children to study because they don't want their children to be like them. They
want their children to go to school and work hard for a bright future. Under the livelihood
promotion program for the members of the woman cooperative society; members were
given one goat. Along with the goat she got two babies one male and one female. Within six
months her goats increased to six. Vimla used to keep the goats with her and sell the buck.
Slowly she started earning good amount of money.
Kumarappa Institute has also introduced good quality of bucks in the village as a
result of this, the people have started getting good quality of goats. Vimla says that whenever
she is in need of money she sells one buck. In a period of two and half years (after October
2011, onwards) the number of the goats with Vimla increased to sixteen.
Now she has the problem of rearing these goats, when both husband and wife were
busy in the fields and children were off to school then the problem of rearing the goats
become serious. Vimla suggested her husband that why they don't sell the goats and get one
buffalo. Her husband agreed to her suggestion and purchased one buffalo from the nearby
villages for Rs. 32,000 by selling six goats. Both husband and wife proudly says that
Kumarappa Institute taught us goat farming but we have promoted ourselves to dairy and the
family is very happy.
This option taken by this family expresses also the openness towards other forms of
income that are more feasible for their family conditions. The difference between goats and
buffalo are related to the fatness of the milk. The buffalo's milk normally is fatter that gives
an additional market value. On the one hand goats are less risky and can better bear the dry
seasons. They are small animals that can easily be reared. So this family could realize all the
pro and cons of goat and buffalo rearing. In the end they have realized the importance of goat
in family economy and they have learnt how to rear other animals without losing the daily
income. With this buffalo this family could earn Rs. 240 per day.
Goats: Lifeline for widow
This case study is of Jhamari Devi (lives in Hingotiya village) who was able to treat
her burnt son with the income of goat farming. Jhamari Devi is a fifty year old widow who
has two sons but both of them live separately. She lives alone and does agriculture and labor

The Goat Program F 18

for her livelihood. The small piece of land which she has is also given to his two sons who do
agriculture on it.
Jhamari is able to survive herself with whatever people give to her. She is honest and
hardworking lady and in this age also she doesn't want to be dependent on her sons and she
does labour and cultivation. In this, whatever she earns she spends on herself and from time
to time she also helps her two sons. In 2011 when Kumarappa Institute started working in her
villages, she came in contact with the project. She was made one of the partners in goat
farming activity. She told about her family conditions and informed that she had one goat but
due to the family problems she had to sell her. Now she doesn't have any money but she can
take care of the goats. She was given a goat from the project and slowly she started increasing
the number of goats. Jhamari Devi was doing agriculture along with goat farming and slowly
her economic conditions began to improve.
Now when she had money, the attitude of son also changed and the younger son
started asking for money from her and when she refused to give him money he started
fighting with her. The youngest son was unemployed and slowly he started taking alcohol.
Jhamari was disappointed and she didn't know what to do. Kumarappa Institute workers
talked to her son but he didn't listen.
One day his son's wife left him and went to her parents place. Now the son was alone
and started creating more problems for his mother. After the wife left, her son used to come to
her mother's place and was always fighting with her.
Jhamari Devi is an honest hardworking and self-respecting woman but she is a
mother too. This is a unique example of a mother who takes care of her good-for-nothing son
and tries to help him out with food and with money even though in this age the children
should take care of their mother.
Jhamari Devi's life came to a cross road when the son who was creating a lot of
problems for her burnt himself in the house. His sixty percent of body was burnt. This
accident was caused by a cigarette that he threw away, when he was drunk.
But the mother hadn't lost hope and confidence and took up the challenge of his
treatment. With that regard, from her work this mother was convinced to repay back Rs.
44,000 from the loans that she took from other people by doing goat farming. She spent about
Rs. 60,000 on her son's treatment which she was managing to get by selling the goats and the
bucks. She could get Rs. 16,000 from goat supplies. Now this son is able to walk and Jhamari

The Goat Program F 19

Devi gives full credit to the goat project in saving his son. She proudly admits that if she
didn't have goats she will be not have been able to provide good treatment for her son.
Improving goat breed in the area: Case Study of Sirohi Buck
Kanchan Devi lives in Nayak Ki Dhani in Hingotiya village. There are six members
in the family, they are very poor and they don't have much land for doing agriculture. They
earn their livelihood by goat rearing and doing labor in the field. In the village about fifteen
families are engaged in goat farming but the main problem for all these families was non
availability of buck in the villages for their goats. They have to take their goats to nearby
villages for fertilization. Sometimes the buck owner used to refuse and in that case they have
to bring back their goats empty handed and sometimes they also ask for money. When this
problem was put forward in front of Kumarappa Institute workers the villagers informed that
since the number of goats have increased in the area nobody leaves their buck alone and they
have to give money to get their goats fertilize. After much discussion with the villagers it was
suggested that someone in the villages should take the responsibility of keeping buck with
him.
Kanchan Devi who belongs to this hamlet agreed to keep buck if she is helped with
some money. In 2012 she was given a good quality of Sirohi buck from the nearby village
Bhatadiya (Gurjaron Ki Dhani) from Mr. Ramsukh Gurjar, Kanchan Devi bought this buck
for rupees six thousands and this buck started living with the goats of the village. Kanchan
says that when there was no buck in the hamlet their goats did not receive heat on time and
there was a gap in the pregnancy of the goats but now since the buck is living with the goats
they get heat on time and the goats are able to give birth two times in a year. She could get the
income of Rs. 8,000 by selling 2 bucks, as each buck is 4,000 rupees.
As the buck lives in the hamlet it saves lot of time and money. Other woman in the
area Santara, Vimla, Sita, Jhamri, Santosh etc. are very happy and inform that due to good
quality of buck given by Kumarappa Institute they are getting good quality of goat kids.
Kanchan Devi informs that her goats are bearing babies every sixth months and in two years'
time she has learnt a lot. All the families in the hamlet have benefited and they all thank
Kumarappa Institute for this.

ooo

The Goat Program F 20

Training of Pashu Sakhi

Goat Distribution

Weighing Goat Before Selling

The Goat Program F 21

Goat Distribution

Goat Competition

Prize Distribution to Goat Competition Winner

Chapter 3

Ardu Plantation

Background
The deforestation in the villages has been going on for several years. The causes
behind this are essentially economic ones. Wood is used for industrial purposes and the
income generated by that are a meaningful resource to a poor family with vulnerable
economic power. Another reason of deforestation is the fact that wood is very important for
domestic work of cooking and heating. Along with this, the major challenges in Indian
agriculture are related to renewing and overcoming ancient and traditional beliefs of
agriculture. The low access to a more efficient agriculture in the villages can be also
understood by this poorness status as it was stated by FAO inequality is growing and the
two-thirds of the population living in rural areas are depending on agriculture, is being left
behind.
In the Rajasthan districts' this social-economic scenario can be even more
challenging in poor soils, arid and unfavorable climatic conditions. Agriculture and goat
rearing are therefore a hazard. In that sense, goat rearing needs to have a diversified source of
fodder and feed, in order to have good breeds.
Ardu plantation is a landmark in this project as it has created new forms of good
nutrition for the animal farming especially the goats. It is known that these animals can
survive in severe temperatures as well as eat improper food like the bark of the trees.
However with the Ardu plantation the quality of good food was really improved in
the animal farming. Their leaves are highly palatable and protein rich nutritious fodder for
sheep and goats are said to augment milk production, even if the animals have to get used to
acrid smell of these leave. In addition to this, these plants give also green fodder for animals
on the farm. These trees are also easily procreative, once the same yield is again possible
from coppice crop after 6 years (2nd crop on the earlier harvested stumps).
Ardu is therefore is largely planted on farm lands, as it has been used successfully in
agro forestry for planting around the margins of cultivated fields. Lopping of foliage is done
twice in a year during the main cropping season, thus reducing competition, mostly during
November-January and May-July.
http://coin.fao.org/cms/world/india/en/CountryInformation.html

Ardu Plantation F 23

In addition to this, this tree has also a considerable income. The spacing is doing only
in 5 m along the bunds and in 1 acre will accommodate about 60 seedlings. In 10 years the
whole tree could give an earnings of about Rs 7000/-. If a farmer has 1 acre ofArdu plantation
this earning could increase and in 10 years will be Rs 4,20,000/- acre. Besides this, Ardu
wood is also used in packing cases, plywood, matchwood boxes.
The ardu plantation: challenges and achievements
Kumarappa Institute set up this project along with the villagers, to overcome all the
traditional beliefs about the plantation of these trees. This possibility allowed them to
develop their skills as well as to bridge the technical knowledge with economic one, by
increasing the avenue from agricultural and animal farming, especially for the goats feeding.
The Ardu plantation was one of the important components in undertaking goat
farming in the project villages and one of the most challenged one, to implement in the rural
agriculture. Two fundamental lessons were learnt during this project by the Institute among
the people about the nursery performance, and secondly only by the people, who had to make
some efforts to overcome their unwillingness aboutArdu farming.
Therefore, KIGS developed its support on an advocacy level among these women.
Its purpose is not related directly to educate women in formal education schemes (going to
school and studying) but to discuss and work with them in order to raise awareness of the
issues and to be selfsustainable, by improving their capacity-building. In that context, KIGS
staff went for an exposure visit in Tapukara to see ardu plantation and multi-level farming
techniques. Along with this, the project staff Sh. Hanuman Sahay Sharma and Ms. Geeta
Sain from the cooperative society participated in the Dahod workshop organized by SDTT.
Another exposure visit took place to PRADAN field in Balrampur, Puruliya (WB) to see
farm pond activity with Dr. Awadh Prasad/Dr. Amit Kumar. Besides this, Dr. Amit Kumar
also participated in Program on Credit Aspects in Rural Development organized by
Banker Institute of Rural Development (BIRD, Lucknow) at Jodhpur, in order to follow up
new aspect of the micro credit rural development.
The first challenge of Ardu plantation in the village: the impact of new agriculture
farming
Hingotiya a small village in Khandewat Panchayat is an overwhelming example of
the disbelief of the people about Ardu plantation. This village comprises fifteen houses of

Ardu Plantation F 24

nayaks and ten families of bairwa community, whose main activities are agriculture and goat
farming. Some families also do some work in the famous Banasthali Vidhyapeeth
(University) that is close to this village.
Kumarappa Institute knowing the importance of the main income of these families
organized a meeting, where both men and women participated to discuss the methods and
techniques of agriculture and goat rearing activities, especially the availability of fodder for
goats, with Ardu plantation. However the majority of the villagers were very skeptical. They
believed that Ardu could be a threat for the crops if it was planted on the farm boundary and
also that under its shade any seed could fertilize. Although these disbeliefs were largely
accepted in the community who were not conscious. When they were asked if anyone has
plantedArdu or if they had seen this plant, the answer was negative.
Kumarappa Institute based its methodology in an open discussion, which helped
some farmers ending up to agree for planting Ardu, in order to freely check if it has any
arduous effect on their regular agriculture production. It is known by Kumarappa that local
ownership cannot be imposed, but selfconstructed among the people, as the only drivers of
change are these villagers, especially women.
This fruitful discussion, therefore, resulted in one thousand saplings being planted in
the hamlet in the first year. Along with the plantation, the farmers have also fertilized the land
with goat manure, as a result, the Ardu plants have grown very fast and no problem was
noticed with the other crops. This experience convinced people that their disbeliefs about
Ardu plantation were unfounded, and in the second year they all started to plant Ardu on the
boundary of their farms, as a proof of the self-trust towards this plantation.
In two years the agricultural, social and economical landscape has changed. People
realized that from now on they could feed their goats in their fields instead of going to the
jungle as the fields had plenty of Ardu plantations. Therefore they could improve the health
of the goats as well as the quality and quantity of the milk produced. This lesson learnt in
three years was the biggest Kumarappa's project which allowed people to learn by doing and
creating constructive work within the community.
In conclusion the people of these hamlets have benefitted very much and if one goes
after five years the scene of these hamlets could be very different. The result of that can be
seen in the figures when the Ardu plantation has been four times more than the initial
provisions.

Ardu Plantation F 25

Table 4: Ardu plantation and its survival in the third year (2014)

Name of
Village

No. of
beneficiaries

Ardu saplings
Distributed

Plants Survival in
April 2014

Percentage

Hingotiya

86

3670

3294

90

Chikana

47

9255

4873

53

Jhujharpura

34

2486

1716

69

Sakatpura

37

3680

2377

65

Damodarpura

28

480

336

70

Seendra

41

1234

822

67

Chourpura

33

3278

2606

79

Abhaypura

11

1582

1216

77

Sukhadiyanagar

22

1550

1158

75

Hameedpura

31

3620

1711

47

Total

370

30835

20109

65

The second challenge ofArdu plantation: the nursery of the plants

In the first year as KIGS didn't have any previous experiences in Ardu plantation, the
plants were purchased from the government nursery in Chaksu. But before this, a group of
farmers went to Tapukada village to see Ardu plantation. After this visit the farmers started
showing interest in this. However in that year a lot of saplings were destroyed when they
were transported from Chaksu to Niwai, as we all know Ardu saplings are very delicate and
need extra care in transportation and this was a big problem in the project.
After much discussion the Director of the Institute Dr. Prasad suggested to train
someone from the project in the village in nursery. In this way Kumarappa Institute could
distribute more plants to the farmers. Due to this fact some specificity on ardu plantation
were also discussed. Ardu excelsa is a strong light demanding tree. The seedlings get easily
suppressed by weeds as a result of shading and hence nursery should be kept weed free.
Prolonged drought kills seedlings, though the trees are drought resistant. Seedlings should
be planted in the rainy season and must be hand watered during the summer season. The tree
is very susceptible to water logging or excess of moisture in the soil. Hence plants in nursery
should be watered with care and planting in the field should be in well drained areas. Some
threats can also occur as seedlings are susceptible to damping off disease therefore heavy
watering should be avoided and only optimum level of moisture should be maintained.
Ailanthus webworm is fatal and serious defoliator (occurring from April to June), which
damages fruits, seeds and leaves. If detected, some common pesticides may be sprayed.

Ardu Plantation F 26

During all this discussion in the villages Rasal Devi from Chikana village came
forward to set up nursery, provided she is given proper training and hand on support. In
March 2012 she was sent to Sir Syed Trust to take training in setting up of a nursery for Ardu
plantation. There she learnt how to select seed, how to prepare beds and precautions to be
taken etc.
She was able to raise 10,000 saplings in the first year out of which only 6,000
saplings were able to survive. But she was not disappointed and assured of preparing more
saplings in the next year. In the first year she was able to earn Rs. 30,000.
In the next year she motivated one more farmer to prepare the nursery and both of
them together started working on it. Their efforts went in vain when the nursery prepared by
them from market seeds didn't grow up. Now they decided to collect fresh seeds from nearby
villages and started preparing new saplings at their respective wells. While preparing the
nursery whenever they were faced with any problem they used to consult among themselves.
With joint efforts the nursery was a big success and they were able to raise about thirty
thousand saplings which gave them an income of Rs. 1,05,000.
Table 5: Status of fodder plantation during the period April 2011-March 2014
S. No.

Particulars

Achievements till 31
March 2014

1.

Fodder crop demo - rajka

79 farmers

2.

Fodder crop demo plot

1.5 hec.

3.

Plantation of fodder tree

43,339

4.

Fodder trees survived (ardu, neem and babool)

5.

No. of families benefitted

6.

No. of Ardu saplings planted

35,233

7.

No. of Ardu saplings survived

22,130
(62.81%)

8.

No. of Neem, Babool saplings planted

8,106

9.

No. of Neem, Babool saplings survived

4,750
(58.59%)

10.

No. of Fruit saplings planted

3,239

11.

No. of Fruit saplings survived

2,197
(67.82%)

12.

No. of Village Nursery set up

13.

No. of saplings prepared

50,000

14.

No. of saplings distributed

39,935

26,880
(62.02%)
710

Ardu Plantation F 27

In the dry conditions of Rajasthan the survival of plants is a big challenge but the
project area was fortunate to have occasional rains after the sowing. As a result the survival
rate of fodder plants which include ardu, neem and babool was 62%. Survival of ardu plant
was about 63%, neem and babool are native plants of the area their suvival was about 59%
and fruit plants survival was 68%. In the second year the villagers advised to sow babool on
the boundary of the field instead of preparing saplings, this gave us satisfactory results. Since
fruit plants are expensive and only selected farmers took this initiative their survival rate was
more than ardu and neem/babool.
To conclude we may say that this activity encouraged farmers to go for plantation of
indigenous fodder plants which would give them fodder and fuel in future.

Ardu Distribution

Ardu Plantation F 28

Ardu Nursery by Women Self Help Group

Ardu Plantation

Chapter 4

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives

Agriculture in Rajasthan is a very challenging activity, as it is stated by the

government 20 million hectare are cultivated but only 20% of this area is irrigated.
However since Rajasthan is one of the largest states of India, where 66% of the population
depends on agricultural for their livelihood, the improvement in agriculture is fundamental.
There are several reasons behind this poor and vulnerable agricultural status. One reason
tackled by our project is the lack of natural fertilization in the soils. In that regard,
Kumarappa Institute has started training the villagers about green manure. The main aim was
to prepare the agriculture more sustainable and less dependent. The technique, for instance
about fertilization, is related to a green undecomposed material used as manure. It is obtained
in two ways: by growing green manure crops (such assunnhemp, dhaincha, pillipesara,
cluster beans and Sesbaniarostrata, usually belong to the leguminous family) or by collecting
green leaf (along with twigs) from plants grown in wastelands, field bunds and forest.
The benefits of this method are various in order to avoid soil exhaustion. The soil
deterioration is significant under a monoculture cropping. With green manure it will increase
the organic humus as it will raise the soil nitrogen supply. Another advantage is that it will
help the upturn of water holding capacity in the soils. Finally the natural organic fertilizer
could be easily available among farmers, and would be cheaper than buying chemical
fertilizers that often cannot be afford by them.
This was the study case of green manure of Nala village 10 km from Niwai town.
There are about 200 (two hundred) families living in the village mainly comprising of Jat,
Bairwa, Brahmin, Khati, Meena community. All families are engaged in agriculture. The
main crops growing in the area are wheat, mustard, gram, millets, groundnut etc. Along with
agriculture all the families keep animals, but most of the families have big animals such as
cows and buffaloes. Average number of animals in one family in this village is between five
to ten. Since this village is near the town, the people are able to sell milk easily which gives
them good returns. Since majority of the villagers were or are engaged in animal husbandry
they need fodder for their animals in large quantity and for this they have to grow lots of
fodder for which they use chemical fertilizers. Due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers in

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives F 30

their fields the soil has become unfertile. Earlier due to use of chemical fertilizers the
production increased but the people's greed increased too and they started using more and
more fertilizers. The impact of this on the land was that in some fields the seeds stopped
fertilizing and over the period of years due to less rainfall the fertility of the soil kept on
decreasing.
Now the people have realized the bad effect of chemical fertilizers in their fields
which have destroyed their land and soil. The villagers of Nala started looking for
alternatives in which the use of cow dung was suggested. But these people did not have
sufficient quantity of cow dung in the village. Moreover most of the people were using cow
dung as fuel in the kitchen. As a result its use as fertilizer was insufficient. The villagers also
approached the agriculture department for some solution but they didn't receive any practical
solution.
In 2012 the villagers come in contact with Kumarappa Institute social workers and
discussed about their problem. The institute advised them to grow green manure (dhaincha
grass) in their fields. The villagers agreed to it and ten of them were given training by the
Institute and out of them seven farmers grow green manure in their one bigha of land. After
this they took mustard crop from this land.
In the first year they received better production from the previous year and the people
got convinced that this manure helps production and it also restricts various diseases in the
crop. Also the fertility of soil has increased. A number of farmers from the village such as
Harishankar, Puranmal, Shyojiram, Ratanlal, Sohanlal, Omprakash experimented green
manure in their field and have taken oath to take this task forward with other farmers in the
village.
After seeing this good production, other farmers of the village also come forward to
grow dhaincha grass in their fields. In this second year ten more farmers experimented this
grass in their fields and slowly when people got information about this green manure they
started contacting Kumarappa Institute staff for advice and help.
Earlier the project staff was going to the village and making people aware about
dhaincha grass, but now the farmers are coming to NGO office to enquire about this. The
farmers who are using this manure for last two years have informed that in the third year
(2013) as a result of this grass the productions in their fields have increased two fold. In the
third year about fifty farmers used dhaincha grass in their fields which shows the growing

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives F 31

interest of the farmers in the villages about green manure. It is clearly visible that with the use
of green manure the crop is different from the other crop and it does not have infections. We
can clearly say that green manure is a boom for the soil and it increases the fertility (nutrition)
and production.
In conclusion during the three years of the project several farmers come forward by
cultivating different crops of green manure as well as growing some vegetables.
The success of this venture is also connected with the trainings that has took place in
the community, where they could learn by doing and discuss the main problems.
Consequently the project provided six trainings on the best practices of farming
such as: on herbal pesticides, compost making and improved agriculture techniques at
Rajasthan Go Sewa Sangh, Jaipur; improvement of agriculture techniques as such; training
on organic farming for farmers at Go Sewa Sangh, Jaipur; the participation in Krishi Mela at
KVK, Banasthali with 200 participants from Barodiya, Hameedpura, Khandwa, Chikana,
Jhujharpura, Hingotiya, Abhaypura and Sakatpura; the participation in Organic Farmers
Conference at Bikaner, 9-12 March 2013, with 13 farmers; the training of vegetable growing
farmers organized and finally the training of Daicha growing farmers was organized on 21
June 2013 in Nala village.
Therefore, there were different achievements that can be underlined. The
improvement of farming techniques has been one of the major successes of the capacity
building of these farmers. They have tripled the initial target launch for the project (it was
expect to have only 300 and then in the end it was reaching 675 farmers), what foresees a
lesson learnt of agriculture farming.
The second achievement is related to the good returns taken from their fields. In
average the people were able to earn twice their expenses. This is directly connected with the
good management of the lands, through agriculture differentiation. People could avoid soil
exhaustion; as a result, they have wisely chosen the products feasible for their land. To some
extent the figures are not the same for all farmers, as they have freely chosen which kind of
products and in which area of the land they could be grown. On the other hand this reveals the
maturity and the openness towards their capacity building.
The level of optimism could be witnessed among the community that has enriched
the social capital. All the new introductions were seen as another addition that encouraged
the farmers. In this climate KIGS has introduced fruit plantation and rose nursery which is

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives F 32

used as an incentive to the farmers in Jhujharpura village. It allowed them to experiment with
other form of activity and experiment another agriculture zone to increase the income of the
families.
Table 6: Progress in agriculture extension activities (April 2011-March 2014)
S. No.

1.
2.

Particulars

Demonstration of improved farming

Demonstration Plots (area)

Unit

No. of
farmers

Target
for the
project
300

Achievements
till 31 March
2014
675

Hec.

250
8.89

Demonstration of Moong/Urad/Chaula
3.

Demonstration Plot

Hec.

4.

No. of farmers

No.

99

5.

Input cost of farming-cash expenses only

Rs.

53,340

6.

Output value of production

Rs.

3,20,040

7.

Income per hectare

Rs.

30,000

Demonstration of Bajra
8.

Demonstration Plot

Hec.

8.05

9.

No. of farmers

No.

110

10.

Input cost of farming-cash expenses only

Rs.

45,080

11.

Output value of production

Rs.

1,15,920

12.

Income per hectare

Rs.

8,800
2.18

Demonstration of Til
13.

Demonstration Plot

Hec.

14.

No. of farmers

No.

29

15.

Input cost of farming-cash expenses only

Rs.

8,720

16.

Output value of production

Rs.

87,200

17.

Income per hectare

Rs.

36,000

Demonstration of Groundnut
18.

Demonstration Plot

Hec.

3.2

19.

No. of farmers

No.

28

20.

Input cost of farming-cash expenses only

Rs.

25,600

21.

Output value of production

Rs.

1,92,000

22.

Income per hectare

Rs.

52,000

Demonstration of Daicha
23.

Demonstration Plot

Hec.

24.

No. of farmers

No.

26.5
66

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives F 33

Demonstration of Vegetables
25.

Demonstration Plot

Hec.

104

26.

No. of farmers

No.

96

27.

Input cost of farming-cash expenses only

Rs.

12,89,600

28.

Output value of production

Rs.

1,04,00,000

29.

Income per hectare

Rs.

87,600

97.25

Demonstration of Guar Gum farmers

30.

Demonstration Plot

Hec.

31.

No. of farmers

No.

247

32.

Input cost of farming-cash expenses only

Rs.

7,78,000

33.

Output value of production

Rs.

37,34,400

34.

Income per hectare

Rs.

30,400

35.

Well Recharge structures

No.

Seed Sovereignty:
Another cause of the poorness of agriculture farming is related to the inability of
preparing own seeds. Farmers are used to take seeds from the market, at a very expensive
price and often with a poor quality; ones that they are usually counterfeit products. This
was the case of Prem Devi a woman who lives in Hingotiya village.
Prem Devi prepares her own seed:
Prem Devi lives in Bairwa Ki Dhani in Hingotiya village. The main occupation of
Prem Devi is agriculture along with animal husbandry. Her husband is a mason so she has
to do all the agriculture and animals' related work on her own. She is not literate but she
can do signature and she has a good knowledge of agriculture.
In 2011 when she came in contact with Kumarappa Institute, she informed that she
grows vegetables in her field, however when we asked about where the seeds come from, she
told that the seeds were bought from the market. She also informed that the seeds which she
purchases from the market are very expensive and sometimes they don't even grow. In the
project she was given training so as to how to prepare her own seeds. After the training she
started preparing her own seeds from the various techniques that she had learnt.
Initially she prepared the seeds of lauki (bottle gourd) which she grew to about three
feet. In the second year she prepared seeds of chili and slowly she experimented in palak
(spinach), methi, carrot, beans, lady finger etc.

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives F 34

Seeing Prem Devi the other women of the hamlet such as Kamla Devi, Ratni Devi,
Santara Devi, Sita Devi, etc. also started preparing rajka seeds which is a fodder.
Prem Devi says that if one prepares one's own seeds then the seed also will be good
and it will reduce the expenses on seeds which they are buying from the market. Prem Devi
shares her experience and states that if the seeds are good then the vegetables are also of good
quality, they also need less pesticides. She also states that she herself prepares herbal
pesticides at home. She is against the medicines available in the market as they may lead to
various types of diseases. The vegetables which use organic manure and herbal pesticides do
not cause diseases, the taste is very good and they are also produced at a low cost.
Today Prem Devi prepares her own seeds, grows vegetable and saves money. Prem
Devi accepts that she has learnt a lot from the project and also has been benefitted by it and in
future she plans to prepare seeds of other crops too.
Sheoraj Mali: Propagating organically grown vegetables
The organic vegetables were also another innovation implemented for the farmers.
Kumarappa Institute was able to spread the message of a diversified agriculture instead of
putting all eggs in the same basket. The soil remains exhausted, the nutrition of the people
only turns repetitive with long force fasting. Therefore the Institute gave a strong support
for the ones that were prepared to grow vegetables, as they can be easily sold in the market
with quick returns. This was the case of Sheoraj Mali.
Sheoraj Mali lives in Chikana village. He is 25 years old and his father died when he
was a child as a result he was not able to study and had to take care of the family. His mother
engaged him in agriculture and labor at a very young age.
Due to their poor economic status other people in the village also did not support
them. With a lot of efforts his mother was able to marry him and now there were three
members in the family. Sheoraj and his mother started thinking of increasing their
agriculture by growing vegetables along with cereals. Since the vegetables seeds in the
market were very expensive they couldn't buy it, and it was a very difficult time for the
family. He and mother and wife had to work on the fields but they didn't have money to grow
vegetables. In 2011 when Sheoraj came with the contact with project workers he told them
that he has land and water but he does not have money to buy seeds. The project supported
him by giving him seeds of lady finger, turai (ridge gourd), gwar (beans), lauki (bottle
gourd), etc. He was also given training by specialists about vegetables growing.

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives F 35

With this encouragement he started growing vegetables in his two and half bigha of
land. Now he was getting vegetables from his field and he goes to Niwai daily to sell them.
One of the most important specialties of his vegetables was that they were grown with
organic manure and no chemical fertilizers were used. Also the medicines he was using to
prevent the crop from diseases were herbal. He used the leaves of neem, aak, dhatura to make
herbal pesticide. In this way he saved a lot of money and the quality of vegetables was also
good.
Now Sheoraj is selling vegetables worth Rs. 40-45,000 every year. This year in 2013
he has sown tomatoes in two bigha of land in which he is using compost. Now other people in
the village are also coming forward to grow vegetables. Sheoraj accepts that it was only due
to the support and encouragement from the project that his economic condition has improved
and other people are motivated to move forward. People are coming to me to take my advice
which makes me very happy. I'm grateful for the project for putting me on the path of
development, my family is also very happy.
Mamta spreads the fragrance of rose: rose nursery
Another case of entrepreneurship in agriculture is related to Mamta. This woman is a
real entrepreneur, more than doing just the farming of one crop she learnt through the
training imparted by the Institute how to cultivate and fertilize with organic farming in
several crops in the same area. From the flower cultivation especially the rose nursery she
grew fruit plants and fodder for the animals. All these activities had an overwhelming impact
in her life.
Mamta Sharma lives in Jhujharpura, she has studied up to class twelve. In her family
she has husband, father and mother in law and two daughters. All the family is engaged in
agriculture and animal husbandry, but their main occupation is rearing, they have buffalos
and they supply buffalo milk to nearby town of Niwai. Her father-in-law does this for the
family. Mamta and her mother-in-law take care of buffalos and agriculture. Mamta takes lot
of interest in all agriculture activities. She is always interested in doing new things but due to
lack of information it is difficult for her.
She is literate as well as hardworking and always looks for new experiments in
agriculture which would give more income and profit. She always discusses this in her
family and with her husband and father in law.
She always felt sorry that even though they have land and good water but because of
limited information they are not able to utilize it completely. In May 2013 when KIGS was

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives F 36

giving training in organic farming, Mamta was also one of the participants. During the
training Mamta showed her interest for flower cultivation along with organic farming but she
didn't have any information regarding this. During the training she was assured of getting
technical guidance from the Institute. Mamta was very happy to hear this and decided to do
flower cultivation with the help of project staff. After the training, Mamta starting preparing
her field for flower cultivation. She cleaned all the area and started making pits. She also
started preparing compost from animal dung.
In July 2013 Mamta was given two hundred rose saplings and three hundred fruit
plants which included lemon, pomegranate, gooseberries, karonda, guava, etc. She planted
roses in half a bigha of land and fruit plants in other half bigha of land. The empty space
between fruit plants were used to grow green fodder for the animals and wheat. Mamta has
experimented a new thing she had grown fruits plants along with wheat and fodder in the
same field.
The land was suitable for rose plantation and in the second month it started giving
flowers. Mamta states that every alternative day she plucks roses and sells them in Niwai
town. She is earning between one hundred fifteen to two hundred rupees per day and her
family income has increased by more than three thousand rupees a month. Now Mamta and
her family are very happy and thankful for the project.
Collecting the water where it falls: well recharge through the rain water
The water harvesting and management is very important, not only because it helps to
store water but also creates a structure that can help to filter, which will allow the irrigation of
the soils with good quality of water.
The artificial recharging of wells and ground water is an important technique for its
replenishment. The recharge of these wells is done when the runoff is deviated to a dugout pit
or a very small sunken pond close to the individual well. To help in this process sometimes
well is below the bottom of the pit then one or two cement pipes are connecting to the well
through the walls. These discharges act as a percolation or filtration method because of the
recharge of the aquifer. There can be also used some layers in the pit of filtering materials as
stones or pebbles, and sand in order to help the filtration process and the purification of the
water. This technique is very useful for the cleaning of the water removing all types of traps.
This was the case with Badri Narayan. After knowing how to use this technique he could
finally create good quality of water and store it to irrigate his fields.
Badri Narayan Bhanwariya lives in Barodiya village and is engaged in agriculture
and labor for his livelihood. There are thirteen members in this family who are dependent on

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives F 37

him. The family is middle class and all members are very hardworking and interested in
agriculture. Along with agriculture they also do animal husbandry they have cow, buffalo
and goats. But Badri says that earlier he used to do agriculture with bulls, even irrigation was
done by bulls. But slowly and slowly as time changed it was difficult for him to do agriculture
by bulls. He remembers even today his experience of doing agriculture by bulls as it was very
useful since it required less capital.
Now agriculture or farming is done by tractors which are very expensive. Sometimes
when the crop fails he has to bear huge losses. But Badri has fifteen bigha of land in which he
constructed new well about six years back. He received water in the well but it was not
enough and the quality was also not good, the bad quality water when irrigated in the field
made the soil even worse. The fertility of soil decreased and slowly he was not able to grow
anything in his field.
The family was facing a very big problem. He tried various measures to improve the
soil but all in vain. The well water as soon as it came in contact with the soil it made the soil
infertile. The production decreased and the water in the well also decreased. The diesel
engine on the well used to run for three or four hours only. In July 2013 KIGS worker
contacted Badri for well recharge structure. But he was not ready for it as he thought that if
rain water is diverted into his well then the well will be of no use because along with water the
soil will also deposit into the well.
He was very skeptical that in his big well the rainwater would have any impact. He
had several questions like this about this activity, but with continuous persuasion he was
ready to make well recharge structure. He was informed that the soil which will come along
with water will be first put to a water filter which will separate soil from the water and only
fresh rain water will go into the well. When rains started and water started going to the well
he saw that no waste is going into his well and in two months of rainy season his well was
filled with water. After seeing the filled well Badri says that he hadn't seen so much water in
his well ever. After the recharge the engine on the well is running for ten to twelve hours per
day, and still it has water. Now he is able to irrigate his fifteen bigha of land, also he has taken
the neighboring thirty five bigha of land in partnership for cultivation. He didn't stop at this
and he sold water to other farmers for irrigation at the rate of one thousand rupees per day and
earned eight thousand rupees. He is very happy and grateful for the project.

ooo

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives F 38

Vegetable Production - Lauki (bottle gourd)

Vegetable Production - Tomatoes

Guar Gum

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives F 39

Seed Production

Well Recharge

Well Recharge

Agriculture - Green Manure and other initiatives F 40

Rose Nursery

Participation in Krishi Mela

Fodder Development

Chapter 5

Conclusion

The principal aim of this project was to strengthen the women cooperative society
and SHGs by working in close collaboration with them. This lasting self-sufficiency was
achieved in different levels. Thus the local ownership was therefore manifold achieved as all
the activities were mainstreamed in a partnership perspective without compulsory rules, but
in a continuous process of learning and empowerment.
KIGS entailed always the civil society as key partner in this project. Before
starting the implementation of any of the activities (goat rearing and ardu plantation), KIGS
encouraged the women to participate in two exposure visits, to Lucknow for goat rearing and
in Tapukada (to disseminate information about the nursery of ardu plantation). In that way
these women were motivated and contributed towards strengthening the social capital of the
community.
Besides this Women lead the process of deciding amongst them who should have the
loan of money and who should purchase the goats in a self-responsible perspective,
providing a good interest rate of the loans. This avoided any kind of exploitation as well as
dependency on the family's relatives.
Along with that several trainings have been implemented to share the best
practices among the community. People are now aware of the goat's diseases and how to
keep a goat properly. Before the project no one knew about the nutrition that should be used
for the goats, for instance the quantity of salt that should be given to them. All these efforts
and due to the work of the Pashu Sakhi, women are now more confident and resilient in goat
rearing. Their avenues from the goats have increased abruptly; because of the sanitary
treatments and the better nutrition's components that now they supply to them. The centrality
of the work of Pashu Sakhi is also proof in terms of social commitment, as 31 women i.e.
more than triple (of the initial target) have come forward to receive trainings in order to be
local veterans. With the same enthusiasm the competition of the rears was organized twice
during the three years.
In that extent, the results of the three years of the project largely express all these
achievements. The goats treated by the Pashu Sakhi have been 2267. This shows how the

Conclusion F 42

goats are now a part of the community economy. From 31 bucks distributed by the project the
women cooperative society were able to increase it as much as they could. Therefore they
could also at the same time provide the induction female all the year round in the project
villages and this has improved the quality of the breed in the area.
Along with that women have also taken the decision to assure the insurance for their
animals as they could understand with the project the benefits to have their animals insured.
This proactive attitude has safeguarded money and has contributed for their financial
independence.
All these efforts have resulted in an earning of Rs. 8,27,825 in three years due to the
good quality of the milk and the good returns from selling the goats, kids and buck in Rs.
20,55,300. Along with this women now are able to apply for the market criteria in terms of
quality of breed and weight of the goat. Thus the income from the goats is now a sustainable
financial resource for several families, as it is largely express by the quality of the milk and its
revenues.
The agriculture facilities were promoted during this project such as: the
intensification of Ardu Plantation and the improvement of agricultural techniques. These
initiatives were largely used among farmers, tackling the root cause of agricultural poorness.
Therefore the ardu nursery plantation performance in the villages was a step forward to
assure better nutrition for animal husbandry. People could overcome their disbeliefs as well
as intensify the plantation of these trees and this has changed completely the landscape of
these villages. More than 43,000 saplings were planted in the villages along with 3,239 fruits
plants to practice other forms of agricultural production. Before the project started the lands
were dry and only monoculture agriculture was being practiced. In the same way the
introduction of green manure techniques have assure a more sustainable livelihood incomes.
People were happy to realize that they were not more dependent on chemical fertilizers and
they could save money by creating their own compost. This technique also avoided the soil
exhaustion and this has improved the quality of the seeds, and the growth of products with
fewer diseases.
The enthusiasm for new and more recent farming techniques allowed the villagers to
experience organic farming. They grow a diversity of vegetables for their own consumption
and this has substantially improved their daily diet. It is meaningful, in a region that often
suffers from severe and dry conditions, causing a scarcity of food stocks.

Conclusion F 43

In the same way the project aimed successfully at the artificial water recharge in the
wells. Due to the long harvest water periods, the farmers in this project could also experience
how to store water from the rainfalls in their well. This experimental technique also gave
good returns. People were able after using this technique to sell water for their neighbors as
well as to assure proper water in their own fields.
In conclusion the social transformation of these villages was only possible by the real
commitment and the self-confidence that they put in this new way of doing animal
husbandry and agriculture. The local ownership was possible due to the fact, that these
cooperative societies of women along with the villagers were really the drives of change.
KIGS along with them could build up the social bridges necessary to implement a better
inclusive sustainable livelihood for all the villagers.

Compost Pit