ADAMYA CHETANA

Project Report

A Rural development initiative by ADAMYA CHETANA

Bangalore, India

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CONTENTS
1 Introduction
2 Two years ago a snap shot
3 Ramatirth Revival
a. Various activities Biogas, Milk Collection Centers,
Cooperative Bank
4 Financial Benefits
a. Tangible Benefits
b. Intangible Benefits
5 Adamya Chetana Learnings
6 Our Gratitude

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Project Report
Introduction:
Ramatirth is a quaint little village perched on the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka. A typical village
of Karnatakas Belgaum District, Ramatirth boasts of hardly 125 houses. Ramatirth has a glorious history
and has one of the very ancient temples, where the deity is still worshipped. This beautiful ancient
temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is supposedly established by none else than Lord Rama, on his
southern sojourn. The temple has a beautiful Deepa Sthamba made of wonderfully carved stones
which beacons curious and pious travelers from far & wide. It is the family deity to thousands of families
from Maharashtra & Karnataka, who congregate here for its annual festivals. During this time, the
Deepa Sthamba is brightly lit up and the top most tip of the Deepa Sthamba has a concave shape which
holds oil and wick and once lighted can be seen as far as ten miles as a bright flame, instilling faith and
devotion in the hearts of the humble visitors around. There is a beautiful temple of Goddess Durga,
behind which is a deep tunnel, believed to lead into a deep underground chamber, the favorite haunt of
the Yogis and Sadhaks, who used to meditate there for days together.
Ramatirth was surrounded by thousands of trees and if we go by the experience of the elders of this
village, we are told that it was home to thousands of trees, a perennially flowing river, wild animals and
a large lake. It should truly have appeared majestic in its hey days, hardly 50 years ago. The elders told
us that the crops had an unusual intruder hordes of deer which used to come uninvited and feed on
their standing crops cultivated by the local farmers. Today, Ramatirth is a sharp contrast, to what we
heard from these venerable elders. It is a matter of great pity, that not a single wild animal is seen
anywhere in the vicinity, the nearby lake is practically dry, the water table has gone down, the tree
cover which Ramatirth boasted of hardly 50 years ago, is a bald valley, with vast tracts of meadows and
small stones strewn literally across the whole canvas. The local farmer, instead of tilling his land, today
spends more money each year, in replenishing the top soil, which gets eroded away, every single
monsoon. A few hundred trees spread sparsely across the vast landscape continue to be targeted by the
local farmer for firewood. Water is a perennial problem and Ramatirth dwellers find it a unforgiving task
throughout the year, searching for adequate water in this now dry belt. Whenever, it rains heavily, the
water flows down the small river in floods and before you know, the river bed is dry again. A sad
commentary, from what it was hardly a couple of years ago.
All this was destined to change and change it did, for the better, within less than one and half years of
focused efforts. A revolution has happened in Ramatirth, thanks to the untiring efforts of ADAMYA
CHETANA, an NGO from Bangalore, which took upon itself to transform this village into a hallmark of
what can be done by way of total village transformation. On every parameter, we measure, we find that
Ramatirth has undergone a sea change and today, it is virtually a case study a reference village for any
NGO or Government to replicate in similar circumstances. The unstinted support of Adamya Chetana,
the focused efforts of Shri. H N A Prasad, who is an industrialist and a social scientist, who has a deep
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passion for village regeneration, applied his scientific analysis of how the change can happen. Helping
him in his efforts was also Shri. Tarachand, a spiritual disciple of Shri. Ganpatrao Maharaj of Kannur,
Bijapur. Shri. Tarachand has an ashram in Kakmari, a village in the vicinity of Ramatirth, who provided
the local support and helped in rallying the local villagers, who were quite indifferent to the efforts
being put in by Adamya Chetana. A helping hand from Nokias CSR wing, also added to the change
happening faster.

Two years ago A snap shot

Around two years ago, when Adamya Chetana first visited Ramatirth, we were witness to the following
scenes.
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A recent flood across North Karnataka had left several houses damaged.
The water table had gone so much low, that bore wells went dry, immediately after the
monsoons.
The river which flows through the village, skirting the ancient temple, had not a single drop of
water in it. This was supposed to be perennial, hardly few years ago.
Villagers were depending upon local firewood to cook their daily food.
The hills and valleys around were bald and had become pastures for grazing cattle
The lake was dry.
Farmers used to go buying top soil, in tractors, to replenish the annual erosion. Thanks to the
trees being cut and the vanished tree cover.
Lack of toilets for most households and the open field was used to defecate.
Cattle dung, was strewn all over the place creating a methane pollution
Milk was sold to middle men at Rs. 16 a litre
Not a single Gobar gas plant in the entire village of 125 households.
No check dams to hold water and recharge the ground water which has been going depleting
year after year. Ramatirth has excellent avenues to create check dams.
Soil erosion was evident all around the village, thereby creating ecological damage.
Most homes had cattle whose dung was used to make dung cakes which were dried and used as
fuel, causing methane pollution.

The above state of affairs was a powerful trigger to the team from Adamya Chetana. Adamya Chetana,
decided to adopt this village and do whatever it took to ensure that the Ramatirth landscape changes
for the better.

Ramatirth revival
The revival of Ramatirth was a task which was easier said than done. Though we had Shri. HNA Prasad
pushing for reforms, the local villagers were more onlookers than participants in the initial stages. There
were hidden agendas working in the background, which were not conducive to the progress of the
Adamya Chetana. Local money lenders and middle men, who gained from the produce of Ramatirth
village, were reluctant to let go of their control, in how things were managed for the past several years.
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We could find evidences of misguiding which slowed down our efforts. As Swami Vivekananda would
quip, The more obstacles, thrown at me, the stronger I grow, was an experience, which Shri. Prasad
faced and it only made his resolve all the more stronger. With strong back end support from Adamya
Chetana team, Prasad forged his way ahead and started creating several inroads into the project. The
strategy was as follows.
a) We started with having meetings with the farmers on a regular basis and the first task was to
get the village opinion leaders and school children participate in constructing a battery of check
dams at appropriate places. The check dams are really very simple designs. All we do is collect
and arrange stones to form barriers to flow of water. They need no cement, no binding
materials. The first rains will bring in silt and smaller stones which get interlocked into the
crevices and before we know, the dam becomes fairly compact, reducing porosity and retaining
water. 15 check dams (of which 9 were built in a single day) were built in less than a month and
within one year, the depleting water table has actually reversed. The proof is that some bore
wells, have water much longer than the earlier year.
b) We decided to plant trees and with the help of local farmers, school volunteers and employee
volunteers from Nokia. We got saplings from the Government department & planted 4000 fruit
bearing trees. We urged the farmers to water the plants in their vicinity as often as they could.
Since this was done just at the onset of monsoons, these plants require the least amount of
water to establish roots. More than 95% of these plants are surviving and continue to grow well.
Already in a year, Ramatirth looks greener and this will immediately invite the bird population to
visit these trees. The cycle of life has started again.
c) The tree cover will gradually prevent soil erosion, which was one of the biggest problems for
Ramatirth. In a matter of few years, the Ramatirth farmer need not buy top soil, which is
precious to grow crops. It will also save his hard earned money in the process.
d) The birds & bees which have started visiting these trees will very soon start pollinating the
plants and farms and thus rejuvenate the much needed increase in yields.
e) Building of Bio Gas plants has been a single achievement that not only made Ramatirth famous
overnight, it became a rallying point for several villages around. Every single household in
Ramatirth today can boast of a toilet cum Biogas gas plant. Its benefits are multifold.
1. Methane which is eight times more toxic than Carbon dioxide is produced in large
quantities in every household. One pair of cattle, produces enough methane to cater to
the fuel needs of a normal Indian household of 4 to 5 people. Methane is produced both
from cattle dung, cattle belching, farm waste and human waste. Burning this will not
only give us precious fuel, but also make the surrounding atmosphere free of pollution.
2. Methane pollution in villages around India (which has the highest cattle population in
the world) is as toxic as vehicle waste. By burning methane, we work towards
controlling global warming, that has been haunting the world for several years now.
3. The residual Biogas waste is excellent organic fertilizer free from methane and is a
priced fertilizer across the country.

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f)

4. The methane fuel reduces load on burning firewood, which not only produces coal tar,
which is toxic, but also saves precious forest cover. The temptation to cut down trees
which was happening rampantly for these many years has completely stopped.
5. Huge amount of convenience round the year because of ease of operation and even
during rainy season, the Biogas plant will be operational without interruption.
6. More fuel needs can simply be achieved by adding more cattle dung. Officials from
various NGOs and PSUs who saw the intensity of the flame from these Biogas plants
were highly impressed. Many villagers in Ramatirth have more than two cattle.
7. Hygiene is a big issue in villages around India. Toilets are non existent in thousands of
villages and Ramatirth was no exception. The Biogas toilet units built at a low cost, has
given huge comfort to the locals, especially women folk, which see this as a blessing.
Overnight the hygiene in the surrounding vicinity has improved, thereby triggering
health consciousness in the local population. One of the biggest source of disease in
rural India is open defecating and this has stopped, saving precious man hours.
8. The typical cost of a Biogas plant is Rs. 25000/- The Government of Karnataka gives Rs.
11,000 per plant as subsidy. Adamya Chetana has funded the rest of the monies through
donations.
9. Excess gas produced can be used for boiling water, producing electricity. A project in
University of Agriculture sciences has proved that Biogas or Gobar gas can be easily used
to produce 750 watts of power, enough for a normal household. Imagine rural India
with its own power generation possibilities. The cost of this Gobar as generator of 750
watts is just Rs. 14000. If it is mass produced, the cost will be less than Rs. 7000. Gobar
gas lanterns are another convenience we can dream of with excess gas produced in
each household.
10. The huge cost of fertilizer is saved on each farm. Plus organic fertilizer from Biogas
plants is far safer & cheaper than chemical fertilizers; Farmers from this year have
started saving on fertilizers.
11. In short, few heads of cattle can make a farmer today quite self sufficient by some
simple interventions. Its no surprise that ancient Indian wisdom used to cherish
Godhan literally translated as cattle wealth.
Milk Collection center. One more critical intervention was the introduction of a Milk collection
center in Ramatirth. Every farmer who produced excess milk sold the same to local middle men
at Rs. 16 a liter. Today, because of the establishment of a Milk collection center, overnight, the
farmer is getting Rs.30/- for the same liter of milk he sells. The huge cash benefits accruing to
these farmers are substantial. On an average, Ramatirth produces 250 liters of milk each day.
The additional income per day is Rs. 3500 for the village. Even deducting transport costs and
administrative costs, Rs. 5000 per day is a saving of around Rs. 18,00,000 a year. There are 125
households. Each household is generating an additional income of Rs. 14000 a year, which is Rs.
1200 a month. This, in a village in India, is substantial profit for a marginal farmer. The Milk
Collection center has produced other non tangible benefits.

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1. Farmers have become more united.
2. The middle men who used to make money have been shown the door. They have
outlived their utility.
3. The extra milk money is nearly equal to 20 % of the total monthly income of a family.
4. This will trigger more cows and buffalos in the farms which will augment not only milk
income, but also create more Biogas, more fertilizers, less chemical pollution on the
farm, reduce global warming, improve health and hygiene.
5. This became the trigger for the next intervention, which had another great impact. The
establishment of a cooperative bank.
g) Establishment of Co-Operative bank. The Monetary need of farmers in crisis was catered to by
local money lenders, who typically charged 2% interest per month. This was draining their
meager resources and usually makes them land in a debt trap. A brain child of Adamya Chetana,
was the establishment of the local Co-Operative bank. With support from the Government,
already in less than one year, the bank has already given small loans to Ramatirth farmers at an
interest rate which is around 1% per month. The bank has already disbursed more than Rs. 20
lakhs. This is God send to these farmers who have never seen loans below 2% per month. The
resultant benefits can be summed up as follows.
1. Ramatirth has on average saved Rs. 2,40,000 in less than year. Per family, this works out
to Rs. 1920, another 26% savings in outflow.
2. They dont have to be indebted to unscrupulous money lenders, who invariably gain
unfair advantage because they lent money.
3. Enhanced dignity of the farmer. Asking for loans to a money lender is seen in India as a
degrading task and is usually done in secret. Today, a farmer can proudly walk into a
bank and ask for money.
4. The transactions are guided by systems and procedures rather than by the whims and
fancies of money lenders.
h) Indirect benefits. The Ramatirth experiment has opened up a flood of indirect benefits to its
inhabitants.
1. The government watching this experiment, from the ring side has woken up to what can
be achieved by some honest efforts by a small dedicated team of volunteers. Adamya
Chetana has shown a way for thousands of villages around to emulate.
2. At least half a dozen surrounding villages have voluntarily come up seeking our guidance
and help.
3. Seeing 125 Bio gas plants and toilets in a small village, nearby villages want 400 Biogas
plants to be built. Sankonatti, a village hardly 5 kms from Athani, wants 400 Biogas
plants to be set up. What is more encouraging is that they have already formed working
groups and are eagerly waiting for Adamya Chetana to start the miracle in their village.
4. The government officials have become charged seeing the success of this experiment
and want to be more cooperative in sanctioning loans and subsidies.
5. Seeing the check dams built by Adamya Chetana, the Minor Irrigation department of
Government of Karnataka, has already started building five more Check dams.
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i)

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6. Ramatirth experiment has become the talk of the district and soon local governments
are busy seeing how this can be replicated in their own jurisdictions.
Financial benefits. Any project to have substantial interest and continuity needs to have the
following parameters.
1. The project should be financially viable.
2. Every member of the village should be able to see both tangible and intangible benefits
arising out of the experiment.
3. The financial benefits should be enjoyed and felt immediately.
4. There should be confidence that the project can be replicable in other villages having
similar demographys.
5. Forming of self help groups who can take this forward.
6. Change should be holistic, culturally acceptable & become intrinsic to the project.
7. Documentation of what can be done, what are the common hurdles one can expect and
means to overcome these hurdles needs to be well defined, so that they trigger a chain
reaction of believers, who will carry the torch forward.
8. Advocacy with the government departments relevant to the project should become
integral to such experiments. No great project can be sustained and replicated without
active government participation. NGOs and Governments can actually do path breaking
work which will be a beacon to other villagers and taluks to follow.
Keeping these objects in mind, the following financial benefits are listed. Most are tangible,
while few have notional values to arrive at a cost benefit, to inspire other NGOs to replicate.

TANGIBLE BENEFITS
1. Fuel saving due to Bio gas plant. An average family of four, cooking fuel costs around Rs.
350 a month (Rs. 4200/- year). This is either spent towards buying wood or kerosene.
2. A single Biogas plant produces on an average around 10 tons of fertilizer per year. The
farmer who is using his own Bio fertilizer is actually saving around Rs.3000/- a year. In
addition he is not poisoning his fields with chemical fertilizers which actually do more
harm than good in the long term.
3. Savings on milk, because of the Milk collection center is roughly Rs. 14000 a year per
household.
4. Loan interest per family saving is Rs. 1920/- year. Thanks to the establishment of Cooperative bank.
5. Buying top soil to replenish erosion is around Rs. 1000/- a year

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6. The total savings for a household is already Rs. 27,640 per year.

Sr.
No.
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Item Head

Annual saving per household

- Rs.

Bio fuel produced

Organic Fertilizer
Milk collection center
saving

14000

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Loan interest saved

Buying top soil

1920
1000

TOTAL SAVING

4200
3000

24120

Total saving per household per year Rs. 24120/-

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INTANGIBLE BENEFITS
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Ramatirth on an average burns 2500 kgs. of wood a day for domestic use, including
cooking, bathing, etc. The ecological savings on firewood alone is around 900 tons of
wood saved per year. That much forest cover saved every single year.
Bringing back the green cover will gradually bring back flora and fauna. Birds have
already started seeing a new destination. This will enhance fertility of land and soil.
Sense of self sufficiency seen all around. Enhanced self respect because of less
dependence on local money lenders. Banks any day a better option.
Ramatirth has become a reference village for all neighboring villages. Eight other
villages have shown keen interest to emulate the model.
Increased health, hygiene and therefore decrease in medical costs.
Pollution free atmosphere more conducive to better health.
Any new comer who walks into Ramatirth, today sees a platoon of toilet cum bio gas
blocks, dotting the landscape. This has become an envy of neighbors and owners
pride. Ramatirth is proud to be the first torchbearer in this unique experiment.
Ramatirth has created several believers who want to replicate this experiment.
A large organization like NTPC, Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatha Trust have seen the
progress and is seriously thinking of supporting similar projects in more number of
villages to make them self sufficient.

ADAMYA CHETANA LEARNINGS

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Any project which starts off with a clear intention, great motivated team members, can
create wonders in the society.
All noble ventures will undergo stages of ridicule, indifference, conditional cooperation
and finally solid support from its constituent members.
For a great project, GREAT MONEY IS NOT REQUIRED. GREAT WILL IS A MUST.
If an NGO, with meager financial muscle can do this revolution in one and half years, the
government with its financial and manpower strength can do a far better job. The only
condition is Is there a will?
What Adamya Chetana could do, any NGO can replicate in any demography, provided
the spirit is willing.
As a novice in this area of rural upliftment, Adamya Chetana got wonderful success.
Thanks to its spiritual back bone and social moorings.
The beeja mantra of Adamya Chetana is inspired by the great Swami Vivekananda. His
mantra of Each soul is potentially divine. The goal of humanity is to realize this
divinity. Today, we can proudly say, that we not only realized this vision amongst us,
but we also saw the same spark in 125 families in Ramatirth who stood by us like a rock.
The legacy of Vivekanandas spirit is once more proved.

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OUR GRATITUDE
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To Shri. H N A Prasad, who has been the pillar of strength behind this project. He has
spent days camping in Ramatirth to fulfill this mission.No great project or undertaking
succeeds without the direct and indirect help from various cross sections of society. We
are extremely grateful to our active spirit behind this project, Shri H N A Prasad, without
his unstinted support, this project would have not seen the lights of day.
To the spiritual push given to us by Shri. Tarachand, who has tirelessly moved public
opinion to build the DNA for this success.
To all Government officials and staff, who have helped us directly and indirectly in
moving this project forward.
To Nokia employees, who were participants both in body and spirit. They have also
contributed financially to help this project surge ahead.
To the Rotary eco club of Bangalore who were instrumental in getting Nokia to support
us.
To all our doubting critics who goaded us into scaling up beyond their obstacles.
To Shri. Halappa, our contractor, who built our Biogas plants.
To the staff and students of Ramatirth school for their timely help
To every single household in Ramatirth, who have believed us. They worked with us
every single step of the way, to see this fulfillment of the project and
To the almighty Lord of Ramatirth who has blessed this project right through.

Recorded by Jagadish Bapat

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