SALVATION OF THE SOULS OF THE YOUNG

As bombshells pound away in the distance, his face is covered by the wood shearing from the plank he has just inserted on to the electric sawing machine. His curly black hair is covered with fresh wood scented sawdust making him look older by 15 years. Meet Chellan, (name changed) a Tamil teenager, an ex-combatant from the dreaded Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He has been in the Don Bosco rehabilitation programme since two months, learning carpentry.

One among the hundreds of abused and victimised children and youth in a civil war that dragged on for over a generation, Chellan is blessed to be at the Don Bosco Centre in the Northern Province, at Murunkan in Mannar district.

“It is definitely heartening to know that many people have started mobilising resource for the war-affected civilians in the North of Sri Lanka,” says Chellan’s instructor, Pandian, (name changed) another ex-combatant, adding that Don Bosco played a vital role in this crisis, continuously for a number of years.

They have been looking after thousands of teenage ex-combatants and sexually abused, irrespective of caste, creed or colour, in Sri Lanka since 1996.

Every Tamil-speaking child looked after by Don Bosco gets an opportunity to mingle with Sinhalese-speaking children and coexists in harmony within the boarding centres.

The Sri Lankan government has now requested the Don Bosco Provincial Superior to accommodate at least 400 to 500 more ex-combatant children for rehabilitation within the island-wide network of 17 Don Bosco centres. The greater challenge though is to find the resources to look after hundreds or even perhaps thousands more who desperately need help.

I visited Don Bosco Murunkan for the first time in 2005 with a German friend of mine to conduct a survey to implement a Pro-Poor Agriculture Project for the war-affected families in that region. This was in a way to build a ‘Peace Bridge’ between the Sri Lankan Army and the terrified civilians.

My second visit was in 2007 when the fighting between the army and the LTTE had intensified. This visit was to inspect the progress of the Pro-Poor Agriculture Project which Don Bosco was implementing for the poor, marginal and war-affected population of the region.

As usual the drive from Colombo to Mannar took about six long hours, every minute felt like eternity. The drive was very depressing. The main road was flanked by gun barrels jetting out of army bunkers camouflaged by the lush green fields. The landscape was amazingly beautiful especially with the occasional sighting of beautiful peacocks sitting on top of these bunkers at an interval of every half a kilometre as though they were beautiful hostesses waiting to usher me into the war zone.   As dusk approached, we reached Don Bosco Murunkan only to be awe struck at the giant leap it had taken compared to the last time I was there, a beautiful and majestic building standing with the backdrop of the orange sunlight of dusk.

But then, we were soon reminded by some thunderous noises of shells being fired at a distance. I was told by the driver of the vehicle that it is an everyday phenomenon because of the constant war between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan army.

I wanted to drive right back to Colombo because of fright but when I saw young children in hundreds playing within the large compound of Don Bosco, I told myself not to be a coward and flee. I soon realized, here is a place where one can really learn how to value life.

The absolute uncertainty of being alive the next minute and that being, for hundreds of children within Don Bosco and perhaps hundreds of thousands in the vicinity, a way of life, intrigued me.  The sound of real-time bullets being fired, the trembling of the very ground that I stood as a result of the multi-barrel guns firing shells, waking up every morning with the shattering noise of the window panes of my room, retiring to bed every night with the thought that I must have said the last prayer of my life, was what I got used to living with.

During my field visit to study the impact of the pro-poor project implemented by Don Bosco, I saw people suffering so much because of the war, which made me realize that every minute of my life is enormously precious. By the end of my day-long field trip, my life had changed and I told myself that every opportunity that I get to do good for my neighbour should be embraced by expecting nothing in return.

I wanted to write about my experience to some of my friends abroad.  On enquiring if I could do so, the Rector of the centre informed me that electricity is a rarity, internet if at all the electricity supply comes on, functions at snail’s pace, telephone lines are erratic and cell phones are a rarity.

Recently, I visited Don Bosco Murunkan again and stayed there for a couple of days only to be humbled once again when I saw the amount of good work Don Bosco has done for the children of Sri Lanka for so many years.  It is very heartening to see the selfless work which the Salesians do risking their lives for the sake of the innocent children. The greater challenge though is to find the resources to accept the challenge of looking after hundreds or even perhaps thousands more who desperately need help never-the-less the Salesians of Don Bosco in Sri Lanka are marching forward relentlessly  for the ‘Salvation of the Souls of the Young’.

A THOUSAND SALUTES

“Vanakkam Sir”, (means hello in Tamil), that’s how a calm looking man with pepper-salt hair greeted me as I approached the PEP manufacturing workshop in Vettaikaranirruppu village in the Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu. “Vanakkam”, I replied trying to read what his sun burned face had to tell me without spoken words.  My instant thought was, yes I know this calm faced shy gentleman by the name of Mohan; he was among the team from Tamil Nadu whom I had trained in Calcutta a few months ago on the Concrete Pedal Pump AKS PEP technology.  The team was selected and sent to Calcutta by the M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation.  MSSRF is a partner organization of W3W-India in Tamil Nadu. After spending some time at the PEP manufacturing centre, along with the team from MSSRF and Mohan, I visited a farmland which had one of the most enthralling success stories to tell.

Here was 0.5 Acre of land which probably had all the shortcomings and problem one could ever think of.  To start of with, the sun in this part of the world is very strong and the temperature is almost 45 degree centigrade during most part of the day, the soil type is sandy and almost white in colour, no water, soil erosion on one side of land, well the list of problems seemed never ending.  I was told by Mr.Selvarasu, one of the field officers of MSSRF that the farmer had tried to put into practice many of the suggestion and advice he had received from many friends of his to somehow get some yield from this plot of land.  Redemption seemed a distant reality for the farmer as he failed with everything he tried… well, almost.

With the inputs from MSSRF, W3W and the never-say-die attitude of the farmer, this very plot of land is today one of the most scientifically managed plot of farmland.

First of all, to tackle the soil erosion problem, a vegetative barrier was put in place by planting a deep rooted fodder crop called ‘Cumbu napier’ Grass which requires minimum water.

Fig 1

A twenty feet deep pond was dug for collecting rain water to tackle the water scarcity problem.  A strategic point for the pond was very important therefore it was dug next to the only large tree present within this land.  The tree will help give shade to the pond and help reduce evaporation to a certain extend.

Fig 2

In order not to over exploit the scarcely available water from the rain-water harvested pond, and for proper water management, a PEP was connected to the pond.  This was done keeping in mind also the fact that the PEP is the appropriate technology for low-lift irrigation which is an asset for the farmer for life as it is a rust free pump.  The farmland being very close to the coastal region, rust will be a major problem the farmer will face if he uses a metal pump.

fig 3

Again the placement of the PEP was very important as the farmer will not be able to operate the PEP for long duration under the strong sun.   Therefore it was placed under the tree next the pond where shade was available.  This was also the highest point in the plot which would help in proper flow of water pumped out of the pond.  The out flow of water depends on the gravity.  Again efficient water management was priority here.

fig 4

Approximately .15 Acre of the land next to the pond and the PEP was made into a small vegetable garden which helps the farmer in saving money by not having to always buy vegetables from the local market.  The entire produce of the vegetable garden is consumed by the farmer’s family.  Not to mention the savings he makes by not having to hire diesel pump to water his garden.

fig 5

Groundnut plantation has been done in approximately.33 Acre of the land as this plantation requires very little water.  This cash crop is a ninety-day (90) crop.  Every 90 days the farmer gets approximately 320 kgs of groundnuts.  This weight is including the weight of the shell.  He sells the entire harvest @ INR 25 per kilogram.  This means that he earns approximately INR 8,000 per season. He does not use a diesel pump to water his groundnut plantation as the PEP is used as a mobile pump.  Therefore the farmer takes it to different points in his field as and when required.

Fig 6

Along side the groundnut plantation, Cashew nut trees are planted on the bunds surrounding the groundnut plantation beds.  By planting on the bunds, the farmer ensures that he has yield from every bit of his land. This crop too does need only minimum amount of water.   These trees will also bring shade to the land and keep the temperature slightly under control.   This is an annual cash crop.  In total there are twenty (20) trees in the plot.  After sowing the seed, the plant takes 3 years to mature. The third year onwards the farmer will get approximately one hundred (100) kilograms of  cashew nuts from each tree which he then can sell to the nearby processing unit @ INR 40 per kilogram.  This would mean that he will earn approximately INR 80,000 per harvest from the third year onwards for the rest of his life subject to the plantation remaining deceases and disaster free.

Fig 7

In order to make sure that this plot of land has good yield, one of the most important thing is highly efficient water management.  For this reason, not only have the rain water harvesting as well as the PEP helped immensely but a third process has been introduced i.e. planting of ‘Casurina’  trees on the outer most boundary of the plot.  This is a deep rooted plant which helps on conserving water by storing water in its root nodes whichurn helps retain a certain amount of moisture in the farmland.   This tree is used as soft wood by matchstick manufacturers to manufacture matchsticks, as fire wood by some households in the village and also by handicraft units.  The tree can be harvested at the end of the fifth year.  One (1) ton of this harvest can be sold by the farmer to handicraft and matchstick manufactures @ INR 4,000 if the demand from the manufactures are not good enough during that harvest period, the farmer can sell it as fire wood @ INR 2,500 per ton.  Interestingly the neighboring land owners have grown this tree in thousands in the entire plot that they own.

Fig 8

On asking this farmer the reason why he does not do the same thing, he replies “Those only looks good now but wait till you see my trees after five years. They will be five times thicker than the ones you see” he says with a sense of pride and confidence in his voice.  This is because the trees have been planted on the outer boundary, which in turn allows it to have more space to grow thicker.  This will also mean that each of his trees will weigh more.

Fig 9

The man you see in the picture on the right is the farmer who’s story I have been writing so far. He is Mr. T.Mohan, the man who had met me in Calcutta during the PEP technology transfer training, the man who greeted me saying Vanakkam.  Well he was trying to sheepishly escape my camera lens. I must say the camera was good enough to freeze him in its frame.  Every time I look at this portrait of Mohan I will only be saying “A thousand salutes to you my friend”.  For me he is my superstar from Tamil Nadu.

Fig 10

Sir, Rajinikant, you’ve got competition  (Rajinikant is a Tamil Film Super Star). Mohan is showing the way for many thousands of farmers in Tamil Nadu and probably the world over in months to come.

I take this opportunity to thank Ms.Sudha Nair, Ms.Rengalakshmi and their field staff for continuously supporting the PEP project and guiding it in the right direction.  I would also like thank Mr. Thamizoli who had taken keen interest in promoting this project in Tamil Nadu during the inception period of the project, though unfortunately he is no more working in MSSRF.  Above all I would like to thank Prof.M.S.Swaminathan who is a very close friend of Dr.Anton Kohler – Director of W3W-Switzerland, without whose support, this project would not have been possible in Tamil Nadu.

ORGANIC MICRO ENTERPRISE

Having been implementing many projects in various villages in India, W3W wanted to do something very unique keeping in mind two very important aspects – to empower women and contribute towards the nutritional aspect of children.  Hence the project Kitchen Garden was implemented in Mirpara, a small village in the Howrah district of West Bengal near Calcutta.

Various issues had to be addressed during the implementation of the project, f.i. Imparting knowledge on intensive farming, creating the awareness of the advantages of having a kitchen garden, awareness of water management, awareness of organic farming that can be defined as complete management process which promotes and improves the health of agro system related to biodiversity due to its ecological, social and economic sustainability.

The project was a runaway success and today there are more than 120 Kitchen Gardens in and around this village called Mirpara.  The highlight of the project – so much was the impact of the awareness created by W3W with regard to organic farming that Mrs.Jamuna Mondal a middle aged housewife told the W3W project team that she was determined to have a kitchen garden of her own even though she did not have any cultivatable land of her own.  To the surprise of the entire W3W team, she even said that mine will be a hanging garden.  Well today not only is she a proud owner of a hanging garden but also helped another friend of hers, Mrs.Gayatri Panday to setup a rooftop garden on her clay tiled rooftop. The pictures speak for themselves.  So what if they do not have rose gardens? They have the attention of every passerby who stops at the first sight of the hanging garden as well as the rooftop garden but the curiosity does not end there.  Everyone wants to know how these women have managed to have a garden without land for cultivation.  It is an eye opener for everyone when they get to know that the garden is rooted in a two-foot by two-foot hole dug beside the wall of the house.  The watering of the garden is done by the PEP as and when required.  The PEP is also used for pumping water for domestic use by these women.

Today the social status of both these women have changed to a great extend.  Because of the fact that the vegetables grown by these gardens are organic, these vegetables have great demand in the local market.  All the kitchen garden owning women bring in an extra income into the family by selling the surplus vegetables to the local market.  The nutrition intake of their children and all the family members have gone up many folds.  This is because buying vegetables from the market would be very expensive for them and today they have their own vegetable gardens.  Vegetables give the maximum amount of nutrition to the human body.

It was quiet a task to teach these women how to produce their own manure for their kitchen gardens.  They were taught how to produce vermin compost, heap compost, liquid manure etc.  They were also taught to produce their own natural pesticides with the help of garlic oil, neem oil etc.  Today some of these women not only  make their own manure and pesticides but also sell their produce to their neighbours and the local vegetable market as well.

Well that is what I could call Micro Enterprise isn’t it?  Or shall I call it Organic Micro Enterprise?

A SMILE THAT MEASURES A MILE

An uncertain future stared at Sachala Rahutra’s face because of the ruthless word called ‘Poverty’. It was extremely difficult for Sachala to make both ends meet with the paltry income of approximately 50 INR her son, a plumber by profession, could bring home everyday, which too was uncertain. Yet she would not agree to the advice given to her by her neighbors to sell her little piece of land and move closer to the urban area of Calcutta. Moving closer to the city would definitely mean that her son could probably earn more from his profession. Sachala’s adamant stance was more of sentiments than pragmatism. On being asked by the Kitchen Garden team of agriculture extension workers for Water for the 3rd World (W3W), an emotional Sachala replied, holding back that teardrop which was on the verge of trickling down her face “This land was given to me as a gift by my ex-employer in who’s house I worked as a maid for thirty long years.” “The sentimental value of this land is far higher than the market value and I would like to spend the last few years of my life with my husband, living here”

W3W decided to help Sachala by selecting her as one of the beneficiaries of W3W’s Kitchen Nutrition Garden Project. The W3W team gave Sachala a short but very effective training on how to make a Kitchen Garden in the land she owns with the help of a PEP. They also taught her the W3W co-operative business module, which would help her earn some extra money for her family of three.

Two years have gone by; today Sachala is a proud owner of a Kitchen Garden as well as a PEP. She says her 1000 square feet land boasts of high quality vegetables like Amaranths, Spinach, Snake guard, Beans, Brinjal, Chilly, Tomatoes, Corn etc. Sachala has not only learnt how to grow vegetables in her field but she has also become very observant with the cropping pattern and the peek yield periods of the year. On being asked how she got to know that, she replied, “During these past two years, I have not only enough vegetables to feed my family but also have quiet a bit of surplus which I sell in the local market”, she continues with a sense of security in her voice, “It is during the last two years that I have manage to get an income which is more than the previous years.” ‘Entrepreneurial’ & ‘Enterprising’, isn’t she?

On being asked if she looks after her Kitchen Garden all by herself, Sachala replied with a very satisfying smile that lit up her face, “Actually my husband helps me, we take it in turns, he looks after the field when I operate the PEP, and it is vise versa you see”.

The PEP is slowly but surely eradicating poverty from Sachala’s life and it for sure has improved the standard of living for her family, both nutritionally and economically. The very tear trop which was threatening to trickle down Sachala’s face two years ago has dried up and has been replaced with a smile. If only smiles could be measured, Sachala’s would measure a mile.

Sachala's Garden