Maharashtra: Tribal women from Palghar are working towards 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'

India’s 1.3 billion people are our resource and not a liability,  if channelized in the right direction. We must accept the “atmanirbharta” (self-reliance) challenge proactively to transform India for good. In this, our rural folk possesses immense potential to fuel the growth of the country's multi-folds.

Therefore, Keshav Srushti Gram Vikas Yojana(KSGVY)is working in 75 villages of long-neglected and oppressed Palghar district with poor predominantly tribal population and poverty. KSGVY’s focus is to resolve core issues like water, alternate energy, education, healthcare, micro-businesses, etc. Big pain points for tribal communities even after 73 years of independence. A major issue is the empowerment of tribal women which is not possible without a sustainable and respectable income source. Small farms can’t guarantee to provide them. Therefore, women take up labor jobs here and men migrate to cities for work apart from farms for self-sustenance. Women also struggle hours in sun on construction sites and brick kilns for a few hundred rupees wages. As a result, the future of children is neglected.

New kind of network

KSGVY devised a new kind of network called URC (Urban-Rural Connect), wherein urban youth adopt tribal villages and co-ordinate with local youth working for the upliftment of their village to help resolve the village’s long-standing issues. A year back, a young Mumbai businessman, Gaurav Shrivastav, adopted a tribal village Tetwali in Vikramgad taluka of Palghar under KSGVY’s URC. Tetwalihomes have plenty of bamboo growing in their premises, never exploited commercially. He saw the potential bamboo to transform their village. He trained a team of 25 tribal women to make 6 bamboo handicraft products useful in daily life.

As Mumbai is their nearest market, he tried to create market linkages and connected some Mumbaikars to the village. KSGVY team efforts worked! Women started getting orders from Mumbai. Men stopped migrating for work and joined women to make products in larger quantities. One team received an award worth INR 52500 from the government body UMED in Vikramgad due to exceptional designs. In a few months, their products went online and they started receiving orders from other states. Before 2019 Diwali, they received an order from United Kingdom (UK) for bamboo mementos of auto-rickshaw through Sewa International. The Village team took up the challenge and indigenously created a prototype received approval. This gave recognition toTetwaliwith fulfillment of international orders and local within 6 months of inception.

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Looking at the way Tetwali had progressed, in 2019 Diwali KSGVY mentor Bimal ji Kedia shared his dream to make Vikramgad a bamboo hub in 2019 Diwali. Gaurav Shrivastav had to now replicate this idea in 9 more villages and empower more tribal women. He connected with 2000 people in 45 days by visiting 45 villages to propagate the bamboo project. Within a month 9 villages and 275 women were selected for training.

“Project Green Gold”

On 3rd January 2020, bamboo skill development training started across all 9 villages for 275 women and youths to commemorate the birth centenary of great reformer and advocate of woman empowerment Smt. SavitribaiPhule. Each village focused on and trained for 10 different products. From bamboo jewelry to bamboo bowls and trays, they experimented with products that could replace plastic with bamboo in city homes. One group of men from Tetwali relearnt the art of making houses from bamboo and created 3 beautiful sturdy bamboo houses, which have now become selfie points for visitors. Finally, more than 90 bamboo products were exhibited on 2nd February 20’. All women across 10 project villages came together for this exhibition and a mega ‘Bamboo Fest’ was celebrated with 500 participants, including Mumbaikars. Sales picked up and money started flowing from Mumbai to our tribal brethren. A small effort that took huge shape in a few months was later named as “Project Green Gold”, inspired by Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had once termed bamboo as “Green Gold”.

Unfortunately, at this juncture, the world was hit by the Covid19 pandemic and like others, even these women’s businesses got affected. To overcome this setback,  these women decided to make bamboo gifts to honor 500 corona warriors working in the field across Palghar and Mumbai. This effort too received a wonderful response from people.

On June 20’,  tribal sisters have made 50,000 eco-friendly bamboo rakhis and appealed to people to go local, stop buying Chinese rakhis. These rakhis too have received a great response from all over India as well as from other nations. Print, electronic, and social media coverage has made them famous as well as confident to take up new challenges in the future. Their confidence has risen manifold. Next idea is to make festival based products in the coming months after the sowing season.

Exposure of their work to the people will also inspire other women to achieve self-reliance with their creativity. It is important for the urban population to now get “vocal for local” and support women from rural areas. Our tribal sisters possess the capability to contribute to India’s GDP and also make their lives more fruitful. This is the right time.

KSGVY Team, Palghar

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