Food & Nutrition @ Kadamdih – village women’s own initiatives

A group of women, 21 to be precise, have decided to take care of the nutritional needs of their families and worked out a way. They all belong to an area near Mosaboni in East Singbhum district in Jharkhand. Kadamdih, Amai Nagar and Benasole are villages located in remote forest region and these women here are mostly daily-labourers work in agricultural fields. Agriculture being a rainfed, most of the time it is a lean period – when they work as daily workers in various sites. They provide labour support at a wide variety of places – from brick klins to construction sites in the distant towns of Ghatsila or Mosaboni.

So, each of the women urged their families to earmark a small plot of land for their own use. This was the first time that the women demanding a piece of land for their own use. Once acquired, the plots were marked with small bamboo poles and wire mesh as fence. Then they attended regular orientation on Organic Farming organised by Swadhina – civil society organisation. 3 volunteers who earliler recieved TOT (Training of Trainors) held by SARRA/ILC at Tirupati, skillfully conducted these orientations.

The result is amazing. Despite the area being drought prone, there is lush green cover in the vegetable gardens – all done in organic farming mode.

They say they now have vegetables at every lunch meal. The children at home feel the home-grown vegetables are very tasty and sweeter than had earlier. The women too now get nutrition-rich vegetables. Purchased vegetables are often costly and they could not afford to buy them . So, very rarely they had vegetables for the meals, and hence lacked sufficient nutrition intake.But that problem is now solved.

Kudos to these village women !