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| Andhra Pradesh
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Case
Studies |
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Milk
Flows
In Nadikudi village, Andhra Pradesh,
Kandula Savitramma owned two buffaloes.
She would sell the 5 liters of milk they
would produce, to the local dairy, and make
a living. But although Kandula was sure
the buffaloes could produce more, which
in-turn would increase her earning, she
didn’t quite know how. So she turned
to the ACF team and they helped her with
her query. They provided her with supplementary
feed for her buffaloes, and asked her to
maintain a detailed account of the daily
milk produce.
In the short span of 10 days Kandula
noticed that the produce had doubled!
She continued with the supplementary feed
and now enjoys the benefits of a higher
milk yield. |
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Restoring
the water of life
This small village in Guntur has
about 170 families. Due to the indiscriminate
use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers,
the ground water in the area has become
contaminated. Consumption of this water
resulted in several health problems such
as headaches, body aches, muscles pains
and the like.
Korlakunta Ramalingamma was a farmer from
the village who suffered from such symptoms.
She visited many doctors to find a cure
but was informed that the water which she
was consuming was to blame. Left with no
alternative she began buying water from
water tankers. It was an expensive proposition
but it eased her physical discomfort. When
the reverse osmosis treatment plant was
set up by ACF in association with the Naadi
foundation, Korlakunta was delighted. Not
only was she able to get pure water in her
village but she was also able to buy it
at a much lower rate. Consumption of clean
water has reduced her physical pains greatly.
"I am getting good quality water at a low
price because of the treatment plant. Each
day my physical health is improving and
it isn't even causing any great financial
strain on my family." says Korlajunta with
obvious relief.
Like Korlakunta, many others have benefitted
from the reverse osmosis plant. People from
other neighbouring villages like Gurazal,
Kotha Ambapuram are now making requests
for this facility. Restoring the water of
life is becoming an urgent concern in many
parts of the country. |
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The
Miracles of Compost
Vorra Nagi Reddy, a farmer from Nadikudi
village, Andhra Pradesh, grew chillies on
a two acre plot. He learnt about
vermi-composting through a training programme
for farmers held in the area by ACF, then
decided to put his new-found knowledge to
use by setting up his own pit. In 40 days
it was ready, and other farmers began asking
him to sell his produce to them, so he did,
though that wasn’t the reason why
he set up the pit.
Soon, as word spread to neighbouring
villages, more and more farmers began
buying compost from him, and he was earning
a tidy income from his pit. He also tried
the compost on his own fields, on the
advice of ACF, and soon saw the impact
it had.
Ever since then, Reddy has continued
producing and selling compost, and using
it on his farm. It is true. ‘Give
a man a fish; you have fed him for today.
Teach a man to fish; and you have fed
him for a lifetime.’ |
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Woman power
It all began as a small discussion in one of their Self-help Group (SHG) meetings. The women of Gogulpaddu village in Andhra Pradesh were concerned about the drinking water problem they were facing. Due to the excessive use of pesticides , the ground water in the villages of Nadikudi have become contaminated and unfit for human consumption. Villagers having no other source of water were forced to drink this water and frequently faced health problems.
The SHG leant that a permanent solution of this water crisis was to set up a common Reverse Osmosis(RO) plant for the entire village. The common plant would keep the cost of drinking water low and make potable water available to everyone. The men in the village has previously attempted setting up a RO plant but hadn’t been able to effectively work together and generate the community contribution for it. Women decided to take the lead this time.
Besides providing all the technical information and advice, ACF organised a visit for the women to see a functional RO plant in a near by village. The women were completely convinced about the value of the RO plant and set about having the same installed in their village. But soon they were faced with a real challenge. They needed to raise funds for purchasing the technology and for meeting the recurring costs. Where would a colossal sum of Rs.4.5 lakh come from? Thanks to the exposure of these women to handling financed of their SHGs, they immediately thought of an equity based model since their savings weren’t enough. They started an intensive awareness cum motivation camping in the village and more funds came in. Despite that, there was a financial deficit and it looked like the lack of funds would delay the project once again. Just then, as an example of collective action, a farmer’s group- Sri Neelakanteshwara Organic Farmers Group offered a loan to the women for the balance amount. The farmer’s group would return the money as soon as they could raise it from the villagers.
With the funds in place and ACF’s technical inputs, nothing could stop the RO plant from coming up at Gogulpadu. Water woes are soon to be a part of Gogulpadu’s history. |
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