Crop Training Program: Introductory session

It is a matter of sweet coincidence that the alternative crop training program for farmers of Chargheri was initiated in Chargheri on Teachers' Day, the 5th of September. Furthermore, it was arranged inside a primary school, Chargheri Abaitanik Prathomik Bidyalaya!

The first crop training program was a 3 day session for around 40 farmers (including women from farmers' families). Introductory session of this program took place on the 5th of September in front of PAKT. The attendance was a little lower on this day due to heavy rains and cyclonic weather which prevented many farmers from the distant villages to come. [Request you to spare some time and look into the videos at the bottom of this post to get a feel of the terrain that they need to cross to reach any destination far from their homes on a rainy day]

A lot of effort went into arranging this program. The training was given by experienced trainers Shrimati Anjana Mondal and Shri Narain Bachar on behalf of an NGO, 'Swanirvar'. We liked what we saw in the inaugural session of the training program. Clear communication was happening between trainer and trainees. The trainers clarified that the purpose of their visit was to provide guidance to the trainees and to agree on some proven solutions, rather than imposing something new on the latter. The trainers asked for feedback from the local farmers to chart a way forward. The trainers also urged the locals to leave aside the despair they must be having within and be single minded on the purpose for which the training is arranged.

The locals too appeared to be eager to make a success out of the knowledge they gain from Swanirvar trainers. A senior person amongst farmers said that they can see the brighter side when they find people from far off people coming to help them. They were assured by us that they will be supported by PAKT further down the line in their effort to get a produce.

This 1st phase of 3-day training has now been completed. We kept in touch with the trainers over these 2 days of hands-on workshop following the introductory session to keep ourselves updated with the progress. Also, we needed to check that two of them were confortable as they too were visiting this area for the first time.

We are awaiting the detailed report from the trainers. The feedback sounds encouraging from both sides. However the amount of land that each trainee can take up right now is likely to be substantially lesser than the total land owned by him / her. This is mainly because of the absolute non-existence of draining facility to help empty the brackish water from their fields and ponds. This is so frustrating..... if only there could be some miraculous way of emptying the area of the trapped saline water in their inland rain-water irrigation canals as well as fields. Or a not so miraculous way of someone relevant in the administration driving to execute this critical need of these villages and getting the dewatering done from all the areas in the next one month's time.

Some videos of the mockery of a 'path' that we traversed to reach the school from distribution point:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoYrdUjo18w
A major part of our walk from food distribution point to the primary school (venue of crop training) consisted of plodding in the stagnated water on the erstwhile paddy fields. It served a direct reminder that if Aila had not happened then these fields would be sporting a lush-green-with-crops look instead of the depressing state they are currently in. Also, these are quite dangerous for unintroduced people like me to be walking on (A Purbasha guide was leading me along with Shri Narain and Smt. Anjana - but I fell way behind on both up and down trip). There may be ponds on the sides of these plots. Also, almost all plots have local deep cuts from which earth has been taken away for bund reconstruction work. On the way back I fell in one of those by deviating from the route shown by our 'guide' (the Purbasha volunteer) and promptly found myself standing in chest deep water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3JOd9nbeWU
In this video we are seen to be heading towards the venue where local farmers are waiting for us. This slippery entrapment is all that the locals have got to use as a road to travel. These mud paths are better when dry, in that at least standing still is not an ordeal. When these get soaked with rains, the mud gets really slippery. Any travel from one area to another on these 'concoctions' is like an adventure sport. To be able to travel some distance, especially climb up /down a slope, without having a fall feels like a triumph.

We from PAKT do it only during daytime, that too once in a fortnight on a special mission....and we still get daunted by the risk of it. Not without reason though. Sandeepan has already picked up a cut below the foot and an upturned toe nail in two separate trips while moving in the mud. And it is a miracle that the others amongst us have not had some more such injuries. The locals - they need to 'travel' on it every day (and also during the night if required with no illumination around) to go to dyke work, to go to the riverside for "bagda maara", to visit the market place for buying essentials, to go to the doctor, to visit the nearby shop for a sudden household requirement and to rush back home upon hearing that someone in the family is sick or injured. Children need to do it to go to school and come back.

Often these roads would have a break and the connecting part would be a plod in the inundated fields (including a treacherous climb down from the slope, as well as an equally harassing climb up). By the time we reached Chargheri, It had rained for over 24 hours and there was a cyclone warning. The location of this primary school selected as venue was near the distribution point (a mere 20 minute ordeal) which is at an edge of the area covered by PAKT. Hence a number of farmers must have needed to travel over these over miles to come to the inaugural program on alternative crop training organised for them. We were lucky that the rain held up specifically at the times we were moving through these areas.

Reaching the school: http://picasaweb.google.co.in/angshu2909/ChargheriTrip7Pix#5378309831895574290