Activity Update September 2014: Kanha

Team: Amit Awasthi – Conservation Officer

            Sampathlal Dhurve – Field assistant

           

Highlights 

·      2 voluntary work projects for community assistance – area next to well cleaned at Batwar and road cleaned at Chapri

·      3 awareness programmes on snake bites

·      4 compost pits dug

·      2 anti-plastic programmes

·      Environment education programme conducted in 10 schools - attended by 240 students

·      7 film shows on nature and wildlife - attended by 425 students

·      2 unemployed youths placed in local jobs

·      1 capacity-building workshop for women’s SHGs

Conservation   

On September 8, Amit and Sampath led a team of 6 people in a programme to clear wild growth around a well at Batwar. Due to heavy rains, wild growth had proliferated around the well and access to the well was affected. Our team, which comprised 6 villagers, removed the wild growth and cleaned the area. Photos below.

On September 21, Amit and Sampath led a team of 11 youths in a programme to clear wild growth next to the main road leading into Kursitola at Chapri. Besides making movement difficult, the wild growth was also providing refuge to snakes and scorpions. Our team cleared away the wild growth, thus reducing the chances of people stepping on snakes and killing them. Photos below.

During September, our team organized 3 awareness programmes on snakes and snake bites. During the monsoon, snakes come out of their pits as these get flooded and there is greater occurrence of humans being bitten by snakes. Our awareness programmes focussed on teaching villagers how to identify venomous and non-venomous snakes. We also explained to the villagers what to do when bitten by a snake. Details of the programmes are given in the table above.

Patpara - Amit conducts awareness programme on snake bites

Our team encourages organic farming as part of our strategy to reduce the impact of chemical fertilizers on fields adjoining prime wildlife areas. Part of our work includes assistance to villagers in setting up vermi-compost tanks and compost pits. During September, we helped 4 villagers dig compost pits – Keshudas of Bhagpur on September 10, Surendra Vatti of Kutwahi on September 13, Bahoran Maravi of Patpara on September17 and Sohanlal Maravi of Manegaon on September 26. 

Manegaon - compost pit being dug in Sohanlal's yard

Manegaon - compost pit in Sohanlal's yard

On September 4 our team organized an anti-plastic programme at Dhamangaon. Amit and Sampath spoke to the students of the village school about the harmful impact of plastic/polythene on the environment and motivated them to remove such litter from the village. The students went around the village, collecting plastic and polythene litter/waste, which were then buried in a pit on the outskirts of the village. One more similar programme was organized at Samaiya on September 23.

Dhamangaon - students clearing plastic litter from village main road

Education

During the month our team organized environment education programmes in 10 schools in the villages in our area of operations.

Manegaon school - Sampathlal Dhurve conducts education programme

Education van programme

There were 7 film shows on nature and wildlife conservation in September.

Dhamangaon - wildlife film show at the school

Employment Cell

We helped two youths get jobs in September.

Shyam Singh at Courtyard House, Patpara, his new place of work

SHG capacity building programme

As part of our assistance to villagers to find alternative livelihoods, we help women set up self-help groups (SHGs) to start their own business units. In September, we organized a workshop for a total of 3 SHGs and taught them how to how to maintain documents and conduct proceedings. The SHG members were also introduced to livelihood activities that they could take up. The workshop was organized jointly with Ajiwika Mission – a project by the Madhya Pradesh state government to help empower women.

Kutwahi - capacity-building workshop for women's SHG