Activity Update July 2019: Pench Maharashtra

Highlights:

Chargaon - Villagers participate in a tree plantation drive

Ghoti - Volunteers prepare a soak pit near a hand pump 

Ghoti Gate - Plantation drive 

Kadbikheda - Dilip conducts an environment education programme
 in the village school

Kadbikheda - Our colleague Dilip gives free note books and pens
 to underprivileged students

 Khapa - School students participate in a Vruksha Dindi programme 

Sawara - Students participate in a conservation awareness rally
on Global Tiger Day

Shiladevi - Villagers learn how to cultivate mushrooms
as part of our alternative livelihood initiative

Shiladevi - Villagers on patrol in the adjoining forest 

Wagholi - Members of women's SHG and farmers
who were trained in mushroom cultivation

THE FULL REPORT

Team: 

Bandu Uikey – Assistant Conservation Officer
Dilip Lanjewar – Community Officer
Balkrishna Bagmare – Community Officer

Highlights: See Table 1

• Organised 2 foot patrols in West Pench Range; 6 villagers participated
• One soak pit prepared through voluntary work project
• Awareness rally and plantation drive organised in Khapa
• 7 plantation programs organised; 890 saplings planted
• Global Tiger Day 2019 celebrated
• 11 nature education programs organised in schools; 344 students attended sessions
• Mushroom cultivation training organised; 12 villagers underwent training
• 4 unemployed young villagers enrolled for hospitality training program
• Assisted two young villagers in getting employment in Nagpur
• One village meet organised to provide information on various agriculture schemes 

On July 14, Balkrishna led a foot patrol in the forest area adjoining Shiladevi village. Forest Guard Mr. Chopde and 3 villagers from Shiladevi took part in the patrol. The team searched for illegal activity like snares, live electric cables, logging or encroachment during the patrol. They did not come across any signs of illegal activities during this patrol. They also searched for signs of wildlife presence in the area so that any conflict could be avoided.

A similar patrol was organised by us on 21 July in the forest area near Suwardhara Lake. 3 villagers and 2 labourers from the Forest Department took part in the patrol. No illegal activity was detected by the team.

On 7 July, Satpuda Foundation organised a training program on mushroom cultivation in Wagholi village. 3 men and 9 women attended the training program. During the program, the participants were taught techniques of oyster mushroom cultivation. Mushroom cultivation is a lucrative livelihood option as it is not cost- and labour-intensive. It also helps solve the farm waste and the stubble burning problem as it uses farm waste as a raw material for mushroom cultivation. Sahadeo Tekam, one of the participants of the training program, has started a mushroom cultivation unit with 100 kg production capacity. Satpuda Foundation assisted him in selecting the location for setting up this unit and also in procuring the required spawn and materials.

A similar training program was organised for 17 villagers from Shiladevi village. Raju Ahake, an unemployed youth, has taken up mushroom cultivation after attending the training program. 

On 20 July, Satpuda Foundation organised a voluntary work project to prepare a soak pit near a community hand pump in Ghoti village. 7 villagers volunteered for the program. They cleared the weeds growing around the hand pump and dug the soak pit. This soak pit will make the spillover water effectively percolate and help recharge groundwater level. This will also help prevent spread of water-borne diseases like malaria during the monsoon season.

On 28 July, Satpuda Foundation organised a voluntary work project to clear plastic trash near Chargaon Zilla Parishad Primary school. 21 students volunteered to clear the trash in and around their school premises. During the monsoon, plastic trash tends to accumulate in 'nallahs' and also ends up being eaten by cattle within the village. The students collected almost 25kg of plastic trash during the drive.

In July, Satpuda Foundation organised seven plantation drives in villages of the buffer area of Pench Tiger Reserve. On 10 July, Dilip organised an event in Jai Seva Adivasi Ashram School in Dahoda village during which 70 students, along with their teachers, planted 200 saplings around the school premises. Similar programs were organised in schools of Khapa, Usripar, Kadbikheda and Sawara villages of the East Pench Range, during which 137 students planted 170 saplings of local tree species. 

We also planted 20 saplings at the Ghoti forest protection hut.

During the plantation drive program in Kadbikheda, Dilip also distributed educational material like notebooks, pens etc to underprivileged students.

A similar plantation drive was organised by the Forest Department in which Balkrishna encouraged 35 villagers of Makardhokda village to participate. The villagers assisted Forest Department staff in planting 500 saplings of local tree species.

On July 29, Satpuda Foundation celebrated ‘Global Tiger Day 2019’ at Zilla Parishad Upper Primary school in Sawara village. 102 students along with 3 teachers took part in an awareness rally organised by us. Students chanted slogans about the importance of tigers in the ecosystem and also the need to help protect tigers and forests for future generations. Dilip organised an interactive session for the students during which he explained the threats to tigers, and what the students can do to help protect tigers and forests.

Education Programs (Details in Table 2)

Balkrishna also celebrated the day with 23 students of Zilla Parishad Primary School, Chargaon by organising an interactive session to explain the relationship between tigers, forests, water, and the survival of all living beings. He engaged them in games to explain these concepts effectively.

On July 30, Dilip provided information about various schemes being implemented by the Agriculture and Livestock Departments of the state government in Ghoti village. Dilip assisted 10 villagers in applying for a subsidy of Rs 10,000/- for adopting vegetable cultivation. 3 villagers applied for a 50 per cent subsidy scheme to set up storage units while 2 villagers applied for the milk cattle distribution scheme.

Employment cell (Details in Table 3)

In July, Dilip helped 4 unemployed young villagers enrol for the hospitality training program being conducted by Pratham Arora Centre for Education (PACE), and sponsored by Pench Tiger Conservation Foundation.

In July, Balkrishna helped Roshan Inmate of Narhar village apply for a vacancy of technician at Bharat Udyog in Hengan MIDC, Nagpur. Roshan successfully got employment and is now earning a salary of Rs 9,000/- per month. Earlier he used to work as a daily wage labourer earning Rs 3,000/- per month.

Balkrishna also helped two young villagers to apply and get employment with METRO Ltd, Nagpur (check Table 3 for details).