SOIL Report 2008 - ACCESS Development Services

Civil Society InitiativesOutboard Motors: In the early 1980s, the small-scale artisanal fishermen in the southwest coast of Indiawere facing a threat to their livelihoods from mechanised trawling boats. To counter their marginalisation,they were looking for technologies to help them shift from sailing and rowing to motorised operations,which would help them go further into the sea. It was then that outboard motors (OBMs) gained popularityas rapid motorisation of artisanal craft began. SIFFS, which had already initiated boat building activitiesby then, recognised the link between OBMs and plywood boats. SIFFS began importing outboard motorsand spare parts, and distributing them to its beneficiaries at affordable prices. Today, SIFFS is thecountry dealer for Suzuki marine products, and a leading importer of OBMs and spares in South India.It has set up OBM service centres and spares parts outlets for sale and maintenance works.Case Study 8Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project 16The Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) was set up as an independentorganisation by the temple trust of Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala in south Karnataka. While the hereditaryleader of the temple, Mr Heggade Dharmadhikari, is involved in all major decisions, SKDRDP is managedby development professionals and is one of the largest development NGOs, reaching over 710,000people in 4,739 villages in seven districts of Karnataka.The initial work of SKDRDP involved assisting small farmers who had obtained freehold land underthe Land Reform Act of 1974 xvi . In 1991, SKDRDP was registered as a charitable society. Managementsystems were put in place and operations were increased to cover individuals and groups of farmers, andcommunity development work. Savings and credit activity was also introduced among farmer groupsand the landless, and Pragati Nidhi, a microfinance programme was initiated.Each village has a grassroot worker who is key to integrating various activities at the village level. Theyhave been trained in all the basic aspects of SKDRDP’s programmes – health, microfinance, agriculture,non-farm business, insurance and group mobilisation and training.SKDRDP ismanaged bydevelopmentprofessionalsand is oneof the largestdevelopmentNGOs,reaching over710,000people in 4,739villages in sevendistricts ofKarnataka.Whenever SKDRDP enters a village for the first time, it starts by forming Pragathi Bandhu groups. APragathi Bandhu is essentially a group of between five and eight small farmers who own land in thesame village or hamlet. They give one day a week to shared labour, working in turn on each others’ landor on other tasks as required xvii . The labour sharing has helped thousands of small farmers to achieveimportant farm works like fencing, well digging, land levelling and house/shed construction throughparticipatory labour. The women SHGs comprising poor and backward women only started in the mid-’90s and have now taken over Pragathi Bandhu groups in terms of numbers. All these groups organisethemselves into one or two federation(s) depending on the total number of groups in the village.Some key initiativesAgriculture Development: Farmers are assisted to prepare individual farm plans, in consultation withfellow group members. SKDRDP works closely with government departments, especially for extensionservices and its specialised staff provide a link between the farmers and research centres. The farmersare encouraged to use renewable energy sources such as gas from manure and solar energy. Since 1991,more than 1,38,516 families have prepared and implemented these farm plans. Over 50,000 acres ofland has been converted into productive tree plantations. Similarly, 13,000 families have been helped tocultivate paddy and vegetables over 5,000 acres.16Case developed by Girija Srinivasan and Santosh Sharma. The paper draws heavily from the book by Harper Malcolm et al, “Development, Divinityand Dharma”, 2007.145