Communities Establish Their Rights When They Get United (SPREAD)

 During the early seventies, the Government of Orissa implemented construction of the Machkund dam forcing the displacement of twelve villages in Lamantapur, Koraput district, Orissa, East India. 

Left vulnerable and marginalized from their ancestral land, the tribals of this region not only faced economic deprivation, but also a loss of tribal identity.

After the construction of the Machkund dam, the government displaced the tribal community from the plains to the hills. However in order to protect soil erosion from the hilltop and to protect the dam, the government handed over the hilltop to the State Conservation department, which in turn developed the land for production of cashew plantations.

As a means to create a means of income generation for the tribals living in the surrounding villages, the soil conservation department engaged the tribals to maintain the plantations with promises of returning the land to the tribals eventually. But when the plants reached the fruit bearing stage, the revenue department gave a major portion of the plantations on lease to the Cashew Corporation. The few gardens remaining, allotted to the tribals, were also forcibly taken by the Cashew Corp. After its lease period expired, the Cashew Corp. continued to occupy the same gardens and enjoy profits from the gardens without reporting to the state revenue department. 

As privileged non-tribal classes got involved in the managing of the plantations, these classes subsequently affected the economic structure of the tribal society by leaving them dependent on the non-tribals for wages and livelihood, and threatening the cultural-economic-political base of the tribal society which inadvertently had further implications on their tribal children: 

·               45% of tribal children suffered from malnourishment. After losing their cultural identity, rightful access to their land and ability to self-sustain themselves through traditional means of agriculture, dependency on non-tribals for wages, made it difficult to feed their children. Due to this the children also became involved in bonded child labor also working in the plantations and doing agriculture and husbandry work, rather than going to school and enjoying their childhood.

·               Educational facilities lacked to meet the needs of the tribals, i.e, language barriers and linking education with their own way of livelihood for survival. As a result, many children dropped out of school. Economic pressure from the household also forced tribal children to withdraw from school. Further, with no government facilitation to mainstream children into school again after being displaced, many children discontinued their schooling.

CRY America supported project - Society for Promoting Rural Education and Development (SPREAD) understood that for any lasting change to come about, they must facilitate the preservation and promotion of tribal cultural identity by taking into account the knowledge and skill of the community. SPREAD initiated community level discussion and debate in workshop form, educating tribals on the government system and facilitated the formation of Dangar Adikar Samti (DAS), a People’s Movement created to re-establish control of land rights, livelihood, health, and education.

The efforts of DAS had a very significant impact on the landless tribal people throughout the Lamantapur area. Through DAS, the marginalized tribes found the courage to raise their voices against exploitation and injustice.

Through rallying, protests and putting pressure on Government officials, DAS was able to advocate their concerns. DAS retained its political identity at Block and district level on the Issue of cashew plantation rights due to re-establishing control over the cashew plantation. Through their perseverance and refusal to give in to threats from the local police, state government administration and the Cashew Corporation, the tribals regained their rights to the cashew plantations and restored their means to a livelihood generating the income of nearly 44 lakhs (88,000 USD) at community level.

To encourage children towards school, a ‘go to school’ campaign was organized in 12 villages. 656 children from these villages participated in the campaign, which moved from street to street convincing reluctant parents to send their children to school. 

SPREAD impact

Operating in 75 villages, SPREAD achieved the following impact in 2007-08:

• Tender on cashew plantation stopped by DAS in 11 Panchayats.
• 75 people in 12 villages got the certified record of homestead land.
• 6 Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centers got activated and opened to provide children supplementary food and health services.
• Malnutrition amongst tribal children decreased 34%.
• 76 beneficiaries received old age pension.
• Equal wages enforced for male and female workers 64 families got the job. under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).
• Police intervention in the villages reduced significantly.
• Child participation in village meetings.
• In 4 villages the child panchayat has presented problems related to school before the village meeting.
• Grain banks in 12 villages formed, contributed by the villagers to provide. supplementary nutritional food to all children within the ages of 0-6.
• 215 children participated in organized Children’s Convention to garner interest in school, to encourage cultural pride and to form a Children’s forum at the regional level.
• Encouraged dialogue with youth/tribal college students to become aware and sensitized on the issues of the tribal people and organized a Youth camp which 150 youths participated in.

Based on grassroots experience across the country CRY America along with SPREAD helped:

• Build a critical mass around issues of their interest which was the first step to influence them towards advocacy for Child Rights
• Encourage collective action through alliance building as an effective means to pressurize the State
• Analyze macro policies
• Provide political perspective that is required for the sustained involvement of the reference group in the larger movement for Child Rights
• Guide the leadership movement along with the alliances to emerge from the affected communities
• Bring to the table the fact that children are effective actors in and for issues concerning their development.

SPREAD is just one among many child development projects supported by CRY America. CRY America partners with CRY – Child Rights and You, India’s most reputed and trusted child rights organization to ensure that grants are utilized optimally. CRY’s experience in capacity building and monitoring has been developed over three decades. This ensures that resources are deployed towards community mobilization and addressing root causes of poverty discrimination among others.