Yearly Archives: 2018

Binapani Naik, 30, is a resident of Uchatangar in Keonjhar district. She belongs to the Santali community and got married immediately after her matriculation. Initially, Binapani used to attend various training programme organized by CYSD-Plan in her village. However, with time she chose to specialize on health issues and started attending training and orientation programmes on health thoroughly. Soon she was selected as a Community Development Worker in her village. Binapani’s popularity gradually started rising due to her unconditional drive to save the ones in need.

She had gone extra miles to assist 500 critical cases to be referred to health institution and 18 critical pregnant women to give birth to healthy babies. “Every day after my household chores, I visit the families in my village and ensure timely assistance to them.” Having realized the importance of birth registration, Binapani motivated the mothers and processed 15 birth registrations in Karanjia Municipality from Uchantanagar village during 2010-11. She has been burning the candles at both the end to convince people from her village to register the birth of the newborns, go for institutional delivery and to complete immunization course. Today, 119 mothers from her community have adopted safe delivery methods and institutional delivery. All the children of her adopted five villages are fully immunized.

“Capacity building programmes organized by CYSD-Plan in the form of exposure visit to health institutions in Karanjia, Baripada and interaction with the doctors and other health professionals motivated me and sharpen my skills as a Community Development Worker (CDW)” acknowledged Binapani, the shimmering community leader of Uchatangar village.

Agriculture has largely been subsistence type in the remote villages of Koraput which is one of the most backward districts of the state. The condition of landless households is even worse as they work as agriculture labourers. In such a scenario, making agriculture remunerative and also addressing the nutritional requirements of the households is a challenge. Daimati Durua, a resident of Kenduguda village of Kerimity Gram Panchayat of Kundura Block, Koraput district took up the cultivation of elephant foot yam during March 2015. This was being cultivated by her for the first time. She was really excited to take this up since it did not require land for cultivation and the investment cost was also very low. Only thing she needed was a gunny bag, soil, sand, organic manure and two hundred gram of seed amounting to forty rupees  worth of investment excluding labour cost which was contributed by her. She was guided by CYSD team members working in that area regarding the methodology to be followed. Yam cultivation in gunny bag has several advantages vis-à-vis it’s cultivation in land. The growth is better in gunny bag since it gets loose and free space. The chances of it getting rotten or spoilt due to rain are less since the water gets drained out easily. It is portable and can be lifted and kept at a suitable place if required. It gets the support from big trees over which it grows and there is no need to put extra support. The input required is less and nourishes the plant without getting diffused in a larger area as in the case of land. As a result of this innovative practice, Daimati Durua could harvest eight to fifteen kilograms of the tuber from each bag within a span of eight months valued at rupees forty per kilogram. She had taken up cultivation in four gunny bags. She plans to sell the yam and keep partly for consumption. In the pilot phase, seven women from three producer groups belonging to three villages of Kerimity gram panchayat had taken up the cultivation of elephant foot yam in ten gunny bags. The ripple effect of this initiative is that a total of two hundred and thirty women have shown interest to go for the cultivation of elephant foot yam in ten gunny bags each. As far as Daimati is concerned, she is eager to do it once again in the next season and at a larger scale. The initiative holds lot of hopes for the tribal women farmers, particularly those who are landless. It paves the way for their economic empowerment together with meeting their dietary requirements.

Some facts on Elephant Foot Yam……