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A Case Study of THE ANDHRA PRADESH RURAL LIVELIHOODS PROJECT”
Boya Pandari lives in Gottigaripalli Village of Kohir Mandal in Medak district. This 31 year old studied up to intermediate school, then financial difficulties forced him to cut short his studies. He was trained as an electrician and started working on his own in the village. A few years later, he married Prabhavati, who is now 28. His assets consisted of two acres of wetland and one acre of dryland. Though he had a well, he could cultivate just one acre from the well.
The family was poor. Within a few years, he was blessed with three children – two daughters and a son. His family expenses rose. The children studied in the government school. He was not able to feed his family. Two regular meals a day became a dream.
Then, the APRLP was introduced to the village by Chinna Cheruvu Water and Agriculture Society (CWAS), an NGO, which was the project implementing agency. The Society organised awareness camps and formed women’s self-help groups in all the villages in the area. Pandari and his wife participated in these programmes. They came to know of new ways to earn a living. Prabhavati joined the Bhavani selfhelp group and started saving Rs.50 a month.
They continued to work as labourers in the construction of watershed structures. In 2004, at the suggestion of the Society, Prabhavati took a loan of Rs.1,500 from her group. She bought an 8 month old female goat for Rs.1,300 and started rearing it. This goat soon produced three kids, and in the second season had two more. Unfortunately, within one month, the mother goat fell ill and Pandari had to sell it at the purchase price. In 2007, three of the kids went on to breed. The size of the flock now stands at eight goats, worth Rs.15,000 in all. Pandari is happy that their original investment of just Rs.1,500 now yields them a sizeable income.
Due to the construction of a stone bund in his field, the water level has increased and three acres of land can now be cultivated. He grows sugarcane and potato. He has taken a loan of Rs.10,000 to repair and put support rings in his well. Apart from sugarcane, he has invested Rs.13,000 on potato. He is happy as he expects to net a profit of Rs.15,000.
By attending group meetings and participating in various other programmes, Prabhavati has learnt to maintain cleanliness at home. She now knows that health and hygiene go together and teaches her children too. The health of the family has improved remarkably since then. From a stage of acute poverty, the family can now afford children’s education, good food, clothes and a decent life.
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