Sustainable Rural Livelihoods

1. Integrated Natural Resource Management

Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) is a holistic approach to managing and using natural resources in a sustainable and efficient manner. It recognizes that various natural resources, such as land, water and biodiversity, are interconnected and interdependent. Therefore, it aims to address environmental, social, and economic issues related to resource management. CARM-DAKSH has adopted this approach in its programme interventions.

CARM-DAKSH is working in High Impact Mega watershed Project (HIMWSP) in two blocks- Pali and Pondi- Uproda Block- of Korba districts with support of BRLF (Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation). Under this project village level planning is done with the community members in watershed approach to create livelihood assets both at individual and community level using MNREGA funds. The plan is presented in the Gram Sabha for approval before it is submitted to Janpad and Zilla Panchayat.

CARM-DAKSH also plays an important role in implementing the Narwa (streams) component of the NGGB (Narwa, Ghurva, Garva and Badi) program for the two blocks of Korba district. Under the Narwa program the main objective is to conserve and promote better use of the streams in the region. CARM-DAKSH provides technical support to the block team in planning the Narwa program.

CARM-DAKSH is working with 15000 households in 175 villages across 98 Gram Panchayats in two blocks where the INRM approach has been implemented. This has resulted in creating livelihood assets that have provided additional income to the participant households as well as built climate resilience. Our plan is to work with the High Impact Mega-Watershed approach in the coming years to reach at least 50,000 HHs in next 05 years. CARM-DAKSH plans to expand this approach to additional two blocks in next four years.

3. Climate Resilient Practices

CARM-DAKSH has implemented Climate Proofing Watershed project with support of NABARD. The overall objective of this program was to improve climate resilience and build adaptive capacities of the communities to climate change in the rain-fed areas. Intervention included conservation of soil and water, creating awareness about natural farming, conservation and promotion of traditional varieties to build resilience towards climate change. CARM-DAKSH is currently promoting pesticide free agriculture (Non-Pesticide Management) in its programme area. This includes production and use of pesticide free products like Neemastra, Brahmastra, Handidawa etc. We are working with 300 households in 10 villages and plan to reach 2000 farmers in next five years.

2. Sustainable Agriculture

Wellbeing of poor and marginal households can be achieved by providing opportunities for upgrading their capabilities and widening their Livelihood Basket. Our experience shows that for this we need to adopt a mix of intensification and diversification of agriculture. We adopted this approach across our Project Area. Our work has been supported by different agencies like Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF), Azim Premji Foundation (APF) and Paul Hamlyn Foundation (PHF). We are focussing on the following:

1. Promotion of better package of practices in cereal crops, pulses and vegetables with 19000 farmers in 200 villages.

2. Promotion of Nutritional Garden: Nutrition Garden is a sustainable solution to address malnutrition. It has built on the traditional ‘badi’ by extending the period of cultivation from 3 months to 9 months by following better management practices. This enables proper utilization of backyard space around the house to support the dietary requirement of a family. Vegetables are grown according to seasons by utilizing the locally available organic waste.

3. Soil Health: The most important link between all farming practices is the health, or quality of agricultural soils. If soil becomes degraded, more resources in terms of time, money, energy, and chemicals will be needed to produce crops. This is not viable for small and marginal farmers. We are promoting appropriate farming practices that helps to reverse soil degradation and improves soil health.

4. Promotion of Horticulture Crops: CARM-DAKSH had implemented Wadi Program with support of NABARD with one acre Wadi model. It realised that resources needed to convert one-acre fallow land into Wadi model is very high. Most of the fallow land is without any fencing & Irrigation facility and they are prone to Grazing. Chance of sustaining Wadi in this kind of land is very low. The only way to make this succeed is to get a group of farmers with adjacent land parcels. However, in most places the land parcels are scattered.

   Most households have small patch of land in their backyard which ranges from 0.30 acre to 0.50 acre of land. We therefore decided to shift our focus to households with smaller patches of land—ranging from 0.40 to 0.50 acres—in their backyards. These plots already have some irrigation facilities and existing fencing. By developing these areas into nano orchards, we not only sustained horticultural crops but also provided additional income to farmers. This year, we successfully demonstrated 120 nano orchards, receiving positive feedback from farmers. Moving forward, we aim to expand our reach to more farmers, offering a combination of vegetable for personal consumption and horticultural crops for additional income with the nano orchard model.