Chetana Vikas

1. Chetana Vikas 2008-09

2. About ChetanaVikas (Consciousness Development) • Started in 1978 by Mr.Ashok Bang in Wardha, Maharashtra • Overall objective of holistic development of society, spans intervention in • Agriculture • Women’s Development • Child Education and Development • Agriculture activities through AARC (Alternative Agriculture Resource Center)

3. AARC • 20 Acres • 4 soil types – Heavy Black Cotton, Medium and Low Fertility, Wasteland – mirroring soil types in region • Propagation of Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) Dry Land Technology Demo Farm • 2.5 acres • Demonstrates dry land agriculture practices • Collects indigenous seeds

4. Kiran’s observations • CV is good at training village engineers • Local watershed management initiatives have been effective • Dry Land Demo farming “remarkable” - no watering, no pesticides, farm managed very stringently • SHGs have helped in reducing dependency on moneylenders • Villagers are able to sell produce in coordinated way

5. 2008 Progress • Watershed Development – Bunds constructed by 58 farmers over 345 acres in 11 villages • Farmers’ Field Workshop – Experiences shared – 151 villagers • 52 villagers have taken up Sustainable Agriculture on 144 acres • 28 villagers have taken up Farming for Self-Reliance • 10 women have set-up new businesses • ‘Poorti’ – wholesale purchase of grocery and other consumables for distribution among SHG members

6. 2009 Progress • Watershed Development – Bunds constructed by 65 farmers over 409 acres in 9 villages • Farmers’ Field Workshop – Experiences shared – 175 villagers • 175 villagers have taken up Sustainable Agriculture • 50 villagers have taken up Farming for Self-Reliance • 17 women have set-up new businesses • ‘Poorti’ – wholesale purchase of grocery and other consumables for distribution among SHG members

7. 2008 proposal, same for 2009

8. Verbatim Questions 1. How many SHGs? How many members? ~ 150 groups with about 20 ppl each. 2. Poorti fund should really come from farmer's own income. Cooperative enterprise 3. Participatory micro-planning is not clear. (Rs. 50,000) 4. How many people are paid by 1.75 lakh honorarium? Permanent employees , about 20 people are permanent with varying payments 5. How many SHGs actually tried to setup the agri (or Poorti?) business and how many succeeded. 6. Each component of the CV project can be compared with a project with some other NGO. This budget seems large. Can we compare CV's costs with the other projects in some other way. No. Agragamee, Revathi’s work and other organic farming work AID supports each have very different circumstances in the field and it cannot be compared directly. 7. Is there a profit motive in Poorti? No. The cooperative’s goal is to use economies of scale to procure goods at a cheaper rate for the village(s).

9. Site Visits • Ravi, Aravinda and Kiran visited earlier this year. Visited villages on their own • Questioned villagers on CV intervention programs • Overall satisfied, Kiran to work long-term with CV • Questioned the lack of success in utilizing government support • Vishwajeet, AID SD and AID-wide coordinator for CV, visited earlier this year • Witnessed Farmers’ Field Workshop, strong interest among farmers, visitors from other states too

10. Performance Indicators (internal)