Forging a Template for Sustainable Rural Development: The Araku Way

India, as in most parts of the world, suffers from forest depletion. The marginalised communities dependent on these forests for their sustenance and well-being are the most affected. The Forestry Department's post-colonial regulations further exacerbate the plight of these people – they have long since lost their sense of shared custodianship of forest and as consequently their nutrition and livelihoods are severely challenged. Under these stressful circumstances there is no incentive to preserve or restore the remaining forest cover. This trend needs to be reversed. This programme outlined is designed to facilitate bringing forests and forest ecosystems to these communities within their own lands. It is this template that is designed to be implemented as the livelihoods and nutritional security panacea. The Adivasi community in Araku already has a robust food cropping rhythm that is subsistence by nature. However the realities of modern life mandate that there is sufficient cash income for health, educational and other purposes. In consultation with the Adivasi community Naandi Foundation evolved a horticultural development template on marginal, unproductive community lands to enrich their local nutrition, their ecosystem and augment the farmer’s disposable income. The Araku Valley Livelihood Programme [Naandi Foundation/Livelihoods Fund/Mahindra social enterprise initiative] aims to demonstrate and evolve this template in the tribal communities of Araku nestled in the northeast region of the state of Andhra Pradesh adjacent to Orissa. Here in this mineral rich eastern mountain range of peninsular India this social enterprise partnership with the Adivasi (original inhabitants) community is creating a community portfolio of fruit and forest trees that will sustain a healthy carbon rich ecosystem and new found prosperity. Naandi Foundation has been working in the field of education, health care and coffee with the Araku marginalised communities since 2001. Naandi assisted the community with their coffee plantations to ensure the quality was upgraded and they got good access to markets for their produce. In 2010 Araku tribal farmers evinced interest in restoring their ecosystem by restoring forests of fruit trees that would yield nutritious fruits and cash income from the sale of the extra produce. In collaboration Naandi /Livelihoods Fund/ Mahindra and Mahindra and the tribal community drew up a plan to plant out 6000 hectares of fruit, forest and coffee trees over a first phase five year period pre-financed by the Livelihoods Fund and Mahindra. Naandi is facilitating the supply of the quality trees, assisting in establishing local tree nurseries, training farmers in horticulture while the community provides their marginal lands and pledges their time for planting and protecting the trees. Despite logistical issues of coordinating 300 village communities and collecting baseline and GPS data the programme is now successfully into its third year. So far 2.4 million trees on 6000 hectares have been planted and nurtured successfully. The entire tree planting will be completed 2012/13 after which over a 2 year period till 2014 monitoring and assessment mechanisms will be developed to ensure the sustainability of this 20 year programme. Coffee saplings are to be planted in year four and five ie 2013 & 2014. The goal is sustainable livelihoods pre-financed by anticipated carbon credits. It is an integration of community mobilisation through village development committees, agro-forestry and LEISA agronomical practices. By providing initial support to this tribal agricultural community the aim is to make viable its artisanal farming. This support is multi-fold – in equitable market access, in nutritional support/advice especially for mother and child via education initiatives, through support for affordable energy, and access to finance – this cultural change we call the “Araku Way”