The village of Bhimkotti lies in the deep, remote forest about 50 kilometers south of Bhopal. Indigenous families live here under the poorest of conditions.
All concerns and problems that arise are discussed in village meetings and activities are planned for the next three months.
The resulting village development concept was developed based on the locally defined needs of the village community together with activists from Ekta Parishad* and the Swiss community service provider Rolf Latzer. The initiative was taken by the villagers.
Initial position
The remote village of Bhimkotti is located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The villagers (Adivasi) got the land rights titles in 2007 after the first big march of Ekta Parishad* for the rights of the indigenous people. Bhimkotti has no access roads, shops, electricity or secure access to water. The nearest river is about a 20-minute walk away and the villagers are still fetching their own drinking water over this arduous distance. Cooking is done with wood over a fireplace in the houses and the population currently generates their main income by collecting firewood, which is then sold in the larger village about 15 kilometers away.
Funding from the Schöck-Familien-Stiftung:
- 2 pairs of oxen and 2 plows for farming.
Planting of 100 fruit trees (4 trees per family) of different species - Laying of water pipes, which supplies additional irrigation water to the fields with the help of a motor pump. These water pipes are laid underground because they can be used to build a sustainable irrigation system.
- Training in a training center outside the village. It teaches how organic farming can be practiced sustainably.
- Every family should have a goat farm, as this will massively improve the economic situation and the income situation can be improved relatively quickly by selling goats on local markets.
- Composting is to be implemented to support organic farming.
- seed bank and seedlings
- Training courses for women: The women should be strengthened so that they can increasingly assert their ideas and decisions. It is still the case in India that women handle money better. Their position should be strengthened in this training course and in the context of the overall project.
- School and sports material: All 30 children in the village are already going to school (since the beginning of 2014). Because the children are the future of the village, they should be given the best possible education and sufficient physical activity.
The village project a pilot project. In a similar way, it is to be extended to other, similar village development projects in the coming years, taking into account the local conditions.
Project sponsor: Förderverein Cesci, Switzerland
Project partners: Ekta Parishad, India
Funding year: 2014 – 2016
Project No.: 31-14se