MANJULA BEN CASE STUDY
Many people were benefited by these group activities. One such lady with high valor is Manjula Ben Gajendra Bhai Vasava. She belongs to Nava village, located five kilometers away from Dediapada.
She lives in the village with her family, her family includes of her husband and five daughters. Her husband is land laborer and is the only financial support to the family. They have three acre land in the village. Initially they used to produce only crops to support their family. They used to cultivate the land only during monsoon, as water supply was available. Their land was on slope. Due to the sloppy land formation, soil couldn’t restore water leading to soil erosion.
Due to these problems it was difficult for Manjula Ben to cultivate plants on that land all around the year. She came in contact with the group; she started attending the group meetings and the training sessions regularly. This helped her to build self confidence.
Manjula Ben communicated with the group and discussed her problems. The group came up with solutions which benefited her. With the help of the group they made stone wall against the sloppy land preventing soil erosion. Her major problem was scarcity of water. The step well near her house was not deep and the water stored in the well wasn’t enough for the cultivation thru out the year. The group supported her to dig the well five feet deep, so they can retain more water.
The meeting and training sessions made her aware about the government schemes. She took an initiative in one such government scheme. This scheme was related to the development of well for four to five people in the village. She got this scheme in implementation and it helped her as well as other people. Due to easy availability of water supply, Manjula Ben started cultivating the plants in three seasons. Which increased her production and she could sell more produce and generate more money. She is now financially secure.
Her faith in the group motivated her to grow more herbal plants. She now cultivates Ardushi and,Brahmi. She collects the leaves from the herbal plants, they are left to dry. After they are dried she grinds them into fine powder making use of the traditional techniques. She takes this fine powder to the center and gives it for sale. This way she earns her living.
Training sessions have helped her to build good communicational and inter-personal skills. She bought the water pump on installments for cultivation process. she is self-sufficient and is proud to work successfully on her farm. Today with the support and guidance of the group she grows more medicinal plants. Her willingness to improve her farm and with the help of group support .she could cross all the challenges.
DALPAT BHAI CASE STUDY
Another motivating story of Dulpat Bhai, resident of Nava Gam who had desire to work hard on the half a acre infertile land, which was not only hard but it was also difficult to cultivate plants on it .He lived with his family in the village, he has one son, one daughter, his wife and himself. They have two and a half acre land in total. The crops he produced on the fertile land were sufficient to fulfill his family needs. Rest of the land was counted as waste land.
He got in touch with the group, and asked them to help him solve the problem. The professionals in the group suggested him to invest his time in planting herbal plants. With the help of the expert botanists they got solution for cultivating on the waste land.
The group invited him to attend the training sessions which could be helpful to improve the fertility of his waste land. The group helped him to build a small pit in which he can store rain water; they suggested him to make small streams called as khadi, passing thru the plants. Use of scientific techniques helped him in improving the land quality. Currently he grows three hundred plants of Ardushi and little Brahmi. He collects the leaves of Ardushi and by traditional ways he grinds it in fine powder. He sells this fine powder to the center and earns a good amount of money.
He not only found out ways to use his waste land, which was earlier of no use. He also started to grow medicinal plants on it and that helped him to earn extra money. This way by using the scientific methods and limited resources he made use of the waste land and made it the best land. Today he is confident and financially secure. His hard work and integrity has given him the reward. With the help of group he can now make use of land in which he had lost faith long time ago.
RAM SINGH BHAI NAKATIYA BHAI CASE STUDY
Some people are blessed, and Ram Singh Bhai Nakatiya Bhai is one of them, resident of Zaduli village in Dediapada district.He is well reversed by the traditional methods to cure illnesses which are passed on to him by his family from generations to generations. He is now an expert when it comes to identifying any health problem. He has received no formal education in this field but he has valuable experience. He lives in the village with considerably big family to support
In order to fulfill the requirements of the family he had to work in sugar factory as a laborer at low wage. Even after sacrificing his social life he was not able to lift his financial status. Continuous migration of place to place was making things worse for him and his family. Identifying the talent, group decided to invite Ram Singh Bhai to join the group and share his valuable knowledge
He became an active member of the group. He participated in the training sessions and other personality developments seminars. This helped him to build his confidence. He helps the groups in sales and marketing of the product. His communicational skills have also improved and now he is confident about himself.
His refined knowledge regarding making medicine from plants is commendable. He collects all the required material from the forest. Lets them dry and then grind it in a fine powder. Some medicines are also made in form of liquid. He does all the processing by using traditional methods.
Initially his knowledge was limited to his village only. After coming in contact with the group he was offered to practice in the center. He also works in the Koruli temple as a pujari, where he has started his practice sessions. This has helped him to earn more money.
As people became conscious about him, the trust on him increased. Due to this consciousness amongst the people, he was invited in Mela to provide his service. Today he goes to many treatment centers .He his gives service at places like Jamnagar, Navsari, Surat, Anand. Government has also appreciated his abilities and approves him to practice his knowledge. With his hard work and insight, he has built a big house for his family. They are much happier now.
Ram Singh Bhai is respected by the people. This change has proved to motivate him to continue preserving his tribal knowledge.
SUKLI BEN CASE STUDY
She was on the mission to conquer a threatening situation prevailing in her family. Sukli Ben Khatariya Bhai Vasava lives in the Sakava village which is fifteen kilometers away from Dediapada. She lives with her family of eight people including her. She is the only one who completes her family’s need.
She has five acre land but it is faulty with slope, stones and more or less it is kind of waste land. Cultivation was nearly impossible. She could only takeout food for her family from that land. There was burden on her to run the family. Her husband being a chronic drinker paid no input to support the family. She had to migrate for work to earn parents.
She was determined to change the situations in her family .she joined the group and activities, seminars and sessions helped her. She consulted the center professional about her land and ways by which she can improve it. She was provided with valuable suggestions. With the help of group she leveled the land; remove the stones from the land. Stone well was created to solve her irrigational problem. Now she cultivates plants in all the seasons.
The land in which she had no hope helped her to earn money. Today she cultivates plants for her family as well as medicinal plants like Tulsi, Ardushi and Brahmi .She sells the plant produce to the center and earns a good amount of money. Her husband is also helpful to her in the plantation. She used to grow a plant called Khati Bhindi for her family use. But our experts thought of innovative ideas to use it. They encouraged her to grow more. Today she earns a better price for her products.
Her strong will to improve her land was achieved. She is thankful to the group for the unconditional support towards her. Today she can smile without the fear of getting it faded.