After having transformed Varachapada through his co-operative farming movement, Father George Kavukatt has started a Krishi Vidya Kendra to reach out to other villages in Shahpur Taluka
He believes education is the only way to abolish poverty and fight hunger. At a time when thousands of tribal people residing in Thane district are starving to death, Father George Kavukatt has found a unique way to ensure that they don’t have sleep without food.If Father George, lovingly called Father Baba by the tribals residing in Shahpur Taluka, has his way vast expanses of wasteland will finally be put to use to cultivate crops. This he plans to do through the Agro Based Education Programme that his Deenbandhu Charitable Trust has initiated at the twin villages of Lobhipada and Pondyachapada, located three kilometers from Asangaon station.
“I am certain that this programme will change the face of the tribal belt in Shahpur. Locals here cultivate paddy on a very small scale. At a time when there are vast expanses of land yet to be cultivated, tribal youth while away their time hunting, fishing and roaming around in the forests aimlessly,” says Father Baba.
Flagged off a couple of months ago, the programme is being run from Krishi Vidya Kendra at Lobhipada. “As of now we have admitted students from Lobhipada and Pondyachapada. The students attend school between 11 am and 4 pm. Once they are through with school they are taught modern methods of cultivation,” he says.In the near future Father Baba plans to induct children from other villages in the residential school. “Not more than three children from each tribal village would be admitted to the school,” he says. Why limited number of children from each village? “These children will go back to their villages after finishing school and educate others. We can’t accommodate all the children from every village, considering the fact that there are 200-odd villages in the Taluka,” says Father George. He adds that the programme is the only way, he can think of, to elevate the standard of living of the tribal residents of the area.
What’s more, a newly formed 13-member Prerna Adivasi Mahila Sahkari Samiti is managing the programme. “These are women from Pondyachapada and Lobhipada. It is important that locals take the initiative in the programme, which is going to benefit them in the long run. The Trust will support them in every which way but they must understand the significance of the programme,” says Father Baba.
Father Baba’s faith in the locals seems to be well placed. Hasibai Jettu Lobhi, chairperson of Prerna Adivasi Mahila Sahkari Samiti says that she has already started sending her children to school and convinced many others to follow her lead. “I don’t want my children to grow up and frantically search jobs in small scale units in and around Shahpur. This way they are learning to read and write and also getting to learn a lot about agriculture,” she says.
The tried and tested success story
For the residents of Varachapada, located 20 kilometres away from Asangaon, Father Baba is the man who saved them. “There was a time when I did not have enough money to buy two kilo rice to feed my family. But today, my society donates over seven tonnes of vegetables and five tonnes of tapioca every year to the underprivileged. We are where we are because of Father Baba,” says Vitthal Shivare, a resident of Varachapada, which is home to the 130-odd-member Thakar tribal community.
Father George started frequenting Varachapada eight years ago. In eight years he taught the villagers modern methods of cultivation. From traditional paddy cultivation, which can be taken up only once a year, the villagers now grow tapioca, onions, cashews, jackfruit and coconut. “When I first came here through Narayan Bua, the local priest, I saw that people barely had enough to eat. Gradually I started making friends with people and taught them modern methods of cultivation,” he says.
To begin with Father Baba bought a piece of land from Narayan Bua’s brother-in-law for Rs 10,000. Rather than getting the land transferred in his name, he transferred the three-acre plot in Bua’s wife’s name. “I made Bua the caretaker of the land and directed him to cultivate modern crops like tapioca which are economically viable and give better yield,” he explains. Unfortunately Bua turned out to be a careless farmer. In two years his land gave very little yield. “But over a period of time I convinced others that agricultural yield can be better provided other crops are planted. Two other farmers agreed to try it out,” says Father Baba. The experiment worked well and gradually more farmers joined him.
Today Varachapada boasts of Prerna, a co-operative movement with six members, which not just cultivates their own lands but also leases out land from other farmers in the village. Of 100-odd acres land in the village, 25 acres is now utilised to grow modern crops. “When we lease out a piece of land from a farmer, we pay him rent on the basis of number of trees that can be planted on it. In addition to that we pay him a certain sum, as the owner is also the caretaker of the farm. Moreover if he does come to work in the fields, he gets paid Rs 60 daily,” says Vitthal, the chairman of Prerna. “Till a few years ago we used travel several miles everyday in search of work. Often we came back empty handed. But now we provide employment to all the men in the village. We also employ several others from neighbouring villages,” says Ashok Wagh, another Prerna member. In all this Sibi Joseph, Father Baba’s aide, assists the villagers. “I am totally convinced with what Fr George is doing for the villagers. I believe that if the lowest segment of our society comes up, the whole nation would benefit,” says Sibi.Sibi spends 12 hours of his day in Varachapada every day. “Father and I discuss the action plan at the end of the day at his residence in Asangaon. The next day I implement it,” says Sibi, who is responsible for clean drinking water systematic plantation, well that gives clean water, etc. Sibi often doubles up as a plumber, motor mechanic, farmer, electrician… the list is endless. “He helps the villagers in every which way. Over the years he has patiently worked with them. He knows that his job is very tedious and has to be done very patiently. Had he been the owner he could have forced the people to work. But he is working for their cause and he is well aware of this,” says Fr George. Going a step ahead Fr George has introduced saving groups and Mahila Mandal in the village. But all this took him eight years. “I realized that following the Varachapada-model, I could be in a position to develop at least one village in a span of some years. So I decided to start an agro-based education programme, which would educate the tribal community about high yield methods and crops,” says Father Baba. For the educationist and reformist its only the first step of a long road.
Father’s co-operative movementTalking about his future plans Father George says he intends to take the co-operative movement to as many tribal villages as possible. “It took us eight years to turn things around at Varachapada. But now the locals at Varachapada are so stable and self sufficient that they are more than willing to reach out to others like them. We intend to start schools, technical education centres, promote dairy and poultry farming, etc for all round development of tribals,” he declares.
