Neelam Devi, 25, and Anila Devi, 35, are the guardians of the village grain bank in a tribal hamlet in the Supaul district in northern Bihar.
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Neelam Devi collects a fistful of rice |
After the Kosi river flooded the district in August-September 2008, two grain banks were given to each affected villages in the area where CASA – DanChurchAid’s partner – conducted relief work.
The grain banks in the Santal tribal hamlets in Supaul district are now run entirely by the community, with the Village Development Committee (VDC), set up by CASA playing a central role in its up-keep.
The villagers have taken a leap forward in starting a campaign on collecting a fistful of rice ( approx 100 gms) every week to build their contingencies for the future.
Silt destroyed the fields
Neelam Devi rises every morning to take up her chores for the day. She cooks the day’s meal for her family of 5: two children, husband and in-laws, but there isn’t much food available.
The silt deposited by the Koshi river floods in 2008 still covers the fields and makes it impossible to cultivate anything. So Neelam works as a daily labourer on her landlord’s farm and is dependent on the wages she gets to buy food.
She used to have some rice stored and she also got some as relief but now it is all gone, so her father-in-law has taken a loan of 40 kg rice from the grain bank.
Loan soon to be returned
The loan policy of the grain bank is simple: Return the amount borrowed and add 2 kg per month over and above the full return as a service charge. The loan is given for 3-4 months so Neelam’s family has to return the borrowed quantity soon.
| Where we work: |
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| Tribal Hamlet in WARD No. 10, Thekunia Panchayat, Saupaul District, Bihar in India |
“I have to think of today and feed my children. We will certainly have to return this grain, if not we will be ostracized by the entire village. You know, before we used to pay so much interest to borrow money from the moneylenders. But now everyone can borrow directly from the grain bank at an affordable interest, so nobody needs to go hungry,” says Neelam.
Grain banks are full
The grain banks in the Santal hamlets in Sapaul are full as of now.
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| Anila Devi shows the different colours of the paddy grain Photo: Sumit Dayal |
“Most people borrow rice in the summer and wheat in the winter, but the grain bank keeps adding stock from the service charge that it earns, so it is steadily growing".
"We even sold some of the grains in the local market. Our hamlet is now planning to buy two more similar containers to stock food for the entire village,” says Neelam.
Nobody is forced to deliever rice
Neelam sets out once a week to collect a fistful of rice from each family in her hamlet and in another nearby hamlet. Most people contribute voluntarily, and nobody is ever forced. Neelam and Anila have been appointed as the community’s guardians of the grain bank.
Anila emerges from her thatched house - rebuilt with the help of CASA - with a heavy pot of rice in her hands. The two hamlets have so far collected more than 20 kg rice.
| We work with: |
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| Tribal Group Santals, who over a long period of time have migrated from the state of Jharkhand. DCA’s partner CASA worked in the area for one year with ECHO support for recovery from the Koshi flood in 2008-09. |
Anila takes some of the grain in her palm and shows around. The grains are all of different colour and shapes. According to her, this is a testimony to their unity and togetherness.
“This fistful of rice campaign exists because we believed in ourselves. Earlier we never thought about the future. Our thinking was always to consume what we have today, but that has changed after CASA’s intervention here. Now we eat a fistful less, but have the satisfaction of knowing that our future is secure,” says Anila.
| What we do: |
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| Among the 6 ECHO partners 3 organizations, including CASA with assistance from DCA established grain banks as part of Linking Relief Rehabilitation with Disaster and community preparedness process. |
By Priyanka Mukherjee Mittal
Regional Information and Documentation Officer, DanChurch Aid, India
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Supported by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department.
European Commission – helping the victims of humanitarian crises around the world.