Introduction to Kechla Village
For my Kopernik fellowship, I am based in Orissa, India working on two different projects. Initially, I am living in Kechla, a rural village in south central Orissa. I am working with Auro-Mira Service Society (AMSS), a Delhi-based NGO, to implement a Driptech irrigation project. In addition to assisting with the implementation, I will be conducting a baseline assessment as the first stage in the rapid impact assessment of the project. This blog post will provide an introduction to our partners, the project and the area in which we’re working.
AMSS has been active in Kechla since 2004 with the opening of a boarding school for 88 children from hamlets within Kechla village; it is the only NGO with an active presence in the area year-round. I am working with Pranjal who has been with AMSS since 1998 and has been working in Kechla since 2004 and Sudam who has been with AMSS in Kechla since 2005.
Driptech is a social enterprise that produces affordable, user-friendly drip irrigation systems that are marketed specifically to small plot farmers in developing countries. Drip irrigation targets water specifically to crop roots, minimizing the use of limited water supplies and maximizing crop yields.
OVER THE NEXT 4 WEEKS, WE WILL BE INSTALLING A TOTAL OF 66 DRIPTECH IRRIGATION SYSTEMS FOR FARMERS ON 250 SQUARE METER PLOTS TO IMPROVE THE HARVEST IN THE DRY SEASON (OCTOBER – JUNE) WHEN RAINFALL IS SCARCE.
Two additional drip irrigation systems were installed in March as part of a pilot demonstration. We will be working with farmers in Kechla and its neighboring villages.
I am returning to India after a year’s hiatus to do a postgraduate degree in London. Before London, I lived in Delhi for 2.5 years working with an international NGO. I had the privilege to travel fairly extensively around the country, but none of my destinations involved 13.5 hours of consecutive travel on a plane, two busses, an auto rickshaw and a boat—the quickest route from Delhi to Kechla. Having been here just over a week, Kechla’s locale has more than proven itself as worth the effort it takes to get here. Kechla and its surrounding villages are scattered through undulating hills that offer so many shades of green that are only possible after a monsoon season, even a poor one. It is as rural an environment as I’ve ever seen; as I was cautioned before I arrived, “the nearest tea stall is 11km away.” Having commuted in Delhi traffic, I appreciate that the only traffic jams are from water buffalo, cows, goats or sheep crossing the dirt roads.
But in all seriousness, because the residents of the villages belong to the lowest castes—Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste, Other Backward Castes and General Castes—the area is deeply impoverished as these castes have historically been the most socially marginalized.
ANNUAL INCOME IS APPROXIMATELY $340 USD, WHICH THE VILLAGERS EARN BY JUGGLING A VARIETY OF JOBS INCLUDING FARMING, FISHING, WOOD-CUTTING, AND DAY LABORING (WORKING ON MINOR ROADS THROUGH GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS AND CONSTRUCTION FOR AN AMSS SCHOOL).
Koraput, the closest major town and market, is 80 km away by road or 45 minute boat road across the reservoir, followed by an 11km walk or auto rickshaw ride. While some farmers are able to sell locally to AMSS, the majority have to go to great efforts to sell their produce/goods.
The area bares the mark of much of rural India with minimal to no infrastructure. Though signs were installed 2009 throughout the area that claim the region is electrified, power lines have only been planted in the last few months. Water access is provided in each village through hand pumps or wells. AMSS provides general health facilities availed by villagers living within a 3-4 km radius, though visiting physicians make the rounds in the area a few times a year. AMSS also provides the only functional school in the area.
I am looking forward to learning more about this area over the next 4 weeks and understand how this project will affect the beneficiaries. My next 2-3 posts will likely be in quick succession in an attempt to keep up with the whirlwind of work since we’ve had Sarah, our Driptech liaison and technical advisor extraordinaire, here to train the AMSS team and me on installing the systems. Back to work!
