Rajasthan, India -- In the arid lands of northwest India, amid the desolate landscape and simple villages near the city of Udaipur-a city renowned for its shimmering Lake Palace-a novel sericulture project has brought good fortune to Bhil tribal women and their families. "I am leading the kind of life that my mother could only dream of," says Andu, a Bhil woman from the village of Nichlapha-la. "And I no longer need to work long back-breaking hours in the fields."
Before taking up sericulture in 1988, Andu spent most of her time working the tiny land holdings of her family, which typically yielded only a few bushels of wheat-barely enough to feed her family. Today, Andu earns Rs20,000 a year (US$700), a princely sum by tribal standards and 40 times more than the average family income of Rs500. In a region where few send their children to school, Andu has sent her two daughters to a district college.
At the heart of such stories of change is the silkworm, which has brought a quiet revolution to 12 villages in this rural part of India. The sericulture activities were introduced into the Bhil communities through a project launched by the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in 1982, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The 300 women who originally took part, who come from small villages like Pai and Nichlaphala, were persuaded to grow mulberry trees on part of their fields; the mulberry leaves are used to feed the silkworms that are provided to them through the project two or three times a year. The silkworms are reared for about 25 days until they begin to spin cocoons. The cocoons are taken to a centralized reeling center in Sisarma village to be processed into silk thread which is sold to weavers from all over the state. Profits from the sales are later distributed among the women, who also receive training in processing the silk.
While not a traditional industry in Rajasthan, sericulture has proven to be an ideal activity here for ecological as well as economic reasons. The mulberry tree has deep roots which seek out low underground water, enabling it to survive without irrigation through extended periods of drought. The soil therefore retains moisture, providing a fertile patch of land for cabbage, spinach, carrots and mushrooms, which are planted among the mulberry trees. Before the project began, most of the Bhil tribes had never eaten vegetables since the soil was too barren to grow them. Now, nutritional levels here have improved.
Project officials recall that the effort did not get off to an easy start. For one thing, they had a tough time persuading local villagers that the development of sericulture was in their best interests. Deep-seated traditionalism, and innate suspicion of urban dwellers, made them wary. Bhil farmers were also reluctant to give up almost half their fields for mulberry cultivation since the little wheat and maize they produced were vital food sources. Finally, many of the men also felt uneasy about an initiative that placed so much attention on women.
"It was a very trying time," recalls Prafulla Nagar, a project officer with the Tribal Area Development Authority, which is implementing the program. "In almost all the areas I visited, my visions of a better future for the Bhils were met with stoic silence. It was only after many visits, and much persuasion, that they were prepared to half-believe me."
For Mr. Nagar, success came when members of one village asked him to swear in front of statues of their deities that he would not abandon them and would truly work to help better their lives.
In the small village of Pipalwas, Mangala Ram, a community leader (known also as Maharaj, meaning Lord) was a big help in encouraging his neighbors to take up sericulture.
A believer in women's causes, Maharaj is proud to relate how, in his village, women who had previously never seen money are now using it judiciously to improve the lot of their families. "Seven years ago, 20 money lenders thrived on business from this village by enslaving most of us in perennial debt," he says. "Today, they have been rendered jobless." He proudly points out that his wife has earned an impressive Rs36,000 from sericulture ($1,250) in five years.
While silk production was quick to become an important income-generating activity in parts of Rajasthan, other objectives relating to improved health and better lifestyle were slow in being met. "At first, much of the income was being frittered away on the wrong things-such as alcohol and festivities. Malnutrition was still rampant and knowledge of health care was meagre," says Madhubala Nath, UNIFEM's regional program adviser in India. "Our goal had only been partially achieved. So we decided to focus more closely on these broader issues by involving other UN agencies and NGOs which were active in the area."
One such agency was the World Food Program (WFP), which was operating a successful food-for-work program in India that was helping to reduce malnutrition. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) also became involved as it was already supporting local community-based health education and training. Both the UNFPA and WFP activities were extended to assist the Bhil families in the sericulture program. A local NGO, Aastha, which has a long track record of community organizing in the area, also joined the project's second phase, which started in 1990 and enabled another 200 families to participate.
Aastha began by organizing 500 women into groups known locally as Mahila Mandals, which meet monthly. The meetings focus closely on health and family welfare issues. The women chalk out work programs for the coming month-activities including the distribution of silkworms, the making of bamboo implements for silkworm rearing, poultry farming and vegetable intercropping. They also play a supervisory role in the operation of health centers and village primary schools and have taken on the uneasy task of acting as community watchdogs.
Members of the Mahila Mandal in the village of Pai, for example, have succeeded in lobbying for a health center and have applied pressure on schoolmasters who were neglectful of midday student meals. Health workers who have lagged in immunization follow-ups for children have not been spared either. At their meetings, women also focus on how they can combat social problems like adultery and alcoholism among their men. These women have also become increasingly aware of environmental concerns and explain how they resisted the efforts of contractors who had sought to do illegal tree-felling in nearby jungles.
At any of the Mahila Mandal meetings, success stories abound. Sixty- year-old Mogi from Pai, located 31 kilometers west of Udaipur, has been practicing mulberry cultivation and silk-worm rearing since 1988 and earns Rs5,600 ($196) a year from the two crops of mulberry grown on her field. Before taking up sericulture, her family earned a meager Rs450 ($16) a year. Similarly, Punki, another Bhil woman, has earned Rs35,000 in five years from sericulture-related activities. This sum has been used to pay off a long-standing loan, to re-dig the family well and to make silver jewelry. "We have been able to pay off our debts and to build a new brick and mortar house," she says.
After funding from the project runs out, the women plan to continue independently. Already, another 900 families from neighboring villages have joined this grassroots enterprise on their own, investing money to purchase the necessary mulberry bushes and silkworms.
While directly benefiting tribal women, the sericulture initiative has also given many others in the poor villages of Rajasthan a reason for hope. And as the project begins to wind down, officials associated with it are beginning to focus more closely on helping the women operate as village entrepreneurs. "We're moving quickly towards self-sufficiency," says Ms. Nath. "We want to ensure that they can function on their own in a market-oriented system, without being protected by subsidies."
And how are they faring? Ms. Nath replies: "We're seeing their overall abilities and skills improve dramatically."
By: Gajra Kottary, from: Choices (The Human Development Magazine), December 1993. From the United Nations Development Program.
