“Don`t wait for a miracle, be a miracle”, Here is the tale of the miraculous transformation of deserted land in the dense evergreen forest.
All this started in somewhere 1990 when the stream that used to flow through Mali Prabhat to Anchala village situated in Koraput district Odisha got dried and narrowed. There is no sign of greenery as far as the sight can go. And this is what gives birth to the urge to revive their deserted mountain.
In this green revolt, women play a great role. They took the first step by reducing firewood dependency and switching to LPG gas as it was a major threat to the forest. From the separate cooking, they choose communal cooking to save resources. Even in farming adopting sustainable, organic, and eco-friendly strategies, they finally succeed in bringing back to life the reverted mountains. Their efforts turn a 250-acre mountain land into a dense forest surrounding Anchala, the water nourishing their fields with vegetables and other farm produce and enough for their domestic needs.
Origin
Nothing happens in a day, it has taken 30 years to revive the greenery say women of Anchala who have taken a pledge and didn’t let their spirit sake in the last three ages.
A woman named Shuparna who was a newlyweds girl at the time when it all started shared insights
“The strict penalty of ₹500 on anyone cutting wood has planned to create an environment where the person was reprimanded in public for cutting wood. We decided to make them accountable for their actions so that the guilt evokes in them for their wrong doing. After a point, it started working and more and more people started joining our movement,”
It was decided that one guard will be designated to vigil the mountain from dusk to dawn and ensure no one exploit the forest resources. And “whoever watched the forest would get in exchange 10 kg of finger millet or ragi. This would be collected from each household.”
Ambitious move
Flaunting the threat to the forest, one woman, Lali discussed how replacing wood and coal with LPG cylinders helps them in conservation as rural methods of cooking have a huge dependency on natural resources.
“We changed our cooking habits. We made do with less wood and cooked for three families together so as to reduce the usage of wood and coal, simultaneously, we started planting tamarind, sandalwood, and neem among trees in the mountain.”
Many types of vegetables like peas, cabbage, ginger, etc have been planted there.
Their first win
After six months of continuous efforts, their hard work bears the first plant. It was a great victory for the whole village and was celebrated as a festival.
Once was a time when the stream dried and there was no sign of wildlife and greenery, the same place is now enriched with rich natural resources. At this proudly Lali says “Now even wildlife has started living in this jungle which was barren earlier. Barking deer and wild boars are now a common sight in this jungle.”
“I still remember it vividly. My house is close to the stream and one morning I could hear the sound of water flow flowing, something that had stopped long ago as the stream had reduced to a trickle. I rejoiced and called everyone to see the fruit of our effort,” Selwanti remembers the precious moment when the stream replenish.
It is rightly said, everybody does a little bit, and it adds up to a lot. A miracle is not about big things, it is about small consistent efforts and the women of Anchala proved it.
New outlook to farming
To ensure productivity and soil health, women decided to adopt sustainable eco-friendly techniques. They gave up the usage of chemical pesticides and switch to products made from cow manure, jaggery, and flour and using organic compost made from chicken waste, neem, and ash.
In this journey of sustainable farming, they got the support from Foundation of Ecological Support. The team educates villagers about different aspects of eco-friendly farming.
One of the members of the NGO, Murali Krishna explains the significance of this step “The main aim of non-pesticide management is to replace external chemical products with farmers’ knowledge, skills, and local resources. We also teach them how to spot the changes and stem the damage at a stage when pests can easily be controlled, and farmers can grow intercrops in between rows for additional income. Growing four rows of border crops like maize and sorghum around the farm boundary helps in the augmentation of insects that improve soil health.”
For their admiring move to rejuvenate the forest and save natural resources, women tribal farmers have received recognition under the Agriculture Production Cluster (APC) program initiated by the Odisha government in collaboration with Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation. Under APC, support from various government departments such as Horticulture, Mission Shakti, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water, Women, and Child Development, and Odisha Livelihood Mission will be provided to set up their organization.
This inspiring story of Anchala village conveys an empowering message for society if all join hands together and pledge to save the environment and take an initiative at personal and social levels, then we can save and replenish the environment for us and our future generations.
As a result of 30 years of conservation, Anchala is now surrounded by dark dense forest. Wildlife is also revived there. Their morning starts with the soulful sounds of birds.
