Until four
decades ago, starvation and deprivation was the reality of thousands of people
in the villages of Medak district of the then Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana). 35 years ago, Deccan Development Society (DDS), set up by a couple of Hyderabad activists and some local Dalit women, facilitated
Dalit and adivasi/pastoral women from 70 villages to form groups called ‘Sanghams’ . Through a systematic revival of local millets, traditional
practices and local culture, several thousand families have moved from being food
receivers to food providers. The women set up and operated their own millet-based
PDS. Today, 80% of them grow all the food and nutrition they need in their
pocket-sized farms, and claim to have food sovereignty, not only security. Their achievement inspired some state governments to introduce
millets in the PDS. Every household conserves on average 15-20 seed varieties in a
household seed-bank. Every village has a community seed-bank conserving 70-80
local seeds, freely shared among everyone in the community. They also have their
own autonomous healthcare system based on local knowledge. Using plant medicine,
they cure more than 50 diseases in their villages free of cost. They run their
own autonomous market in the neighbouring town where they sell their excess produce.
A 40% dividend is offered to all the members every year. All decisions are
taken democratically with women leading this process. They also run a 15-year old Community Media Trust, making their own
films on a range of issues, which are circulated worldwide and translated into
multiple languages. They also run an all-women FM community radio station, the first one in India.
As the covid-crisis
hit, these self-reliant villages have not only been food self-sufficient, but
have been distributing nutritious millet-based food to migrant workers and
others in need and contributing to the District Relief Fund. Through their recently
launched ConFarm,
where the farmers have entered into a partnership with urban consumers, who pay upfront for the produce, they have been feeding city-dwellers as well.
A short film
about DDS: Cultivating Sovereignty
Questions at the edges: Like
everywhere else, the women here aspire to send their children to English-medium
schools which invariably indoctrinate them to believe that their culture is
backward. Attempts at starting their own education initiatives ran well for a decade, but then stalled for various reasons. It remains to be seen
what the youth in the villages aspire for and how much of the work started by
DDS and the Sanghams will be taken forward by them; some are doing it, but is there a critical mass? How is the community making
sense of the current pandemic and the relevance of the work that they have done
so far? Having achieved so much, what is their next dream or aspiration?
Here is the recording of the webinar for download.
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