An innovative Model harmonizing Ecology, Emotions and Economy of the villages by Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV)

Thank you very much for your comments judges. All comments have been addressed in the proposal now.

Dear Sir

Thank you for giving Govardhan Ecovillage an opportunity to participate in the contest as a Finalist. We have put together appropriate responses to your queries on the Finalist Evaluation. Below are the responses for your perusal.

A) Project Proposal and Implementation stages.

The proposal is to showcase a rural circular economy that maximizes synergies and minimizes trade-off’s in achieving SDG’s and how it can be replicated throughout India and globally. The stages of implementation for the proposal are as follows (Stages 1-3 are already in place):

1. Village communities are identified and assigned to zones. Each zone will adopt a centralized Symbiotic Recycling Model such as that in Govardhan Ecovillage, that meets the primary needs of those villages (eg. food, housing, water, waste management and energy). This stage has already commenced by efforts of replicating the components of the model in the nearby 16 tribal villages (in terms of food, water and social support initiatives) and the central zonal model being Govardhan Ecovillage.
2. To scale-up this concept to villages all across India and globally.
3. To Inspire Eco-tourism at the central Ecovillages in each zone and making it as a catalyst for Rural Development in nearby villages through the funds received or through volunteering support of the visitors.

B) Challenges/Obstacles

1. Funding:

For any concept to be applied nationally or globally, it would entail ensuring funding availability. The concept has currently been rolled out to the nearby 16 villages in one zone and for it to scale up throughout India and globally, it would require contribution from the Government, Corporates and other institutions with a mandate and Programme of Work on Environmental issues such as the Green Climate Fund, the UN Environment, etc. Govardhan Ecovillage is a model which was developed based on funding from the corporate leaders. However, replication of this model can easily be done with the support of the government. Government of India is keen to promote Eco-tourism initiatives and Govardhan Ecovillage has already received invitations from Tourism Secretaries of 4 states of India including Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Orissa and Maharashtra to help in replicating the model in their places. Therefore, with the help of investors and identifying a team of dedicated volunteers, the process can begin.

2. Hesitation to invest in new technologies:

Initially there was hesitation amongst some of the board members of Govardhan Ecovillage to invest in green technologies. However, on discussion with the experts and studying other places, we came to the conclusion to invest. For instance, initially like most rural locations, GEV had adopted the system of open sewage and later septic tank based systems. However, in both cases the groundwater bore wells were getting contaminated. But when we went ahead with installing Soil Biotechnology plants, not only the problem of sewage solved but also recycled sewage water could be used for irrigating the fields. Similarly the hydro-geological survey proved to be effective in conservation of water for the growing needs of our community.

3. Grass-root level challenges (for the farmers):

During the implementation of the Rural Development Programme, some village families were encountering various obstacles and therefore requiring additional support. This included forest fires, water shortage at the peak summer, poor health of farmer, pest and disease attack, destruction by animals and other people. We incorporated this into the project strategy and based on individual family challenges, we provided the necessary intervention such as Water Resource Development (small wells, lift irrigation etc), provision of saplings, vegetable seeds, etc. We also conducted follow-up meetings on the progress of the village participants.

4. Community co-operation

A major challenge was winning the trust of the villagers and making them realize GEV's service nature. Six years were spent in building relationships with the local community by the community of monks residing in Govardhan ecovillage. After that the various rural development activities were started with the co-operation of the local community.

C) Including Villagers Interests and ideas

The entire work of rural development in the villages is only possible based on the agreement with the villagers. As mentioned above, the process involves developing a bond with the villagers and giving them the confidence that we are here to serve and not to exploit. The process of rural development involves taking the villagers views, interests and active involvement in its various initiatives:

1. Organic Farming: The Wadi activities (an integrated farming system comprising of horticulture, agriculture, and dairy) also include activities such as village surveys and regular village meetings which raises awareness amongst the tribals and helps us to understand the views of the families and their status of agriculture. These meetings also involve discussion with regards to income generation, health and hygiene. This is followed by exposure visits to other successful farmers which help the tribals to get a first-hand experience of the potential developmental activities.
2. Water Resource Development: Water Resource development (WRD) initiatives are also carried out such as Lift irrigation or resources to make a well in order to facilitate the villagers with water for irrigation. This is also done through conducting village survey and meeting with people. After identifying a proper spot to execute WRD initiatives, permission is taken from the Gram Panchayat (village council) to execute. Once the permission is achieved, people’s organization called by the name Paani panchayat is formed consisting of villagers who are going to make use of that water. They are also asked to sign an agreement and open a common bank account where they submit a minimum amount of funds. These funds can later be used for repair and maintenance of the facility. Regular monthly meetings are also conducted to resolve any queries of people.
3. Women Empowerment: Formation of Self Help Groups involve selection of a community resource person (CRP) who is trained to understand the issues concerning them and liaise between GEV and them to resolve them. The health activities are initiated through improvement in nutrition of the families. Families are encouraged to grow vegetables in the Kitchen Garden. These Kitchen Gardens are setup right next to the residences of the families and utilize the waste water from the showers and kitchen to grow vegetables like brinjals, ladies finger, chillies, tomatoes etc. This encourages the families to regularly eat fresh vegetables. In this way women plays a critical role in taking care of the health of the family and also contribute to economic wellbeing of the family.

Another aspect of all the above interventions is that they are done in a way which promotes communal unity amongst the local people. Villages are generally divided into paadaas or blocks of few families staying together. While approaching to each of these blocks to train them for Wadi farming, people’s organization of all these farmers is formed in each block and a leader is identified amongst them who represents the whole group of farmers of that respective block and becomes a via media between GEV and the farmers. All these leaders of different blocks also meet together and in this way gradually the mood of unity percolates by thinking about the welfare of everyone. Similarly for village women and for water resource initiatives, people’s organizations are formed called as self- help groups or Paani Panchayat.

The leaders from each of these groups interact amongst each other and share any best practices or issues with each other and GEV during regular meetings. Thus many of these leaders become mature leaders, start taking care of the whole village area and even become part of Gram Panchayat. In this way by taking responsibility, a second line of leadership with in the villages gets established.

Another aspect of all these people’s organizations whether ksetkari vikas karyakram of farmers, Paani Panchayat of WRD initiatives, or Self Help Groups of women, all of the members of these groups are given guidance on opening a bank account for the group and saving money so that in case of any urgency or break down in the equipment in the future they can use that money for taking care themselves. Thus financially they become independent through this process.

Moreover, during the regular general meetings of all these people’s organizations, GEV also trains them in values and character along with income generation, health and hygiene and other issues. This has significantly helped in reducing alcoholism, usage of tobacco etc. and hence lead to stability in relationships in the families.

D) Global Network of Ecovillages

The Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) course offered by the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) lists out 4 dimensions of human experience – Worldview, Ecological, Social and Environmental Aspects which should be encompassed in a sustainable community. Being a faith based organization, Govardhan Ecovillage covers most of the aspects under the World view dimension in both in it campus and in the villages nearby. The green initiatives of Govardhan ecovillage cover the Ecological dimension. We are in the process of covering most of the aspects listed out under the Economic Dimension namely Local Economies, Right livelihood, legal and financial issues. However, certain aspects mentioned by them such as having community banks, is something we need to learn from them. Under the social dimension, we have covered few aspects like empowering local villagers to take leadership roles by forming people’s organization, building community. However, we are exploring and learning other best practices in this dimension.

E) Social Focus

The project focuses on the vulnerable groups and the excluded groups in implementation of the SDG’s. Regarding the social safeguards, the proposed project is highly positive and productive as it addresses the rural and tribal communities in particular by providing multiple livelihood opportunities for the marginalized (poor, women and children and youth). It is very responsive in adequately addressing gender dimensions by enhancing access and equitable sharing of benefits from biodiversity as well as livelihoods.

The adaptation rationale inherently relies on improved environmental outcomes to lead to productivity increases. Also, the widening of livelihood strategies and the economic and social co-benefits are closely interrelated.  The proposed project will benefit some of the poorest communities of India. This is critical to contribute to poverty reduction and food security in India, two major development goals of this country. Gender equity will also be progressed by including women in the proposal activities. The national incidence of poverty has the largest proportion of the poor located in the rural areas of India and majority rely on agriculture as a means of sustenance. Yet agricultural productivity is low and many rural households are affected by food insecurity. To compensate for low agricultural yield, such households turn to migration to urban areas for jobs. Climate change impacts greatly exacerbate the negative effects of environmental degradation and result in extensive additional damage.  With this project, GEV is aligning to national adaptation priorities of the country and having a central focus on the social aspects (as the proposal’s is centered around peoples needs). Some of the social co-benefits include:

- Improved access to education

- Improved health and safety

- Improved regulation or cultural preservation

Apart from women empowerment and rural education initiatives, GEV in collaboration with Annamrita provides midday meals to schools in these rural villages. Spread over 10 states in India, the Annamrita project is spearheading the country’s fight against poverty and illiteracy, providing hygienic, nutritious, and tasty meals to more than 120,000 students. To many children, Annamrita provides their only complete meal for the entire day. This nutritional meal has produced dramatic results in terms of increased enrollment at schools, retained attendance levels, reduced drop-out rates and the improved attention spans of the students. The Annamrita kitchen near GEV caters to almost 30,000 students from 400 schools.

Govardhan ecovillage has collaborated with agencies for improving health and nutrition of the villagers. GEV in collaboration with Bhaktivedanta hospital has been rendering free and concessional community health services to the villagers in and around GEV. A Community Health Care center was established at Hamrapur, 5km from GEV, where thousands of patients have been screened and medicines distributed free of cost. The Community Health Care Center is a boon for locals, who otherwise do not have access to medical services. Thousands of villagers locally in and around GEV have been screened for cancer as a part of the preventive health initiatives. Cancer patients have been provided treatment for free or in some cases at nominal cost treatment at the Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mira Road, Mumbai. In the past few school years, Bhaktivedanta Hospital has screened thousands of municipal school children in and around the Eco Village. The main objective was early diagnosis and treatment, which also created health awareness among children. In the coming years, the plan is to screen all the schools in the Wada area. Supported by the Lions Club of Juhu, the senior citizen camp initiative focuses on providing healthcare for elders in the villages. Patients requiring specialty care are referred to the Bhaktivedanta Hospital for free treatment. Some of the social initiatives GEV is involved in are the free distribution of blankets to senior citizens, classroom seating and school exercise books along with water filters for the schools. Hand driven tricycles were provided to the physically challenged.

This is our humble attempt to respond to your queries. We hope it is to your satisfaction. Thank you.

Kind Regards,

Gauranga Das