The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is scripting a success story in Nilambur by implementing an integrated tribal development project. The project as part of NABARD’s Tribal Development Fund (TDF) has begun to yield positive results from 18 tribal hamlets in five panchayats under the Nilambur block.
The Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) headed by P.V. Abdul Wahab, MP, is implementing the project with the objective of uplifting and ensuring a steady income for 375 select tribal families in four years.
Unlike other tribal welfare schemes, the NABARD-JSS project is being supervised by hamlet development councils and their representative body named village planning committee. “We could ensure 100% transparency and effectiveness by making tribespeople supervise and implement the project,” said JSS director V. Ummerkoya and NABARD district manager A. Mohammed Riyas.
NABARD is spending only ₹70,000 in four years for each of the 375 families. Besides, the families can get benefits from Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme, corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds of certain companies, and local bodies.
NABARD and JSS are promoting goat rearing, medicinal plant cultivation, duck and rabbit farming, and beekeeping. Besides, cultivation of pepper, nutmeg, clove, ginger, turmeric, banana, jackfruit, coconut, and vegetables is also promoted as part of the scheme.
“We have given them such fruit trees as rambutan, guava, and avocado. The folks at Uchakkulam and Ambumala hamlets are cultivating dragon-fruit as well,” said Mr. Ummerkoya.
According to Mr. Riyas, the project indirectly empowers tribal women in the 18 hamlets. He said results were tangible in the initial year after the project was implemented.
A village planning committee meeting held last week at the Nedumkayam tribal hamlet near Karulai saw dozens of beneficiaries from 18 hamlets review the progress of their schemes. A few tribal women from Valamthodu hamlet at Kakkadampoyil said the goats they bought had multiplied. The excitement was visible among several others.
The JSS is implementing several other schemes along with NABARD’s tribal development project. As many as 30 tribal children dropped out of their schools were brought back to their alma mater as part of a project named Chiraku.
A youth empowerment programme named YUVA is offering job training in aluminium fabrication for 10 youngsters, automobile mechanism for 15, beautician practice for eight, and tailoring for 20. “We expect that all of them will be able to begin a start up of their own in six months,” said Mr. Ummerkoya.
