Pariapara Village Project
[ Four videos giving details from the field, are available at the end of this post. ] About one year back, proposals were asked by Sponsored Research & Industrial Consultancy (SRIC) Office of IIT Kharagpur to improve the condition of the people in our neighbourhood villages. For each project, maximum Rs. 1 Lakh of support was assured. Pariapara Unit of NSS, IIT Kharagpur took one project to improve economic condition of the villagers by demonstrating before them some alternative means of livelihood. The assessment of the village showed that water is a scarcity but farmers there did not know anything other than paddy cultivation which requires relatively large amount of water. Many a household there were found to have cattle. Two pronged strategies were thought. After lots of discussion and persuasion, some came forward to try something other than paddy. Technology input and other helps were provided to cultivate peanut and sweetcorn. There were more acceptance to try vermi-co...