Feet On The Ground Shetkari Wachawa Network

Leadership Campaign in Marathwada Harshavardhan Purandare

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Shetkari Wachwa Padayatra: RecapYouth decided to act !• Maharashtra is facing its worst ever drought.

No rains, no crop, our rural economy is dead! • The farmers are in deep debt for consecutive

years now, they are not able to repay anymore. The farmer suicides due to stress of this debt have escalated into social crisis now.

• In Beed and Parbhani, group of young volunteers decided to March against this crisis with MF’s support. The march is now popularly known as Shetkari Wachawa Padayatra.

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Shetkari Wachwa Padayatra: RecapGramsabhas and Jan Dnyaan Kendra• They walked across the villages - conducting

meetings (Gram Sabhas) with farmers, discussing debt and suicide issue openly, assuring them ‘you are not alone’.

• The campaign created social solidarity against debt and suicides. We have steady outreach to 31 villages now, no suicide is reported from those villages.

• Center of Shetkari Wachawa Padayatra – Jan Dnyaan Kendra (JDK) team- is networking with Govt, NGOs (like NAAM), Experts -initiating and implementing social and developmental projects together.

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Shetkari Wachwa Padayatra: RecapLocal youth connected on Social Media

• The Facebook page for Shetkari Wachawa Padayatra got 8000+ likes, Use of Facebook and WhatsApp is highlight of this youth movement. https://www.facebook.com/Shetkari-Wachawa-Padayatra-1635094360072374/

• We have team of 75 volunteers that can be accessed thru virtual means for our activities on regular basis.

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Shetkari Wachwa Padayatra: RecapThe reasons beyond agrarian economy

• The narrative of drought and farmers’ suicides focusses just on economic crisis, but Padayatra found that Social and Environmental factors are at backdrop of farmers’ debacle.

• Dowry Traditions, False Caste Pride , Growing Inequality, Non equitable water distribution, Corruption, Environmental Degradation and Inaction to Go Greener , Lack of Scientific Knowledge are damaging factors –Its not just about business.

So our actions on these issues will help ..

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Shetkari Wachawa and I

• Shetkari Wachawa Padayatra is my brain child, Its purpose is to create strategic networking platform for all stakeholders , with active and thoughtful local youth at its center.

• I visited Beed and Parbhani for almost 2 months in August -September. I conducted strategy camps to initiate the discussion and action with youth. I have been guiding them ever since.

• I organized a Press Conference, Created FB Page, Connected Padayatra group to key people in local government, media and social movements. Set up the volunteer group to run Jan Dnyaan Kendra (JDK)

• Now I plan to take my work with Shetkari Wachawa Padaytra to next level, looking forward to involve myself in much Solid action and make Shetkari Wachawa Network socially more enterprising, much more impacting.

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What is the ground situation Now ? Water and Work have vanished !

• In Spite of Solidarity created against farmers’ suicides, the accelerating drought is much much bigger challenge in villages during next summer months. Farmer’s suicide issue and Drought issue both are merging now .

• Drinking water is reportedly getting over in Month of March only, we can imagine the ground situation from this single BIG indicator.

• There are no jobs and wages available anymore. Many families are contemplating “Sthalantar”, which shud be stopped. All businesses dependent on agrarian economy are coming to halt.

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What is the ground situation Now ?Admin not up to this challenge !

• Maharashtra State Govt’s rural administration which controls state resources and govt bureaucrats who have prime responsibility to address the economic crisis - are inefficient and corrupt (with some exceptions!).

• Next monsoon might be good, but because ‘no cash at hand’ -farmers may not be ready to buy seeds or plow fields and be prepared to take advantage.

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What is the ground situation Now ?Weaker in society are suffering most!

• Laborers , Small farmers , Women , Lower Castes and Dalits are suffering most.

• We had cases of young girls committing suicide under pressure of dowry.

• Small farmers and laborers have existential threat .

• Cattle is facing starvation and death , families can only watch helplessly.

अंत झाला अस्ताआधी जन्म एक व्याधी वेदनांची गाणी म्हणजे पोकळ समाधी !

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Why leadership campaign ? Who will solve the crisis ..

• Will govt be able to solve the crisis? Unlikely! But Govt has big role to play as only Govt has big money. • Will Economy Spring back? We are facing absolute disaster. We have to wait for next monsoon to see first positive improvements. • Will NGOs fix this mess? NGOs can provide alternative approaches and create Problem-Solution Models. Our Leadership Campaign is One Such Approach. People have to rise and fix their own problems with help of others.

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Why leadership campaign ?Bring youth leaders to forefront!

So MF’s best strategy is to analyze and focus on underlying issues, partner with Govt and NGOs, get socially enterprising young grass roots leadership on forefront. Make them more knowledge and Ideas Driven through training, orienting and brainstorming.

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Why leadership campaign ?Questions that are getting discussed! • We are making rural young people think and think differently -

By asking questions like: Why more dangerous droughts in Africa are not causing suicides and in Marathwada it’s a big trend now?How do we disconnect Money matters from Suicide with Social Solidarity and functioning Social Security? How can we attack illiteracy and backwardness of peasants in context of present crisis ? How do we want ambitious Govt schemes like JALYUKTA SHIVAR and MGNREGA to be reformed with RTI, CELL PHONES -INTERNET from your side? How do we take advantage of Govt Investments, New Agro-Knowledge, Tech for bouncing back of Agrarian Economy? How do we create Social Security Net during drought months putting pieces together? What do we do with the fact that certain castes and women in Rural Maharashtra are affected more by drought?

• Answers to all these questions create Projects that begin the Collective Action for Social Change against suicides and Drought.

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How will we train youth leadership?Our camps create local game changers • We orient and train the youth in series of training camps

which run overnight for 2-3 days and have typically 40 participants.

• JDK Teams give them Shetkari Wachawa Action programs on specific issues and train them with solutions we already know and information we already have from work in first phase.

• We make them present their village specific issues and then brainstorm together to find solutions. We come up with village specific action plans, target at least one big problem per volunteer group.

• We organize group discussions during the camp, Right to Information applications to govt officers are prepared collectively if needed.

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How will we train youth leadership? Connect, Learn , Exchange !Widen their Access

• We invite experts, local administrative officers, social and political leaders, journalists to orient and offer their solutions.

• The training camp is two way process of knowledge and information exchange with participants and organizers .

• It is an important event where villagers network to widen their access with the systems .

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Actions and Solutions Method of Movement • The volunteers will start working on action plans as

decided in camps , they will be constantly networked with JDK.

• If their actions require resources , they will try to raise locally or network with other agencies.

• If the need for resources for collective project coming from several villages , then JDK will create a Project and seek Funding from partners (like MF US ) .

• Results of those actions will be shared with JDK and other villages so that problem-solutions replication is possible horizontally and also for quality improvements.

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Media and Social Media

• The idea that “We Marathi Diaspora in US” are thinking and ready to get our “Feet on the Ground” , gets immense appreciation and attention from villagers . We shud use our positive branding to impact.

• We will focus on local print media, as it is important to frame issues, bring out cases in local media and connect with more people using them. As we grow, we will connect to Marathi TV channels.

• Social Media can be game changer in this drought. We have proposed 2 youth training camps for Use of Social Media, Cell Phones and Training volunteers with orientation and production skills that are needed .

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My Campaign Program • Training Camps – 4 camps of average 40

participants • Farmer Gatherings – 2 Farmer Gatherings • Press Conferences -2 (Beed and Parbhani)• Social Media Camps 2 and Campaign • Improve Functioning of JDK Teams

Continuously. • Meeting with Govt Officers and Local

Leaders to build partnerships

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What will be the tangible outcome?

• The leadership campaign project is prototype of war against drought we are proposing in the whole drought scenario.

• We intend to develop 40 committed young leaders with Support from 160 more working volunteers – Team of 200 volunteers acting against drought and saving farmers on our platform.

• We will fight drought in and around 30 villages thru this program, Create local projects and social-economic infrastructure for Saving the Farmers

• We will create Social Media Campaign, Using Facebook, Twitter and Whats app.

• We will initiate program of Developing Model Village in at least 7-8 villages.

Actions and SolutionsWhat are the big ticket solutions we as MF can get implemented/Initiate during my leadership campaign?

• Solidarity campaign against Suicides, Debt Restructuring (Continued)• Campaign Against Dowry and Samudayik Vivah [MF US Branded Project]

Targeting long term institutionalization with others organizing similar events] • Annihilation of Caste (Fighting False Caste Pride , Discrimination and Promote

True Emancipation) • Right to Work Movement (MGNREGA) with Social Media and Internet• Jalayukta Shivar Partnerships (Watershed Development) • Disaster Mgmt. : Drinking Water Scarcity Or Water Conflicts Mgmt. • Training on local governance for women representatives [Panchayat Raj ]• MF US Branded ambitious ‘Social Media Against Drought’ Initiative (In Synergy With Our New MF Web Site)• Building Model Villages (Long Term) • Scaling Up in International Social Markets (UN Consulting Status)

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Projects for MF Funding through Donors and Partners[First 3 Proposals Are Written , emailed to Projects Team :

• Leadership Campaign (6-8 Weeks)

• MGNREGA Against Drought

• Samudayik Vivah and Anti Dowry Campaign

Some more Projects For Shelf

• Disaster Management : Drinking Water

• Annihilation of Caste

• Jalyukta Shivar for People

• Social Media Against Drought and Farmer Suicides

• Local Governance for Women Reps Training

Training Module and Participatory Camps

• Promoting Innovation and Social Ventures [As per the proposals]

• Building Model Villages Long Term Work (2-3 years)

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MF Drought Intervention : Web Of Projects

My vision for our drought intervention is web of several projects that we can try to make happen together as a team. These projects will feed into each other and counter the drought and farmer’s suicides. Can we become Marketplace for this projects ?

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Thanks