timbaktu the

ANNUAL REPORT

2013-2014

timbaktuc o l l e c t i v e

the

life we celebrate you

FROM THE CHAIRPERSON

Another year has gone by. I see now clearly whatGar Alperovitz meant when he wrote, “Developing ademocratically oriented alternative to capitalism can’tbe done overnight. What we’re seeing is theprehistory, possibly, of the next great change, inwhich a movement is built from the grassroots thatbecomes the foundation of a new era.”

Our attempts at revitalising shattered villageeconomies, in a small little pocket of this massivecountry, has been and is going to continue beingso very difficult, in an atmosphere where the local,especially the rural, economy is of no consequence.Infact it is something to be done away with. Whenthat is done, we will lose the art of living a simplebut full life, we will lose the small holder farmer, theartisan, the medicine, the biodiversity, the multiplecultures of food, dance, song and arts along withthe diverse domesticated animals and ofcourse thewildlife.

Yet, we continue, hoping and trying to createmodels, that may be understood, that may be ofhelp to our marginalized people, that may showways to develop democratically oriented alternativesto capitalism. Fritz Schumacher had said that, ‘Wemust do what we think is right and not botherourselves whether we succeed or not. For if we donot do what we think is right we shall be doing thewrong thing and so become part of the problem ratherthan part of the solution.' Yet, I am optimistic, as Iknow that all that we have done, has been done in asacred manner and in celebration. This, to me, isalready an end in itself.”

In the following pages is a summary of the workdone by the Timbaktu Collective between April 1st

2013 and March 31st 2014. I hope you enjoy readingit.

VivaC.K. Ganguly (Bablu),

Chairperson

TIMBAKTU COLLECTIVE

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TIMBAKTU

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Registered in 1990, the Timbaktu Collective is anot-for-profit development organisation, workingwith marginalised people in 156 villages, in 7mandals of drought affected Anantapur district,Andhra Pradesh.

The Collective envisions that ‘rural communities takecontrol of their own lives, govern themselves andlive in social and gender harmony while maintaininga sustainable lifestyle’.

Its mission is ‘to enable marginalised rural people,landless labourers, and small and marginal farmersparticularly women, children, youth, dalits and thedisabled, to enhance their livelihood resources, getorganised and work towards social justice and genderequity and lead life in a meaningful and joyousmanner’.

The values held dear by the Collective are‘Celebration of life’ - ‘Gender equity’ - ‘Faith in peopleand in their wisdom’ - ‘Excellence’.

The Collective is currently engaged with about20,000 families. It addresses issues concerning therights and livelihoods of small holder farmers,

A piece of dry degraded land 24 years ago,Timbaktu is today a green wilderness and an agroforest habitat. Timbaktu has been our learning space

women, people with disabilities, children andagricultural labourers. Youth and Dalits are activelyrepresented in all the programmes.

The main operational strategy of the Collective isto promote viable, sustainable and democraticcooperatives and community based people’sorganisations, through thematic working groups -

v Chiguru: Alternative education & rights ofchildren and youth;

v Militha: Empowerment & inclusion of peoplewith disabilities;

v Swasakthi: Empowerment of women &alternative banking;

v Dharani: Organic farming and marketing & ruralenterprise development;

v Gramasiri: L ivel ihood enhancement ofagricultural labourers;

v Kalpavalli : Natural Resource Management, ecorestoration of common lands, watershedmanagement; revitalization of water bodies,management of village orchards; and

v Sruthi: Administrative and management support.

where strategies for eco-restoration, organic farm-ing, alternative construction, alternative lifestylesand alternative education were developed.

CHIGURU

Rights of Children and Youth & Alternative Education

-The Chiguru working group continued to run threeprojects - the Prakruthi badi (Nature School), analternative school for underprivileged children, theChildren’s Resource Centre (CRC) and ‘Mogga’(meaning bud) working on rights of children andyouth in 45 villages.

Initiated in 1992, Prakruthi Badi located inTimbaktu caters to drop out and children fromdifficult backgrounds. Previously up to class 10,Prakruthi badi, as of this academic year, is beingrun as a primary school. This is primarily becausethe government has set up a “Kasturba school’ (onlyfor girls) and a “Model school” in each mandal forchildren above class 5. This year Prakruthi badiprovided 50 children with a meaningful andenjoyable learning experience in a safe and happyenvironment. The academic sessions includedMaths, Telugu, Hindi, English, Social Studies, andScience. In order to monitor the progress of eachchild, an assessment was carried out which wasfollowed up by required teacher trainings.

Since the children are from nutrition deficientbackgrounds, healthy and balanced food wasprovided and their health and hygiene monitored.

Children had ample opportunities to try their handsin drawing, painting, clay work, stitching, hemmingetc. Classes in folk dances like Chekkabhajana,Kolatam, vocals and tabala were conductedregularly. Besides making good use of theplayground with cricket, badminton, kho-kho,swings and see saws, the children played manyindoor games. They also tried their hands in growinggreens and vegetables in small plots.

The Collective recognises celebrations as importantcomponents of learning. At Prakruthi Badi wecelebrated Ugadi, Independence Day, GaneshChaturthi, Diwali, Christmas, Sankranthi and theRepublic day. Children and teachers went for seeddibbling camps to Kalpavalli and also joined thetrips to Korakal and Pennahobilam reservoirsorganized by Mogga. The teachers kept in touchwith the families of the children and held quarterlymeetings with them. These meetings also becamea forum to discuss Child Rights. Children who werehelped to join other schools in classes 6 to10 at thebegining of the year received handholding supportand follow up from the teachers and the Mogga team.

During the year three young volunteers worked atthe school. Ms. Mallika Vaznaik, from Singapore,explored story telling & building techniques,developed a ‘puppet show’ accompanied by soundeffects and built a ‘wall of language’ to help improvethe vocabulary of the children. Ms. Ella Seidel, fromGermany, helped the children to paint and brightenup their dormitories with themes selected by them.Mr. Mathias from Switzerland, worked with childrenof class 3 and made simple percussion instrumentswith bamboo and coconut shells to help themrecognise beat and rhythm.

Initiated in 2002 and located in C.K. Palli village,the Children’s Resource Centre (CRC) hosts alibrary, a science laboratory and a computer learningfacility while providing indoor and outdoor playmaterials for children and youth of C.K. Palli andsurrounding villages. This year the CRC innovatedways to optimize the use of its facilities. The 10,500books in the library were re arranged and made

ANNUAL REPORT 2012-13ANNUAL REPORT 2013-14 ...5

easily accessible to different age groups. The fourcomputers at CRC were used by the children tolearn Word, Paint, Power Point, Telugu Typing etc.CRC also began a mobile unit to take its facilities tochildren living on the outskirts of C.K. Palli, the threegovernment hostels and to some of the remotevillages. Students of the Zilla Parishad school, theElementary school, the A.P. Model school, and theSri Sai Junior college also used the facilities at theCRC. Various sessions included reading, drawing,painting, origami etc.

As in the previous years, events like Sports day,Science day, Independence day, Republic day,Environment day etc. were held at the CRC. As partof these celebrations, interesting competitions wereheld in rangoli, natural painting, drawing, essaywriting, quiz, story writing, etc., for children fromlocal schools, hostels and Balala sanghas. A seniorsports day was held with 400 children from 7th to10th class with kho-kho, kabaddi, long jump,shortput and badminton. CRC also held workshopsthis year with the support of friends and visitors. 45children participated in a workshop conducted byDasarath from Bangalore on waste segregation andmanagement. 264 children participated in aworkshop conducted by Manjunath & Lalitha, alsofrom Bangalore, on games exclusively for girls anda science workshop where 15 experiments weretaught. While the united Andhra Pradesh agitationwas going on, local leaders were invited to talk aboutthe history of AP and contemporary issues. 25children participated in a filmmaking workshopconducted from 4th to 8th February 2013.

Mogga: The Collective believes that children, alongwith adults, are major stakeholders of naturalresources and need to participate in the conservationof environment and protect their ecological rights.The Collective has formed 45 children’s eco clubs(Balala Sanghas) in as many villages and a YouthForum with 2000 children/youth members in theage group of 10 to 18, who come together to expressand explore a better future.

The sanghas meet weekly and their ‘spaces’ in thevillages are used as library cum activity centreswhere they also play indoor and outdoor games.They maintain these spaces clean and free of plasticwaste. They engage in ‘Shramdaan’(free labour) toclear plastic waste accumulated in the villages. 90child leaders, 2 per sangha, meet on a monthly basisto talk about their activities and strategies adopted.

On understanding their Right to Education, childrenfrom all the 45 sanghas identified issues likeinadequate infrastructure and facilities, in theirschools and met the local authorities to submitpetitions. They enquired into the status of all childrenin the villages and conducted a survey to gaugethe number of drop-outs. On the World Day againstChild Labour, the children met the MandalEducation Officers and handed over the list ofdropouts in their Mandals for follow up. Theyparticipated in tackling issues of child marriagealong with the legal aid centre run by the women’scooperatives. On February 12th, they conducted Redhand campaign against child labour and the use ofchildren in wars and dangerous activities.

This year the Mogga team had intense discussionswith the children to help them understand conceptssuch as biodiversity, sustainable livelihood, etc.Children also had the opportunity to learn and workon the “36 model” of organic vegetable and treegardening. In doing this they learned about seedpreservation, plant health, soil health, pest controland drip irrigation. The Organic Farming team ofthe Collective gave them the required learningopportunities by conducting Children Field Schools(CFS). Besides, 50 children had the opportunity to

visit and learn from Dr. Narayana Reddy, arenowned organic farmer. 444 children participatedin13 seed dibbling camps held in the Kalpavalliwilderness. During the camps they were also helpedto explore flora and fauna of the area and havediscussions on alternative forms of energy,particularly wind energy in the context of thewindmills that have been installed in Kalpavalli area.News items from the balala sanghas, stories,drawings, proverbs, puzzles, etc., were brought tothe monthly sangha leaders' meetings and theeditorial team, comprising of five children, usedthese to continue publishing the children’s monthlynewsletter, Chinnari nestham .

This year, the youth forum promoted under Moggarenamed themselves as ‘Navayuvatha ’. Under this80 youth got the opportunity to come out of thegender biased cultural confinement and got trainedas Child Rights trainers as enshrined in the UnitedNations Convention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC) while continuing to work on the conceptof ecological rights of children and youth. They heldrefresher trainings in child rights for the balalasanghas. The youth forum has also started their ownnewsletter and named it “Navayuvatha”. Theybrought out interesting articles on organic farming,

environment, wildlife, etc. 111 young peopleattended the three youth camps that wereconducted in Kalpavalli. A group of 30 from bothchildrens’ forum and youth forum went for aneducational trip to Sirsi, Karnataka, to understandthe Appiko Movement in Uttar Kannada District ofKarnataka - a successful peoples’ movement to stopindiscriminate felling of trees by the governmentand private profit making nexus. They met andinteracted with the leaders of the movement, Mr.Panduranga Hegde and Mr. M.N. Hegde. The groupalso visited Vanastree, an organization working onenvironment conservation, indigenous seedprotection and sustainable lifestyles headed by Ms.Sunita Rao.

In June 2013, childrens’ forum along withNavayuvatha organised their first ParyavaranaParasa (Environment day - Celebrating Ecology andBiodiversity), where they shared their experiencesand learning. They put up stalls on organic manures,pesticides, forest seeds from Kalpavalli andagricultural seeds including millets. They alsopepared and put up models on Appiko movement,alternative energy and food chain. 1,025 childrenand youth from 45 villages participated in this event.

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MILITHA

Empowerment & Inclusion of People with Disabilities

In 2001, the Collective took up the cause of peoplewith disability in its working area through theprogramme called ‘Militha’, meaning inclusion. Afterestablishing Cross Disability Groups (Sanghas) inthe villages including the parents/care givers ofchildren with disabilities, mandal level federationsof sanghas were formed in the three mandals toaccess schemes and entitlement for their members.In time, an apex body, called Pratibha DisabledPeoples Mutually Aided Cooperative, was registeredwith the mandal level federations as its branches.The sanghas were encouraged to do small monthlysavings. Slowly other activities such as home basedtherapy for children with disabilities and otherservices were added to the work.

The programme continued its momentum throughthe year with excellent ownership and commitmenttaken by the directors of Prathibha and the team.The branch offices continued their struggle to accessthe rights and entitlements for their membersthrough a set of activities diligently carried out.Pratibha now has 1303 members in 126 sanghasacross 98 villages. With the sanghas meetingregularly and the federation leaders taking an activerole in revamping the systems, the thrift & creditprogramme saw increased discipline in savings andrepayment of loans taken to for small ruminants,milch animals, weaving, petty shops etc. The totalturnover of Pratibha at the end of the year is Rs.21,03,064.

The Pratibha directors took active part in organizingthe AGM of the cooperative, the World DisabilityDay and Louis Braille’s day. These turned out to begreat opportunities for both exercising leadershipand building awareness on themes such as disabilityrights and access of relevant entitlements, etc. Anexposure visit to the Network of Persons withDisability Organisations (NPDO) in Hyderabad, wasanother great success.

Following a training of trainers session, the teamand directors of Pratibha conducted 33 membereducation sessions for the sangha members to buildawareness on UN Convention on the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities, UN Child RightsConvention, entitlements and schemes for peoplewith disabilities, savings and credit programme, theMACS Act etc. The procedures to accessgovernment programmes and schemes werecompiled in simple language and made availableto members as part of member education. Themembers were helped to put together and keep insafe custody, all their identity and other documents,which were needed to access some of theentitlements. During the year, Militha team alsofacilitated 4 Sadarem camps in which 236 membersparticipated and as a result, 79 members receiveddisability certificates. 178 additional members wereformed into Sramasakthi sanghas and received jobcards under NREGA to get full wages for 70% work.

ANNUAL REPORT 2013-14 ...7

...8ANNUAL REPORT 2012-13...7

Our special educators provided regular home basedtherapeutic services to 230 children with disabilities.Regular meetings were held with parents/caregiversof the children to help them follow up therehabilitation services of the therapists.

After holding two assessment and surgery camps,41 children were supported to get treatment throughmedication, referrals and corrective surgeries withsupport of BIRDS Institute and RDT hospital. Theprogramme continued providing medication to 28children who suffered from fits /convulsions andemergency health support. Surveys were conductedso that proper toilets could be organized fordeserving members. Militha continued to get amplesupport from institutions like BIRDS Institute,Tirupati, RDT hospital, Bathalapalli, NIMH,Secunderabad, and NIMHANS, Bangalore. RDTalso extended financial support in construction ofhouses for four members who did not have houses.Two medical camps were conducted by Dr.

Nagireddy and team where 15 members with hearingimpairment and 23 members with physical disabilitieswere identified and scheduled for follow-up.

Two camps, held in Timbaktu, gave children withdisabilities the opportunity to explore, play and learndrawing, painting, games, toy making, other crafts,chess, carom, folk dances and musical instrumentslike Dappu and Tabala. Ms. Astrid Hochbach, anart therapist from Germany, was the main resourceperson at the camps.

Mr. Pavan Munda from Swadhikar, conducted atwo day training on UN Convention on the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities for the Pratibha directorsand Militha team. The CEO and chief accountant ofMahasakthi cooperative federation trained thePratibha and Militha team in management ofCooperatives. As part of exploration on livelihoodenhancement of people with disabilities, RanjeetRanade, a well known trainer in rural enterprise

d e v e l o p m e n t ,conducted twotra in ings forPratibha directors.While explor ingvarious options, thedirectors showedparticular interestin tak ing upcollective activities,which have thepotential to createlivelihoods for largenumber of peoplewith disabilities.Back yard poultryand soap makingcame up as anoption. Followingthis, a soap makingtra in ing wasconducted by Ms.Anke Schwarzerfrom Switzerland.

SWASAKTHI

Empowerment of Women & Alternative banking

The Swasakthi programme of the Collective focusesonly on women and their empowerment. Over theyears it has promoted and anchored four mandallevel mutually aided thrift cooperatives of ruralwomen, Adisakthi in C.K. Palli, Ananthasakthi inRoddam, Mahilasakthi in Ramagiri and Durgasakthiin Penukonda, and their federation Mahasakthi.

The Alternative Banking part of the programme isthe result of the thrift and credit activity that wasinitiated twenty years ago. Starting with a monthlysaving of Rs. 10/- twenty years ago, members nowsave around Rs. 50/- to Rs. 100/- per month.Members can avail of loans up to Rs. 80,000, whichare repaid in easy installments. At the beginning ofthe year, the total membership of the cooperativesstood at 16,315 and the capital available with themwas Rs. 95.32 million. During the current year themembership increased to 17,140 and the capitalavailability is Rs. 113.37 million. Of this, 7,334

members took loans worth Rs. 76.30 million. Thenumber of defaulters came down from 24 in theprevious year to 12 this year.

Functioning autonomously, the cooperatives carriedout all the related activities diligently. The basic unitsof the cooperatives are the women’s sanghas atthe village level, which met twice a month, one forsavings and credit activities and the second for allother matters. The leaders of the sanghas meetquarterly, the sangha records were verified,elections to the position of the cooperative directorswere held and relevant information for the runningof the cooperatives and benefit of members wereshared. Besides discussions and decisions onmatters relating to approval of loans, approval ofmembers joining / leaving, welfare activities,conducting events like celebration of internationalwomen’s day and the annual general body meeting,the directors of the four cooperatives planned and


monitored the activities of their respectivecooperatives. Select members from among thedirectors conducted loan counseling sessions withtheir members prior to disbursement of loans. Allthe cooperatives held their respective annual generalbody meetings within the stipulated period.

The directors of Mahasakthi federation also metevery month to discuss and decide on policy mattersfor the member cooperatives, new programmes andguidance to member cooperatives. A capacitybuilding training was organized for the directors ofMahasakthi and staff of the Cooperatives by Asmithawomen’s resource centre, Hyderabad, on genderequity and rights of women with specific focus onbuilding awareness on legislations regardingMarriage Laws. Mahasakthi took the responsibilityfor running the women’s legal aid & counselingcenters. This year 59 cases including domesticviolence, child marriage, desertion, property issues,etc., were taken up by Mahasakthi with the help oflocal judicial officers, Judges, Bar association andthe police authorities. Mahasakthi also organizedlegal camps in 17 villages attended by 2,083members. From among the sangha leaders, 21women were identified and appointed as paralegalvolunteers by the legal authorties to follow up onthe cases related to women’s rights.

With the support of the Collective and the FairClimate Network, Mahasakthi applied for a CDMproject to help set up atleast 6,000 biogas units forthe members of the cooperatives. It played an activerole in the effort taken up by all cooperativespromoted by the Collective to generate a publicdebate and build awareness on issues related tothe division of the state of Andhra Pradesh. In anexercise conducted by Mahasakthi to look at theimpact of its work, it was found that the cooperativeshad opened up tremendous leadership andlivelihood opportunities for their members. It wasalso found that this work has helped them to accessmany opportunities in different initiatives andschemes of the government. Many members arenow Anganwadi functionaries and leaders of villageorganisations and mandal federations promoted by

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the government besides entering the localgovernance structures.

Select directors of Mahasakthi federationconducted member education sessions for 365members of Durgasakthi. Being the newestcooperative, Durgasakthi conducted internalexposure visits to 12 sanghas of Adisakthi tounderstand its systems and norms. The cooperativesalso continued to run welfare activities for theirmembers. As part of this, a total of Rs. 0.525 millionwas distributed among 115 members under themicro-insurance, emergency health care, educationof girl children and natural calamities schemes.

This year all four cooperatives celebratedInternational Women’s day at mandal level with ralliesand public meetings. Like the year before, thetheme of the celebrations focused on violence onwomen and the demand for protection of humanrights of women.

INFORMATION ON THE 4 MATC SOCIETIES AS ON MARCH 2014

Sl. Particulars Adisakthi Ananthasakthi Mahilasakthi Durgasakthi GrandNo. MATCS MATCS MATCS MATCS Total

1. Membership 5,864 4,870 4,700 1,815 17,209

2. Groups 213 175 168 65 621

3. Villages 43 55 38 17 153

4. Share Capital 10,95,920 9,56,340 8,87,000 1,81,500 31,20,760

5. Member Savings 3,76,42,196 2,34,28,438 2,45,98,821 32,39,308 8,89,08,763

6. Reserve Fund 59,10,413 21,35,890 33,10,997 2,61,762 1,16,19,062

7 Reserve Fund

Welfare Scheme 7,70,274 6,21,271 6,04,118 17,645 20,13,308

8 Deposits

Members 5,000 5,000

Sangha's 1,78,894 1,78,894

9. Assets

Land&Building 21,92,333 29,90,860 21,75,716 - 74,16,923

Furniture 58,014 26,374 27,785 - 1,12,173

Total 4,78,53,044 3,01,59,173 3,16,04,437 37,00,215 11,33,74,883

10. Loan with mem. 4,19,62,044 2,38,39,859 2,63,21,832 37,55,190 9,58,78,925

S.No PARTICULARS TOTAL

Amount in Rs. Members

1. Agriculture 2,07,82,800 1,565

2. Milch animals 1,17,24,000 613

3. Business 1,14,19,500 672

4. Sheep rearing 66,28,000 547

5. House construction 60,50,500 393

6. Education 50,20,900 332

7. Health 40,22,000 382

8. Home needs 37,26,800 635

9. Functions at home 25,22,200 182

10. Purchase of gold 24,92,000 107

11. Debt relief 20,45,600 139

12. Artisan work 10,98,000 91

13. Weaving 10,11,000 66

TOTAL 7,85,43,300 5,724

LOAN UTILISATION DETAILS - APR. 13 TO MAR. 14


27%

11%

12%9%

7%

6%

7%

11%

3%

2%2%

2% 1%LOAN UTILISATION

Agriculture

Milch Animals

Business

Sheep Rearing

House Construction

Education

Health

Home Needs

Functions at home

Purchase of gold

Debt. Relief

Artisan work

Weaving

TIMBAKTU ORGANIC

Promotion of organic farming among smallholder farmers

The Timbaktu Organic programme has come a longway since it was initiated in 1999. Currently it workswith 1,800 smallholder farming families coveringover 9,000 acres from 45 villages and is beingsupported Brot für die Welt (BfdW, Germany).

Much of 2013/14 was spent in building awarenessand capabilities of the 750 smallholder farmingfamilies who were inducted into the programme in2012/13 while focusing on increasing milletproduction. Farmer field schools were conductedduring the Kharif season in all the 45 programmevillages and agricultural extension support wasprovided to all the participating families.

Considerable energies were spent in convincing theparticipating families to shift from the highly capitalintensive groundnut mono-cropping to the traditionalmixed cropping and millet cultivation which willensure food sovereignty and food security forsmallholder farming families. Participating farmerswere provided good quality millet seeds atsubsidized rates. In effect the production of milletsimproved considerably, with foxtail millet productionincreasing tenfold from 2 tonnes last year to 20tonnes this year. Some enterprising farmers alsotook up cultivation of other minor millets, such asKodo millet (Arika) and Proso millet (Barigalu) inthe last season and reaped benefits. Visits betweenvillages and farmers were organized so that they

could see and verify success stories on their own. Itis hoped that the success in foxtail millet productionwill be replicated in other minor millets in the comingseason.

To increase biomass, the Collective provided 60,000saplings to the farmers for planting on the fieldbunds along with 80 tonnes neem cake to improvesoil health. Support to receive organic certificationthrough the PGS system (www.pgsorganic.in) alsocontinued with peer inspection and recordmaintenance.

To ensure better support to the farmers andeffective implementation of the project, the teamstrength was increased from 9 to 17. The newlyrecruited team members underwent a two-daytraining to understand and learn the concept andtechniques of organic farming, manuremanagement and preparat ion of organicconcoctions under the well known organic farmer,Dr. Narayan Reddy, at his farm in Dodabalabur.

The organic farming team also supported theCollective’s work with the children (Mogga program).The team supported the children’s groups inmanaging organic farming plots maintained bythem. In addition to providing technical support inthe form of preparation of organic concoctions, thetrainers in the organic team conducted specialfarmer field schools for the children’s groups.


Promoted by the Collective and registered in 2008,under the MACS Act of Andhra Pradesh, Dharani isa federation of farmer sanghas and a producerowned business enterprise. It procures, stores,processes, value adds, packages and markets theorganic produce of its members under the brandname Timbaktu Organic. As on March 31st 2014,Dharani had 1,800 share holding members, all smallholder farmers doing family farming, who haveinvested Rs. 2.13 million as share capital anddeposits in the enterprise.

Overall, Dharani has done quite well this year. Theteam worked hard to achieve some brilliant results.Going beyond the business plan, total annualprocurement increased by 22% from Rs 8.82 millionto Rs 10.78 million, total sales by 34% from Rs.9.80 million to Rs. 13.15 million and net profit by75% from Rs. 0.45 million to Rs. 0.80 million. As of31st March 2014, there was stock worth Rs. 5.50million available with Dharani.

While the main crops procured were Groundnut,Finger millet (Ragi), Foxtail millet (Korra) and varioustypes of Paddy, Dharani members have, for the firsttime, cultivated and supplied Kodo millet (Arika),Podo millet (Sama), Proso millet (Bariga), andHyderabadi Basmathi in 2013/14.

Meanwhile, Dharani has introduced 13 “ready tocook” and “ready to eat” products such as dosamix, pongal mix, muruku into the market. The valueadded products contributed to 12% of total sales.

DHARANI FAM COOP LTD.A producer owned business enterprise

Working capital requirements of Rs. 2.80 millionduring the year was raised from the variousCooperatives promoted by the Collective as shortterm low interest loans. By end of March 2014,Dharani had repaid Rs. 1.10 million and is scheduledto repay the remaining Rs 1.70 million by June 2014.

Dharani has acquired another stainless steel tankto stock the increased production of groundnut oiland a vacuum sealing machine to stock good qualitypeanuts in vacuum sealed packets.

As per the decision of the board of directors, Rs.0.39 million will be distributed as incentive tomembers based on patronage (quantity of producesupplied) from the profits earned. Another Rs. 0.16million will be distributed to the staff and dailylabour as incentive bonus for the extra work put inand the higher profits achieved. It is worth notingthat Dharani generated 5,900 work days for locallabour during the year and 68% of the sales valuewas returned to the members.

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2,000,000

4,000,000

6,000,000

8,000,000

10,000,000

12,000,000

14,000,000

Sales Purchase Cost of

Goods

Direct

Expense

Indirect

Income

Gross

Profit

Indirect

Expense

Net

Profit

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

For product information please visit www.timbaktu-organic.org

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The Collective initiated an alternative livelihoodsprogramme in 2008 for agricultural labourers. Withproject support from EED, Germany, and theEuropean Union, the Collective helped 270 membersof 18 sanghas from as many villages, to purchasesheep in 2009 and 2010. These labour sanghas werefederated to form the Gramasiri mutually aidedCooperative, which was legally registered in March2010. As of 31st March 2014, Gramasiri has 652share-holding members who have contributed Rs.0.34 million as share capital and deposits over thepast few years.

After numerous meetings among the members andthe leaders and much discussion and debate, thedirectors of Gramasiri locked on to the idea ofinitiating a collective business in trading of sheepand goats, on an experimental basis this year. InMarch ’14, with 50% loan from Gramasiri and 50%grant from the Collective, the Cooperative helped28 members of two labour sanghas purchase 150sheep and goats. The agreement is that themembers will fatten the animals over 4-6 monthsafter which the Cooperative will purchase them backand sell them in local and distant markets. Basedon the benefits that accrue to both the membersand the Cooperative from this experiment, a detailedbusiness plan will be developed and launched inthe coming year.

The programme also generated 952 days of labourfor the members of Gramasiri when they undertookplanting of saplings, mulching, fencing, wateringand other maintenance works in 187 acres ofcommon lands maintained by the labour sanghasin 13 villages. The programme team also conductedmember education sessions on bye-laws of theCooperative for 100 members during the year andthe process is on-going. The programme is presentlyreceiving financial support from BfdW, Germany.

GRAMASIRI

Alternative livelihood for agricultural labour

CDMPro-poor clean development mechanism

As part of the Fair Climate Network (FCN), theCollective had initiated two small projects [LowCarbon Farming (LCF) and Biogas] with support ofBfdW, Germany, over the last couple of years, as ahumble effort to address the issue of climate change.These projects were taken up with an objective toincentivize the families who are adopting ways oflife leading to lower carbon footprint.

Last year, under the LCF project, a demographicsurvey of 1,037 families was conducted and alongwith this all their lands were mapped with GPS. Thisyear the farming practices were recorded for the2013 Kharif season in the farmer diaries anduploaded. During the year, a lab was set up withGHG Chromatograph for measuring emissionreduction in organic farming vis-à-vis mainstreamfarming. The initial scientific measurements leadingto the final calculations of emission reductions havestarted this year.

Under the Biogas project, basic demographic dataof 14,158 families were collected last year toestablish the “baseline”. During this year thedemographic data collected was analyzed toconfirm that all data was in place and how manyfamilies could be made part of the Project DesignDocument (PDD). A stakeholder consultation wasconducted in December 2013 where views,opinions, issues and suggestions from variousstakeholders like leaders of local community,government officials, elected officials and regionalNGOs, were recorded and a report was preparedfor the PDD. Once the PDD is ready it will be verifiedand registered with the UNFCCC in 2014-15.

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KALPAVALLI

Kalpavalli programme of the Col lect iveencompasses all the work done on natural resourcemanagement. It anchors, village level associations(sanghas) of tree growers, all training programmesin protection and regeneration of wastelands,development and management of around 8,000acres of watersheds, ecological restoration andconservation of 7,500 acres of contiguous common(wasted) lands into a bio-reserve and a wild lifecorridor, 240 acres of community owned tamarindorchards, revival of traditional water harvestingstructures and water bodies, Kalpavalli tree growerscooperative, Research studies on ecology, water,biodiversity and wildlife, and work with youth onissues of local governance.

Initiated in 1993 with 150 acres of the revenuewasteland, Kalpavalli today is a wilderness and bioreserve. This work is based on the understandingthat survival and future of the common people heredepends on how well they are able to protect,

Natural resource management and protection of common lands

conserve and judiciously use the natural resourcessuch as water, plants, forests, animals, land andair. The work in Kalpavalli is carried forward by aCooperative namely Kalpavalli Mutually Aided TreeGrowers Cooperative Society with members from 9villages in C.K. Palli, Roddam and Ramagirimandals. It is a federation of Vana SamrakshanaCommittees (Forest Protection Committees - VSCs)and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC)that were established in the 9 villages. Despite manyobstacles, Kalpavali Cooperative has remainedstrong and vibrant, protecting and conserving thecommon lands. The Representative General Bodymeeting of Kalpavali Cooperative was held on 25th

September, 2013.

During the year, number of activities were carriedout to protect and conserve Kalpavalli bio-reserve.Mr. Siddharth Rao along with Mr. Naren, ecologistsfrom Mysore, conducted a preliminary study onstatus of wild life in Kalpavali bio-reserve while Mr.

...18

Sachin from Delhi made a video document of thearea. 13 watchers continued to be involved in watchand ward of the area. By making fire breaks, around70% of protected area was saved from fire this year.Through seed dibbing camps, 2,284 kg of 49varieties of forest tree seeds collected by thewatchers through the year, were dibbled in 265acres. Around 700 members of the women’scooperatives and children’s sanghas participatedin these camps. Another 31,000 saplings of ninevarieties of forest species were planted in 500 acres.During the peak season, 48 shepherd counsellingsessions were held in 10 shifts to bring awarenessamongst the shepherds on conservation matters tobe taken seriously while grazing sheep in the area.A bore well was dug along with the erection of afence and name board for the Chandamurutamarind orchard. As part of the programme, 572members of Kalpavali Cooperative participated intraining and awareness sessions that wereconducted through the year to strengthen thecommittees. They focused on the role of women,livelihood from forest produce, alternative lifestyles,fire protection and biodiversity. Another 12 membersof the cooperative participated in the Biodiversityconvention held at Hyderabad, which also addedto the learning gained.

The program, like last year, generated livelihoodand employment to the community. Using NREGAfunds 14,400 cubic meters of soil and waterconservation works were carried out in Kalpavallito develop the ‘Common Property Resources’. Thisgenerated around 28,589 work days. At the same

time, 85 families registered themselves and wereable to earn livelihood from forest produce such aspalm fruits & fronds, Broom grass and Jamoonfruits. Over 250 herds of sheep (around 40,000)were brought to the reserve for grazing throughthe year. The fight against the wind powercompanies that have been setting up windmills inthe area continued. This year 14 members wereinterviewed regarding the windmills case andaffidavits against the windmills were sought from10 members as evidence for the case that is beingheard in the National Green Tribunal, Delhi.

The Watershed development project supported byNABARD in 4 villages, Beedupalli in Puttaparthimandal, Marakuntapalli in Kottacheruvu mandal,Julakunta in Somendapalli mandal and Motuvaripalliin Penukonda mandal, is meant to support thelivelihood of small holder farmers and agriculturallabour. Since 2011, around Rs. 3.20 crores has beeninvested in this project till March 2014. As the projectis to conclude in 2014, all efforts were made to takeforward the planned activities and build capacitiesof the CBOs concerned to sustain the programmeafter the project is completed.

During the year, farm bunds were constructed 1,263hectares of land, to conserve soil and moisture.28,600 square meters of stone & pebble bunds wereconstructed and farm ponds dug besides the 28rock filled dams, 20 loose bolder structures and 20Gulley plugs. To afforest 63 acres of common land,31,500 saplings of pongamia, neem, seethapal andglyricidia were planted. Another, 1,050 kg of seedswere dibbled on earthen bunds and hillocks. 43acres of land were revived and made cultivablewhere orchards were planted along with 58 acresof dry lands belonging to 35 farmers where 3,560fruit trees were planted. To see that the people ofthe villages continue to benefit from the project andproper systems are set up, all the four watershedcommittees were registered as cooperatives underthe MACS act in March 2013 with 563 members.Rs. 44,39,114 was deposited in the cooperatives tobe used for livelihood loans for members.


Story of M. Muthyalappa from Chinnapalli villageand member of Dharani Farmers Cooperative

Muthyalappa joined the organic farming sangha in 2006,due to repeated crop failure and the associated highcosts. He underwent training on organic farming andbrought the 4.5 acres of land that he cultivated underorganic farming. Even after taking up organic farming,he continued to cultivate groundnut, but due to erraticrainfall the yields were very low.

In 2012, he decided to cultivate foxtail millet on anexperimental basis in his 2.5 acres of land after effortsmade by the Collective to promote millets. He got a verygood yield of around 8 quintals which fetched himrevenue of Rs.16000. In addition to this he also got Rs.4335 as patronage bonus from Dharani Cooperative.Overall, deducting the cost of cultivation he got a netprofit of around Rs. 15000 from the 2.5 acres of land thathe had brought under foxtail millet cultivation.

He has become a role model for other farmers, inspiringthem to take up millet cultivation. The area under milletcultivation by farmers affiliated with Dharani Cooperativeincreased from 30 acres in 2012 to 300 acres in 2013. InKharif season of 2013, Muthyalappa took an additional3 acres of land on lease and cultivated foxtail millet in atotal of 7.5 acres of land. This time he got a yield of only11.5 quintals owing to bad rainfall. After adjusting forthe costs involved, he got a net profit of Rs. 14920. Inaddition to this he would be getting the patronage bonusfrom Dharani Cooperative in the current year also, whichwould amount to around Rs. 5000. He is happy that hecould earn positive returns in a year in which a majorityof farmers who cultivated groundnut ended up sufferingnegative returns, owing to bad rainfall.

STORIES

As told by M. Anjinamma and M. Anjineyulu ofPeddamma Swami Kooli Sangham, Kuntimaddivillage, Ramagiri mandal

Kuntimaddi, in Ramagiri Mandal, is my native village.We were daily wage labourers. In 1999, due to lack ofdaily earning opportunities in the village, we migratedto Bangalore and worked as construction labourers forsix years. But as my husband's health began to deterioratewe had to shift back to the village where we found makea living very difficult as there were very fewopportunities.

In 2008, we joined Peddamma Swami Kooli sanghamand the Gramasiri Cooperative Society and began to earnsome wages from the common land works taken up bythe sangham. In 2009, Gramasiri Cooperative Societyprovided us loan of Rs. 10,440 with which we purchased9 goat kids. We took care of the goats and through theprofit generated from the sales of the animals, wegradually expanded the size of the herd. We now have aherd of fifty goats. In time we were also able to set up akirana shop and a small kebab business with the profitsaccrued from the rearing of goats. In addition to this, wealso have a deposit of Rs. 10,860 with the GramasiriCooperative. Today our children are getting goodeducation, we have a good social standing among ourrelatives and society and lead a happy life thanks toGramasiri and Timbaktu!

STORIES

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Interview with T. Vasudha of Yerrampalli village, C.K.Palli mandal

In conversation with Vasudha one evening it was interesting to hear hernarrate the paths she traversed from being the member of Srimallela BalalaSangha to the post of the President of Mogga Samakhya for two years.

Vasudha narrated her story much like the rise of phoenix from the ashes.She mentioned that when she joined the Balala sangha in the year 2010,without understanding the possible impact it would have on her life.Thefirst few meetings she was inattentive and would also be absent on a fewoccasions. It was with time that she started interacting with the other childrenin the Sangha and felt a sense of attachment growing. Mogga engaged thechildren on issues,mostly concentrating on Child Rights.Vasudha began feeling more and more attached to thecause.There were also consecutive sessions on Child Marriage which brought out the ill effects on a person’s life.

It was interesting to see that how she became her Sangha leader at first and then became active with the group andher community. She was a great contributor in the two street plays, one based on the soil issues and second basedon Child Marriage. She has also been the Mogga Samakhya leader consecutively for the years 2012 and 2013. Shewas instrumental in stopping a child marriage in the village of Subbarayanpalli. She was also a part of the editorialteam of Chinnari Nestam (monthly newsletter for Mogga). She said this journey not only helped her evolve as aperson but also helped her social well being.

Story of Mokshaswaroop Bramha

When Mokshaswaroop joined Prakurthi Badi, he was very shy andhardly used to talk with anyone. His interactions with peers and teacherswere limited, but once he started settling down, there was a great amountof change in him. Gradually he became friendly and interactive with hispeers and teachers.

Academically he has been a great student and in the past year he hasbeen able to do well in Maths. Today he is able to read English well andcan also write names in Hindi. He is interested in learning new things.Mokshaswaroop has been inquisitive about life and things in general,he tries to apply all his learnings when he goes back home.Mokshaswaroop is a very intelligent child, he is a quiet observer but atthe same time he is a great enthusiast. He is not only a well behaved boybut also commands the same from others who interact with him.

He likes singing, dancing and especially likes to perform Chekkabhajana.His interest in Chekkabhajana has enabled him to master it in the pastone year. Mokshaswaroop also enjoys drawing and painting and hisimagination is reflected clearly in his drawings, which brings many colorsof his inner world on the paper. He also likes to narrate stories to othersand is very interactive with the people visiting Prakurthi Badi


Name: Charan Kumar - 8 yearsParents : Jayamma and GangadriLivelihood : Sheep rearingVillage : MadapuramBlock : Ramagiri

Charan Kumar is the only son ofJayamma and Gangadri. Charanwas born with a partial Club foot.When he was 16 days old, hisparents took him to a doctor whoput Charan’s leg in a cementbandage. This was repeated tillhe became 1 year old. In duecourse, his foot turned totallyclub. In 2012, after being identified by a cadre of the Timbaktu Collective, his parents were counseled twice andthen taken to BIRD Hospital at Tirupathi. But due to the ill health, he had to be brought back on two occasions.Finally, Charan was assesed by doctors from RDT Hospital, Anantapuramu in a Surgery Assessment Camp organizedby the Timbaktu Collective.

Charan underwent surgery for both of his legs after which he has been able to walk on his legs. Presently, with AFOdevice, he regularly attends his school and is happy to spend time with his friends.

Story of Pathapalam Lalithamma who harvests Bodha grass in Kalpavalli

Lalithamma lives in Mustikovila village of Chennekothapalli Mandal. She is married to P. Akkulappa and has twosmall children. The family does not own any agricultural land and major part of their livelihood comes by workingas agricultural laborers. This year Lalithamma harvested Bodha grass (used for roofing or brooms) from Urajalakonda

in Kalpavali area and made brooms with that.

This year in the month of February (2014), she wentto Kalpavali for 17 days and collected Bodha grass.Her daily routine would begin early in the morning tillnoon. After cutting the grass she would clean it andmake small brooms. As a result of this entrepreneurialinitiative she sold 2,350 brooms at Penukonda andDharmavaram market at the rate of Rs. 2 per broomand earned Rs 4,700. Part of this income was used topayback a loan of Rs. 3,000, she had taken earlier forconsumption needs.

Given the nature of her association and dependenceshe thinks that Kalpavalli is a great opportunity forher and other people like her to earn a supplementaryincome for their sustenance.

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Basampalli village of C.K.Palli mandal

Basampalli is quite an unique village. There are 348 families of all castes residing here. Their main source oflivelihood is from agriculture, rearing of small ruminants, agricultural labor and selling of flowers. Due to thedrought situation in the consecutive years, the situation of agriculture in the area has deteriorated. Hitherto famousfor silk weaving there has been large scale migration of silk weavers due to shrinking market for silk products.

It was at this critical stage, that Adisakthi, a Mutually Aided thrift Cooperative Society, promoted by the TimbaktuCollective, initiated the Eshwari sangham. Over the past few years it has been able to provide livelihood support tothe people and nine such sanghas have been formed with women of 252 families as members.

There are 120 members from the 45 families who are now involved in flower business. The members of these groupshave taken loans up to Rs 50, 000 to invest in leasing flower gardens and in expanding their flower business toDharmavaram. Members of another 45 families are getting daily wage work to knit flowers.

With the income from this business they have been able to construct houses, educate children, purchase gold andcattle. They say that that earlier nobody was willing to give them loans. Now, after associating with the Cooperative,their life has taken a new turn.

This village also has a large population of Scheduled Caste families. 24 of them are members of one sangha or theother of Adisakthi Cooperative and have been agricultural labourers by profession and dependent on the biggerland owners for their livelihood. After becoming members of the sanghas, they have accessed loans from theCooperative and become flower knitters or shepherds and goat herders or milk sellers. With the increased awarenesson their rights and entitlement, many of them have availed Indiramma houses under the government scheme. Someof them together sell upto 50 litres of milk every day. As a result of these initiatives wealth and prosperity hasincreased in village.

Total savings of the members inthe village amounts toRs.12,73,929 while the total loanstaken amounts to Rs.11,55,587

The Cooperative runs a legal aidand counseling centre throughwhich legal camps are heldregularly. In the process, thewomen have collectivelymobilized and succeeded inshutting down all the liquor shopsin the village. This was a bigvictory for women’s sanghas andthey were applauded by the pressand government officials.

STORIES

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RT 2013-1

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ABRIDGED FINANCIAL STATEMENT 2013 - 2014

FINANCIAL INFORMATION - 2013 - 2014

SOURCES OF FUNDS EXPENDITURE

Liabilities Amount Assets Amount

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31.03.2014 INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31.03.2014

Donors Amt. in lakhs Particulars Amt. In lakhs

CAPITAL FUND FIXED ASSETS - At cost 133.01Being fixed assets at cost 133.01FUNDS INVESTMENTS

Corpus Fund 1.30 Fixed Deposits IVP,NSC, RD 64.81CRC Fund 1.51Other Fund 126.68 129.49 CURRENT ASSETS, LOANS &

ADVANCES

Cash & Bank Balances 40.10CURRENT LIABILITIES Programme Advances 36.23 76.33Programme Advances 0.90Others 10.75 11.65

Total 274.15 Total 274.15

Programmes 168.25 Specific grants &

Programme facilitation Contribution 392.29

& coordination 130.48 Interest on bank deposits 5.65

Administration 46.68 Other income 9.20

Capital costs (Fixed assets) 41.01

Excess of Income

over Expenditure 20.72

Total 407.14 Total 407.14

Rs. M F Total

< 5,000 - 01 01

5 to 10,000 49 25 74

10 to 15,000 10 05 15

15 to 20,000 03 01 04

20 to 25,000 03 - 03

25 to 30,000 02 - 02

30 to 35,000 01 - 01

35 to 40,000 01 01 02

Total 69 33 102

SALARIES OF

TIMBAKTU PANCHAYATI

MEMBERS

Based on staffing and salary levels on

31.03.2014, the Programme Coordinator

income at Rs. 37,062/- per month was

the highest.

Accounts & Auditing: Accounts are

maintained on a cash basis; complete

audited statement of accounts is

available on request.

We thank

all the

institutional

& individual

donors for

their

continued

support to

effectively

carry out

our work

in the field.

Expenditure Amount Income Amount

Opening Balance 108.72

Sale Assets 9.20

Interest on Investments 5.65

Foreign Contributions

EED - Bfdw - Germany 158.19

TdH - BMZ - Germany 73.15

Kadoorie Charitable Foundation-Hongkong 45.04

Asha for Education - London 6.68

RDT,Anantapur - Spain 5.66

Mulbery, Assam 5.53

LAYA / KZE (Smile), Vizag - Germany 1.18

APPS, Anantapur 0.41

Foreign Contributions - Individuals 11.43

Domestic Contributions

Individuals & Local Organisations 20.83

SDTT, Mumbai 18.81

Asha, Bangalore 17.33

Kudumbasree, Kerala 15.50

NABARD, Ongole 12.55

Corpus Fund / Specified 0.05

TOTAL 515.91

Sustainable Agriculture 101.79

Administration 46.68

Capital Expenditure 41.02

Health & Disability 39.28

Alternative Education 37.77

Ecorestoration & NRM 31.47

Livelihood Programmes & Resource Centre 19.88

Child Rights 18.75

Community Trainings & Capacitation 16.89

Low Carbon Farming 14.90

Alternative Banking 13.91

Youth Development 1.19

Staff Welfare 1.06

Legal Aid & Counselling 0.84

Community Health Support 0.80

Staff Trainings & Meetings 0.19

Closing Balance 129.49

TOTAL 515.91

www.timbaktu.org

www.timbaktu-organic.org

www.tc-ckp.blogspot.com

www.tc-telugu.blogspot.com

www.youtube.com/user/timbaktu141190

Mr. C.K.Ganguly Chairperson

Ms. Mary Vattamattam Secretary

Mr. John D’Souza Treasurer

Mr. B. Venkatesh Member

Ms. Radha Kunke Member

MANAGING COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Canara Bank, Trinity Circle branch,

MG Road, Bangalore - 560 001, India.

Canara Bank, C.K.Palli branch,

Anantapur Dt., A.P. 515 101, India

Bank Accounts:

Domestic Contr. : SB A/c 0792 1010 22808

Foreign Contr. : SB A/c 0792 1010 22807

WE BANK WITH

Mr. V. Manikandan (Convenor)

Mr. D.R. Visweswara Rao

Mr. A. Chennakesavulu

Ms. Mary Vattamattam

Mr. K. Sannappaiah

Mr. K. Murugeshan

Mr. B. Akkulappa

Mr. C.K. Ganguly

Ms. Sayonika

STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS

OUR AUDITORS

A.R. Rao & Rajan (Chartered Accountants)

186/A, 1st Floor, Opp Central Theatre,

Venkatranga Iyengar Street, Seshadripuram,

Bangalore - 560 020, INDIA

Tel : +91 (0)80 23442983, 23443243

email : [email protected]

LEGAL STATUS

Registered under Societies Registration

Act XXI of 1860

No.: 546/90-91, Bangalore. Dtd: 14.11.1990

Registered under FCRA

No : 0 9 4 4 2 0 6 2 1 - Dated: 03.01.1994

Exempted u/s 80 G of IT Act ‘61

DIT(E)BLR/80G(R)/590/AAATT1760G/ITO(E)-

2/Vol 2009-2010

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