RHEDT Site Visit

My visit to the three RHEDT sites showed me the plight of tribals (adivasi) in Tamil Nadu, and also showed me some of the efforts that are being made to strengthen their position.  I met up with RHEDT director Mr. Ansar Basha and an RHEDT trustee Mr. Sridhar, and they showed three schools that have been started by the program, discussed the difficulties facing the program and the successes they have met with, and also their future plans.  I had a chance to see how people in the adivasi villages lived, what kind of schooling they received, and discuss with them their views on education.

From Mettupalayam, the three of us headed to the first village, Barliyar, on the road to Ooty.  A young teacher and her assistant staffed the school here.  Inside, a group of about 20 children were learning English as I entered, and gleefully recited both English and Tamil alphabets.  Other items on the curriculum included math and some basic science. 

One of the most pressing problems was transportation.  Most of the children came from a village about 5 kilometers up the mountain, and had to make this trek everyday.  Afraid of Elephant and Tiger attacks,[1] the children would not make the walk without an escort.  The teacher sometimes served as the escort, but often times one of the childrens’ parents had to do this.  Their parents worked long days on nearby farms as wage laborers (earning something like Rs. 40/day), and being escort means sacrificing this daily wage.  Because of this transportation issue, attendance fluctuated, but in total there were some 40 students.

The school went until 4^th standard, after which point the students were to be transferred to another school.

The workers in this area had their right to cultivate land stripped away from them, and indeed were on the verge of being evicted from the forest by the government.  Only after protests in Ooty at government offices (organized by Mr. Basha) were they allowed to retain their houses.  Whereas before they use to feed themselves with the produce of the forest, they must now work elsewhere and use the money to buy goods on the market.  Pallapuram (jackfruit) is often grown and sold along the road.

The second village, Pallamalai, was located in some small hills near other villages.  Though there was no paved road to their village, the forest department had earlier built some mud roads and subsequently hauled much of the forest away.  The school here also had some 40 students, though not all had showed up when I was there.  The school was constructed because children were afraid to go to a school in the nearby villages after one student was bit by a snake and died.  The school also goes until 4^th standard, and the older students go to the next village to learn. 

            The Government had built the stone houses and provided electricity seven years ago.  The houses are sturdy and waterproof, a definite improvement over their previous dwelling (residents lack the capital to build their own stone houses).  One of these houses was donated for use as a school. 

            The land that residents work on is inferior to the surrounding lands; it is hilly, rocky, and they have no irrigation (farmers engage in “dryland farming”).  Much of the lands at the base of the hills are owned by “high-caste” people, to whom adivasis had unwittingly sold the land some years ago for rather low prices.  Adivasis now work on these lands as wage laborers while the landowners often live in the cities (Coimbatore) and make weekend excursions out to the land.

            Residents work long hours; with the exception of schoolchildren and elderly folk, the village was deserted during my visit.

            The third village was about an hour bus ride and a forty-five minute hike from Karamadai.  The hike goes through high-caste sugar cane fields, and then ascends a beautiful mountain by climbing on large sheets of rock.  Mr. Sridhar entertained on the way up by describing the virtues and dangers of several plants.  The ridge at the top provides breathtaking views of the valley below, a huge hulking mountain to the south, and the Western Ghats.

            This village was one of several (7?) villages on the ridge, and they all had been provided with government houses and electricity.  A forest road made its way up the hill to one of the farther villages.  Residents had to hike down the hill for work, shopping, and medical emergencies.  Here, the lands were also cultivated using dryland farming techniques, though sometimes well-water could be used to irrigate the lands.

            Residents here keep livestock and poultry as a form of walking capital; a goat can be worth as much as 2,000 rupees.

            Though there was a government school in the next village, students opted to go to the local school (was also a converted house).  The teacher lived in the village and again taught Tamil, Math, and English.  Both the RSS (a political party) and a Christian organization had come before and built a school (that has now crumbled to its foundation), but they have long left. 

            I had a chance to talk to some parents here, and all enthusiastically supported education.  I expected many to want their kids to work the land, but the parents wanted their kids to go to a school and study well, no matter how far.

Goals of the Program

            The idea of starting a school is meant to raise the villager’s standard of living, and to gain respect in society.  By studying hard, students can move on to get good jobs in society and hopefully contribute something back to their villages.  To what extent this has worked is an unanswered question.  The program has not been conducted long enough to deem it a success or failure, but conversations with some of the students who had moved on to secondary school (after 4^th) seemed to indicate that students were studying well.  One graduate apparently had a job in a nearby restaurant.

            Another aspect was health education. Though not funded by ASHA, RHEDT set up various seminars to teach residents about health and sanitation.

            Mr. Basha wants to move the program into a new phase by building a hostel where students can come and live while going to school.  The hostel would be located on land near the Karamadai offices of RHEDT, on a 1-acre plot that seemed about 40 yards by 30 yards.  The idea of creating a hostel is to solve the transportation problem and give the students a full instruction (the hostel could perhaps be from 1-10^th standard).  Also, Mr. Basha would not have to make weekly trips to all three villages.  Better (more experienced) teachers[2] could perhaps be hired, for it is difficult to get teachers to commit to spending a year in remote villages.  The two parents I talked with supported the hostel.

            Mr. Basha suggests that one year’s allotment of money could be used to build the hostel.  Then, other local investors (he mentioned industrialists) would be encouraged to contribute money for basic expenses (teachers, food, and other utilities).  But getting the initial money is difficult, he suggests, because few people will support something that is not present.

            He also has the idea of using the hostel as a kalyana mandapam (marriage hall), and thus he could rent it out in the marriage season and generate income (apparently, a similar project is doing this near Madurai)[3].

            Also, at the hostel there could be raised cows for milk consumption and teaching kids responsibility.

Personal Impressions of Program and New Hostel

            I feel the current program is running well; both students and teachers are very enthusiastic about the school and education.  All three teachers are committed and caring, they have established a very close relationship with the students as well as the communities.  Also, the midday meals that are provided relieves parents from a great deal of stress; they don’t have to come back from work and the kids also get a nutritious meal. 

            It would be of great value to find out how well the students are faring once they have graduated.  Their competitiveness with outside students would be a valuable measure of the programs success.[4]

            Through RHEDT, including the schooling aspect, the communities have also been empowered.  There are many stories of being manipulated in the past by government agencies, politicians, and even the surrounding communities.  But with education, past experience in dealing with the outside, and help in organizing protests, meetings, and discussions, residents are learning how to deal with the outside.

            Mr. Basha’s proposal for a new hostel is a good idea that warrants further consideration.  The goals I can see are a more solid and diverse (possibly incorporating vocational training) education, more time spent with kids, and less time wasted in transportation.  Mr. Basha says the site is one acre, and though I would estimate it to be somewhat less than this, I think it would be sufficient for their goals.

            Mr. Basha did not emphasize the orphanage aspect of the new hostel.  I understood his goal was to bring all students to the hostel.  Housing orphans in the hostel gives the project a clearer goal; students without a complete home in the village would gain a much greater marginal benefit from the new hostel.  Mr. Basha says there is around 100-120 orphans, and I saw two fatherless kids in the villages.

            With some more information, the future success of this new project could be better gauged.  There might be some concern among parents (and children?) about sending their kids away to study, as I did not talk to many.  As mentioned above, knowing the success of current graduates could help understand if any changes needed to be made in the curriculum.

            A possible improvement that might be made in the third village is with the water supply.  An earthen well captured rainwater, but one of the walls was struck be lightning and residents lost a good source of water, baths, and irrigation.  Perhaps some sort of reinforcement would be of value.  I don’t know if water shortage is an issue, but there is much rainfall in the area and a system to capture rainwater could be a good source in the future.