Dehradun, February 25
In the absence of men who go out to earn their livelihood in the plains, women of Uttarakhand hills remain the backbone of the state’s agrarian economy. Small stepped land-holdings, migration of menfolk, pressure to raise children as well as look after cattle has been the burden of the women.

Small agricultural fields in the hills have been totally dependent on rains and of late the change in weather has added to the woes of the women in this hill state. The farms do not produce much and women, particularly of the poorer sections, are getting even poorer.

But a single move has not only provided them with a livlihood but also made them self-sufficient, bringing in a mini white revolution in the Himalayas. It was on the initiative of the Himalayan Institute of Environment, Ecology and Development, Rani Chouri, Tehri Garhwal district, and the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development that dairy development was identified as a vocation to help the hill women.

Almost every household in the hills has its own cattle but so far there was no commercial angle to milk production. The milk yield was low and there were no scientific method for dairy development. With assistance from the Central Government, a total of 20 villages in Chamba block of Tehri Garhwal were identified for the project.

After a survey, women were selected for the project and given intense training on the latest scientific techniques involved in dairy development. An all-women Milk Cooperative Society was formed where women did everything, from fetching and testing the purity of milk to bringing it to collection points for further sending the milk to chilling plants run by the Tehri Garhwal Milk Cooperative Plant.

“The entire work -- bringing milk, testing and maintaining records of the entire transactions -- is being done by women members of the society. The members have their bank accounts and get monthly payments for the milk supplied,” said Kamal Bahuguna, director of the Himalayan Institute of Environment, Ecology and Development (HIFEED).

It was in 2007 that Jagdhar villagers in Chamba were persuaded to start the HIFEED Coop Milk Society. “We were a band of 15 women who started it but now we have 50 women in our group,” said Rekha Devi, secretary of the village society.

Buoyed by the success, 50 women in each village were selected as members of the cooperative society. “After initial training, we provided them with a milk-testing kit, four milk cans of 40 litres each, stationery, an almirah and furniture to start their office. We provide for the office and make arrangements for transportation of the milk from the collection centres,” said Bahuguna.

The response has been tremendous with more than 600 women in 12 villages forming cooperatives. These women cooperatives started sending 500 litres of milk everyday to the milk plant at New Tehri. Encouraged by the response, the Dairy Development Department of the Uttarakhand government sanctioned a revolving fund of Rs 10,000 for each cooperative society.

“We have been giving Rs 1 lakh to each cooperative society for running its operations successfully for a year. We have started giving paying to the women bringing milk to road heads covering long distances,” said Bahuguna.

The experiment has brought about a change in the lives of the 600 women members. “We are now earning between Rs 1,500 - Rs 2,000 per month depending on the quantity of milk procured by each member,” said Sangeeta Devi, secretary of the Dargi village cooperative society.

HIFEED has tried to romp in all associated government departments, like Women and Child Development, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development, Uttarakhand Livestock Board and banks so that women get to know about scientific techniques, equipment, animal feed, medicines and loans for purchasing cows and buffaloes of better breed.

“For more than 150 of the 600 women, we have arranged bank loans and provided them with margin money for purchasing better breed of buffaloes for better yield per animal,” said Bahuguna.

“Starting with nothing, we have started selling milk worth Rs 62,000 per month,” said Devki Devi, President of the Manda village cooperative society, one of the main contributors in milk production. “There are several requests from women of other villages who also want to be involved in this milk revolution,” said Bahuguna.

HIFEED plans to set up eight more cooperatives by the year-end involving a total of 1,000 hill women in the project.

“We are in touch with the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) for setting up an ultra- modern milk processing unit at Rani Chaouri in Tehri Garhwal.

“We propose to make more milk products by value addition that could fetch even better returns ,” added Bahuguna. 

Dehradun, February 25
Not given to banalities and full of earthy wisdom, whenever “Boodhi Chachi” and “Zokhim Chacha” take center stage, they command the audiences’ riveting attention.

The puppets take life-like forms in the hands of puppeteer Ram Lal, as he deftly manipulates them. He uses them to make classroom learning an interesting experience for children. So don’t be surprised if a glove puppet sitting snug in a hand sermonises about the virtues of keeping the surroundings clean and protecting river bodies.

Miffed with the government’s inability to bring innovation in the education system, Ram Lal says puppets can play a key role in teaching basic facts about science and environment that may seem at first seem difficult to grasp.

“Teachers are unable to present facts in an interesting manner, so most children detest going to school. At the end of the day, we have the child going into a shell. I think puppet-making needs to be introduced as a discipline in schools as it enhances body coordination and encourages creative thinking in children,” emphasises Ral Lal. Ram Lal has worked with 36 organisations, both in India and abroad, using his puppets to disseminate information.

“I think puppets are the oldest forms of communication and may have evolved around 2,500 BC. Educationists are of the view that puppets can be used as tools in imparting education. My plays, Kahan Hai Bail and Kahan Hai Admi try to bring the element of entertainment in education. We have staged these plays in several schools,” he says.

Never part of the formal education system and hailing from a tribal community in Rajasthan that has been engaged in traditional folk art forms, Ram Lal learnt puppetry in his childhood.

It was while trying to educate himself and the unforeseen problem that he encountered on the way, that made him sit up. “I realised if faith in education was to be restored, one had to take up unconventional forms like puppetry to inculcate interest in education. We have used puppets for several social causes. In the hills, puppets have been useful in the anti-liquor campaign,” explains Ram Lal.

Dissappointed at the lack of initiative by the government to promote puppetry in the state, Ram Lal says there is a general misconception that puppetry is linked with entertainment alone. “It is a misnomer that the puppet theatre is only about the tales of kings and queens and as such they have little relevance in the modern world. But that is not the case.

“Puppet art is growing and it needs to be given support but the policies formed by the government are not conducive for its growth, says Ram Lal whose team comprises eight members besides his wife. “I owe a lot to my wife, Dhanjeera Devi, who is the main force behind my shows,” says Ram Lal.

According to researchers and organisations, there are five types of puppets in use: Rod, shadow, glove string and the contemporary. Ram Lal has introduced several innovations using the stick and body puppets.

“The body puppet is message-oriented. During our visit to the UK we used newspaper puppets in order to show that they can be made in a very short time. We used them extensively during our shows on subjects such as racism,” says Ram Lal. 

Dehradun, February 25
The Uttarakhand Association of North America (UANA) has requested the state government to establish a NRI cell in order to have better interaction with people of the region living abroad.

President of UANA, Vijay Sharma, who is on a visit to Dehradun these days, said the non-resident Uttarakhandis wanted to be part of the development of the state. The Uttarakhandi community living in America was very much willing to make contributions in this regard, he added.

But he argued that the association was not finding a positive response from Uttarakhand government for the last many years.

“We just want an official channel through which experts in various fields in America, who are of Uttarakhand origin, could transfer their expertise for development of the state,” said Sharma.

Revealing his plans, UANA said the association was conducting a scholarship programme in the state through which meritorious poor students of classes 10th and 12th are being offered scholarships.

He said UANA has also decided to start Dwarahat Project under which five villages would be identified, adopted and then developed.

Under the project, one school has already been opened in each village. Small-scale business houses would also be started in these villages to make them self-sufficient.

Uttarakhand Kranti Dal’s MLA Pushpesh Tripathi revealed that UANA had plans to create series of educational hubs in the state, which would enable students to accomplish higher goals.

UANA’s director Dr V Tariyal said the state had abundance of natural resources, which need to be exploited. The state had tremendous tourism potential that could lead to more employment avenues for people.

“All we want is some encouragement from the government so that we can implement our projects for the betterment of the state,” said Tariyal.