Download April 01, 2007 to April 01, 2008

To
Mr. Vijay
Volunteer
PPI
USA.
Dear Mr.Vijay,
Sub: New Earth Team, Trichirapalli, Tamilnadu, India- Poorest Poor
Women Economic and Social Status Improvement Project through
sustainable agriculture practices – progress report- photos- submittingreg.
Ref: PPI letter dated : 17th April 2007.
Greetings from New Earth Team, Trichirapalli, Tamilnadu, India!
We have your e-mail dated: 8th October 2007, requesting us to send progress
report on the project activities with few photos. Herewith we have enclosed
attached the progress report from April 2007 to September 2007 for your
kind perusal along with photos on the activities.
We wish to inform you that few photos are not clear, as we are not skilled in
photographs, please bear with us for this difficulty. However the photos on
plants, lands, floriculture, horticulture will be clear and able to see them.
On behalf of the beneficiaries’ women farmers, we express our sincere
thanks to PPI for their collaboration and assistance.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely
P.Natarajan
Managing Trustee
New Earth Team.
Progress report for the project of ‘Poorest Poor Women Economic and
Social Status Improvement Project through sustainable agriculture
practices ‘
Supported by : PEOPLE’S FOR PROGRESS IN INDIA
SEATTLE
USA
Project Holder:
NEW EARTH TEAM
EGAMBARAM ILLAM
AMMAPETTAI
POOLANGULATHUPATTI POST
RAMJI NAGAR VIA
TRICHIRAPALLI – 620009.
E-mail address : [email protected],
[email protected].
Telephone: + 91 93600 20404, 94428 28511
Grant amount in INR: Rs. 120, 240/-
INTRODUCTION:
New Earth Team has approached PPI, USA for supporting the two women
groups in Ammapettai and Mathoor, of Manikandam block, Trichirapalli
district The two groups are having 30 women as members of their groups.
These women are marginal landholders who eke out their existence from the
tiny landholdings and also from farm labor works. In order to address their
poverty issues, NET has proposed a project to introduce floriculture,
horticulture, and honeybee keeping activities in their tiny landholdings
through organic farm methods. PPI has been kind enough to support the
project request and released an amount of Rs.120240/- towards the
implementation of the project vide their communication dated: 17 th April
2007.
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Aims and objectives of the project
a. To develop soil and water conservation activities in the agriculture lands
which in the main source of income to the community.
b. To introduce drought resistant, econ friendly, money crops,( namely
floriculture, vegetable cultivation and herbal cultivation).
c. To enhance the capacity of enterprise among the project beneficiaries to
market their products successfully for better revenue.
ACTIVITIES PROPOSED:
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Training in water and soil conservation
Training in green manure and compost making
Exposure to model farms
Training in organic floriculture, horticulture, and honeybee keeping.
Awareness on co-operative management.
Revolving Fund distribution
Initiation of floriculture, horticulture and honeybee keeping.
Monitoring
Auditing
Reporting
Training in water and soil conservation
3 days orientation and 2 days follow up training, totally 5 days training have
been organized in the techniques of water and soil conservation. Experts in
the field of water and soil conservation facilitated the trainings. The trainees
learnt the various methods of soil and water conservation such as deep and
summer tilling, bunding, having trees on the bunding, putting compost and
green manure, mulching etc. All the 30 women farmers attended the
training.
Training in green manure and compost making
A 2 days training has been organized for the 30 target women farmers in
which the farmers learnt the techniques of green manure, compost making,
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the techniques and the benefits of the compost and green manuring. Experts
in the filed of organic and sustainable farm practices handled the training.
Exposure to model farms
The 30 women farmers were taken to model organic farms situated in
Mudalaipatti village in Karur district. This one day duration exposure
helped them to gain the practical knowledge, first hand information,
challenges/difficulties faced etc., They had the opportunities to clarify their
doubts by interacting with the farmers in the model farms. Exposure visit
enabled them to know floriculture, Herbals promotion, horticulture,
Honeybee keeping soil and water conservation techniques and methods.
Revolving fund distribution for organic floriculture, horticulture and
honeybee keeping
The revolving fund to invest in their floriculture, horticulture, honey bee
keeping for purchasing jasmine saplings, marigold and vadamalli seeds,
seeds of lady’s finger, and honey bee keeping boxes to being their farming
activities in their small landholdings.
Each woman farmer has been given Rs.3000/- to purchase and invest in, and
make income.
The farmers have harvested their marigold and vadamalli flowers. These
flowers are short duration variety and hence they are removed from the field
as they completed their yields. While jasmine plants are years long crop,
they are there giving flowers and income to the farmers.
Lady’s finger, chilies and brinjal plants are giving yields and farmers’
beneficiaries are making income out of it.
The south west monsoon rains are not adequate in this part of the district,
usually the south east monsoon rains will cover all over India, except
Tamilnadu, (Kanyakumari district and Western Ghats are the exception
which parts will have rains out of the monsoon period). The farmers
cultivate horticulture during the southwest monsoon with limited rains
available, as this is suitable for the vegetables.
The honeybee keeping activity is giving a yield of 500 gm of honey, the
farmers are facing to keep the queen bee(Rani Thennee) in the box, and
otherwise the yields will be 1 kg from a box per month.
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The women farmers are happy to PPI for their support with training,
exposure and revolving fund to initiate the organic floriculture, horticulture
and honey bee keeping.
CONCLUSION
The project activities are progressing well. The farmers are already
harvested and made income from floriculture (marigold and vadamalli) and
horticulture is giving income. If this were not done, the farmers would have
sown only sorghum and settle with low yielding variety and low income
from their land holding. The introduction of the intercrops and variety of
crops in one land on low cost organic farm methods, helped the farmers to
learn new farm method that is low cost and if one crop failed, other crops in
the land will make it to tide over the difficulty.
P.Natarajan
Managing Trustee.
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