Soma Munda, a ‘farmer champion’ from Nalonibari village in Biswanath District of Assam said, “It was important that we grow together as we live together because the solution of our problems need not come from outside but can come from within.” Farmer champions are those farmers promoted by Caritas India who has demonstrated success in upscaling their farm and promoted good agricultural practices to develop resilience against disasters.

The task of building resilient communities was taken by Caritas India and Tezpur Social Service Society (TSSS) is in the Floodplains of Brahmaputra in Assam but it cannot be successful unless the community help each other in realizing this into reality.

The project supported by Caritas Germany aims to increase the income of the flood-affected communities by promoting resilient livelihood practices and upscaling innovative livelihood measures. It also works towards aggregating primary producers such as farmers, fishing community, milk-producers, weavers, artisans etc. to ensure the better income of their own.

Soma made good use of the information and the linkages facilitated by TSS with the concerned Government departments to avail different schemes. “I worked on this religiously and this helped me to access schemes related to seeds and other livelihood generating facilities,” said Soma. “I tried to develop and strengthen my backyard garden and today I have almost every seasonal vegetable growing in my field,” he said.

“I grew up in poverty in Nalonibari village in Biswanath District of Assam and could able to study up to the senior secondary. Low income of my parents burdened me with responsibilities, and I tried my luck for a government job. As destiny would have it, I couldn’t get any job as I was unable to pay a hefty bribe in those days,” shared Soma. By the end of 2005 Soma was left with the choice of only working in his parental fields growing paddy once in a year. He toiled hard under the sun to make two ends meet.

“Being in a flood-prone zone, my fields got inundated by floods and I incurred losses which forced my dependency on the market for food. However, I was pushed from within to spread my wings and do something that improves my living conditions,” he said.

He decided to go out of his village and reach out to different government departments to get support from the Government, but it was not easy as he faced several rejections. However, his perseverance helped him to slowly make inroads into the good books of the Government officials and they turned their eyes on to him. But that did not work for long as he was still struggling to access schemes. Meanwhile, he got married and the responsibilities increased.

Soma was aware of a project being implemented by Tezpur Social Service Society (TSSS) his village and he used to be part of the meetings conducted by TSSS. This was a shot in the arm for him as he saw his dreams turning to reality with their assistance. By the end of 2018, TSSS supported him to develop and strengthen linkages with the concerned departments dealing with schemes etc.

“I am also trying to grow dragon fruit and strawberries in my backyard garden. During the hour of floods, my backyard garden supports my food security. I am growing flood-resistant paddy as well and trying to cut down on market dependency. I have an annual income of approximately Rs 2,00,00 per annum which was otherwise only a dream a few years ago,” says Soma.

Of late he realized that whatever he was doing was only for himself until Sonu Ganju from TSSS, a frequent visitor to his village asked him to lead his fellow villagers. He did not waste any time and tried to have his people onboard. The support from TSSS helped him and his village community to survive through the adversaries of nature.

“I had only a handful of people when we started and I felt disappointed that not many are willing to join the bandwagon but I am trying best to bring in as many families in the village to not only avail schemes but also to work hard and become resilient,” he shared. He was instrumental in availing support for 15 tractors on subsidy for 15 groups and this includes groups from the neighbouring villages as well.

Somu’s story has inspired Sudu Kisan, one of the farmers in his village, who decided to follow the suit. His desire and willingness to learn helped him to develop resilience and today he is trying to grow a number of food crops in his backyard.

“We need to work hand in hand to change our situation and make our village a model for others to learn and replicate. Our strength lies in our unity to turn our vulnerability into our immunity and opportunity,” says Soma to his fellow farmers.

For Soma Munda, it’s a journey that has just begun. His leadership qualities have set an example for his people and Caritas India. This case is being reported from a cluster programme entitled Building Resilient Communities in the Floodplains of the Brahmaputra and Mahanadi Delta of Assam and Odisha, supported by Caritas India.

Soma is a glaring example for people who live in adversaries like floods. His case is a silver lining in the cloud that goes a long way to establish the proverb, “If there is a will, there is a way”. Caritas India with her partners is working closely to strengthen the resilience of communities affected by disasters. This is perhaps just a beginning and we expect more of such enthralling cases in the time to come.