Residing in a small mud house, Shikha Biswas and her eight family members depended on paddy cultivation and daily labour for their survival. The family belongs to an SC community residing in Orgram village of Bardhaman district in West Bengal. Left with only 0.5 bigha (0.62 acre) of homestand land, the family took 3 bigha (1.86 acre) land from a big farmer for paddy cultivation on lease. 

Shikha and her family’s life took a turn with the intervention of U3 programme in the village. They learn about the Integrated Natural Farming Technique to promote organic food through one of the capacity-building training by Asansol Burdwan Seva Kendra partner. Then through continuous effort and dedication, Shikha was able to take 5.5 bigha land for sharecropping.

She converted the homestead area for integrated farming of bananas, leafy vegetables, creepers, and other vegetables including potatoes and mustard. In all seasons, she can cultivate enough seasonal vegetables to secure her family’s nutritional needs as well as to sell in the local market for which she earns Rs. 1000 approx. per month.

Of the unique indigenous practice followed by the villagers of Orgram is the cultivation of bananas. They harvest banana flowers by cutting them and placing them in a polybag filled with cow dung while fixing them in the cut place. They have observed that the growth of the green banana is going well than before. 

Besides this, Shikha is nurturing 16 local breed hens and 22 ducks along with 5 goats, which provide them with organic manure support for their integrated farming as well as some added income on a seasonal basis (approx. Rs. 2000/- profit per month). In addition to selling vegetables and livestock, the family earns approx. Rs. 3000/- per month which covers their family expenses.

Shikha’s dream is to build a good house and purchase some more land so she can expand her integrated farming. She is confident that she can achieve this by following the Integrated Natural farming Technique cultivation method.

The U3 programme supported by Misereor promotes fostering and securing self-sustaining climate resilient-cum-adaptive agriculture and livelihoods through community-owned processes. The programme is rolled out in West Bengal, Karnataka, and Telangana for a period of 3 years. The third phase of the programme will continue in 16 Districts, 50 Panchayats, 1222 Villages by 15 Partners (7 in West Bengal, 4 in Karnataka, 4 in Telangana). In this phase, the programme will focus on Networking and Convergence – Connecting U3 with C3 (Cultivator, Consumer and Connectivity) as well as capturing a good model of U3- indigenous knowledge and local resources through the Key Strategic Pillars (KSP) such as Empowering Animation, Dialogue, Volunteerism and Sharing Communities.