Gonds are one of the largest tribal groups in India, spread across different states of the country including Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. Recognised as a “primitive tribal community”, Gonds still live by hunting and depend on forest produce and agriculture to feed themselves and earn a livelihood.  59-year-old Mr. Gangaram Pusam belongs to the scheduled tribe caste and sub-caste of Gond. He and his family are from the village of Manikyapu of Komaram Bheem Asifabad District, Telangana which is predominantly a forest area. Gangaram has 3.5 acres of Patta land and depends on forest stream water for farming. He lives with his joint family consisting of 6 members. He cultivates cotton on 3 Acres and Green Gram and Red Gram on the rest of 0.5 acres of barren land. His total monthly family income is Rs 25000 – 30,000 which includes his old age pension and income from Farm. He owns two bullocks and four country cows. Other than that, he goes to the forest for cattle reading collecting honey and Minor Forest Products (MFPs).

Although Gangaram practices natural farming, he lacks crucial knowledge of chemical-free farming and livestock-based farming methods. He used Synthetic growth promoters such as Urea and DAP by selling cow dung and farmyard manure. His investment in farming is surging as he spends around Rs, 20,000 to 25,000 per acre for farm inputs including fertilizers and harvesting works. It was becoming difficult to maintain the cultivation on the farm with the same practices given the high amount of investment and lesser production.

U3 programme emphasizes empowering the community through community-led action and rebuilding the lives of the marginal farmers by promoting sustainable livelihood with the support of Caritas India and Misereor. This programme also focuses on promoting climate resilient agriculture practices through the community-owned process. Caritas India and her local partners are extending all possible support to ensure that marginalised farmers lead an honourable and better life by increasing their Livelihood income through sustainable farming.

During the U3 – II phase, all the farmers were trained on organic preparations, methods and applications and were educated about the environment, health and economic benefits of livestock litter and utilizing of this resource for organic farming.  As part of the implementation process, the Diocese of Adilabad Human Promotion Society (DAHPS) provides technical support to these communities to set up the “Gobar Gas Units” for 30 families in two villages. The number of units is now increased to 190 beneficiaries during this current phase. Along with the technical support, SKG Sangha has provided equipment such as cement, pipes, iron rod, metal, and machine work charges for the construction of Gobar gas units. The beneficiaries contributed their land for the setup, labour, and sand for setting up the units. The remaining contribution of digging sand, land and labour is provided by the community itself.

DAHPS has facilitated 18 training programmes, awareness programmes and exposure visits. Model demos were provided to the farmers on the usage of slurry for organic preparations such as preparing “Jeevamruth” (Bio Fertilizer) and “Agniastra” (bio pest repellents). They were also trained on the application of the same on their crops such as Millet, Pulses and Rice. Further, a large container drum with a storage capacity of 50 litres and other equipment were provided to 60 Farmers for preparing the organic formations under the U3 project by the DAHPS partner.

Mr. Gangaram was one of the beneficiaries to construct the Gober Gas plant and he applies the slurry in his agricultural land as manure for improving the soil fertility thus increasing production. The Biogas units eventually contributed to elevating environmental conditions and resource recovery which ultimately improved farm produce and socio-economic profiles of the households in general. However, agricultural wastes and cow dung were not optimally managed by some households here. Every day Gangaram collects up to 10 kilograms of cow dung, adding 5 litres of water and pours the mixture into the gobar gas unit. This slurry is stored until a large quantity is collected.  Once it is dried, it is stored for usage in dry form as manure and applied to the crops. The slurry also can be used in liquid form as Jeevamrutham by adding jaggery, and water which can also be applied to the crops.

The application of these processes led to an increase in production for Mr. Gangaram. Eventually, paddy production increased by 8 quintals, Green Gram by 2.5 quintals and red Gram by 5 quintals. Similarly, the income from Farm increased to Rs. 61900/- with a profit of Rs. 11300/- after using Jeevamrutham.

Ganagram used the profit to fund the education of his grandchildren and the renovation of the house. He has also sold his old bullocks at the rate of Rs. 40,000 and purchased a young bullocks pair for cultivation at Rs,. 60,000/-. New initiatives by the U-3 programme have made a significant difference in the lives of many marginalised farmers by increasing their yield and boosting their income.