1

FIELDWORK SEGMENT (FWS)

PRM 2014-16
A REPORT

Exploratory Study of Village: ERUMELY

Gram Panchayat: ERUMLY

DISTRICT: KOTTAYAM
STATE: KERALA

HOST ORGANISATION: KUDUMBASHREE

Prepared by:
DEEPTHI RAVINDRAN (P35122)
MINAKSHI CHHIKARA (P35051)
DEEPIKA YADHAV (P35121)

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the

FWS of the
Post Graduate Programme in Rural Management

INSTITUTE OF RURAL MANAGEMENT ANAND

December, 2014

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................................. 7
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 8
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY ......................................................................................... 10
SCOPE OF STUDY ........................................................................................................... 11
METHODOLOGY TOOLS............................................................................................... 11
DATA REQUIREMENTS................................................................................................. 13
INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS USED IN DATA COLLECTION ........................... 14
VILLAGE SOCIETY ........................................................................................................ 15
VILLAGE ECONOMY ..................................................................................................... 19
PUBLIC SERVICES ......................................................................................................... 38
CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 47
FUTURE PROGRAMMES FOR ERUMELY PANCHAYAT ........................................ 48
ANNEXTURE ................................................................................................................... 51

LIST OF FIGURES

S.NO.

TOPIC

PG. NO:

POPULATION
COMPOSITION

10

SCHEDULED CASTES
AND
SHEDULE
TRIBES

11

POPULATION
DISTRIBUTION

12

LIST OF TABLES
S.NO.

TOPIC

PAGE NO.

BROAD OCCUPATIONS TRENDS

13

AVERAGE PRICE OF THE CROPS

15

REALTIONSHIP BETWEEN LAND

SIZE AND FARMERS INCOME

15

TYPES OF NON FARMING

ACTIVITIES

20

LIST OF ANNEXURES

ANNEXURE
NUMBER

TOPIC

PAGE NUMBER

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

43

SOCIAL MAP OF ERUMELY

45

MIGRATION PATTERN OF ERUMELY

46

TREE MATRIX

46

SEASONALITY MATRIX

48

TREND ANALYSIS

49

DAILY ACTIVITY SCHEDULE FOR

TRIBALS

50

HOUSEHOLDS DETAILS OF 5 POOR

AND 5 RICH FAMILIES

51

SHG EFFECT ,NOW AND THEN

ANALSIS

53

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

NHG

NEIGHBOR HELP GROUP

NGO

NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION

P.A

PER ANNUM

KSRTC

KERALA STATE ROAD TRANSPORT CORPORATION

RBI

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

SHG

SELF-HELP GROUP

PRA

PARTICIPATORY RURAL APPRAISAL

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

There are certain events in our lives which take place as a result of the
culmination of the efforts, guidance and assistance of several people. This
acknowledgement attempts to express our deep sense of gratitude to all those people who
helped us in our endeavor towards rural sensitization and in the process, shaped our lives.

We are extremely grateful and indebted to IRMA and our field work Cocoordinator Prof. Mukul Kumar for giving us this unique opportunity.

We would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our host organization,
Kudumbashree, for facilitating our stay in the village and for the valuable inputs that they
provided to us throughout our study. We also thank the reporting officers and all other
officers in charge and also all officials at the Panchayat office in assisting in the best
manner possible.

We are indebted to the people of Erumely for their love, co-operation and support
throughout the study. All of them helped immensely with both their time and energy. We
went with an intention to understand rural life and to make a positive impact in any way we
could, but ended up being influenced and transformed. To the residents of Erumely and all
the others who have directly or indirectly helped , us we shall forever remain grateful.

Deepthi Ravindran
P35122
Minakshi Chikkara
P35051
Deepika Yadhav P35121

INTRODUCTION
Erumely is a small village on the way to one of South India`s most famous and highly
worshipped holy place of Lord Ayappa that is the Sabarimala. Erumely is the name that
came from "erumakolli" (Killed the buffalo). Myth states that Lord Ayyappa killed
"Mahishi", sister of Mahishasur in this place on the way to collect leopard's milk to cure
the disease of his beloved mother . Mahish means Eruma in Malayalam which means
buffalo and hence the name "erumakolli" got derived.
It`s the place where Lord Ayappa meditated after killing the powerful demoness- Mahishi
and is famous for the Sabarimala festival which takes place in the months of November,
December and January and attracts around 50 million devotes every year. The unique
feature about this festival is that one has to visit both the temple and mosque as part of the
ritual. The Erumely Sree Dharma Sastha Temple is the starting point for pilgrims going to
Sabarimala from there the pilgrims have to pay homage to Vavar at Nainar mosque and a
traditional ritual named Petta Thullal is performed which represents the joy among the
people .
It is in the year 1953 August 15 th Erumely panchyat was formed with 12 wards later on
the existing wards got divided into 23 wards for easy governance with an area of 119.3 sq
km. It is considered to be the largest village in Kerala. It is also the second largest forest
range area in Kerala.
Erumely grama panchayat is located in Erumely south village of kanjirapally block in
kanjirapally thaluk of kottayam district. Total area of Erumely grama panchayat is
82.35km2. It shares its boundary with various places at its North Kanjirapally, Parathodu,
Mundakayam panchayat, at East the panchayat of Korithodu , Chittar (Pathanamthitta
district) , South the panchayat of Vechoochira and at the West panchayat of Manimala
and Chirakadavu.
Erumely can be reached through Mundakkayam, Kanjirappally, or Ranni. People coming
from Kottayam can be reached through Kanjirappally covering a distance of 49 km.

9
People from the Highrange can access Erumely through Mundakkayam or Kanjirappally
with a distance of 14 km. From the capital,Trivandrum, Erumely is accessed through
Ranni with a distance of 140km and 18 km respectively . NH220 National Highway
passes 10 km near to Erumely through 26th mile, which makes it reachable easily.
Nearest Rail Heads: Kottayam, Chengannur, Changanachery, & Thiruvalla. Nearest
Airport : Cochin which is 98 km apart.

It has got a blend of tropical and equatorial climate. It is usually hot and humid it is
mainly because of the hilly terrain and high altitude that has a major influence on the
climate. Temperatures are extremely high during March to May rising up to 38.5 degree
centigrade. It is the South West monsoons that cool down the hot summer with an
average rainfall of 2,701.7 millimeters.
However, after interacting with the villagers they say that the climate of the region has
changed making it hotter. Also the degree of humidity has also risen.
Located at an average height of 9 feet (3 meters) above the sea level, is located
geographically at 9 35' N and 76 31' E., the Erumely panchayat is said to be a midland
region it is a combination of both mountainous terrain and low lying regions that are close
to the level of the sea.
The major type of soil which is present in the area is alluvial soil which is apt for the
production of cash crops. In some parts laterite soil is also present.
Forest plays a key role in the life of the villagers and the economy of the society as a
whole. Its presence can be felt all the three sectors such as the primary, secondary and
tertiary. It secures the second position of place having the largest forest cover. A portion
of the Eumely panchayat which is block no:12 Angel valley composes of the Periyar
Wildlife Natural Reserve.
It has high deposits of graphite and lime shell. Which are exploited by industries . Other
one is clay which is used to make pots and handicrafts.

10
It has abundant sources of water in the form of lakes, ponds, wells and streams. It has 9
lakes which all together covers all the 23 wards of the Erumely Panchayat with the largest
one having the depth of 102 meters and breadth of 947 meters and the shortest one with
48 meters in depth and 527 meters in breadth. It has also got 4 small streams. In places
where the government water connection is not yet given the villagers use motors to
directly take water from the natural sources of water.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of our study was to have an understanding of rural life. With this real life
fieldwork exposure we were to grab the nuances of day to day activities in a village. Our
aim was to probe and dwell into important aspects of rural life.

To know about the various livelihood activities villagers are into.

To know about the village and history.

The various institutions that are present in the village and how these are related to
the villagers.

To know the various problems faced by them and to know about the various steps
taken from the part of government.

To know in depth about their economic activities especially their agriculture and
its linkage with other activities.

To know about the various financial institutions and their role.

11

SCOPE OF STUDY
As Erumely Panchayat is the largest village in Kerala having 23 wards, we curtailed our
study to certain wards under the jurisdiction. Although we have explored almost every
ward in the panchayat, the surveys for our respective Faculty Participant Collaborative
Report, Rural Action Component were limited to the wards of Erumely town, Angel
Valley, Nerchapara, Pampa Valley, Ummikuppa and Mukuttuthara and we have
attempted to encapsulate rural life from different perspectives

METHODOLOGY TOOLS
In order to get ourselves acquainted with the village dynamics we started exploring it and
tried to interact with maximum possible people on our way. Fortunately the very first
week the news relating to our visit was covered in the daily news paper which turned out
to be an advantage because people started recognizing us ,cooperated and responded
without even explaining to them the reason behind our visit. In order to collect the data

12
we relied on both primary as well as secondary sources for data in our endeavour to
understand rural life.

Primary sources of data

Transect walks
Unobtrusive observations
Questionnaire surveys
Semi formal interviews

Secondary sources of data

Panchayat offices.
Panchayat Committee meetings.
Cooperative Societies.

A ) PRIMARY SOURCES

1.

Transect walks helped us to build a good rapport with the villagers. People started
recognizing us and also helped us to get a wider picture of the village.

2.

Unobtrusive observation was conducted when we went for the walks especially
during morning and also at the time of collecting data during our surveys.

3.

Questionnaire surveys of the households were conducted to collect data on various

aspects. It was done mainly for the Faculty Participant Collaborative Research and
was confined to some selective wards of Erumely Panchayat.

13

13

4.

Semi formal interviews were conducted very often with the villagers to get a better
understanding about the village and villagers. With this the villagers got comfortable
in interacting with us.

5. Participatory Rural Appraisal PRAs proved to be extremely useful as it facilitated

participation of the local residents and provided a platform where we could listen to
their ideas and also issues. The locals responded in a totally different way when they
were part of the exercises and helped immensely.
1. Focus Group Discussions were conducted to know about the problems which they are
facing at present, the kind of activities they are into and so on.

B) SECONDARY SOURCES
1. Panchayat office served as the best place from where we were able to collect
the data. From there we got the book of their yearly plans and details about
the village.
2. Panchayat committee meeting was attended were the current problems and
immediate decisions for the village was taken.
3. Cooperative society were the milk was collected and details regarding the
same.
4. Financial institutions shared with us regarding the types of loan, interest rates
and the reason for people availing the loan.
5. Other Non Governmental Institutions such as educational , medical and so on
also shared a lot of informations.

DATA REQUIREMENTS
The aim was to look at the entire village and collect and analyze data on the following
elements of a village based on the guidelines for the fieldwork.
Village Society Population, Demography, Health, Education, Communication .

14

Village Economy This includes rainfall, temperature, type of soil, topography,

agriculture, animal husbandry, services, consumption, markets, infrastructure etc.
0 Village Polity it includes various Institutions, Gram Panchayats, Political Influence,
Caste Structure etc.
0 Village Livelihoods: defining people in terms of age, gender, class, ability etc., asset
based available etc.

INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS USED IN DATA COLLECTION

Base line survey was conducted during the preliminary stage of the study covering 10
households (5 poor and 5 not-poor) in the village. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
exercises like seasonality and resource mapping and daily activity schedules were used to
collect data for qualitative study. It helped in developing an insight about the peoples
perception and evaluation of their current situation. Semi structured and unstructured
interviews were also conducted with the people. Focus group discussions have been one
among the most effective tools employed to garner deeper understanding on the lives of the
villagers.

15

VILLAGE SOCIETY
DEMOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE

POPULATION

As village Erumely is the largest village in Kerala with 23 wards has also got a very
large population of 43253 people with a unique blend of Hindus, Muslims and
Christians, all living together in harmony, peace and cooperation. It has a composition
of 5%, 15% and 80% of Hindus,Christians and Muslims respectively. Among which
20370 are males and 22883 are females. It has also got substantial number of
scheduled castes of 9022 in which 4812 are males and 4812 are females and scheduled
tribes of 1942 in number in which 954 are males and 988 are females. It has got a sex
ratio of 1007 females to 1000 males.

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

POPULATION COMPOSITION

20370

22883
FEMALE
MALE

SOURCE: PANCHAYAT OFFICE

SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES

16

4812
10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0

988
4812
954

SCHEDULED CASTES

SCHEDULED TRIBES
FEMALE

MALE

SOURCE: HOUSEHOLD SURVEY BY

ANGANWADI.

There are a total of 12578 households among which 10% is female driven and the rest
male driven. The average number of members per household is 5 members. One of the
reason behind having lesser members is that most of the families are nuclear.
AGE COMPOSITION
The majority of the population of Erumely (30277 people) comes under the working
age group of 14-60 years old. The population belonging to the group of 60 and above
form the next highest group with 7930 people. Then comes the children from 0-6 years
and 6-14 years with a population of 1874 and 3172 respectively. It was very
encouraging that the children attended their school regularly and every family were
giving so much importance to their education making it the place were 100 % of them
attended

schools.

About

90%

of

them

pursued

higher

education

too.

17

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
35000
30277

NUMBER OF PEOPLE

30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000

7930
1874

3172

0-6 YEARS

6-14 YEARS

14-60 YEARS

ABOVE 60
YEARS

1874

3172

30277

7930

AGE COMPOSITION

LITERACY AND LEVEL OF EDUCATION

As far as the literacy of Erumely is concerned 92% of the female population and 97%
male population is literate making it an average of 94%. This high level of literacy is
due to the people of the village are aware of their rights and are very much concerned
of their standard of living. It is in this district of Kerala which has the maximum
people of literates. Here, the government also plays a major role in making
arrangements for improving the quality of education and make sure that every child
goes to the school and get proper education.

18

DEMOGRAPHICS

CASTE AND RELIGION

It has a mixed population comprising of Hindus, Muslims and Christians all

living together harmony with the unique blend of people belonging to Hindu,
Muslim and Christian religion, the composition being 5%, 15% and 80%
respectively.

19

VILLAGE ECONOMY
Occupational sector

Broad Occupational trends

Occupation Type

Person engaged in occupation

Farming

23%

Agriculture

64%

Dairy farming

36%

Both agriculture

and dairy 27%

farming
Non farming activity

77%

Self employment

22%

Wage employment (regular 52%

or semi regular)
Wage employment (casual)

4%

Combination of daily wage 22%

employment

with

other

non

agricultural activity
Both farming and non farming 11%
activity

According to the survey and observation it was been analyzed that large
majority of them are engaged in the non farming activities.

Reasons for the occupational change

From the last few decades there has been change in the occupational trends.
The reasons for this change are 1) increase in the literacy rate 2)improvement
in

the

infrastructure(communication

and

transportation)

3)role

of

20
Kudumbashree. Due to all the three factors there has been shift in the
occupation.

Farming
According to the survey around 23% of the total population are directly
dependent on the farming sector. The main farming activities in Erumely is
agriculture and animal husbandry. History of Erumely shows that the region
between Azhutha and Erumely was largely cultivated. There is evidence that,
1512 acres of temple lands were under cultivation, carried on by
sharecroppers. About 100 years ago, farmers migrated to this area and began
cultivation. Then the Irikkattu estate, now Harrison Malayalam, was a tea
estate to begin with. Later the estate developed rubber too. After the Second
World War, there was a universal food scarcity. The Government of
Travancore initiated what is called Grow More Food scheme, and allotted to
different associations areas for cultivation of foods. These areas were in the
forest region beyond Mukkoottuthara. Thus an impetus was given for the
production of foods like Paddy and Cassava. After the independence the
pattern shifted in favour of cash crops as these yielded better returns. Food
production suffered and became nominal only. Today the Panchayat has 3547
hectares under rubber, 600 hectares under pepper vines and 250 hectares under
plantain cultivation. The productivity of food crops is below the State average,
while in the case of Rubber it is above the State average.

The main agricultural crops grown are

Rubber plantation

Coffee plantation

Pineapple plantation

Tapioca

Banana cultivation

Ginger, turmeric, black pepper etc

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After the rubber plantation pine apple and Banana are been done generally by
big farmers because it requires heavy investment in terms of time and money.
And it is more prone to pest Attacks.

Crops like tapioca , coffee , ginger , turmeric and black pepper are been
cultivated by every second house as they are the staple food. They are been
produced both for the self consumption and selling in the market.
The given table shows the average prices of the major crops that are been sold
in
the Erumely market.

NAME OF THE CROP

AVERAGE PRICE(PER KG)

Rubber

112

Banana

32

Tapioca

25

Coffee

350

Ginger

200

Rubber Plantation
Ever since the beginning of commercial cultivation of natural rubber (NR) in
India during the early 20th century, the planters in Travancore, Cochin and
Malabar regions in Southern India. Kottayam District of Kerala is the leader in
rubber production among the states of India. The rubber plant is not a native
plant of India. Dutch colonialists who also cultivated rubber in their
plantations in Indonesia introduced the rubber plant to Kerala, India, because
of its similar tropical climate. In kottayaam, Erumely is playing an leading
role in the contribution.

Erumely is surrounded by the large number of rubber trees. All people there
living in Erumely are directly or indirectly related to the rubber cultivation. It
provides employment to the hundreds of villagers through various ways.

22
Erumelys terrain land and humid temperature creates the perfect environment
for the rubber plantation for the entire year .

Income class

Numbers

Land area(average)

Profit earned(p.a.)

Lower and middle class

25%

Less than one acre

28,935

Rich farmers

75%

1- 3 acres

191,707.5

Rubber is then sold in the Erumely market which is then later collected and
transported to the rubber factory.

There are two rubber factories located in Erumely market which provides
employment to 700 people. most of them are migrated from the Assam ,West
Bengal and Nepal. The working conditions are pathetic because of ammonia
smell.they were given daily wages of Rs400 and were provided with the
accommodation facility. In that factory rubber was been processed and were
converted into balloons ,mats and tires. The rubber is been received by the
nearby marketers and big farmers at the market price. To avoid exploitation
the rubber price is been daily published in the local newspaper and which is
been followed by everyone.

Due to the uncertainty in the rubber price the lower and middle farmers are
demotivated to do rubber plantation on a large scale or considering them as the
only source of income. As a result the income earned by them is less
compared to the large scale farmers.

The most important incentive that can be given to any farmer is to give a
remunerative price for this produce. When the price of a crop goes up, its
cultivation will increase. The expansion of the cultivation of Cocoa in :1970s
and Vanilla in 2000s illustrates this phenomenon. Similarly the price of
natural rubber showed an increasing trend in 1994 and this trend continued up
to 1997. After 1997 the price showed a decreasing trend which continued up
to 2002. From the middle of 2002 the prices of natural rubber started a
recovery. After deducting the cost of rubber cultivation from the total income

23
we can calculate the surplus income of rubber growers in Kerala. In order to
identify the significance of rubber plantations in Kerala, the cropping pattern
in Kerala has to be properly analyzed.

Animal husbandry
In the village since there was a minimum consumption of milk so less number
of people were engaged in the animal husbandry. According to my survey
16.66% were engaged in this occupation.
Majorly keeping goats followed by buffalo.as because the cost of keeping and
maintaining the goat is less compared to the buffalo.

The case given below shows that how organizations like Kudumbashree is

24
able to enable a new skill which automatically increases the income and helps
in improving the economic conditions of them.
Few decades back keeping animal husbandry was rarely seen as an occupation
as due to the lack of money and knowledge. But due to the role of
Kudumbashree now people are actively engaged in animal husbandry and
earning a good income out of it.

The average milk consumption of Erumely village is 1litre , this shows that
there is not much demand for it. Hence the production is not that much. Most
of the milkman sells to their neighbors whereas the surplus production is sold
in the grocery shops and the grocery shops later on sells to the ultimate
consumers at Rs 50 per liter.
With the recent improvement in the market there has led to the improvement
in the farming sector as it has been providing various facilities/ improvements
in the production. Such as

25
1. Provides fodder - inputs such as pallets, calcium , ash powder are been
easily available in the Erumely market. so with this they are able to maintain
the quality and quantity of the milk.

2. Health care - there is no animal hospital in the eerily but around 7 kms from
here there is veteran clinic at Kanjrepally and for the emergency purpose the
doctor comes to the patients family. The monthly expenditure for one cow/
buffalo is rs500

3. Transportation - due to the proper roads and transportation facilities the

milk man are able to sell their milk to the market and to the big farmers the
MILMA cooperative society are easily able to reach the place.

Poultry Farming
This is the new emerging profitable marketing trend in Erumely. And the
major reason for this introduction was having improved and better
infrastructural facilities.
These chickens are been supplied mainly from Tamil Nadu and even from
Andra Pradesh.
These suppliers provides the poultry farmers the chickens with the fodder. In
return the farmers have to keep these chickens for 30 - 45 days. All the
accommodation and maintain cost including the risk have to bear by the
farmer.
After the completion of the 30-45 days the farmers gets the money only if the
average weight of all the chickens are 2kg. The income they get is rs6 per
chicken
There are two types of poultry farming done basis of size - large scale and
small scale poultry farming
In the small scale poultry farming - the farmers buys not more than 20 chicks
from the nearby market and the whole expenditure is been beard solely by
him. This is generally supported by the Kudumbashree organizations.

26
In the large sector -There were half a dozens farmers which were doing
poultry farming keeping 5000 - 10,000chickens which they get from the
supplier (Tamil Nadu) on the large scale and now they are earning in lakhs.

Non farming activities

In Erumely 77% of the population is engaged in the non farming sector. The
reason for the high degree of dependence is due to the
Constraints in farming activities
a.

Low profitability

b.

Time consuming

c.

Lack of sufficient money to buy land/animals

d.

Lack of required knowledge to do farming activities

e.

High degree of risk due to the unsustainable farming activities

Better marketing environment

f.

Increase in the literacy level that had motivated people to switch from
farming to non

g.

Farming activities.

h.

Improvement in infrastructure in terms of communication and

transportation that had made to people diffused themselves to different
areas in different sectors.

i.

Support from the Erumely panchayat

27

Large number of people have shifted their occupation from farming to non
farming activities or they have transferred their farming occupation from
primary to secondary activities and they have started involving themselves
some other non- farming activities

Types of non farming activities in Erumely

TYPE

OF

NON NUMBER

FARMING

POPULATION

ACTIVITY

(OUT OF 77%)

Daily wage laborer

OF SKILLED

/NON AVERAGE

/SEMI SKILLED

EARNING(P.A.)

19%

Non - skilled

2,00,000

Self employment

29%

Skilled /Non/ semi

3,36,000

Drivers

14%

Semi skilled

2,40,000

Shop keepers

8%

Non -Semi skilled

4,80,000

Professional job

4%

Skilled

6,00,000

Trader

8%

Semi skilled

2,80,000

Salaried job

28%

Private sector

20%

Skilled - semi skilled 1,95,000

Government

8%

Skilled - semi skilled 3,26,,500

sector

Shopkeepers
Erumely has a huge market. It markets latest products which shows that it
remains

updated with the external environment.

The main markets are a.

bakery shops

b.

grocery items

c.

fruit/ vegetable shops

d.

fish market

e.

stationary shop

f.

lottery shops

28
g.

computer center.

Bakery shops and grocery items

Markets were flooded with the bakery and grocery items. From the traditional
snacks such as pazhampori , ada , paripuvada to the italian food such as pastry
, vegetarian puffs , everything was available. But as people were earning a
decent income so once a weak they buy these food.

Fruits/vegetables
The fruits consists of apple , banana , pine apple , grapes and oranges were
available. In which apple were imported from Ooty whereas grapes and
oranges were imported from the Tamil Nadu. Same with the case with
vegetables apart from tapiuca and lady finger almost everything was been
imported from the Tamil Nadu.

Fish market
Being fish as a staple food there is a demand of it and as the pampa river was
flown so there was a huge supply of fishes. Different varieties of fishes were
available at a cheap price. As a result there forms a perfect fish market.

Stationary shop
As having 100% literacy and being the hub of educational campus there are so
many stationery shops and half a dozens of computer centers.

Lottery shops
Kerala being the only place where the lottery business is legal so hence there
are some small lottery shops and even there are people who do personal
selling of lotteries and erumely people do try their luck.

Bus and auto rickshaw driver

Erumely is located in a terrain area as a result it does not have a train

connectivity , the nearby railway station is in the Kottayam district which is
40-45 km away from Erumely. So hence people have to rely much on road

29
transport. Roads are well constructed and connected to the highways , main
roads and villages of Erumely but the intra - village roads are in poor
conditions. There is a wide network of roads in this Panchayat, but the roads
are not in the best of conditions. Uneven roads, narrowness of them, lack of
drains to draw off water, absence of culverts, public apathy, and lack of funds,
all these worsen the situation. Statistics show that mud roads account for 123.6
kms, and tar roads account for 29.4 kms, district roads account for 18.2 kms
and village roads account for 134 kilometers.

Therefore having such a good transport infrastructure and being Erumely as an

holy place it makes the transportation facility an profitable occupation. With
little investment the person can run auto rickshaw. Both the private and public
buses are run in Erumely but the roads are mostly crowded by the private
buses.

According to my survey I found 11% occupation were driver and all of them
were in the private sector.

Trader
The people are preferring trading as a profitable business. The goods that they
mainly deal with are - chips , biscuits of local brands , cosmetic products
which are imported from Dubai.
They deal in all wards of Erumely and other villages of Kottayam district.
Due to the recent decline in the rubber price , people are switching there
occupation to trading, it requires lots of traveling but the profits are bright
enough to attract the people.

Daily wage laborer

There are some households who do not have land or less land to cultivate or
do not have enough skills to generate some income, for that kind of people
Erumely is a best place to work on . The reason for considering Erumely being
the best place for daily wage labors are1. Good wages- as compared to other states the wages given to the daily wage
laborer's are high. For agriculture purposes the daily wage laborer gets rs300

30
per day whereas the non agricultural daily wage laborer gets rs250. There are
so many chops in the erumely market and large acres of land are been
cultivated as a result there is a huge demand for the labors.
But because of this attractive wages large number of migration is taking place
from West Bengal, Assam and Nepal which had created a huge competition in
the market as a result price of the labor have been reduced from rs350 to
rs300.

2. No exploitation- in erumely the working environment is good i.e. They are

not exploited regarding the payment of the wages. The laws and regulations
are been followed. The crime rate is less as a result the workers feel safe.

3. Too many opportunities- erumely has a developing markets and the

developed agricultural sectors as a result they are open with soo many job
opportunities are available for the labors.

4. Stable jobs- even they are working as daily wage laborer but due to soo
many development is taking place as a result they are easily able to get the
jobs. This help in ensuring the stability.

Migrate to Dubai- it was very shocking to find that every third house in
Erumely has one member working in Dubai. Having limited education they
generally get the low skilled job such as driver. The average earning is
rs50,000 pm. Through they send rs20,000 to their family members.

Other jobs - Erumely providing numerous of job opportunities and due to

which those who are educated gets more job opportunities. Some of the jobs
are - working in the media press, wood seller , guard etc

Migration trend

It is the new trend that the Erumely is carrying due to the literacy level and
being an attractive working destination it ha sled to both internal and external
migration.

31

External migration
Large portion of people are doing jobs in Dubai and other middle eastern
nations and send money to their family who are staying in Erumely. Jobs that
they do are mostly low- semi skilled jobs such as drivers or daily wage
laborers earning Rs50,000p.m(average)

Internal migration
Labor cost is very high in Erumely as a result there is a huge migration of
cheap labors mainly from West Bengal, Assam and Nepal. Hence Erumely
daily wage workers are facing a tough competition from them as migrants are
ready to work at less wages.
Because of this the daily wages have reduced from rs400 to 350
As due to the attractive wages and lots of opportunities available in the
agriculture as well as non agricultural sector due to which lots of migration
has taken place. the majority of the migrated people have come from the states
such as West Bengal , Assam and Nepal.

Strong linkage between Farming and Non Farming Activities

Transportation facilities
Erumely is located in a terrain area as a result it does not have a train
connectivity , the nearby railway station is in the Kottayam district which is
40-45 km away from Erumely. So hence people have to rely much on road
transport. Roads are well constructed and connected to the highways , main
roads and villages of Erumely but the intra - village roads are in poor
conditions. There is a wide network of roads in this Panchayat, but the roads
are not in the best of conditions. Uneven roads, narrowness of them, lack of
drains to draw off water, absence of culverts, public apathy, and lack of funds,
all these worsen the situation. Statistics show that mud roads account for 123.6
kms, and tar roads account for 29.4 kms, district roads account for 18.2 kms
and village roads account for 134 kilometers.

32
Bus and auto service
Kottayam has 23wards (which is the largest all over the India) but due to the
high degree of transportation proximity it had well integrated all the wards.
For the long distance people prefer bus service over auto because it is less
time consumption and less costly with the latter.
There is public as well as private bus transportation facilities. and people are
very much satisfied with the services as they easily able to get the
transportation services timely and at a affordable rates.

Feasibility
According to the survey the average transportation cost is Rs1,1312 which is
3% of the average income(3,76,418). But this does not show the true picture.
- most of the people do not travel much as their bread winner is working in the
gulf country . So hence they go to the market to buy daily household items
which they are easily able to get from the nearby market.
Due to the high income disparity we can take the leverage of 3-7%

Communication and media facility

All the houses from where took the survey were having television with cable
connectivity and as it claims to have a 100% literacy it has the huge market for
the newspapers , magazines and books. This shows that people are well aware
of what is going on their surroundings and are able to communicate with the
outside world in the better way.

Through the interaction with the people it was observed that people are well
aware of policies that are available and are taking the benefit. Being the
market for the rubber so to prevent the exploitation the local newspaper
announces the everyday price on the basis of which the transaction are taken
place between the prices. This shows that how the media is playing an
important roles in Erumely.
Education
ERUMELY has 100% literacy.

33
The first formal school The CMS School was established in 1923 at
Kanakapalam, another under the name St. Thomas L. P. School was
established in the year 1926. At Kanakappalam another school came into
existence under the name N.M. Primary School in the same year. St. Thomas
primary school became a middle school in 1937; an English medium school
was also established here. A total of 29 educational institutions do function in
this Panchayat of these, only one is a college and seven are high schools.
There are 6 U.P schools, 14 L.P. schools and one I.T.C. A family spends large
portion of their income on their children's education. It has 1 play school, 2
primary school, 4 Higher Secondary school, 2 colleges and one school for
children with special needs.

Technology change

In every sphere even though how simple it is has been replaced by the new
technologies in other words traditional methods are been replaced by the
modern processes in Erumely.
With this technology trends almost everyone is been benefited by it.

Factors that influenced the technological change

Increase in the literacy level - Erumely has more than 90% of the literacy
level which had made them more aware about the surroundings. As a result
they are trying to involve in new activities or doing same activity in a different
way which results in the innovation.
Increase in population- - Erumelys population is increasing as compared to
the limited resources. Hence the demand is also increasing as a result in order
to meed to demands the producers have to adopt new technology which will
ensure in the adoption of the new technologies.

Limited resources- due to the limited resources such as land , water and
increase in the demands it has created pressure to the producers to increase the

34
production and this can be done only with the help of new technology which
helps in utlising the resources effectively and efficiently.

Increase in competition- due to the increase in the competition for example in

pineapple plantation large farmers are using insecticides , pesticides , new
methods of agriculture to increase the production so that they can earn profit.
The producers are trying to introduce the new technologies in order to meet

Increase in the number of migration- with the increase in the number of the
migration rate both internal and external migration which has resulted in the
technology transfer. As large number of people are migrating to other states
and middle Asian countries and also people from different states are also
migrating to Erumely as a result there has been resulted in the exchange or
transfer of new technologies

Effect of technology
Due to all the above factors Erumely couldn't escaped from the technological
revolution.
With the introduction of technology it has resulted both positive and negative
influence to the Erumely.

Positive influence of technology

a.

Generating more employment to Erumely people as people who were

earlier engaged in farming are now doing some other non - farming
activity.

b.

As in Erumely with the establishment of the rubber factory almost

everyone is directly or indirectly engaged in rubber plantation

c.

Increasing the income- with introduction of technology it has led to the

increase in the income of the people as a farmer he is able to produce
more , as a trader he is able to transport the goods as a customer he is able
to enjoy more varieties of goods with better quality. For eg Mr Chakor

35
who was earlier farmer (as that was generating less income) now is a auto
rickshaw driver and considers the farming as his secondary profession.

d.

Improved the living standard of people - with the opening of soo many
shops in Erumely and providing new improved products ,people of
Erumely are enjoying the better living standards

e.

More awareness- having high literacy rate and with the availability of soo
many newspapers , people are aware of their surroundings and are able to
make best use of opportunities. Everyday price of the rubber is been
published in the newspaper so that the people are not been exploited by
any other external forces.

f.

Reduced costs- farmers of Erumely are using better inputs such as

insecticides , pesticides , as a result it has resulted in more productivity
which ultimately reduces the cost.

g.

An attractive place - being the hub of so many shops it has become an

attractive destination for the people living near to Erumely as a result it
had lead in generating more employment.

Negative influence

a) Increase in the level of Pollution- -technology had led to the increase in

the size of waste as now days children of Erumely are now eating chips or
fruitis as a result the wrappers are non biodegradable which mounts the
dumb size causing the land pollution , even now due to the dumping in the
Erumely river has caused water pollution

b) Deteriorating the resources- resources

are

been improperly or

unsustainable utilized as a result the the natural or original vegetation is

been replaced with man made ecosystem as now the forests. As now the
forests are been cleared so that rubber or pineapple plantation is been
done.

36

c) More insecure work environment - in Erumely people are directly or

indirectly related to rubber plantation , but as the price of the rubber is
dependent on the external market force which is not at all controlled by
the Erumely people as a result reduction in the market price creates the
adverse life to them.

COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS

1) NEIGHBOR HELP GROUPS AND

PURUSHASANGHAMS
One of the major source of providing microcredit in Erumely Panchayat is
through local Neighbor Help Group and Purushasangams which are set up
with the help of an NGO called Kudmbashree. An NHG composes of 15-20
members where they meet once in a week mostly on Sundays in order to
collect a sum ranging between Rs.20 to Rs.100. It is from this amount they
give small amount of loans to the members without any collateral with usually
an interest rate of 2% with a flexible repayment option which are headed by an
either elected or the one who is more capable and educated as the president
and secretary . They are supposed to maintain their books of accounts such as
the Attendence sheet are supposed to mark their presence to the place
corresponding to the same. It is done because the ones who are not present
there a fine of Rs.5 worth would b charged from them as a fine. Minutes book
it contains the detailed report of all the decisions taken in that meeting.
Collection book the exact amount received from each member is recorded as
savings received and interest on loan amount received and loan amount repaid.
Individual books namey Laghu Nikshepa Vaypa pass book maintained by
each member. Bank pass book where the amount deposited would be recorded
in the bank. They do at times with the amount deposited in the bank may take
loan from bank in order to start up a small enterprising unit for them.

37

A Story of Empowerment
The period has almost come that every member of a household should be a member
of an NHG to avail any services from the government from the panchayat office.
This is the story of Mrs. Nasreen who is 35years old is a member of an NHG namely
AMMA. Initially she did not have much knowledge about the advantages that they
will get from the bank as well as the Government for being a part of the same except
that she would be able to get a loan whenever she requires without much formalities.
After joining the same she got to know the various provisions that are present in the
same especially for starting a small intervention. She along with 3 other members of
the NHG decided to start a small tailoring unit. For the same they clubbed their ideas
and decided to take loan from the Kerala Grameen Bank an amount worth Rs.300000
each Rs.75000 at an interest rate of 11.5% p.a. At present they are getting a monthly
revenue of Rs.12000 to Rs.17500 from the same. When they really started working
on the enterprise they also got a grant from the Government worth Rs.10000 for their
initiative. Since its a tailoring unit not much space is required the work is done at
their own premises itself.

2) BALSANGHAMS
There are around 4 balsangams in erumely. It was also started by the NGO
Kudumbashree to inculcate the habit of thrift among the children of the age
group 6-18 years. Here every week they meet and one of them is elected as
secretary and the other as president they collect Rs.10 from all the members
and deposit in the bank. If anyone requires money mainly for meeting their
small educational expenses they can borrow without paying any interest. They
maintain a registers book were the attendance is recorded, individual pass
book for all members and a bank pass book.

3) MILMA DAIRY SOCIETY

A society is also set up in the Angel Valley ward of Erumely. The Dairy
Society was established in the year 2012 with 57 members. The Society office

38
as well as the milk collection centre is located in Angel Valley itself. The milk
is collected twice a day, once in the morning and then at noon. The collected
milk is transported daily to a 20,000 litre capacity Milk Chilling Plant located
in Kottayam and is eventually supplied to the MILMA diary.

PUBLIC SERVICES
The standard of living is not just a question of per capita income or purchasing
power. It is as much determined by the monetary well- being of a person as by
other socio-economic indicators like health, education, security, sanitation and
availability of clean drinking water etc. And the role of public services is of
vital importance in providing these basic amenities and services. Also the
effectiveness of government activities in these fields can be significant
determinant of living conditions.

Sadly the status of public services in Erumeli like many other villages of India
is dismal. Though people have access to a wide range of public services and
programmes: government schools, primary health care center, police station,
fair price shop, electricity supply, employment programmes, family planning
services etc. The problem lies in their poor execution and at times complete
neglect by the state authorities.

In the following pages, we briefly review the experience of public services and
programmes in Erumely. And these observations are based on the data we
received from the records of the Erumely panchayat as well as our regular
visits in the interviewing period with the villagers.

ICDS
ICDS Programme was conceived in Kerala in 1975 with an integrated delivery
package of early child hood services. The Scheme targets the most vulnerable
groups of population including children up to 6 years of age, pregnant women

39
and nursing mothers belonging to poorest of the poor families and living in
disadvantaged areas including backward rural areas, tribal areas and urban
slums.
Erumely has 1 Anganwadi through which the schemes under ICDS are
implemented. Various schemes in Erumely incudes:Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP)
Pre-School Education
Health Check-up
State Plan of Action for the Child in Kerala (SPAC)
Balika Samridhi Yojana (BSY)
TAKE HOME RATION SCHEME (THRS)

HEALTH CARE
In Erumely there is one primary care government hospital, two private
hospitals and many small clinics. Serious patients are referred to General
Hospital located at Kanjirappaly 17 km away from Erumely.
The main health issues dealt at the center were viral fever, diarrhea followed
by the conjunctivitis and chicken pox. Through the observation we found that
the government hospital lacked new and advanced technology as a result
people had to switch to some other government hospital , the nearest hospital
is 17km from Erumely or in the emergency case they have to consider the
private hospitals which are costlier.

PDS
Kerala is a food deficit state-this means that the agricultural production is
geared towards cash crops instead of food crops like rice and wheat. And It is
so state intervention becomes prerequisite for maintaining food security. It is a
well-known fact that Kerala has one of the best run and most effective PDS
networks in India with near-universal coverage. In July 1996, a revised
scheme known as the Targeted PDS was introduced countrywide with a
network of 4.74 lakh FPS.

40
There is 1 fair price shop in Erumely which provides 25 kg of food grains per
family per month at the price of Rs 2 per kg of wheat and Rs 3 per kg of rice
to all the BPL families living in Erumely under the Antyodaya Anna Scheme
started in 2000. Though there is no discrimination in the distribution of food
grains with respect to caste or religion, the quality of food grains received
some times is not of good quality. A complaint regarding the same was
submitted to the panchayat and after this episode the quality of food grains
received improved drastically.

WIDOW PENSIONS
As is the case with most of India, the state government provides for small
monthly pensions to certain categories of widows. In order to be eligible, a
widow should not be above the age of 60 years, should not have any male
adult children and her monthly income should be below a specified level.

Erumeli is one Indian district which is reaping the perks of having a well
educated population. The people though only metrics pass are an active
participant in democratic decision making and this is reflected in the proper
disbursement of widow pension as well as monetary assistance provided to
their daughters. A widow gets 500 rupees per month and an unmarried
daughter of such a woman gets another 400 rupees from the state government.

ELECTRICITY SUPPY
Like other parts of Kerala, Erumeli also has regular power supply with few
cuts. It got electrified in the year 1957 when the Kerala state electricity board
was established. The main source of electricity is hydro power coming from
the Idukki hydro electricity plant having a capacity of 780MW. The
management of billing cycle for the households of erumely is done by the
village panchaya. They disburse as well as collect the bill payments. Any
complaints can be given in written form here which are forwarded to the state
electricity board.

41

COOPERATIVE CREDIT
Almost all women in Erumeli are members of some SHG belonging to
Kudumbashree fame. It is an excellent example of microcredit facility reaching
the poorest of the poor. The economic status of most people living in Erumeli
is low and lower-middle, most of them are agricultural labours or involved in
some low income job like that of driver, painter, carpenter, school helping staff,
news-paper seller etc. Very few of them have their own business and therefore
most of them are living a life of subsistence. Almost all people are a member of
a SHG and have taken a loan for household expenditure, house construction,
childrens education, health etc. Few have even utilized the loan money to start
some income generating business. In this area the popular business include
tailoring mission, poultry farming and goat rearing for milk and meat.

The main idea behind the initiative of microcredit for the poor was to enable
the poorest of poor to have access to finances enabling them to overcome
vagaries like irregular income, natural disasters, seasonal jobs etc. A poor man
with a monthly income in the range of 5000-15000 has very little scope for any
savings and therefore when any of the above adversity happens he has very few
options to overcome it. In such a scenario SHG comes to their rescue which
helps them to at least sail through the distress easily. A few rupees saved on a
weekly basis amounts to not much for a single individual but when we combine
the savings of 15-25 members the amount comes out to be optimal for their
needs.
Microcredit facility via SHG based on cooperative model has helped poor
people come out of poverty by improving their health and nutrition level. At
the same time it was also seen that the amount taken as loan was not diverted in
any income generating activities on a large scale the result of which was that
even after the introduction of these facilities some 15 years back in Erumeli
most people were still living a life of subsistence. The main idea behind
microcredit was for the poorest of poor people to acquire savings and
investment via access to capital. Right now they do have access to capital but it
is not helping in creating any financial assets.

42

WATER SUPPLY
Groundwater in the district Kottayam is abundantly developed through dug
wells, dug cum bore wells, and bore wells for domestic and irrigation needs.
In the valley fill and laterites areas, groundwater is developed mostly through
dug wells. Due to technological developments in recent days the groundwater
is developed through bore wells for irrigation and domestic purposes
particularly midlands and in eastern uplands.
Erumely has no piped water connection. Each house has a tube-well and water
from it is used for all the household chores like drinking, bathing, cleaning etc.
Its a rain surplus area so water scarcity is rarely an issue. The nearby Pampa
River is another good source of water.

THE VILLAGE SCHOOL

ERUMELY has 100% literacy. A family spends large portion of their income
on their children's education. It has 1 play school, 78 anganwadi, 20 primary
schools, 16 Higher Secondary schools, 2 colleges and one school for children
with special needs.
St.Thomas H.S.S, Devasom Board H.S.S, Vavar Memorial H.S.S, MT High
School, is the well-known Higher Secondary schools in Erumely. St.Thomas
H.S.S is oldest school which was started 60 years ago, and is under the
Erumely Forane Church. Crescent public schools, Nirmala etc. are the
schools without higher secondary studies. MES College, on the way to
Mukkoottuthara and Sher Mount College of Arts and Commerce which is
located 2 km away from Erumely town. Both colleges are affiliated to
Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. Assissi Hospital and Nursing College
is also at Mukkoottuthara. Amaljyothy Engineering College, under the Syro
Malabar Catholic diocese of Kanjirapally, is in nearby Koovappally.

43

VILLAGE POLITY
The concept of Decentralized Planning came to Kerala as early as 1957,
when its first Chief Minister, E. M. S. Namboodiripad suggested measures for
democratization of the organs of governments at various levels. The 73rd and
74th amendments by the central government in the year 1993 gave a new
meaning to democracy and governance in all the states of India. Kerala Is
known to be one of the most politically engaged state especially with regard to
local self- governance institutions. With a history of governments alternating
every 5 years, elections being conducted by the state election commission,
Kerala has witnessed high level of political participation from its people and
same is the case with the village of Erumely.

PANCHAYAT

Erumely panchyat was formed in the year 1953 with 12 wards which were
later divided into the existing 23 wards for easy governance. It has 12 wards
and from each ward a panchayat member is elected. The panchayat is headed
by a president who is assisted by an elected vice president and a secretary
employed by the state government. Out of the 23 panchayat members 14 are
females and rest males. Apart from these there are 21 permanent employees
employed by the panchayat and paid by the state government consisting of
posts like village extension officer, development programme implementation
officer child development officer etc. along with people belonging to class 3
and 4 posts. Also there are 10 non-permanent employees paid by the
panchayat itself taking care of the day to day activity of the panchayat like
cleaning etc.

The grants received from the state government are divided among the 23
members who further disburse it in their respective wards. For the year 201314 Erumely got a total grant of 4 crore. The panchayat has 4 major standing
committees pertaining to finance health, education and development. Each

44
committee has 5-7 members and major decisions regarding various issues are
taken on consensus basis

The major activities undertaken by the panchayat are as follows-:

Disbursement of funds to the agricultural office for the implementation

of various schemes and development programmes. Angel valley water
shed development programme got a grant of 40 lakhs in the previous
fiscal year. Funds for subsidies related to seeds, fertilizers, implements
etc. are also channeled through the panchayat. BPL farmers having no
land are granted 3 cents of land per person.

Maintenance of public infrastructure is the duty of the panchayat, tar

roads are built annually. Street lightning, public transportation, public
toilets all are taken care of by the grants given by the panchayat for
these.

Maintenance of government schools for which an annual revenue of 2022 lakhs is set aside. The job includes management of school premise
and employment of workers engaged in the same.

Maintenance of primary health care centre. Sanitation, waste disposal,

proper working of doctors come under this. A temporary hospital was
set in the vicinity of PHC during the sabarimala season to take care of
the added population as also for any emergency cases.

Pensions for the elderly are also routed through the panchayat. It is
given elder people (65 and above), widows and unmarried women
above 50 years, the remuneration for these groups are 800, 500 and
400 respectively.

Electricity and water bill are also collected by the panchayat though
the revenue goes to the state government. Any complaints regarding
their proper functioning can be made by writing in written to the
panchayat office. The reply and remedial is generally done within 15
days.

Subsidies to various government agencies like dairy development

board (50% subsidy on fodder), rubber board (Rs 34,000 per hectare)

45
etc. are also routed through the panchayat office.

MEETINGS

Panchayat board meetings consisting of the ward members are held twice a
month. We had the opportunity to attend one such meeting which was
attended by all the ward members and was headed by the president along with
and vice president and the secretary .Particularly members belonging to
different wards put forth the problems of their respective wards. Each problem
was listened to with patience and a collective solution was drawn taking into
account the welfare of not just the people belonging to that particular ward but
entire Erumely population in general. Few of the issues discussed during the
meeting pertained to-:

Proper street lightning, new waste disposal system, sanitation and

transportation facilities for the sabarimala pilgrims.

Allocation of 15 wells to be distributed among the 23 wards, also

provision for the establishment of 5 public toilets per ward.

Mechanism to be put in place for the computerization of death and

birth certificates.

Licenses for parking area from the panchayat as presently many

vendors have come up taking advantage of the sabarimala season
and asking exorbitant parking charges.

The most contentious issue was the division of Erumely panchayat

into two halves for its easy administration. Initially it was received
with resistance from every ward member but at the end of the
meeting most of them gave in as it was better for the overall
welfare of their wards.

46
The role of the panchayat secretary needs a special mention. He is state
employed 1st class officer who is employed for a period of 2 years. He acts
as a bridge between the state government and the representatives of the
people. He tells the panchayat members about the various government
schemes and programmes and any other orders from above. But it is up to
the panchayat members how these are to be implemented.

GRAM SABHA
Gram Sabhas are the backbones of a decentralized government. According to
the rules, a mandatory 10% of the population is required to attend the gram
sabha for it to be considered valid. In Erumely every ward had a gram sabha.

47

CONCLUSION
CURRENT ISSUES

From the month of November to January Sabarimala season goes on, a lot of
arrangements are supposed to be done with such as the street lighting of the entire
village and especially the routes to the pilgrimage center. Even though half of the
month of November was over and still no provision for the same was done . It is also
the period during which maximum people visits the village a proper provision for the
waste management still was on the process. For the place were around 50 million
visits only one waste disposal plant was in operation. Another main problem which
they had was the emergence of hundreds of temporary shops, parking slots, lodgings
and wash rooms were set up by individuals who are not registered in the panchayat
office and license was not issued.
One serious issue that was bothering the villagers was the non-availability of drinking
water and proper pipe connections. Even though the government spends a lot on
getting proper water supply for the poor many still have to carry big vessels on their
head and go in search of water. Or else when they go to other distant places for their
work have to bring water from there.
Employees belonging to the Kerala State Transport Corporation are not able to get
loans with the help of their salary certificate nor are able to avail the special loan
given for the government employees. This is mainly because the bank fears that the
loan may not be repaid as the government is not prompt in paying salary to them .
Another problem being that a part of the village covers a portion of Periyar Wildlife
Reserve and due to this the people leaving nearby faces troubles from wild animals
such as elephants, wild pigs, monkeys, tigers and so on. They destroy their entire
crops and cause a lot of loss for them .
As mentioned earlier the major occupation of the people living in that village is from
rubber plantation the falling prices of the same from Rs.250 in 2013 to Rs.112 in2014
per kg have posed a threat for them.

48
At present the panchayat is facing problems of allocation of resources to various
wards and also a dispute is going with respect to the division of the entire panchayat
into 2 halves for easy governance.

The borrowing mentality of people in the village is increasing at alarming

rate and due to this they are now in a position to borrow more and more.
Because of this many do not have any savings.

FUTURE PROGRAMMES FOR ERUMELY PANCHAYAT

As a part of planning for the 2012-2017 these are the policies which are fixed by the
Panchayat office for Erumely :1) Computerization of all the records in panchayat is the next goal they are
aiming at in the panchayat office. This makes easy availability of data in hand
when required and there by time can also be managed.

2) Promotion of agriculture, as a measure towards it the panchayat office is

providing :-

a) Free seeds and manure.

-in schools to set up their own vegetable garden to promote the need for fresh
vegetables and in cultivate the habit of farming in them.
-implementation of water pumps for irrigation of farms . They have taken
measure to set up 1 pump for each ward.
-rain water harvesting technique to save water by the construction of tanks and
also encouraging the same at individual homes too.
-construction of wells in those areas where there is water shortage.
- Waste disposal plant . Planning to construct an additional one especially to
meet the requirement that arises at the time of Sabarimala season.
- Planning to set up a vegetable nursery in every ward making it easy for the
villagers to get the seeds, fertilizers , etc. which is required for the growth of
vegetables.

49

3) Promoting Micro and Small Enterprises.

- Training by Kudumbashree an NGO. Here, women are given classes by the

professionals of the Kudumbashree regarding the scope, feasibility, type of
interventions which can be started and so on.
-Allowing people to do agriculture on the waste land of government for a
small charge.

4) Construction of the house for the poor especially for people living below
the poverty line under the scheme of house for all.

5) Construction of well for drinking water. The government is planning to

construct 10 wells and at present the decision for allocation is on process.

6) Construction of toilets for poor. The government is making sure that every
house has a toilet and for those who are below the poverty line is given grant
for the construction of the same.

7) For development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

- Construction of house and toilets and funding for maintenance.

-funding for cattle rearing for ladies to provide as a part of empowering them.
-Providing study material for students for both schools and colleges.
-providing free coaching for PSC exams and free computer classes.
- Free cycles for higher secondary students.
-Helping them in clearing procedure to go abroad for work. Assisting them in
clearing the documentation procedures required for the same.
-Free driving class.

8) For development of women

- Helping them in setting up their own vanitha canteens. Allocating the places
where they can start and clearing the documentation procedures for licensing

50
and registering. Conducting awareness class for them by incorporating with the
Kudumbashree units.
-Funding for marriages of those who cannot afford it. Also making community
marriages for orphans and BPL people.

9) Health

-Improvement of facilities of all the 9 health centers. Making arrangements for

providing all basic necessities and also bring some advanced technology in the main
government hospital.
-The health department as a measure to improve the sanitation and hygiene in that area
is conducting awareness camps all over the village. It is done mainly to reduce the
problems associated with communicable diseases which start with the pilgrimage
season.

51

ANNEXTURE
PARTICIPATORY RURAL APPRAISAL
ANNEXURE 1 : SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

52

53

54

ANNEXURE :2 Social Map of Erumely

Source

PRA Activity carried out with the local residents in Erumely.

Purpose

To understand the location of natural resources like water,

forests, land ans social institutions . Also to get an
understanding of the spatial distribution of houses and
agricultural lands.

Particapants

Sebi Sebastian, Jose K , Rajasekaran, Surya Narayanan, Jacob

T B, Sabina, Geetha, Usha, Neelam and Anjel.

55

Annexure 3: Migration Pattern to Erumely.

NORTH
KERALA
(862)

WEST
KERALA

ERUMELY

EAST
KERALA

(528)

(2500)

(763)

SOUTH
KERALA
(347)

Source

Anganwadi Records and Informal Interviews carried out with the

local residents and Anganwadi teacher in Erumely.

Purpose

To understand the different locations from which people have

migrated and settled in Erumely.

Participants

Smt.Gayathri Suresh, Anganwadi Teacher and the local residents

of Erumely.

Annexure 4 : Tree Matrix (Each purpose ranked on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the

highest)

56

Fire
Wood

Construction Commercial Medicinal

Purposes
Purposes
Use

Fruits

Total

14

10

Teak

10

Rubber

Jack
fruit

18

Coconut

11

Aracanut -

10

Tree

Mango

Tapioca

Source

PRA Activity carried out with the local residents in Erumely

verified with secondary data collected from Krishi Bhavan officials

Purpose

To understand the preferences of people in terms of their choice of

trees based on the different purposes served by the tree .

Particapants

Anjitha, Aleena, Priyanka, Francis, Krishnan Kutty and Shanthi.

Annexure 5: Seasonality Matrix for Crops Grown in Erumely.

57
Jan Feb

Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

Nov Dec

Crop
Rubber

Pineapple

Pesticide
Fertilizer
Tapping
Planting

Pesticide
Fertilizer

Pesticide

Pesticide
Fertilizer

Fertilizer
Plucking

Planting
Banana

Planting
Fertilizer
Plucking

Source

Informal Interviews carried out with farmers at Erumelyand

verified with secondary data collected from Krishi Bhavan
officials

Purpose

Inorder to understand the periods during the year when

different agricultural activities are carried out for the major
crops grown.

Particapants

Anjitha, Aleena, Priyanka, Francis, Krishnan Kutty and

Shanthi.

Annexure 6: Trend Analysis to understand the evolving lifestyle of people of

Erumely.

Component

THEN Before 1990

People

Income

where

involved

NOW Year 2014

in Major source of income is from

Rubber plantation and migrated agriculture, poultry, cattle and

labourers.

NRI income.

Pesticide

58

Clothing

Shelter

Food
sufficiency

Livestock
Occupation
Availability
of fuel wood

Women wore traditional clothes

and men wore mundu.

Pacca house made of bricks.

requirements

agriculture.

Only

everyone else wears modern

clothing.

Mixed houses.
Food

Except for the older generation,

met

by

vegetables

bought from the market

Dependence on the local shops

and ration shop for food and
some do produce vegetables for
self-consumption.

Almost each household had Number

has

decreased

cattle.

drastically

Farming

Farming and Non-farming

Easily Available

Limited
Almost everyone has borrowed,

Liabilities

No loans or debts

Migration

Negligible

Source

Focussed Group Discussion carried out in the Angel Valley ward.

some in debt trap.

Taking place

Annexure 7: Daily Activity Schedule with respect to people in Angel Valley

Ward.

0500 hrs.

Activities
Men
Wake up

Women
Wake up

0530 hrs.

Milking their cattle

Milking their cattle

0600 hrs.

Go to agricultural fields.

Tapping rubber milk

0630 hrs.

Takes bath at the nearby river Takes bath in the washroom and

Time

and get ready for the day

0700 hrs.

0800 hrs.

get ready for the day.

Breakfast which consists of Rice Breakfast and gets the children

and Tea.

ready for school

Go to work

Go to work

59
1030 hrs.

Light Snacks with Tea

Light Snacks with Tea

1300 hrs.

Lunch

Lunch

1700 hrs.

Comes back home

Comes back home

1800 hrs.

Play football / entertainment

Watch TV

1830 hrs.

Milking the cattle

Milking the cattle

1900 hrs.

Tea and take bath in the river. Prepares dinner and any other
Go to buy anything if required

household chore that is to be done

2100 hrs.

Dinner

Dinner

2300 hrs.

Sleep

Sleep

PRA Activity carried out with the the people in Angel Valley ward of
Erumely Panchayat.

Source

Inorder to understand the daily activities of tribal men and women

working as manual labourers and get insights of how their household
is managed.

Purpose

Shamla, Rajula, Rajni, Nithu, Puja, Shyam, Arun and Anand.

Particapants

Annexure 8: Household Details of five Poor Families

In order to understand and gain more insights into the lifestyles of people belonging to
different sections, we performed a detailed household survey of 10 selected families.
Sr. No.
Name

1
2
3
AbdulRahman Abdul
Kareem
45
54
OBC
OBC
Daily Wage Farm
Labour
labourers

Age
Caste
Occupation

Adult
Members
0-2
Years
3-5
Years
6-18
Years
Total
Members

M
F
M
F
M
F
M
F

2
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
Family 6

2
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
4

4
5
Rajeev G Joy
G
45
48
ST
OBC
Daily
Farmer
wage
labour
1
2
4
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
4

P.K.Abbas
70
OBC
Driver

3
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
7

60

Children not going to 0

school

college
Graduation Graduation
education

12 Year girls not

educated
House
House
Details
Type
Electricity
Sanitation

Kacha House

Pacca
house
Yes
Yes

Pacca
House
Yes
Yes

Pacca
house
Yes
Yes Toilet

No

Pacca
House
NA
Yes
Toilet
No

Yes

Yes

Yes

NA
NA

NA
NA

NA
NA

NA
50 cents

NA
6 cents

No

No Land

No Land

50 cents

6 cents

0
Yes
No

0
No
No

0
No
Yes

0
0
No
Yes

Land
Holding

Animal

Water
Tank
Irrigated
Non
Irrigated
Total
Land
Cow
Buffalo
Goat
Total

Migration
Television Set

NA
No Toilet

No
Yes

Household details of five rich Families

A significant number of the settlers in Erumely are fairly well to do in terms of their
financial position. All the members of these families are literate and the youth and
children are educated and have aspirations comparable to urban population their age.
The lifestyles of the families selected were very similar to families living in urban
areas with these households having most necessary amenities.
Sr. No.
Name

1
2
Shakur M George
Mathew
47
56
OBC
OBC
Business Farmer
1
1
1
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
1
Family 5
5

Age
Caste
Occupation
Adult
M
Members F
0-2 Years M
F
3-5 Years M
F
6-18
M
Years
F
Total
Members
Children not going to 0

3
K
M
Marhew
67
General
Farmer
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2

4
5
Shahjaha Joseph
Paul
40
54
OBC
General
Business Advocate
1
1
1
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
2
1
6
4

61
school
12 Year girls not
educated
House
House
Details
Type
Electricity
Sanitation
Water
Tank
Land
Irrigated
Holding
Non
Irrigated
Total
Land
Animal
Cow
Buffalo
Goat
Total
Migration
Television Set

Modern
House
Yes
Yes
Yes

Modern
House
Yes
Yes
Yes

Modern
House
Yes
Yes
Yes

Modern
House
Yes
Yes
Yes

Modern
House
Yes
Yes
Yes

1 ACRE
-

4.5 acres
-

2.5 acres
-

1 acres
-

1 acres
-

1 ACRE

4.5 acres

2.5 acres

1 acres

1 acres

0
No
Yes

No
Yes

0
No
Yes

0
No
Yes

0
0
0
0
No
Yes

Annexure 9 : SHG Effect Now and Then Analysis

In order to gain a better understanding of the functioning of Self Help Groups in
Erumely and also to appreciate the kind of effect that these SHGs have had on the
members, we conducted a PRA exercise during one of the weekly meetings of the
Keerthy SHG. The purpose of this exercise was to identify the effect that the SHG has
had on different aspects of its members life. A Now and Then Analysis was
conducted and the findings are recorded in the table below.

Criteria

Before

After

Financial independence

**

****

Self confidence

*****

Status in the family

***

****

62
Contribution to Family income

***

***

Say in Decision Making process

**

****

Awareness

**

****

Exposure

**

****

Convenience in

getting loans as per **

*****

requirement
Good interest rates and easy terms

Source

**

****

PRA Activity carried out with during a SHG meeting of the Keerthy
Group

Particapants Diksha, Sonakshi, Arpreethy, Meera, Jyothi, Smitha, Vaishavi, Anila,

Nadira, Ansi, Alfi, Mohini, Gauri, Manasa and Ambili.

ANNEXTURE :10
RAC ASSIGNMENT
OF KUDUMBASHREE
ON

NATURE FRESH MILK

BY: DEEPTHI RAVINDRAN (P35122)

INTRODUCTION

63

MICRO ENTERPRISE

A micro enterprise is a platform set up under kudumbashree is one with an investment

ranging from Rs.5000 to Rs.250000. From this it is expected to generate a turnover
worth of starting from Rs.1500 per member per month. It is of the type that they are
fully owned, managed and operated by the members themselves. Usually a micro
enterprise is started as per the following process :- Initially a meeting is called with the
interested members then a discussion about the group and the individual areas of
operation they would like to enter into is conveyed. A brain storming of the section is
conducted and if everyone is happy with the terms and conditions then the formation
of the group is declared and a president and secretary for the same would be appointed
either by voting or they do even choose that person who has more knowledge and
educated.

NATURE FRESH MILK

OBJECTIVE:
1) To provide natures fresh milk to all .
2) Reduce the consumption of packet milk.
This is a Micro Enterprise intervention which started at the Kottayam District of
Kerala. This was focused mainly on households who earn their living from cattle
rearing at very small scale. Its main aim is to provide nature`s fresh milk to all. Here
the consumers have an added advantage of getting fresh milk without added
preservatives at their door steps. In this model the exploitative middlemen is avoided
giving it one more plus that only a small amount of profit would be charged on the
same. Twice a day the cows are milked and the milk is collected in a big vessel and
from the same it would be poured to various small glass bottles and also the same is
distributed to the customers within 2 hours of milking. On the outer covering of each
bottle it would be clearly mentioned the breed of cow, the owner`s name and the
cow`s identity number. This is done to find the owner of the milk bottle if in case the
milk spills. Here in this type of ME the customers are given the opportunity to select

64
the cow from which they require the milk. This intervention is running smoothly at
ward number 11 in Erumely Panchayat. It composes 10 groups of

enthusiastic

women ranging from 5-6 members in a group making it a total of 56 members.

REACHING OUT THE COMMUNIY THROUGH WOMEN

Erumely Panchayat`s one of the most active group is ARCHANA comprising of 5

hardworking ladies namely:- Sibi Siji, Jancy Joseph, Lissy Dominic, Philomina Lathif
and Valsamma Thomas where all are Area Development Society (ADS) members of
Kudumbashree. It is since 2 years that they have formed as a group and started
working together. Since many years they have been into the same cattle rearing
business but they had to suffer from a lot of problems. Some of them were almost
everybody in that area had at least 1 cow in their courtyard, because of this they did
not have proper markets to sell their milk. Since, they did not have an access to proper
market they did not pay much attention to the quantity of milk provided to them by the
cows. Whatever was milked they were compelled to use for their self consumption
only and if at all someone wants to sell the milk in other markets where there is
demand for the same the transportation cost stayed as a major hindrance to them. Due
to these some of the limitation that was present many shifted to other types of
activities such as agriculture, growing cash crops and rubber plantations. But even
there they had to face a lot of problems such as the trouble of wild animals destroying
their agriculture produces such as the wild pigs entering their farm land at nights and
destroying the same, they even have to face animals such as monkeys and elephants
too. In the case of rubber plantations they were faced with the problems of the rubber
prices falling from Rs.2000 to Rs.90 per Kg. At this point there came the intervention
of Milma Unit on September 5th 2009 in that area. Milma then provided a platform to
that people in that area to sell their excess milk at a rate which is prefixed depending
upon the fat content in their milk which could range from 4% to 6% giving the
providers of milk an amount worth starting from Rs.32 Onwards. But then even here
they charged Re.1 per litre as the transportation cost of the milk. It is during this
period the then panchayat member as well as the Community Development society

65
Member of Kudumbashree Sebi Sebastian came up with the idea of forming a group.
As he himself is residing in that area he very well knew about the people who are
engaged in Cattle rearing. Initially he randomly called for a personal meeting of 5
families who are engaged in the same. He himself conducted a feasibility study with
the people present there regarding the problems they faced and their future
expectations. He suggested them that if they worked together as group then they could
enjoy various advantages such as increasing their access to markets at distant places
by sharing the transportation cost, they will be able to avail loan facilities easily from
banks as it is very hard for an individual having 1 cow because the chance of
repayment at one time is likely. I suppose the group on a whole is availing for the loan
then the bank will be in apposition to grant the loan as the rate of repayment is high as
it is being given to a group as the group on a whole takes up the responsibility. They
could also fix up the prices of their product which need not be varied often and also
regular loyal satisfied customers they would get. But all these were fitted with the
condition that they have to provide milk to their customers in glass bottles with a seal
code on every bottle indicating the source of the milk, allowing the customer to select
the milk from a particular cow or farmer and providing the same at their door step.
After hearing all the pros and cons they decided to form themselves to a group. Very
soon they were given information regarding the books they should hold with them and
also the measures to get them registered were also done. They were also given the
opportunity to diversify their activities to other milk products such as ghee, butter,
curd,

paneer and butter milk. After forming the group they took a loan worth

Rs.50000 from the bank and shared it among themselves. They used this money to
buy palette calcium and other medicines for the cow through which its productivity
could be increased. They were also able to sell their products in the market which
would cost a travel expense of Rs.300 one way by dividing the expense with all the
groups . From this the advantage of negligible expense on transportation came up.
Also during summers they were also able to sell dried cow dung for Rs.100 a sack.
Problems and Expenditure and Income and before forming themselves to group
Per cow
Some of the major problems were:1) Lack of market to sell the milk.

66

2) High transportation cost.

3) Limited quantity of milk.

4) Lack of awareness regarding how to increase the quantity of milk

.
5) Difficulty to receive loan from the bank.

6) A platform for open discussion with others was limited.

7) Differential pricing of milk.

Particulars

Morning

Evening

Quantity of milk

3-4 litres

2-3litres

Amount per litre:- Rs.25 to Rs.28

Amount per bottle of milk of approx. 750 ml Rs.20-RS.23

Income on an average they would have received if they have sold the
produce in the market
Per day

Morning;3.5*26.5=Rs.92.75
Evening:-

2.5*26.5=Rs.66.25

Therefore, Per month

67
Morning

92.75*30=Rs.2782

Evening:-

66.25*30=Rs.1988
Therefore grand total=Rs.4770 Per month

Expenses on an average

Expenses miscellaneous were approx. Rs.500 per month including medical

expenses.

Since they did not have a market to sell the produce they did not get any of this
advantage.

Expenditure and incomes , advantages and disadvantages after formation of

Nature Fresh Milk.

Particulars

Morning

Evening

Quantity of milk

14-16 litres

8-10

Amount per litre: Rs.38

Amount per bottle of approx. 750ml: Rs.32
Amount earned on an average per day
Morning:15 lt*38=Rs.570 per lt.
15*32=Rs.480 per bottle

68
Evening:9 lt*38=Rs.342 per lt.
9 lt*32=Rs.288 per bottle.
Therefore, per month revenues;Morning
Rs.570*30=Rs.17,100 per lt.
Rs.480*30=Rs.14400 per bottle
Evening
Rs.342*30=Rs.10260
Rs.288*30=Rs.8640
Expenditures
FODDER

Item

Quantity

Rate per kg/lt.(Rs.)

Avg. requirement(Rs.)

Kerala Pallet

50 kg

18

900

Calcium

5 lt.

40

600

Ash Powder

10 kg

20

200

Food Waste

20 kg

10

200

Additional Expenses
Medical Expenses Rs.500 per month
Transportation Expenses :Rs.100 a month

69
CONCLUSION
ADVANTAGES
1) Market to sell their milk and other milk products.

2) Reduction in transportation cost.

3) Integration of ideas for betterment.

4) Easy availability of loan. The reason being if individual is given the loan that it
may happen due to some contingencies if he do not repay the loan but if a
group is given then the repayment is assured by the group and not individual.

5) Increased demand for their product in the market.

6) Able to provide natures fresh milk.

7) Social status of the families increased

DISADVANTAGES

1) The process of filling milk in individual sterilized glass bottles is a time

consuming process.

2) Cleaning and maintaining these glass bottles are also difficult.

70
3) Difficulty in segregating each cow`s milk and staring in separate vessels.

4) For people not having an average 5-6 lt. for them this cannot be profitable.

5) If loan is received from the bank it has to be distributed among the group. If
distributed the amount can be very less to each.
Example: A cow Rs.80000 if suppose the loan received by the group may be
Rs.100000 then once its divided then the sum would amount to Rs.10000,
which is not sufficient.
6) If a fixed person is employed and he doesnt turn up the milk can get spilled.

7) There may be situations when a fixed individual is employed then a salary has
to be paid to him .

A GLIMPSE OF LIFE OF THE GROUP MEMBER LISSY DOMINIC

Lissy Dominic says I start my day at 4 in the morning. Cleans and smokes the shed and the cow to get rid of
the bacteria in there. Starts milking and I will get 10-12 lt. of milk every day which would amounts to Rs.
418(11Lt.*38Rs.) in the morning from which she would deduct 1 lt. for my personal need and balance be
Rs.12540 a month. Then I provide fodder 4Kg of palette of Rs.80,Rs.10 tonic, 1lt. calcium Rs.120. With
a total approx. expenditure of Rs.210*30=Rs.6300 a month. In the evening again milks the cow and will get 56 lt. of milk which would be Rs.6270 a month. Again same quantity of fodder is provided. In between I
Go to the rubber plantation and works there. All this I was able to do on a large scale only because I was
formed into a group and the major expense of transportation was reduced.

71

RAC ASSIGNMENT
OF KUDUMBASHREE
ON

ANUGRAHA GROUP- UMEKUPPA

BY: MINAKSHI CHHIKARA (P35051)

INTRODUCTION
This group was started as

a normal kudumbashree group containing 20

members on 2002.

On 2008 ANUGRAHA group attended the ZILLA MISSION MEETING

which was the collaboration of MILMA group and Kudumbashree where they
were given training related to cow rearing.

Their group took cow loan , where every member took a loan of Rs30,000.
Which they were supposed to pay Rs20,000 within 5years of duration and the
remaining Rs10,000 unpaid is the subsidy amount.

From 30,000 , they bought two cows and started selling the milk to the
neighborhoods at Rs37/l and to the MILMA society at Rs41/l. All the members
were able to repay the amount before 5 years of duration and still now running
the milk business profitably. Most of their cows are been insured by MILMA
society.

NOTE

72
MILMA stands for Kerala livestock development board and milk marketing
board. It is a Kerala Cooperative Society which started in 1980 to channelize
marketable surplus milk from the rural areas to urban deficit Ares to maximize
the returns to the producer and provides quality milk and milk products to the
consumers.

CASE STUDY- ANNUGRAHA GROUP

Name of the members
Annakutty(52)
Ladda(48)
Manne Amma(48)
Maya(38)
Sujata(40)

They started growing banana followed by tapioca, ginger and turmeric.

73

AFTER

HARVESTING

THE

PRODUCTS

ARE

BEEN

SOLD

TO

MUKKADDHARA AND KANNAMULLA MARKET WHICH ARE 6km AND 2km

FAR FROM THEIR HOME TOWN RESPECTIVELY.

ANUGRAHA GROUP

Through the personal investment of Rs60,000 -70,000 they took 1acre land on lease
from Joseph at a rate of 10% of the total output. Since then they started banana
cultivation with Tapioca ,Turmeric, and Ginger.

Per person investment - 15000*5 =65,000.

74

EXPENSE

TOTAL COST = Rs 59,000

75
TOTAL

RETURN

TOTAL RETURN = Rs8,00,500

MARKETING STRATEGIES

KUDUMBASHREE NAME IS ENOUGH

The members are enjoying the goodwill of kudumbashree as a result they do not
face any competition .The customers have the faith on the quality as they do not use
any pesticides and insecticides

and almost every family is the member of

kudumbashree so people are personally associate with the kudumbashree products.

Hence, there is a great demand for the product so without using any marketing
strategies they are selling their goods profitability.

LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCES

76
1) FEAR OF GOING TO THE MARKET HAS BEEN REMOVED
SAVINGS.
2) CONTRIBUTION TO THE DAILY EXPENSE.
3) MORE KNOWLEDGE REGARDING AGRICULTURE AND BANKING.
4) HELPS IN BOOSTING CONFIDENCE.
5) MORE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE MARKET
SELF RELIANT

MEMBERS COMMENT

"now i can walk in market fearlessly."

Annakutty
"KUDUMBASHREE has given me the confidence and power to do innovation."
Ladda

RAC REPORT
OF
KUDUMBASHREE
SUMMARY
GOAT VILLAGE
SUBMITTED BY DIPIKA YADHAV (P35121)

77

For our Rapid Action Task (RAC) we were asked to write a case report on a
successful microenterprise initiated with the help of our host organization
Kudumbashree in our village Erumely.
Goat village is a premium programme of kudubashree initiated under the Samagra
project in Angel Valley, Kottayam district. It has come a long way since its inception
in 2008, helping women not only become financially independent but also
empowering them socially. Angel Valley has around 22 kudumbashree groups and on
average 5 members from each group is involved in goat rearing activities under
kudumashree's samagra project. Before 2003 these women were members of ailkutum
involved primarily in chit fund and other saving activities. With the initiation of this
programme activities of the group were diversified to include investment and income
generation. Many programmes were floated like tailoring mission, cow rearing and
goat rearing. Goat rearing was chosen by maximum people because it required less
space and cattle care and unlike tailoring it didn't require extensive skill training.
My microenterprise was Vismaya which had 5 members who took a loan of 1.5
lakhs from State Bank Of Travancore with the help of Kudumbashree and this money
was utilized for shed construction for the goat and buying 1 goat for each member.
The present status is that each member has 1-2 goats that gives 1 litre milk per day and
helps them earn 1500 per month. The repayment amount for the group is 4950 per
month and for individual are 990. So even after paying the loan installment each
member is able to earn more than 500 per month per goat. This is a good example of
microcredit facility being utilized by the poorest of the poor. Before Vismaya these
women had no financial independence but now not only have they become
breadwinners but it has also increased their scoio-political status within and outside
their homes. They have greater say in decision making within their households and it
has instilled a confidence in them which is reflected when these women attend the
NHGs meeting motivating other women to start similar enterprises.
This kudumashree initiative has empowered men and women alike. Goats milk is a
one priced possession, not only is it more nutritious but its price is double that of cows
milk. Goat village is fully taking advantage of this fact, where people are involved in

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goat rearing for its milk and meat. It has not only generated a source of income but
also helped in improving the nutrition level of the people.

ANNEXTURE .11

THEMATIC INSIGHTS

1) SUBMITTED BY DEEPIKA YADHAV (P35121)

Microcredit is reaching the poorest of the poor but the problem is it is not
utilized for generating any income but is used for consumption only. For my
current study i took Christian population living in Erumeli, majority of who
are converts from British era. The economic status of these people is lower and
lower-middle, most of them are agricultural labors or involved in some low
income job like that of driver, painter, carpenter, school helping staff,
newspaper seller etc. Very few of them have their own business and therefore
most of them are living a life of subsistence. Almost all people member of a
SHG have taken a loan for household expenditure, house construction,
childrens education, health etc. Few have even utilized the loan money to start
some income generating business. In this area the popular business include
tailoring mission, poultry farming and goat rearing for milk and meat.

Microcredit started in Bangladesh with the establishment of the Grameen bank

by Yunus Mohammad in 1970s. The main idea behind this initiative was to
enable the poorest of poor to have access to finances enabling them to
overcome vagaries like irregular income, natural disasters, seasonal jobs etc. A
poor man with a monthly income in the range of 5000-15000 has very little
scope for any savings and therefore when any of the above adversity happens
he has very few options to overcome it. In such a scenario SHG comes to their

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rescue which helps them to at least sail through the distress easily. A few
rupees saved on a weekly basis amounts to not much for a single individual
but when we combine the savings of 15-25 members the amount comes out to
be optimal for their needs.

The current scenario no doubt has a profound positive effect on rural

households but it is only a temporary solution to their poverty ridden life. To
really take them out of the dungeons of poverty it is necessary to get them
involved in some income generating activities which will make their life
financially and socially secure in the long run. The government in
collaboration with NGO and civil society should put in place proper
mechanism so that this can be realized. Especially subsidies and interventions
aimed at getting them involved in small business with major focus on
involvement of women is the need of the hour.

2) SUBMITTED BY DEEPTHI RAVINDRAN (P35122)

The main objective of my study was to see whether the micro credit is
reaching the poorest of poor. Micro credit the term is defined as the extension
of very small loans to impoverished borrowers who typically lack collateral
enabling them to raise their income levels and improving standards. It comes
under the group of financial innovations under the term micro finance. The
study was conducted to kind out the financial condition, the financial needs the
role played by credit in the life of people, NHG and its working and its effect
and the different kinds of credit facilities available in the village of Erumely of
Kottayam District which is situated in Kerala.
Erumely is the largest village in Kerala with 23 wards . It is basically an
agrarian society were most of the people fall into lower and lower middle
class. Every individual in that area had their own small land holding and was
highly aware of the construction and maintenance of house and almost
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everybody's income was less with respect to their expenditure. They believed
in spending and hence the savings were comparatively less. To help this poor
out an NGO namely Kudumbashree introduced the NHG in the entire area.
This was done to create a habit of thrift in the villagers and to help those who
do not have collateral to fulfill their immediate credit requirements. At present
there are 221 NHG`s, 1 Puushasangham and 4 Balsangham in operation each
of them working very effectively and efficiently.
From the study conducted it was able to find out almost everyone in the
village have taken a loan and majority of the people who have taken the same
from the NHG in which they themselves are the members. They preferred an
NHG more than any other financial institution as well an indigenous bank or
bankers for their credit needs. Reason behind this concept of NHG being so
popular in Erumely is due to the savings and loan policies offered by the same
along with opportunities for setting up of their own interventions and the
pressure from the government.
From this it is now clear that whenever the villagers require loan if its a small
amount then it would easily be available but if they require larger amounts
then they have to approach the financial institutions which are in operation at
the area with which the feasibility of getting loan from them is still far from
their reach. Also, with respect to the rate of interest charged by the bank and
that of the NHG has got huge difference.
As a result the impact of micro credit in the life of the people is noteworthy
and the role played by the same in the life of the villagers especially the poor
is inevitable. Due to this major reason it can be interpreted that the micro
credit is reaching the poorest of poor.

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3) SUBMITTED BY MINAKSHI CHHKARA (P35051)

LINKAGES BETWEEN FARMING AND NON FARMING SECTOR

Erumely being an holy place attracts lots of tourists and pilgrims and
through the help of huge investment made by the government and other
external organizations it has a strong market infrastructure which contributes
in the bondage of farming and non-farming activities

Through observation and after doing the survey and analyzing the information.
Following things have been concluded in relation to the linkage between
farming and non-farming activities-

If a place has a some specialty in relation to some achievement or due to the

historical profile like Erumely being an holy place have a strong linkage
between farming and non-farming activities by having a self-sufficient market.
During the Sabrimala session the place is able to attract lots of Pilgrims and
tourist which help in improving the economic condition.

Every person in erumely is directly or indirectly related to rubber plantation

i.e. It is the livelihood source of income to every household. This reliability
and stability of the household economic condition could not be possible due
to the strong linkage between farming and non-farming activities.

Having a good literacy level was also the cause of the strong coordination and
cooperation between the farming and non-farming activities. As with the
literacy level they were able analyze the market , identify the gaps and
converted those gaps into opportunity through their skills. With the education
they are open to more opportunities of running the households.

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If any markets have opportunities available and it has proper infrastructure

than it becomes fruitful for the whole area to able to progress at more speed.
And with this high rate of progress it also attracts large number of people from
other place. They people are called as migrants who move one place to another
in search of job. In erumely large section of local people have migrated to
Arabian countries in search of jobs as a result there is a need for workers for
doing low skilled jobs as a result people from different states such as West
Bengal , Assam and Nepal.

Through the help of external organization such as Kudumbashree it had made

the bond even more inclusive and sustainable as every household is
contributing in the overall structural development in the linkages between
farming and non-farming activities.