During the Ugadi
festival, the year being Sarvajit, Divine Bhagavan’s benediction
assured victory in all spheres of activities undertaken this year. Swami
commanded the Seva Dal to focus on the individual house as a unit while
taking up the Grama Seva activity. Taking this cue, Hyderabad Youth
started their efforts to identify a village.
Survey near Vikarabad: After the
Gurupoornima festival, it was decided to survey a few villages shortlisted
from earlier surveys and also establish contact with the local head
and discuss possible avenues for Grama Seva. The survey team consisting
of a few senior brothers visited tens of villages around Hyderabad.
The Village in focus called Nagasanipally is situated 18 kms away from
the Vikarabad town, which itself is about 80km from Hyderabad.
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| Interaction with villagers during identification |
At the outset the village and the villagers
seemed very well to do, equipped with basic amenities. Unlike many villages
in this region of the state where farming has seen huge decline in numbers,
on account of poor rains, quality of soil and lack of availability of
other basic amenities; Nagasanipally is in contrast. Majority of the
villagers depend on farming as their main source of livelihood. Nature
has supported them by providing enough water and also fertile soil.
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Issues Faced by the
villagers: What nature has also given them in abundance is
pests which are the reason for more than 75% of the crop getting damaged.
Poor seed quality for farming, ineffectiveness of the pesticides, inability
to get proper pricing for their produce in the local market yards, lack
of basic infrastructure such as roads, sanitation, health and education
are some of the other problems that we found out upon more interaction
with the villagers. Other issues that were highlighted are dependence
on the pesticide seller for advice on timing of usage of pesticides;
bogus seeds etc. Cotton, turmeric, black pulses, brinjal, Tomatoes are
some of the main crops.
The Village lacks in both health and education facilities. Education
perforce has to be undergone in the nearest town of Vikarabad. |
A Farmer in his
destroyed Tomato Field |
This is a tough proposition for the farming
families with no access to regular transportation and means to support
education related expenses. Although initially hesitant and circumspect
about the Sai Organisation and our intent of visiting them, the villagers
were very willing to take the risk by joining hands with us to improve
the farming conditions.
Preparation: Swami’s divine
blessings and permission for the auspicious event were sought by sending
a letter mentioning the cause and the intent of taking up this activity. |
This Grama Seva that we were gearing to take up was going to be unique
in many ways. The usual practice was to visit the village and take
up work that would fetch results the very same day; examples being
construction of water tank, temple, laying of road etc. But Swami’s
Divine directions in Ugadi’s discourse talked about interaction
at the family level; also the Agriculture related problem required
that we interact with experts in that area and follow-up with the
villagers over extended periods of time to see the result.
It was important to mentally prepare the members of the youth group
to take up this long-term activity. Many brain-storming sessions were
organized to go through the intricacies of this exercise and better
understand the requirement of resources and mindset.
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Screening of “Hanuman”
– Opportunity to interact |
One of the more experienced brothers interfaced with
the scientists of Acharya Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad.
The problem on hand was put in front of them and they in true spirit
of patriotism and professionalism volunteered to visit the village and
understand the situation better, to suggest solutions later.
Several visits were made to the village to better understand
the need and also to pulse if the villagers were all united to fight
the battle against the pests. Stressing the importance of Unity, Swami
had once mentioned in an interview to the Hyderabad Youth Group that
he would be more pleased if 100 people together cleaned 1 street than
100 people cleaning 100 streets on their own. |
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Grama Seva on 4
Aug 2007: A few Sai brothers started a day early to make basic
arrangements for the Grama Seva and also explain to the villagers the
intent of the activity and encourage them to participate. Staying in
the village overnight also built a bond with the villagers and increased
trust to some extent. A devotional film was shown to the villagers,
which served the dual purpose of entertainment and giving an opportunity
to address the gathering.
Close to 100 brothers congregated in Sivam the previous night to start
for the village with all the paraphernalia. The mood was upbeat and
Bhagawan’s presence was very much felt every where. The cool,
wet morning was reverberating with cries of Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya
Sai Babaji ki Jai as all the eager boarded the bus. Foremost on the
agenda was Nagar Sankirtan. That set the tone for all the activities
that were to follow. |
The Activity starts
of with Nagara Sankeertanam |
As per the agenda of the
day youth were organized in to various groups to complete the tasks
of setting up the stage for Rythu Sadassu, Health Check up stations,
Cooking of Prasadam etc. Some got busy engaging children of the village
in Balavikas classes, mimicry and other entertainment thoughtfully enacted.
Others were allotted the task of doing door to door survey of the villagers
seeking particulars of family and any special needs. Some of the team
members made a good neat survey of the village surroundings and noted
their observations.
The highlight of the Grama Seva apart from Medical Camp, Narayana Seva
and Pallaki Seva was, “Rythu Sadassu” –Workshop
for farmers. Our earlier rapport with Padmasri Dr. M.V. Rao garu who
runs a research foundation along with his team of very reputed and knowledgeable
scientists at the |
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Rythu Sadassu –
Workshop for farmers |
Acharya Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad,
came in very handy. To the wonder of wonders Padmasri Dr.M.V. Rao
garu himself agreed to come down to the Seva camp to disseminate useful
information to the farmers. The workshop was organized to enable the
scientists get first hand information of the health of the crops so
that proper inputs to the farmers could be given for preventive and
corrective pest management methods.
Farmers from the surrounding villages were also invited to participate
in the workshop to make the most of it. Groups of 10 farmers were
formed; one scientist was attached to them to visit some of the farms
surrounding the village and experience the situation first hand. Sai
Brothers also joined the teams to take notes and also to be of any
other assistance to the group. Later in the day these notes were collated
and the common problems addressed.
For more than 2 hours the 6 groups toured the fields taking samples
of the infected crops and also pests, which were to be further examined
to prescribe the most effective medicine to control the pest. This
was followed by lectures
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Scientists checking the damage the
pests have caused |
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Scientists, farmers and Sai Youth
interacting in a farm |
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from all the scientists to the assembled
farmers. Each of the scientists held in hand a sample of a crop they
had salvaged from the field and explained the method of managing the
crop better. There was even a Question and Answer session. Really the
farmers never had it so good in years. |
Finally it was time for Padmasri
Dr. M.V.Rao garu to speak and he had the farmers spell bound. He prodded
them to think differently and become more aggressive. He advised them
to plant crops having premium market as this would ensure high returns
for the same investment. Then he gave a list of crops which would be
beneficial for them to grow based on the soil conditions there. He displayed
a book known as “Rythu Panchamgam” which contained all the
details required by the farmer for managing crops. He said that he would
make it available for the village so that all would benefit.
To our pleasant surprise Dr. John Peter, another scientist,
brought some samples of Organic Pesticides/Bio Agents for distribution
among the farmers. This gesture was welcomed with thunderous applause
and excitement about a better future. |
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Padmasri Dr. M.V Rao garu interacting
with the farmers |
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Primary Health Care
for the Villagers: The Health care team arrived little later.
The School building was to be used for the health checkups and the adjoining
room in the school building for distributing the medicines for the patients.
The whole school was transformed into a beehive of activity consisting
of general, dental and eye departments, veritably a mini hospital serving
the needs of the hopeful. Medicines were also distributed to the Villagers
free of cost. All of them were advised on plenty of dos and don’ts
about health. Hopefully by following the advice the ailments would come
down. By afternoon list had grown to 232 patients checked.
After Prasadam distribution the doctors and other guests
were escorted to the waiting cars and profusely thanked for their valuable
time and for being so thoughtful to come to the remote village and serve
the villagers. |
Distribution of sample Organic chemicals |
Engaging the Children:
Balavikas class of a different kind was conducted for the children of
the village. A loud speaker and a mike did the trick of attracting their
attention. Slowly children shed all their inhibitions and came forward
to receive their gifts and also become part of the stage. A magician
and a mimic two-in-one person took the initiative to bring laughter
to the faces of the children amidst nature. Many of the eager children
were asked to recite poems and songs which they did most wonderfully.
Some were asked to come forward and exhibit their talents. Several of
them were given gifts with lot of utility value such as sewing kit,
pens etc. They were also coached on how to use such gifts.
In a very easy to understand way lessons on health and hygiene, importance
of education, right conduct etc were taught to the children.
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| Sai brother engaging the children in Balavikas |
Pallaki Seva: The
Pallaki Seva was a fitting finale to the Grama Seva. Swami’s portrait
was lovingly seated in a Pallaki or a palanquin and was carried around
the village to every nook and corner for all to have His Darshan and
blessings. Even the Gods participated towards the end in the singing
melee that accompanied the Pallaki procession by opening up their emotions
in the form of a deluge of grace soaking up everyone in the process.
The rains only doubled up the enthusiasm and the energy. There was not
a single person who did not dance to the tune of Bhajans during the
Pallaki Seva. The villagers and the kids were all one with us dancing
and singing the Name of God quite naturally. The procession ended in
the School Building where Aarti was offered to Bhagavan and we bid good
bye to our beloved Nagasanipally brothers. The rain did not stop even
then and chased us right into Hyderabad and further drenched us with
its love. Everyone went home drenched that night as a reminder of special
grace of Bhagavan. |
| Follow Up Visits: |
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In line with Swami’s
directions, the actual and the more important long sustaining result
oriented activity was yet to begin in the village. The one day Grama
Seva was just a start to what was to follow the coming weekends. Visits
have been made to the village almost every Sunday after the initial
Grama Seva; focus being on two activities Agricare
and Family Level interactions.
Agricare: As a follow up action from the “Rythu
Sadassu” on Aug 5, small portions of land have been identified
as a pilot to test the pesticides and encourage the farmers to use them.
At first the farmers were very hesitant to try out
something different. In the past they had used pesticides with out any
significant difference in the yield. We also realized that the pesticides
they were buying were probably not the |
70% to 80% of crop damaged because
of pests |
best quality and also bought at highly inflated prices. Their usual
practice was to go to the store and ask the storekeeper for advice
on what needs to be used to control pests. They were also not very
sure on how to apply the medicines. Ex: Some of the pesticides which
were supposed to be used by drenching the soil near the plat were
sprayed in the air, reducing the effectuveness.
They were also not very sure of our intent of doing this activity
in their village. It was only after multiple visits over the next
couple of weeks that they developed the confidence and faith that
what we were trying to do in the village was for their benefit and
in their interest alone.
Farmers later volunteered to provide small portion of their land
for experimental purposes. With the help of scientists different kinds
of pesticides, both Organic and inorganic, have been applied on the
farms. The results have
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Farmers volunteering to enroll into the
program |
been very encouraging so far with much
greater control on the pest problem. Farmers are now looking up to the
next season with more confidence of a better yield. They are consulting
with the scientist community through the Sai Organisation for all their
Agri related problems. |
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At a high level:
- More than 50 farmers have been selected for phase 1 of the activity
- More than 300 Acres is expected to transform at the end of the
activity
- Efforts are on to tie-up with retails giants to pick up the vegetables
from the farmers straight
- More than 10 scientists from prestigious Universities and Research
Institutes are involved and focused on the village
- Following Organic/Inorganic/Biological agents have been tried
in ¼ acre plots for each crop. Organic and Bio agents have
proved to be very effective in controlling the pest and also cost
less.
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Demonstration of usage of Pesticide |
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Crop |
External Agent Used |
Turmeric
(Rhizome Rot)
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- Trichoderm + Dung (Bio)
- 3% Neem oil + Detergent Powder (Organic)
- Phorate Granules (Chemical)
- Blitox (Chemical)
- M45 (Chemical)
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Brinjal
(Fruit Borer)
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Pheromone Lures or Traps (Natural) |
Cotton
(Boll Drop or Flower Drop)
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5% Neem Decoction (Organic) |
Mari Gold
(Pest)
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Poison Bait (balls of Wheat chaff + Jaggery + Mono crotophos) |
Red Gram
(Pest)
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Poison Bait (balls of Wheat chaff + Jaggery + Mono crotophos)
Confidor (Chemical) |
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July 21 , 28 ->
During the first couple of visits the farmers had expressed their doubts
about the activity that we were intending to take up. They had also
mentioned that couple of NGO groups had visited in the past and left
the village without making much progress. |
Aug 5 -> “Rythu Sadassu” –
workshop for farmers, also began on a cold note with not so many farmers
willing to come forward to participate. About 50-60 of them gathered
when the visits to the farms were made. Looking at the arrangements
the Sai Organisation had made and the love and care with which we
were carrying forward the activity some elderly people of the village
came to apologize for the cold start early in the morning. They had
said that they did not expect anything to happen to that effect. About
30 farmers were beginning to gain confidence at this point in time.
Aug 12 -> Tandur Mandal scientist Dr. Sudhakar
Reddy was kind enough to spare his valuable time on the Sunday and
came forward to demonstrate the usage of some pesticides on the field.
Issues with Red Gram and Cotton crops were studied in detail. Names
of the all the farmers who volunteered part of
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Getting involved at every stage |
| their fields for experimental purposes were noted down,
along with the crop they were growing. They were close to 30 farmers in
all who were part of the pilot phase. |
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Aug 15 ->
This time the village looked more colorful than on the previous visits.
Colorful banners, to signify the importance of the day, hung around
the school building and on the flag post. A garlanded picture of Mahatma
Gandhi lay on the pedestal below the flag which had been just unfurled
by the Sarpanch. There were several children inside the school building
waiting for puffed rice to be distributed.
The handouts containing the details of the pest and the pesticide to
be used were distributed among the assembled villagers. A list of farmers
with farm locations on various sides of the village was made quickly;
some farms in proximity were identified for demonstrations.
The turmeric crop which had Rhizome Rot (a condition where the worm
gets into the stem of the plant and eats it internally) was treated
by wetting the ground near the plant with the required antidote. This
was demonstrated by the scientist accompanying the team. |
Preparation of Bio Agent – Trichoderm
and Dung |
Another farmer Ram Reddy was distressed to find his brinjal crop
withering away without any yield. The scientist concluded that the
crop was suffering from a deadly viral called "little leaf of
brinjal". He instructed the farmers to isolate such plants and
dispose off far away so the virus does not spread to the other healthier
crops. “Pheromone Traps” – a natural way to trap
insects were kept in the field which proved to be cost effective,
quality effective and environmentally friendly.
Dr. Y.V Prasad of Central Research Institute for Dry Land Agriculture
- CRIDA helped with the Pheromone Traps and also a Biological agent
– Trichoderma, which when mixed with dung and allowed to rest
for a week covered in plastic then sprinkled in the fields would address
the fungal problem of rhizome rot of turmeric. This technique was
also tried in some fields.
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| Setting up Pheromone Lures in the Brinjal field |
In another case a pesticide used in Mari Gold fields was not effective.
Another solution was to make balls of wheat chaff mixed with jaggery
and pesticide. Once sprinkled all over the filed the pest would ingest
the same during night. This solution proved very effective.
Sample pesticides were distributed to the farmers for use later. It
was discovered based on one of the farmer’s disclosure that
a pesticide of one particular brand was being sold at a very high
price. The same was purchased by the Seva Team at 1/3rd the price
sold to farmers. This prompted us to offer to arrange to supply the
product at the cheaper rate from Hyderabad based on the collective
requirement, to be advised later after discussing the bulk needs.
2 Sep -> This follow up visit was undertaken to
ascertain the efficacy of our earlier advice and demonstrations on
the Independence Day to the farmers of the Nagasanpally village. The
visit was led by
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Farmers queuing up for the Neem Dicoction |
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Neem Dicoction became popular as it
worked |
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| Prof. Dr. Krishna Kumar. Based on his observations: |
The insect lures erected in the fields
of two farmers Mr. Ram Reddy & Bitchi Reddy having Brinjal Crop
performed well and the farmers have expressed complete satisfaction
on the effectiveness of lures. |
Earlier we did mention the problem of stem or rhizome rot affecting
the turmeric crop. In fact it was this problem that the farmers of
the village pleaded desperately to be addressed. The Independence
Day proved to be a beneficial day as apt demonstrations were given
on how to prevent and stop the disease from spreading by one senior
scientist of the Acharya Ranga Agricultural University. The farmers
who have tested two combinations of Chemicals have unanimously felt
that the agro chemicals worked well in controlling the Rhizome rot
in Turmeric There were approximately 40 farmers involved in cultivating
this crop and also witnessed the demonstrations and the benefits.
The two combinations are a) Blitox + Phorate and b) M45 + Phorate
respectively. This process also could now be adopted by the rest of
farmers for quality yields in turmeric crop.
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Explanation of quantities to
be used and precautions to be taken |
There was a lecture cum demonstration
of application of Neem oil (1645 ppm Aza) for soil drenching in turmeric
crop. About forty farmers attended this demonstration.
Nearly 65 farmers participated in the demonstration
for applying 5% Neem decoction to the BT Cotton crop. In addition to
this, samples each consisting of Neem oil of 250 ml & 3 Kilograms
of whole fruit (Neem) powder were supplied to all the farmers present. |
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The farmers then made fervent
requests to our team to rope in few scientists to address the pest attack
in Green gram (Kandulu) present in 300 acres and Mari gold in 60 acres
(Chamanti). Work is in progress to address this issue as well.
What started with 10 farmers 2 months ago has spread like a wild fire
in the village. They have gained confidence on our commitment levels
and also see a bright future for them and their crops. The current state
of affairs is to get ready for the next season where work will begin
under Scientist’s supervision from the Seed treatment stage.
Family level interaction: It was time to move on to
the second phase of the project – Interaction with the families
in their homes. The concept was a little difficult to sell/explain to
the villagers and the group was also not sure about how to interact
with the families on a weekly basis. With Swami as the leader and the
path-finder the Sai Youth began the journey and have successfully finished
4 weekend interactions with close to 90 families.
Some families, based on the experience and success
of the Agricare program volunteered to be a part of this. Expectations
were setup during the initial phase itself that the intent of family
level interactions was not to support them financially or take care
of their other materialistic needs but to know them |
Adoption of Families by Sai Youth Groups |
better at a family level.
And the under current was to make Community level changes through family
level influence. The group was very skeptical about how the families
would take it.
Sep 9, 16 -> Time was spent to make a list of the
families that volunteered. It was ensured that there was a good mix
of people belonging to all casts, sub casts and financial status. Close
to 50% of the village is covered as of today. The format which was included
in the “Village Integration Program” booklet was used to
collect the data. Although care was taken to ensure that the data entry
did not happen in front of the villagers. The interaction was basic
level questions about the family and household.
2 group leaders were formed for a set of 10-12 families with 5-6 people
in each group. This ensured that the people are not overwhelmed with
the amount of
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Interactions in the first week
– Outside the house |
work and also that they pay closer attention to the finer details
when interacting with the families. It was very important to have
familiar faces visiting a family every week. So, people who were committed
to dedicate time on a weekly basis for this activity were made group
leaders.
Sep 23 -> The mood was jubilant in the village
with 3 Lord Ganesha’s idols erected on the occasion of Vinayaki
Chavithi or Ganesh Chathurthy. The norm every year was to immerse
one idol on the 5th, 7th and 9th day respectively. Each idol belonged
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to different section of
the community. This year the number of idols did not decrease but the
villagers got together and told Sai Youth that the immersion of all
Ganeshas would be done on the same day if they were present. This was
a symbol of the building unity in the village and the Youth did not
wait to cash on it. Promptly after the regular family level interactions
the youth congregated to sing bhajans at all the three Ganesha’s
and prayed Swami that the Unity movement pick-up speed in the village.
It was a sight to see when people from all sections of the community
participated in the Bhajan singing, TOGETHER.
Rains bring along with them many mosquitoes and hence
Malaria. This was the occasion to educate villagers about how Malaria
spreads, how to prevent it and cure it with common things available
in the house; like with Tulasi leaves, Datura leaves etc. During the
interaction one of the teams identified that some of the |
Singing bhajans on occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi |
| villagers were still using
Rock salt (non-iodized) for cooking purposes. It is common knowledge
that lack of iodine in salt leads to swelling of the Thyroid glands.
This was to be the topic of the next weekend. So slides were to be prepared
on this topic, just as they were prepared to explain the prevention
and cure for Malaria.
Sep 30 -> Every holiday is slowly becoming a holy
day for the Hyd Sai Youth. Sundays are when Sai brothers start reaching
Sivam at around 5 am in the morning, offer salutations to Bhagawan and
then start for the village. This time around also despite the heavy
rain all of them came to congregate in Sivam early in the morning to
start for the village. Two general physicians, two gynec doctors (lady
docs) and 1 homeopathy doctor were also taken along to the village.
The district president of Hyderabad district also accompanied to witness
the activity.
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A lot of ground work was
done for this Sunday's activity. Medicines were bought on Saturday to
cater to any medical cases in the village since doctors were coming
along. Material was collated and slides prepared for the groups which
would visit houses in the village. This time slides on dental care and
usage of Iodised Salt were prepared in addition to the existing ones
used last week. Goodies for the kids in the village and some preparation
on educating the children was done.
As day started with Nagara Sankirtanam and then the
teams which had houses allotted to them moved to their respective houses
and began interacting with the families. Doctors were stationed at the
village school and any medical cases found were brought to the school.
Many villagers were happy with the agricultural assistance provided
and were willing to use more of the pesticides we had given them. Many
others who had not come forward earlier were eager to talk and take
advice. |
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Interactions in subsequent weeks
– Intside the house |
Another beautiful thing that was discovered during the family interaction
was that the villagers wanted help to get out of the wrong habits
troubling them. They said that whenever the Youth visit the village
they feel they should not give in to habits like smoking/ drinking.
It seemed as though the village was slowly wanting more positive vibration
to reverberate through it.
Balavikas classes are also being taken for the children of the villages.
Solkas and Bhajans are taught, Heath and Hygiene related issues are
discussed in a easy to understand way. Also stories about what can
be learned from nature are also discussed. Ex: What is that we learn
from Trees, Ants etc. Lot of the parents seems to see a change in
their kids and hence they make sure to drop off the kids at the local
school promptly after the Youth arrives. English classes have also
been started for Class 6 and above students. Ensuring that all round
education is imparted.
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Pray Swami to give us direction and
strength in carrying forward this activity. |
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