a case study of social forestry

1. This Jharkhand Village Turned A
Wasteland Into A Thriving Forest
Without Government or NGO
Intervention
Rajeev Kumar
MSW (TISS, Mumbai)
M.Phil (CIP, Ranchi)
Doctoral Fellow, IIT Kharagpur
Social forestry:
A case study of Jharkhand

2. Hesatu Village
 The residents of Hesatu village have successfully
raised a thriving forest over 365 acres of
wasteland without any intervention from the state
or civil society organisations that now supports
livelihoods in many ways.

3. Villager Agni Devi at a papaya
garden that is a part of the Hesatu
forest

4. continued
 There are many instances of communities coming
together for a common cause but such action is
usually catalysed by government schemes or
interventions initiated by non-governmental
organisations.
 Hesatu village in Jharkhand's Ormanjhi
administrative block, 27km from state capital
Ranchi, is a notable exception.

5. Where is Hesatu village?

6. continued
 In a state that derives its name from forests but
where tree felling is rampant, 93 households of
Hesatu have shown how to create a sustainable
economy from ecology by raising a forest of over
100,000 trees on what used to be 365 acres of
wasteland barely six years ago.

7. continued
 Spread across a 3km radius, this village of 800
people had large acres of land lying fallow, but till
2010, villagers who owned them did not know
what to do with it.
 The situation is much different in 2017. "The
annual income through our agro-forestry initiative
is between Rs 40 to Rs 50 lakh. That is what we
had been earning for last few years," resident
Shivnath Pahan told

8. continued
 Villagers are, however, quick to stress that
achieving this wasn't easy. Like Rome, Hesatu
forests weren't built in a day.
 Recalling how their project forest began, villager
Devendra Nath Thakur, one of those deeply
involved in the project, said: "In 2010, we had
been sharing our worries over the chunks of
wastelands at a gram sabha (village meeting) and
someone said, why don't we have forests of our
own?
 The idea caught on. Suddenly, the meeting,
which was about a problem, became all about
solutions. Around 25 to 30 young villagers
prepared the draft of what you are seeing as a

9. Home grown science
 A lot of home-grown science was at work. Thakur
said they had planted trees at a distance of 8 feet
from each other.
 Every tree has a 1.5 feet radius trench around it.
Ginger and turmeric shrubs are planted around
the trench, with tubers underneath. "Three levels
of plantation, three sources of income

10. continued
 How did they manage to think of this on land that
used to lie fallow? "We are farmers. Nature is our
mother. We know the land as well as a mother
knows her child. We knew that it would require
some preparation but our efforts would yield fruit.
That's what gave us the courage to start agro-
forestry in three tiers," said Thakur's friend Jagnu
Oraon

11. A nursery adjacent to the Hesatu forest from
which villagers expect to sell saplings

12. Three-tier business model
 "If there's a three-tier model of forest produce,
there must be a three-tier business model, right?"
Oraon said. "Our first level of income is through
the selling of produce, second through training
others on our innovative practices and third
through the sale of dry logs."

13. continued
 On their income development pattern, Thakur
said: "Thirty percent goes to land development,
30% goes to the community, 30% to feed people
who toil in the forests round the year and 10% on
welfare."
 This apart, villagers have started an open school
of training. "We charge Rs 100 per day per
person to learn how we work. We spend Rs 90 to
feed him. Our training charge is Rs 10," said
Pahan.

14. continued
 The latest addition to the earning is through dairy
due to the forest. "The 2016 monsoon was a
boon for us. We earned around Rs 4 lakh by
selling grass and bought around 70 cows.
 Now the villagers are earning Rs 5,000 per day
by selling milk. And last year's income through
forestry was around Rs 40 lakh," said Thakur.

15. continued
 The beginning was auspicious. "We started our
work six years ago in Holi. We dug the earth,
ploughed it and planted vegetables the first year.
With profits from vegetables,
 we started working on the bigger project — that
of growing trees. We were already cultivating lac
on kusum (Schleichera oleosa) and ber (Ziziphus
mauritiana) trees on 200 acres.
 We added the numbers on the community forest
of 365 acres," Oraon said.

16. Creating their own luck
 Mahavir Mahto, another farmer associated with
the project, said, "Smaller plots here and there
are for vegetables. So, we are maintaining a
community forest and a kitchen garden.
 " Alijaan Ansari, another villager, said they
created their own luck.
 "We have a perennial river nearby, the Domba.
But, earlier, it dried up in summer.
 Now, the river stays full round the year."
 The government will waste days in passing files.
NGOs can't move an inch without stakeholders
meetings and documentation. We are doing well
on our own.

17. continued
 In just six years, it is unbelievable that so much of
the good work has been done without any
government or NGO intervention.
 "Keep us away from government and NGOs," a
villager laughed, not wanting to come on a quote
for his candour.
 "Years will pass without any good work if these
two are involved. The government will waste days
in passing files.
 NGOs can't move an inch without stakeholders
meetings and documentation. We are doing well
on our own," he added with a grin.

18. continued
 But, isn't government and NGO help needed to
protect valuable assets such as timber? The
Hesatu team said no.
 "Every tree is counted and marked as you can
see. Plus, here is a canal between the forest and
road that neither animals nor trucks can cross,"
Oraon explained.

19. No more seasonal migration
 What brings additional satisfaction to the villagers is
that seasonal migration has been stopped.
 "Till 2012-13, around 200 people used to leave the
village to work as daily wagers in other cities.
 In 2014, when we realised that we have started
making profits through forestry, we counselled the
family members of the migrated people to stop them
from going anywhere and work here instead.
 In the years 2015 and 2016, the rate of migration was
lower.
 And in 2017 we can safely claim that our village is
migration-free," said Sunita Devi, a villager, and active
plant grower.

20. continued
 The villagers have now identified several barren
patches around Hesatu that they are now
developing into small nurseries.
 "To grow more trees, we would need more
saplings and for more saplings, we would need
more nurseries.
 We would continue to grow more trees till
someone comes and says we can't grow trees in
other places.
 But believe me, seeing the greenery around,
people will appreciate rather than stopping us,"
said Pahan.

21. continued
 The villagers echoed something
environmentalists across the globe keep
reiterating.
 "The cool breeze and chirping birds remind us
that saving greenery is the only way to save
mankind," Thakur said.
 The farmer then looked around in satisfaction.
"Our children too are lucky.
 While helping us plant trees, they learn math
through measurements, colours through flowers,
fruits, and vegetables.
 Above all, they love mother earth because each
tree is like their sibling.

22. Reference
 http://www.huffingtonpost.in/village-square/this-
jharkhand-village-turned-a-wasteland-into-a-
thriving-forest_a_21722499/

23. Case study analysis
 What is the theme of this case study?
 What is the intervention technique adopted by
villagers?
 What was the role of government and non-
government organization?
 What are theories and model, you can observe in
this case study?
 What is the future learning from this case study?
 Do a critical analysis of this case.

24. Thanks