Revival of Banni

The wonderful grassland eco-system of the District of Kutch, calles Banni, is home to a number of small hamlets of Muslim nomadic pastoralists and Meghwal Hindus. These communities, the Maldhari, developed and conserved one of the best blood lines for buffaloes, that is also considered as best milking breed. The qualities, which make thes animals unique and indespensible for this region are the ability to free graze during the night to avoid the high temperatures of the day and to handle little fodder in droughts. In order to conservate and to preserve the Banni buffaloes, the animal breeders of the region came together to form the Banni Breeders' Association (Banni Pashu Uchherak Maldhari Sangathan). Besides, their objectives were the regeneration of grassland, which is essential for the preservation of the buffaloes, the initiation of animal husbandry services and the improvement of an animal marketing system.

Several organizations offered their help to the Maldhari, e.g. Sahjeevan, GUIDE (Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology and Ujjas Mahila Sangathan, and in 2008 the first Banni Pashu Mela was organized, not only to provide a marketing platform for the buyers and sellers but also to highlight the Banni buffaloe breed as an old traditional form of husbandry, that needs to be conserved.

Furthermore, service centres concerning health and efficiency of animals were created with the main objectives to provide health care benefits, e.g. regular veterinary check-ups or advices concerning the feeding habits. The Animal Husbandry Knowledge Centre offers needed know-how to the milk producers, CBOs and NGOs, which are engaged in animal husbandry requirements. The Banni Grassland Regeneration Programme, coordinated by GUIDE, includes clear identification and characterization of grazing lands by satellite data based and participatory approaches of grazing land mapping. Under this study a total 42.324 ha of land was mapped and categorized. As these and other initiatives have shown before, the feasibility and success of the mentioned projects were mainly the unbroken commitment and the teamwork of the organizations, scientists and local Maldharis.

Abhiyan's Network

Abhiyan's network focuses on capacity building of the member organizations and communities in order to reduce rural Kutch's vulnerability in the face of continuous droughts, low access to primary health and education. Capacity building of member organizations also focuses on better governance within organizations. The network draws its strength from varied competencies, gathering collective experiences working in rural development and the inherent spirit of enterprise that lives in Kutch.

Collectively the network covers approximately 640 villages in the 11 blocks of Kutch through their work in:

• Natural resource management
• Health
• Legal aid
• Education 
• Micro credit
• Capacity building of Panchayati Raj Institutions (Local Governance)
• Livelihood interventions with artisans
• Women empowerment

What is "Setu"?

 Evolution of Setu

After the consumptive earthquake in 2001 the District of Kutch was in need of joint and coordinated effort to take measures against the destruction. The idea was to set up information centres in various parts of Kutch. These centres were named Setu (Bridge) and advanced from exchange of knowledge to information management, policy influencing, addressing grievances, ensuring transparency and mediating between the Government, several NGOs and the rural populace. In recent years Setus perceived a broader role to mobilize the communities to realize their development concerns and needs while always putting in first place self-help and self-governance mechanisms.

The Setu Convention 2009

After 8 years of existence and functioning, Setus hold a broader role to mobilize the communities to establish their development concerns and needs, with putting in first place self-help and self-governance mechanisms. While the Setu concerning initiatives will be continued, Abhiyan felt the need of creating a platform to share developmental projects with the citizens of Kutch on a national level.

Therefore the Setu Convention was organized and took place on 30th & 31st of January 2009 in Bhuj. It conduced to build up an understanding of Setu's approaches and activities which were untertaken during recent years. Furthermore the convention includes a reflection of Setu's collaboration with the communities and with the different resource agencies.

Assorted plenary sessions and panel discussion pavilions tended to improve strategies and work methodologies and to share ideas, experiences and activities which were showcased through live demonstrations, group discussions and debates. 4000 community representatives, several resource persons from civil society, from Gujarat and other parts of India, attended the two-day convention.

See the pictures of this event in our foto gallery.

What is "Abhiyan"

Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan arised as a response to the 1998 Kandla Cyclone. It became a coordinating point between NGOs, a forum for advocacy and policy recommendations to the Government, a platform for collective implementation and a mediator between affected communities, donors, NGOs and the Government. Thereafter it has been involved predominantly in Disaster Management in Kutch during 2 cyclones, 3 droughts and the devastating earthquake in 2001.
Since that time, Abhiyan evolved into a network of 33 voluntary organizations spread across Kutch. Its projects concentrated on capacity building of the member organizations and communities to reduce rural Kutch's vulnerability facing difficult living conditions namely continuous droughts, low health status and a lack of access to primary education. In order to implement certain projects, Abhiyan undertook the part of facilitator to bring together donors, the media, the district administration and other parties. Additionally it played the role of a service provider and promoted different institutional processes post the 2001 earthquake. The initial rehab program turned into several development projects for the District of Kutch.

Abhiyan combines:

• Creating and Sponsering Institutions (which includes Setu, K-Link, Hunnarshala, Crafts Resource Centre etc.)
• A network of development organizations working e.g. as a disaster response and for drought mitigation
• providing services

Abhiyan draws its strength from the varied competencies and collective experiences of member organizations working in rural development and from the inherent spirit and energy that live in Kutch.

Khamir - Craft Resource Centre

With the vision of revitalizing the numerous and incomparable craft sectors in the District of Kutch, such as pottery and block printing, a resource and facilitation centre was set up for bringing together NGOs, local traditional artisans and foreign designers with different artistical backgrounds. In order to combine traditional methods with modern knowledge and with the main objective to learn from one another, Khamir-Craft Resource Centre emerged, a joint initiative of Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan, NFD (Nehru Foundation for Development) and CII (Confederation of Indian Industries). The centre arranges education, training, demonstration and interpretation facilities not only in the craft field, but also concerning environment and heritage conservation of Kutch. It forges creative partnership within the artisan community as well as with the external world. Besides the inspiring collaboration between the various artisans, Khamir, while renewing the different craft sectors, also addresses the numerous inherent technical, design, production and socio-economical issues. Under the guidance of the centre the artisans shall develop a strong market and business orientation to ensure their vital income.

Disaster Response in Nagapattinam

When in December 2004 a tsunami hit the shores of south India and Indonesia, the coalition of the organizations, which worked together against the ramifications of the earthquake in Gujarat 2001, applied their combined strength in various spheres of facilitation. The team helped to set up an information desk, while initiating an interface dialogue with the State in order to ensure the transfer of experiences and knowledge. Because of the association of several NGOs, like the Coordination ans Resource Centre (NCRC), the local South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS), SNEHA and the different rehabilitation activities, which were planned and implemented collectively, also in this case of disaster response the cooperation was productive.

In the course of their previous success, members of organizations like Hunnarshala were also invited by the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), a network of NGOs located in Jakarta, to visit Aceh, Indonesia, where the tsunami caused incredible damages. Besides the opportunity to share the experience on disaster rehabilitation with the local NGOs and the Government, the collaborating organizations from Kutch could also assist in following areas of intervention for promoting owner driven approach:

1. Organizational planning for rehabilitation
2. Semi-permanent and permanent shelter planning and capacity building
3. Coastal and urban planning
4. Livelihood rehabilitation planning

Disaster Response in Kashmir

In October 2005 India and Pakistan were involved in another disastrous earthquake, which had its epicentre in the region of Kashmir at a magnitude of 7.6. It cost life of about 86.000 people. When faced with a calamity of that kind, the Divisional Commissioner and the Government of Kashmir and Jammu invited a selected team coming from different organizations in Kutch, like Hunnarshala, which already witnessed the earthquake in 2001. Based on the experiences in post disaster rehabilitation in several stations (Kutch, Nagapattinum, Aceh), the work of the mentioned team should ensure that the victims had interim shelters before the onset of winter.

This team, composed of technical resource persons and professionals from the disaster response network, that emerged in the District of Kutch, elaborated the Interim Shelter Program. It contained e.g. the initial demonstration of the approach, methodology and design of the shelter, the dissemination of the house design and norms and policies through pamphlets. Moreover, the coordination with the Deputy Commissioner, various Government departments and NGOs, cluster planning and field assessment to identify vulnerable, indigent families.