Since 1994, PEACE is working for the people of Gajapati. The thrust area of the organization is livelihood support program. The other area of interest is health, education, gender sensitization and youth development. Development as a process, we are always in a process of community development since we organised this organisation. The major endeavours during last decade are focused below:-
Orissa is the second poorest state in India. Nearly 22% of the population of the state are tribals, whose position is probably the worst in the entire country. In certain development indicators, the proposed programme area even lags behind Sub-Saharan Africa. Ecological degradation, erratic rainfall and a high risk of drought in the area have resulted in food insecurity, increasing out-migration and periodic deaths from starvation. Ecological imbalance is now seriously undermining
the livelihood patterns and increasing vulnerability. A small land base, low agricultural productivity and low incomes have led to rising indebtedness, trapping tribals into a vicious circle of exploitation. The life of the tribals is increasingly vulnerable due to a persistent lack of assured entitlements to their resource base. Land alienation has deprived them of their land; forest legislation has turned them into encroachers on land they have always used; and they have also been disproportionately affected by displacement due to mining operations, irrigation projects, wildlife sanctuaries, etc. These have led to social discontent and unrest which provide fertile ground for extremist activities which only more meaningful development of the tribal areas can combat.
The purpose of the programme is to ensure that the livelihoods and food security of poor tribal households are sustainably improved through promoting a more efficient, equitable, self-managed and sustainable exploitation of the natural resources at their disposal and through off-farm/non-farm enterprise development. To achieve this, the Programme aims to:-
The overall strategy of the Programme focuses on empowering the tribals and enabling them to enhance their food security, increase their incomes and improve their overall quality of life through more efficient natural resource management based on the principles of improved watershed management and more productive environmentally sound agricultural practices and through off-farm/non-farm enterprise development. A strong emphasis is placed on promoting participatory processes, building community institutions, fostering self-reliance, and respecting the indigenous knowledge and values of tribals.
OTELP project is being implemented in three G.Ps namely Kirama, Anguru and Sambalpur of Nuagada Block under Gajapati District where twenty tribal villages having 623 H.Hs have been identified. Out of which 97.42% of populations belongs to Schedule tribe. These villages are divided under 10 Micro Watershed projects. This project covers the following components to achieve its objectives.
About 250 nos. of trainings/program have been conducted and 2561 nos. of males & 3247 nos. of females have participated in the training programmes mentioned below:-
Mechanical Measures:- Under OTELP Mechanical activities like Check-dam, repairing of well, construction of new well etc were constructed to conserve soil and water in the tribal poskets of Nuagada Block.
Biological Measures:-This component focuses on activities like Nursery raising, Plantation, intensive Kharif and Rabi cultivation. About 3416 people have directly benefited from the schemes.
Seed Replacement:- New variety of seeds was introduced to the farmers to boost the production in the area.
Backyard plantaion:-Backyard plantation has been introduced with focus on the households having no agricultural lands. A total of 232 H.Hs were assisted through backyard plantation programme in all MWSs
Fishery Development:--In this component priority has been given to the beneficiaries who are landless and BPL. The VDA members of Buripadar, Nidhigudi, Jargidua and Gorada have taken up Pisciculture after proper training and orientation.
Poultry DevelopmentVillage chickens are extremely important, despite their poor production, in providing, albeit in small amounts, valuable high-quality protein, poverty alleviation and income and food security. Despite their importance, in surveys of village food resources, village chickens are sometimes ignored. The women SHG members of Nidhigudi,Jargidua have undergone training on backyard poultry and are earning ting a profit of about Rs. 2500/-
RFS is meant to directly meet the credit gap of the poor tribal households. The resources under this component will be routed through the VDC to the SHGs. Formation of SHGs:-
Tribal communities have often been caught between the exploitative forces of usurious moneylenders, corrupt government officials, unscrupulous political representatives, and cunning village touts. These people have created significant barriers to community development efforts, not only by draining the capital assets of the community, but also by creating an environment of uncertainty and eroding community authority and capacity to take effective action in addressesing socio-economic problems. Development investments and poverty alleviation projects have frequently failed to achieve their stated goals, as they are captured by vested interests that control project funds, diverting much of the capital into their own pockets. With an aim to get rid of this vicious cycle, an organized mechanism was felt to be in place. Therefore a federation of SHGs namely SWAVIMAN came in to existence during 2007-08 with 40 SHGs as its primary members. Now they are able to manage the federation on their own with a little support from PEACE
Supply of food grain is one of the important components in OTELP programme, where the labours getting 3.0 kgs of rice along with the wage @ Rs. 70/- against the one man days created to develop their livelihood. It gives a strong support against their food scarcity. About 1540381 quintals of rice have been supplied to the labourers.
A special fund called Village Development Fund's has been created at the village level. Each person day @Rs. 10/- is paid by the labours towards this fund, which is primarily meant for the future maintenance of the village assets in case of repairing, renovation and rehabilitation etc. For each VDF, a bank account has been opened in name of two village labour leaders. During this period Rs.4, 30,221/- has been saved in the bank accounts on behalf of the 20 villages.