LIVELIHOODS FROM BARREN LANDS AND COMMUNITY FORESTS, AND EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL

Pääskyt and NAFAN (National Forum for Advocacy Nepal) have launched a new project to empower one of Nepal’s most marginalized groups, the Dalits, in the southern plains of Nepal bordering India, known as the Terai region.

According to the traditional Hindu caste system, Dalits are considered “impure” and placed outside the entire social structure. Higher castes have historically refused any contact with Dalits, including avoiding the utensils, spaces, or water sources they use.

The caste system and caste-based discrimination have been outlawed in Nepal since 1963. In principle, Dalits have full civil rights, and authorities have the obligation to investigate reported cases of discrimination. In practice, however, caste discrimination still hinders Dalits’ access to education, livelihood opportunities, relationships, and religious practice. In everyday life, Dalits face resistance and threats of violence from other population groups and authorities.

The situation is further complicated by their own negative attitudes towards education, the subordinate status of women within their communities, and inherited feelings of exclusion and hopelessness.

In Bara district, in the sub-Metropolitan City of Jitpur Simara, the livelihood of Dalits largely depends on itinerant trading and daily wages. The aim of our new project is to promote more effective and equitable use of public lands and degraded forests, so that Dalits can use them as a basis for sustainable livelihoods. This is done by converting riverbanks and other government-owned unused land into farmland. Later, the project will connect farmers to buyers and markets.

In addition to unused land, another available public resource are the collaborative forest management areas established on state land. Dalits also have the right to participate in the collaborative forest management groups and to collect, for example, firewood. However, in practice, these rights have not been realized.

Sustainable use of barren land and collaborative forests becomes feasible when Dalits are connected to local vocational and technical training centers.

Transformative Mobilization

The foundation and prerequisite for significant concrete changes is first to raise Dalits’ awareness and motivation for development through a method known as transformative social mobilization. Our partner NAFAN is one of Nepal’s top experts in social mobilization (as seen in the empowerment of the Chepang people in Raksirang during our previous project).

Equally essential to end discrimination is training local authorities and promoting dialogue and cooperation between them and various population and interest groups. A lot of prejudices must be dismantled, and new bridges built between all parties—Dalits, other communities, and local governance—in order to embed new, fair practices in Bara. Our second local partner, the Dalit Welfare Society (DWS), plays a key role in this. Strengthening DWS as an advocate for Dalits and ensuring continuity is one of the project’s goals.

There are many challenges. Forests are subject to numerous competing interests. Among other things, the Nepalese army wants to expand its presence there, and a new airport (Nijgadh) is planned near the project area. The accessible and fertile Terai attracts significant migration. It is also a major corridor for import and export traffic between Nepal and India, and new Special Economic Zones with polluting industries are constantly being established in the area.

The project is expected to benefit approximately 600 rights holders directly (members of local communities, 80% of whom are Dalits) and 80 duty bearers (local government and other authorities) across 15 villages and three collaborative forest management areas in Jitpur Simara, Bara District, Terai. An estimated 700 people will benefit indirectly.

The joint project of the Swallows of Finland and Sahara Nepal in the far west of Nepal, in Bajhang district, started in the beginning of 2021 and will continue for six years. Sahara Nepal is a Nepalese non-governmental organization founded in 2010 and having its base in Chainpur, a few kilometers from the project area.

The goal of the project is to improve livelihoods and food security of poor farmer families through more efficient ecological farming, animal husbandry and the use of non-timber forest products. The project also aims to address the social issues that discriminate against women and girls. Enhancing women’s capacity for leadership is an important aim of its own. Finally, the project will promote sustainable resource management by providing training on environmentally friendly rural infrastructure and enterprise development.

Challenges in the project area

Bajhang, the district in the far west of the country bordering China, is one of the least developed areas of Nepal. The project is implemented in Masta Rural Municipality which is among the most food insecure areas of the district.

The major occupation of more than 80% of the people is in agriculture. The production is still mainly organic which ensures good quality of the food, but productivity is low. Besides, access to market is very limited so most of the people of this hilly area are not able to sell their products for income generation. Landslides caused by deforestation and erosion are common.

In the area, there are plenty of natural resources, but so far manufacturing for sale has been limited. For example, the bamboo products would have markets in the district and regional markets. The same applies to the lokta bush, out of which the famous lokta paper is made, as well as nettle and hemp.

Ancient patriarchal values are predominant in the project area and the rights of women are poorly recognized. Gender-based violence is common, the worst thing being chhaupadi, banishing menstruating women and girls to a “Chhau-hut”: a mud hut or animal shed. Luckily this practice has started to diminish. Women are engaged in local level economic activities such as goat rearing and farming, but the income is captured by the male head of the household. Women are not involved in decision-making although men generally migrate for long periods to work in cities, especially Kathmandu, and others in India. In political leadership women have practically no role. Social inclusion of women in the society is of low level and deep-rooted social norms work against women.

What does the project do?

About 350 small farmers are organized into 15 producer groups. They get training on improved farming methods after which they are provided with seeds, tools, polyhouses and irrigation facilities. To gain better access to markets, training is provided on proper processing, packaging and storage of the products, as well as marketing.

Forests play a vital role in protecting the biodiversity of Sri Lanka and provide a number of ecosystem services. But in planning and implementing development projects this importance is often disregarded. Most of the environmental destructions today in Sri Lanka are closely related to livelihood.

This project aims to conserve biodiversity and reduce human-elephant conflict in the Anuradhapura (Wilachchiya) and Badulla (Rideemaliyadda and Dehigama) districts through introducing sustainable environmentally friendly livelihood opportunities to farmer families, engaging them in conservation activities and managing human-elephant conflict in collaboration with local communities and conservation agencies. The project will also develop an impact assessment tool to be used by government agencies and communities to reduce negative effects of development projects. Through this tool it will be possible to align development projects to serve the real needs of the communities and better capture all the negative effects of a proposed project including loss of ecosystem services.

The project implemented by Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) and supported by Swallows is expected to benefit directly about 870 right-holders (of which at least 50 % will be women) and 200 duty-bearers in two districts. In addition, approx. 7000 people are expected to benefit indirectly.

The foundation is strongly value-based and belongs to the Emmaus Movement of Peru. At a time it had even three different ”cunas”. The aim is to break the cycle of poverty and social exclusion, to expand social rights and to promote equality among children and families in less favorable areas.

The kindergarten (Jardín Cuna Nazareth) located in the Chorrillos district provides care, a stimulating environment, healthy nutrition and psychosocial support to around 100 children aged from 1 to 5, so that their low-income parents can work and secure a better livelihood for their families. Many of the children in the kindergarten have needs for special support. Swallows support Cuna’s kindergarten through child sponsorship and by sending volunteers to assist there.

In addition to kindergarten cooperation, Swallows carried out project co-operation with the Cuna Nazareth Foundation and three Finnish Emmaus groups in 2011–2015 with the support of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In the project a recycling center (Trapería) was completed in the spring of 2012 in the Pachacamac area of Lima to promote a sustainable way of living and the reuse of materials. Workers were trained to collect and repair local recycled textiles and home supplies, and they sell them to needy residents of the area. The ultimate aim of Trapería is to generate self-sufficiency for the kindergarten and to provide employment opportunities to nearby residents.

Swallows head to Peru and India

At first, Swallows’ activities were directed to Peru. Volunteers were sent to Lima, the capital of Peru, for one to two years to work e.g. in the kindergartens of the Cuna Nazareth Foundation, which was part of Emmaus Peru. Cuna Nazareth was also supported financially through the Emmaus communities in Finland and through Swallows´ child sponsorships. The assistance of Cuna and deployment of volunteers has continued uninterruptedly since 1965.

Swallows’ support to various school projects to India and Bangladesh began also already in 1967. In 1983, VCDS (The Village Community Development Society in Tamil Nadu) became a new and long-term partner. From 1987 to 1999, Swallows had also cooperation with the village development and education center Jagriti Vihara (in Bihar) that worked with adivasis. – In the 1980s, the Swallows’ office moved from Tammisaari to Helsinki.

A long-standing and award-winning partnership with the Indian organization VCDS

Swallows supported VCDS which was organizing oppressed casteless Dalit workers and women to fight for their rights. The issues were dramatized by performances of a cultural group. Informal schools for casteless children with a special curriculum were started and new skills taught for youth. Awareness raising about political and environmental realities was an integral part of the work done in some 60 villages of VCDS working area. Between 1998 and 2006, the focus was on promoting the introduction of organic farming methods within a large network of NGOs, led by VCDS.

The lively connections between the Swallows and the VCDS were strengthened by several visits of the Swallows´ members to India and the visits to Finland by the founders of the organization, Martin and Kousalya, and the VCDS cultural group. Awareness of developing countries was also widely disseminated through study trips to India organized by Laajasalo adult education institution and by the guidance of two of our board members.
In 2005, Swallows and VCDS were chosen by President Tarja Halonen as receivers of the Partnership-award, which is a recognition given by Kepa (presently Fingo, umbrella organization of some 200-300 Finnish development cooperation organizations).

New big scale partners in the 21st century: ITDG and SEWA

From 2005 our partner in Peru was the International Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), which focuses on the promotion of applied technology. Our common project aimed to improve the livelihoods and food security of Native American communities by developing organic cultivation and processing and marketing indigenous Andean crops.

In 2010, in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan of India, cooperation with the 1.9 million-member SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) and the small Swallows began. The three-year project aimed to improve the livelihoods of Adivasi and casteless women, who make their living mainly from agriculture and animal husbandry. The central activities were agricultural training and helping self-employed women to get organized into SEWA trade unions in order to be able to fight for their rights.

Recycling center to support kindergarten in Peru

In 2012, our long-term collaboration with Cuna Nazareth took on new forms. Together with three Finnish Emmaus groups, a recycling center project, also known as trapería project, started. Refurbishment and sales facilities were built in the Pachacamac area of Lima, and local unemployed adults were trained as recycling professionals. The goal is to produce income for Cuna Kindergarten. The project ended in May 2015, after which the recycling center has run independently and generated revenue for Cuna Kindergarten.

The 50th anniversary of the Swallows and a turning point

In 2014, the Swallows celebrated its 50th anniversary. To honor the anniversary, we compiled the memoirs of past and present chairpersons and executive directors into a publication named ‘Siipien sillalla’ LINKKI JULKAISUUN (On the bridge of the wings, not translated to English). The booklet conveys an image of a wide range of Swallows’ activities. For example, in the 80s, Swallows were deeply involved in the percentage movement. In the 80s and 90s, we supported the Indian Chipko movement and participated in the global campaign against the dam projects on the Tehri and Narmada rivers in India.

In the jubilee year of 2014, our nine-year project in the Andes, in the city of Sicuani in the Cusco region, came to an end. Over the years, in collaboration with Soluciones Practicas (formerly ITDG), the Quechua Indians of the Ccaycco area and their traditional Kamayocci agricultural advisors were trained to organic cultivation of indigenous Andean cereals. Besides, a small grain processing plant was built in the city of Marangani.

Members of Ccaycco’s cooperative were trained in the processing of cereal products (such as nutritious porridge powders and snack products) as well as product marketing and plant management. At the end of the project, the facility was transferred to the Las Golondrinas de Ccaycco (Ccaycco Swallows) association.

In India, after our first project with the self-employed women’s organization SEWA, we got a positive funding decision from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for a new three-year follow-up project. In 2015-2018, we focused with SEWA on empowering young women. Training related to agriculture and animal husbandry emphasized climate change preparedness and taught product processing. Leadership training, equipment rental and daycare activities were also supported.

In the 50th anniversary year of the Swallows, we also got to know the Indian organization Prayatna Samiti, through Siemenpuusäätiö (Siemenpuu Foundation).

Food security in the dry Rajasthan with Prayatna Samiti

Prayatna Samiti was founded in 1989 and operates in southern Rajasthan, Udaipur region, where a large part of the population is indigenous people, Adivasis. In 2017, we started a food security project with Prayatna Samiti in ten villages with Adivasi women.
In India, market-driven agriculture has led to a decline in the cultivation of traditional food crops. At the same time, the increased use of chemical fertilizers has impoverished the soil and the rainfall has become irregular. Food security for smallholder families has deteriorated.

At the beginning of the project, savings groups were set up in the villages, whose members were provided with agricultural and livestock training, practical advice and tools for the introduction of organic farming methods, traditional cereals such as millet, and vegetable and fruit tree seedlings. Nurseries and seed banks were established. Small savings and lending operations were started.

Campaigns were organized on the importance of nurturing and documenting biodiversity and demanding forest rights. The aim was to strengthen the role of women and communities in decision-making on the sustainable use and management of natural resources.
In a poor, arid and remote area, where men are migrant workers elsewhere for much of the year, training and empowering women is a prerequisite for food security and development. In this connection, women in savings groups also received leadership training.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Prayatna Samiti, along with other local organizations, distributed emergency aid kits and information about state aid programs to hundreds of households. The Swallows made a donation to Prayatna Samiti to procure vegetable seeds to families outside the project.

New country and new partners: Nepal, NAFAN and Sahara Nepal

Swallows have been involved in development cooperation in India since the 1960s. But India, despite widespread poverty, is no longer considered as a country in need of assistance, making it difficult to obtain funding for new development projects. After the end of the SEWA project, the Swallows decided to look for new partners in the neighboring country of Nepal. One of the association’s executive board members had good contacts with Nepalese NGOs and the opportunity to get to know them on the ground. Thus, we found a new partner in a new country.

In 2018, we received a positive funding decision from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for the largest project in our history, with the National Forum for Advocacy Nepal (NAFAN) in Nepal.

In 2020 we received funding also for another project in Nepal, with Sahara Nepal, in the far west of the country.