Society for Rural Education and Development (SRED), along with Tamilnadu Dalit Women’s Movement, has been advocating with the state to give common lands for Landless Dalit women farmers’ collectives. Tamilnadu Dalit Women’s Movement believes that land right is the most empowering for the oppressed.
There have been many success stories in the history of SRED, such as the Maharajapuram Dalit Women Farmers’ Collective reclaiming 30 acres and Pallur Dailt Women Farmers’ Collective with 7 and1/2 acres. SRED along with the Dalit women farmers’ collectives negotiate with district administrations to take over common lands to establish collective farms. Support is given for water, electricity, solar panels, tools and seeds. Organic farming practices are carried out in collective farms and millets, vegetables and fruits are grown. Now the mittapalayam collective farm is being mobilized.
SRED believes in agroecology practices and conducts workshops and training to impart the relevant knowledge. The content includes developing collective farms, vermi compost, natural manure, natural pest control, ill effects of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, negative impacts of GMO seeds, role of women farmers in mitigating climate change, organic seed collection and importance of organic farming.
The field learning site at Kallaru conducts demonstration and training on agroecology practices. They collectively prepare vermicompost for the kitchen garden in which they grow fruits and vegetables. Dalit women are trained to make natural manure without cow dung. Natural manure compost is made with leaves, kitchen waste and all the waste material which would be decomposed.
Agroecological training through demonstrations are given to children in the schools and they are encouraged to create home gardens. This is mainly to avoid buying vegetables in the shops which is grown with the use of chemical pesticides. The vegetables, greens grown in the school are used in the mid-day meals schemes for children.
SRED along with Tamilnadu Dalit Women’s movement and Dalit Women farmer collectives campaign against genetically modified mustard and the distribution of fortified rice in the Public Distribution System. This campaign was carried on with local governance structures and members of legislative assembly.
Reclaiming common lands, recognizing landless Dalit and tribal women farmers as farmers, propagating agroecology practices, promoting millet, working towards food sovereignty by growing pesticide-free food, encouraging afforestation by distributing saplings, and enabling communities’ acces to local, healthy, nutritious food–all these are at the core of the program.
(Reprinted here with permission from SRED)
