Livelihood and Agriculture

This is a big area of intervention.  There are 4 categories of interventions in this:

• Re-building lost enterprises – This is very critical.  People have been already running an enterprise and know how to run it.  They have lost some of the assets and by providing it to them we can help them get back on their feet.  This is also the easiest part of the livelihood program. Apart from boats and nets there are a lot of other assets that have been lost.  These are often in smaller numbers and take time and effort to identify. People have lost fish baskets, cycles, petty shops, tiffin shops, etc.  This component of the livelihood program involves surveying and assessing the losses and providing the support required to re-start the enterprises.

• Enhancing existing enterprises – There are existing enterprises in the same areas that have not suffered an asset loss but may have suffered a temporary set back which may need help.  There are also very small enterprises (like a tiffin center run by a poor old woman) that can do with some help to increase the scale of the enterprise. (For example replacing a fish basket by a trolley – so more fish can be carried).  In some cases helping an existing local enterprise to expand may be the best way to provide jobs to other people in the village. This component also involves skills training and job placement.

• Starting new enterprises – This is the most complex part of the livelihood programs.  Merely providing training without setting up an enterprise is easy – but this is not as useful as going all the way and helping people start and run the enterprise. There are two kinds of new enterprises we are looking at:

  • Enterprises run from a central vocational center

  • Enterprises run in each village locally by people

  This component also involves training, helping with seed capital, marketing and hand-holding till the enterprise unit becomes self-sustaining.

• Agro-based interventions – These are interventions related to agriculture – soil salinity removal, waste land management, bio-fertilizers, composting, waste management, organic farming, water harvesting, jathropa nurseries, etc.

We have initiated the following activities:

• We have already described the Nets provided and Boats, Catamarams and engines repaired and provided.

• We have identified almost 1000 people (mostly women) spread out in villages across the coast in Palaverkadu,  Kovalam, Koovathur and Nagai who have lost and need cycles and fish baskets. Several of the women carry fish to the markets. In Kovalam many of the people fish in the backwaters and carry the nets in cycles from their villages to the backwaters. We are trying to arrange this support them.

• We have provided loans to 545 women through CJWS to re-start their enterprises.

• In Allikuppum, we have identified a lot of older women who have lost fish baskets that they carry. We are looking at alternatives like one wheeled trolleys to help them both re-start their enterprise and at the same time enhance it.
  

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