1. Kanakanala Dairy programme - A MUNJAVU Dairy Cooperative

The Kanakanala dairy cooperative was started in September 2002. The dairy cooperative serves to create an alternative livelihood for farmers in the region, particularly as a buffer during periods of drought and crop failure. The women in the SHG's are central to this process with future production of milk and dairy products being managed individually or collectively by SHG members. In the Kanakanala area, most households own a dairy animal and as SAMUHA and MMS claim, there is currently enough production of milk to sufficiently sustain a dairy cooperative. However milk and other dairy products are not widely sold because of the lack of a market for locally produced products. Households within 5km of Tavargera, one of the central towns in the area, are able to sell some milk on a small scale, because they can walk to Tavargera and enter the market without much additional investment. Households farther from Tavargera are only able to sell locally within their own village and this produces a negligible income.

Taking these issues into account, the Kanakanala dairy cooperative was founded on a phased strategy that starts with the fundamental step of understanding and capturing the local market; creating a viable forum through which local products can be marketed and sold. As with many micro-enterprises with limited resources, marketing of their products and goods is a major obstacle to survival. The Kanakanala Dairy programme aims to combat this problem through its three-phased approach.

Phase I: The local market should be tested and experimented with, until MUNJAVU is established in dairy business. The demand and local preferences should be understood and a minimum quantity of milk sold. A small store was rented in the bazaar area, where the milk is distributed and sold from. At present 100-150 l per day are sold. As soon as the target quantity of 200 liters per day is reached, phase II starts. This quantity was determined based on the requirements of large consumers of dairy products in Tavargera, such as the sweet stall owners who currently procures cream and milk from outside sources.

Phase II: This phase actively involves local women members of the SHG's, initially in 8 pilot villages. There milk will be procured from individuals or collective groups of women. The milk will continue to be cooled, packaged and sold in Tavargera in order to maintain quality. Once the procurement and sale of local milk stabilizes, other dairy products such as ghee, butter, and kova can also be made in the local villages and sold through the cooperative. While milk serves as the staple product through which the dairy cooperative establishes itself, it is actually the sale of these other products and the value-addition that will bring profits for MUNJAVU. Only now the activities of the dairy cooperative can become an intervention that will impact the livelihoods of local households and lead to economic development. Other components that will be tested in Phase II include opening a mobile milk parlour at the bus-stand to promote milk-based products such as badam milk and lassi. Phase II will involve a strong technical training component for members of the SHG's in quality control, and marketing and sale of milk and other dairy products. SHG members involved in the dairy cooperative will be encouraged to take loans from the group and invest in equipment or utilize existing community economic assets for making a variety of dairy products.

Phase III: Once the Phase II activities of the dairy cooperative are functioning and sustainable, Phase III will focus on expanding the market to neighbouring areas of Naglapur, Kanakagiri, Meinadal, and Irkalagada, areas where MUNJAVU is already involved in the formation of SHG's. Given that procurement is an expensive venture, Phase III will focus on introducing products procured in Tavargera into the markets in these areas. However, replication of the entire dairy cooperative is also feasible if SHG members of these areas express interest in such a venture. Linkages: Central to the success of the dairy cooperative are adequate services to maintain the health of the dairy animals and to increase their yield of milk. Services such as artificial insemination to introduce cross-breeds that are best suited to the region and for milk production and information on appropriate feed and fodder will be essential to ensure the success of the local dairy farmers. The MUNJAVU team is already addressing these issues and preparing the community for increased dairy farming through its lay veterinary programme. While the lay vets will focus on a range of livestock health needs, they will also play an important role in the promotion of dairy farming by giving information on upgradation of breeds, appropriate types of fodder, and maximizing milk yield from dairy animals. To respond to the increase in dairy animals, farmers will also be encouraged to plant fodder and promote this as a commercial activity, adding value to this crop and increasing local farming options.

The local MMS women seem ready to take the milk collection in their own hands. The purchase of Arokya milk will be stopped, and the milk collected in the villages. The main concern expressed by the women was the fodder shortage during 3 months. They are now assessing the possibility to buy fodder from outside to bridge these summer months in order to keep up the minimum quantity of milk. This purchase would be made on credit from the MMS.

Figures: Total milk purchased 46'642 Litres, total commission earned Rs 82'948 (456 working days)

2. Lay-veterinarian (or paravet) programme

In the 22 villages of the Kanakanala area there are over 18,000 livestock animals. Despite the importance of livestock to a household's livelihood, there are relatively few health services or health care providers. Government veterinarians must travel long distances on rough roads to reach each of the villages and provide care for the animals. Most families do not own vehicles and bringing sick animals to the veterinary clinics in the sub-centers, sometimes 10-15 km away, is not feasible. Therefore, there is a need for more accessible and regular health care for livestock animals. To respond this situation, MUNJAVU plans to initiate a lay veterinarian programme. A lay veterinarian will be a volunteer, trained in basic skills in veterinary science.
Aside from meeting this visible need, the lay veterinarian programme also aims to challenge existing gender biases and improve the social status of women. The lay veterinarian programme will train young women, under the age of 30 years, and give them the necessary training and support to enter into a field that is led by men. Taking lessons and highlights from successful female lay vets in rural regions of Andhra Pradesh, the MUNJAVU team is already creating dialogue and a forum for debate among local communities, challenging local social norms and women's traditional roles in economic development, livelihoods promotion, and in providing services to a larger community. In addition to training adult women, the lay veterinarian programme will also train a group of adolescent girls as assistants to the lay vets. Given that one of the major responsibilities of young girls is to graze and care for their family's livestock, the lay vet programme will work to expand the role of adolescent girls as animal caretakers. Further, the programme will create a valuable opportunity for adolescent girls and opening the door for a new social support network to facilitate training, support, and information sharing.

The lay vet programme is not promoted as an alternative livelihood for women, but as a supplemental livelihood, one that can provide an additional source of income to families and some protection during times of drought and crop failure. As mentioned earlier, the lay vet programme will be closely linked to the dairy cooperative, and as the dairy programme expands, the opportunities and responsibilities of the lay vets will also grow. Further, other livestock initiatives introduced through SAMUHA will also depend on these lay vets, developing their role as valuable resource persons in the community.

Training: Lay-vet training will be provided by Anthra, an SDC/IC partner NGO working in Andhra Pradesh with extensive experience in the field of animal health and livestock development, as well as the promotion of female lay vets. Aside from training at SAMUHA, the women will be given activities and small assignments to complete each month. These activities involve identifying local herbs and plants used to treat different ailments; gaining community acceptance and familiarizing the community with their new skills and role; and identifying local animal health patterns and needs. In the 6th month of training, the women will be able to begin providing basic services.

Support: In addition to lay veterinary training, the women and adolescent girls involved in the programme will also participate in a life skills training programme. This life skills programme will provide information and support on a range of issues including challenging gender roles, personal development and self-confidence, professional development, financial management, understanding government systems, rights, and laws, as well as health issues such as reproductive health. The life skills programme will also focus on building the relationship among adult women and adolescent girls, establishing both a peer networks as well as creating role models and sources of support and information for adolescent girls. The life skills programme will also include a research component that will document the experiences of these female lay vets and impact of this programme on their economic and social development.

Tasks: Each lay vet will be responsible for the animal health needs of 2 villages. They will have regular support from a junior veterinarian/livestock technician from the government and will be able to refer cases to this vet. The lay vet programme focuses on homeopathy and ayurvedic methods of treatment, and lay vets will be trained on the preparation and use of such herbal medicines. A medicinal plant specialist has started to work for SAMUHA, and it is planned to involve him also. The lay vet will also be trained to monitor outbreaks of different illnesses and organize for the referral vet to visit their villages. The lay vet will also provide information on best types of fodder, animals appropriate to the region, as well as organize artificial insemination camps. MUNJAVU will provide the necessary infrastructure and support for acquiring low-cost medicines, maintaining quality control; and on-going supervision and training with local government veterinarians.

Aims and Objectices: The paravet programme should support the dairy cooperative. It was felt that animals health was one of the restricting factors of dairy business, thus improved local skills in veterinary services are crucial.

3. Grain Bank

The grain bank was started under MUNJAVU in February 2003 in response to continual drought and crop failure that not only threatened families in the region with severe poverty, but also rapidly diminishing food security. The primary goal of the food bank is to provide food security to these families in need. The grain bank provides food grains in the form of a loan and is based on a self-sustaining revolving fund methodology.

Prior to launching the bank, 10 villages were selected for a household survey to explore periods of food shortage throughout the year; household food consumption and purchasing patterns. The market was surveyed to determine the cheapest rates, transportation costs, and seasonal fluctuations. Based on this data and feedback from the working group, the type of grain provided through the bank (sajji), costing and repayment strategies and logistics were decided with the support of MUNJAVU resource persons. Finally, four villages were identified where food security was most threatened and opened the grain bank to families in these villages (Garajenal; Julakunti; Killarhatti; Thodaki).

The grain bank operates through the SHG's and the Village Development Societies (VDS) set up through SAMUHA in each village. In each village, one SHG takes responsibility for deciding what families in the village require grains, as well as monitoring repayment of the loan. This SHG is responsible for non-repayment, regardless of whether or not the family is a member of a MUNJAVU SHG. Families with threatened food security approach the SHG who in turn use a checklist to examine the risk of migration and grain requirements of the family. The grain loan must be repaid in cash within 3 months and currently there is 100% repayment. It is estimated that 1 quintal will last a large family for 3 months if their diet is supplemented with rice. An initial investment for purchasing of grains was provided through MUNJAVU, and all future funds from repayment of loans will go into MMS's revolving funds. This grain bank programme works closely with SHG's and Working Group members and provides regular training for the women, ensuring it can be self-sustained through MMS. The grain bank will eventually be opened to other villages.

Achievements in ISPWDK phase II: 153 Quintals of Bajra was distributed to 162 households of 9 villages.

4. Gold loan scheme

The gold loan scheme under MMS aims to preserve a household's assets and provide fair lending options to poor families in need. In this area, households are forced to pawn their gold jewellery in return for loans. These loans are given at exceptionally high rates of interest. This system creates a cycle of non-repayment, particularly given the severe poverty, drought, and crop failure in the region. Families lost what few assets they possessed and ended up in debt. In response to this, MUNJAVU introduced a gold jewellery loan scheme. The Working Group members identified a trusted local gold smith who examines and prices the jewellery brought by families. Loans are given at 50-60% of the market rate of the gold and only an interest of 17% per annum is charged. The jewellery is kept in a locker at a local commercial bank until the family is able to repay the loan. Loans can be repaid over any amount of time, depending on the ability of the family. Since the scheme opened in May 2003, 14 loans have been given. One of the challenges, and reasons why there are not more loan takers yet, is the high risk involved. It would only take one fake piece of jewellery to shatter the trust of people and staff in the scheme.

5. Dry Land Horticulture (DLH) and Land Mortgage
The aim of the dry land horticulture scheme is to provide farmers with a supplemental income to support them during times of drought and crop failure. Certain fruit trees are drought tolerant, such as drumstick, lemon, and mango. The DLH project encourages farmers to plant at least half an acre of land with such fruit trees. These trees can be planted around farm ponds and other structures built to replenish water tables. Under MMS, dry land horticulture will be coupled with land mortgaging, adding a second component of security for farmers during periods of drought and crop failure. Many farmers in the region will mortgage their land in times of need. Often unable to repay their loans, they lose their lands, one of the few valuable assets available to the household. Similar to the gold jewellery loan scheme, land mortgaging aims to keep farmers' assets in their own hands and promote fair lending practices. Farmers who choose to mortgage their land are encouraged to start dry land horticulture on this land. They are given loans, both in cash and kind, including wages, for working their land to start DLH, as well as equipment, fertilizer and saplings. This investment is repaid by the farmer once he harvests and sells the fruits over a minimum period of 5 years. Once the mortgage is closed, the farmer's land is 'returned.' The MUNJAVU Working Group for DLH receives regular training and in the future, will be responsible for encouraging other farmers to take up small-scale DLH.

The primary reasons why DLH is not promoted as an alternative livelihood is that 1. the first 3 years it requires a lot of water and attention, without nearby water source it becomes very labour intense. 2. marketing and transporting of fruits are tremendously difficult. In the past, SAMUHA has attempted to enter local markets with different fruits, but have met with obstacles, primarily due to the lack of organized market. There is little consistency with the rates in the market and the supply and demand, making it difficult for farmers to depend on DLH as a primary livelihood. However, as a source of supplemental income, it can protect farmers from having to migrate or take out heavy loans or fall into debt.

Achievements in ISPWDK phase II: As a pilot intervention, in Advibhavi and Myadardokki, two ISPWDK phase II villages, 10 families have been given grants of Rs. 18'500 each for developing DLH on 0.5 acre plots.