Sustainable Livelihoods: Feminist Practices

Navliben, Chandaben and Kamtiben live in Panchiyasaal village, about 30 km from the block headquarters of Devgarh Baria of Dahod district, one of the most backward districts of Gujarat with a predominantly Adivasi1 population. Their homes lie amid a forest on hilly terrain. They own between 1 and 1.5 bighas2 of land and are hence categorized as marginal landholders. Before 2007, they were able to cultivate only the kharif crop, dependent entirely on rainfall. The yields sufficed for only 4–5 months of the year and hence, they had to migrate to Saurashtra, a region of Gujarat about 400 km away, to undertake wage work on farms there. Says Kamtiben, “All of us took turns to migrate at different times of the year and came together as a family for only two days during Holi.” Navliben’s situation was perhaps even worse because she had taken loans from the local moneylender at a monthly interest rate of 1.5% to buy chemical fertilizers. Chandben who was from a similar background, helped change their fortunes after she became an active member of the mahila mandal initiated by ANANDI.