Our Livelihood Programme facilitates people from local communities who voluntarily relocate from protected areas to build a fulfilling life and realise their dreams. This has been made possible by the generous support of the SBI Foundation. Our team engages with the communities after they voluntarily relocate and aid them in learning various life skills they are passionate about. Following are two stories of two such families who have dedicated themselves to farming and beekeeping after moving out from the forests they once dwelled in.
Narasimha M. Shetiya and Venkatraman M. Shetiya, residents of the Babakumbri settlement of Bidoli village of the Anashi Range inside Kali Tiger Reserve (TR). They had joint families residing inside the Kali TR, and had to travel more than 10 km through the jungle to avail of basic facilities. Farming inside the forest was very difficult due to constant crop loss owing to interaction with wild animals. Lack of irrigation facilities resulted in poor yield and underemployment and their annual income was not sufficient to sustain their families. Narasimha and Venkatramana voluntarily moved outside the Kali TR and settled in Nagarkhan village of Yellapur taluk, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka.
Narasimha M. Shetiya
After purchasing the property, the families dedicated themselves to farming. They selected an area that has both wetlands and dry, suitable for paddy and plantation crop cultivation. An open well is being used for irrigation. Now their annual income is significantly more than before, and additionally, they are able to access facilities such as healthcare easily.
Venkatraman M. Shetiya
Narsimha and Venkatramana Shetiya were looking for support to procure horticulture and agroforestry saplings to plant in their empty land. They received 20 areca nut, 1000 cinnamomum, 4 coconut, 4 sapota, 16 nutmeg, 4 cherry, 8 kokum, 8 badam and 2 jackfruit plants in August 2021, through our Livelihood Programme, sponsored by the SBI Foundation. This generous support by the foundation will help them generate a consistent and sustainable long-term income.
Mahesh Mirashi was a resident of the Sulavali settlement in Asulli village of Kumbarawada range, inside Kali Tiger Reserve (TR). Before he voluntarily relocated from the reserve, he and his family had to travel more than 10 km through the jungle to avail of basic facilities. Mahesh had two acres of land inside the TR, but farming in the forest was relentlessly challenging due to constant crop loss owing to interaction with wild animals. After he voluntarily moved out of Kali TR in 2021, he bought one acre of land in Aadavi village of Ramanagara taluk, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka.
Now, Mahesh and his family have taken up farming as their profession. They use an open well in his farm for irrigation, and Mahesh is confident of earning an annual income in the very first year higher than he had ever before. He and his family now also have easier access to basic facilities, including hospital services.
Mahesh Mirashi, with his beaming smile and with the bee colony he received under our Livelihood Programme, supported by the SBI Foundation.
In order to supplement Mahesh’s income, our Livelihood programme provided him with five bee boxes with the generous support of SBI Foundation. Mahesh also attended a beekeeping training programme in Joida supported by SBI Foundation where he learnt about modern techniques in beekeeping.
Mahesh Mirashi, with the harvested honey from the bee boxes he received under our Livelihood Programme, supported by the SBI Foundation.
Through our Livelihood Programme, several beneficiaries have received immense support to take up agriculture and beekeeping in Kali TR and Kuduremukha National Park in Karnataka. The gracious support from SBI Foundation has enabled them to take up agriculture, which is paving new ways of livelihood for them. The programme has enabled beneficiaries to cultivate long-term crops such as coconut, arecanut etc. In Kali TR, honeybee boxes and saplings provided under this programme have propelled their confidence to achieve success, by transforming their work into a reliable source of income.