- Belonging to Pingot village in Netrang taluka of Bharuch district in Gujarat, the Kotwaliya tribes’ economy still depend largely on the forest resources
- So far, 15 women and five men have been identified for training
- When their group will be formed, they will be registered under the government’s livelihood mission and will be then eligible for a revolving fund of Rs 30,000
NE NEWS SERVICE
BHARUCH, FEB 15
For our nation to have an overall growth, there is a dire need to strengthen the grassroots. All the indigenous communities and primitive tribes should also be included in the nation-building process. What hinders this process often is a lack of awareness about them and their work.
There is a vast majority of population in our country which falls under the category of Tribes. The Kotwaliyas are one such tribe of master weavers. For ages, they have been weaving beautiful baskets and other small artefacts using bamboo that are locally sourced.
Belonging to Pingot village in Netrang taluka of Bharuch district in Gujarat, the Kotwaliya tribes’ economy still depend largely on the forest resources. But the challenge is that they still don’t have bank accounts and they sell their products through middlemen, who exploit them on a regular basis by not adopting a fair pricing method.
It is very clear that there is hardly much protection, promotion of tradition-based goods and services and almost zero support to these indigenous and local community entrepreneurs. But things are taking a positive turn as they are now being groomed to become entrepreneurs.
The Adani Foundation identified this group in October last year and is helping them by providing training and market linkage support.
Usha Mishra, Dahej Unit CSR head of the Foundation, says, “I visited the village with my team on the suggestion of the district government tribal sub plan office. They requested us to visit Pingot and meet the Kotwaliya community since the Foundation has been doing exemplary work at the grassroot level across India. After we began intervention, there has been a lot of awareness among them about how they can get a platform to exhibit their items and earn well.”
We are proud to work with the #Kotwaliya tribe from South Gujarat. These exceptional bamboo artisans are receiving training & market-linkage support through #ProjectGoodness. They are now going from strength to strength!#GrowthWithGoodness @AdaniFoundation pic.twitter.com/G3v8Mr4RU9
— Adani Group (@AdaniOnline) February 10, 2023
So far, 15 women and five men have been identified. Currently, modern equipment is being procured and very soon they will get them which will increase the production quantity as well as the quality of the goods. They work out of their homes and their group formation process has also begun. The five identified men are being utilised as resource persons and others will also be engaged and will go out to sell these products.
Padma Tekam of Ghoti village in Tirora, MH, is a tribal farmer. She received training in the System of Rice Intensification (#SRI), vermicomposting, cultivation of fodder, maize, & silage preparation. She's delighted as she reaped higher produce with lower investment through SRI. pic.twitter.com/CiM5UVJ6wx
— Adani Foundation (@AdaniFoundation) February 8, 2023
“They need our support. They still live in mud houses… They get raw materials from the forest. They face problems procuring them as well. Secondly, the Joint Forest Management Committee is not constituted the way it should and so people are not aware about it,” says Mishra.
Adani Foundation is empowering the pejople of rural India by encouraging skill-building and providing access to the knowledge & technology they need.#NationBuilderAdani pic.twitter.com/kO0Uoq7cbP
— Dev Gupta (@Dev_Gupta15) February 15, 2023
Kotwaliyas are happy with the Foundation’s work and have welcomed them with open arms. They are hopeful of being streamlined. They attended an exhibition-cum-training class recently in Bharuch at the Ladies Club of Adani Ports employees, and they were visiting the city for the first time. They were touched by the reception, respect, and money that they earned that day. Each person earned around Rs 700 on a single day. They said they could not have earned that much even after a whole day of labour in their village.
https://twitter.com/Om_HariHaran/status/1625843362871013376?s=20&t=EZXcfQbNJAN9cg21Fhru7A
“Things stand a nascent stage. Lot of effort needs to be put in for their uplift. Our ports have a lot of demand for corporate gifting, and we have already received a purchase order. They will keep getting small orders and they will also take part in various government exhibitions in Bharuch city. When their group will be formed, they will be registered under the government’s livelihood mission and will be then eligible for a revolving fund of Rs 30,000. They can then open their own shops at the block level. This year’s budget also has benefits for primitive tribes. All this nurturing will take some time, but we are very positive,” adds Mishra.
