Andhale, Katarkhadak, and Jaul villages are located in Maharashatra state in Pune district. Agriculture is their main industry. A large number of the men in the villages work outside of the village to earn extra income. Most of them either commute daily to nearby cities for work or they move out of the village.

The houses in the villages are made from earth and water. The bedroom, living room, kitchen and washing area are small, making it a very cosy home. In the past, there used to be many tigers living around the area preying on the domestic livestock. Hence, domestic livestock are kept indoors at night.

The people who work on the rice fields comprise mostly of women and elderly men in the villages. This is because most of the younger men (about 20-40 years old) are either working in nearby cities or moved to other areas for employment. Rice still remains to be the primary source of revenue in the village. During harvest time, the men who left the village for work will return to help in the rice harvest. This is usually involves the whole family clan.

80% of India's population is Hindu and the villagers follow the Hindu calendar. Unlike Japan, New Year's day is a normal working day for the villagers. Instead, they celebrate the Hindu New Year and this falls in October. Every month, there is a festival at the temples. During the festivals, people make pilgrimages to the temples, chant the sutra in unison and dance around, and so forth. Simple celebrations can also be seen in the villages with firecrackers and fireworks going off, adding to the atmosphere of a festive occasion.

The 2004 activities involved the promotion of agricultural activities. This included using water resources effectively for farmland and protecting the rice fields from the torrential downpour of rain during the monsoon season. Agroforestry was utilized for putting the strength of these effects.

This year, 26,100 trees were being planted as part of our project. In addition to the Model Division, tree planting took place in schools, public areas, areas surrounding rice fields etc. Trees like Teak, Ashoka, Mango and Jackfruit etc were planted. In addition, legumes and vegetables were planted around the agroforestry land for its protection.

The agricultural short course was held several times with land creation and readjustment work. During the course, the 4STEP planting method (a method which was developed from Japan and East Asia) was demonstrated in the paddy fields. This method is less labor intensive and can optimize the effects of fertilizer. 　By planting fewer rice crops, the rice plants grow quickly and healthily. In addition, the volume of rice production also increases by 20%.

　

The local people in our project area were cheerful, chatty, inquisitive and curious. During the agricultural course, they participated in the discussion enthusiastically and asked many questions. The children also helped out after school in 2 shifts (morning and afternoon) during the tree planting.

Leadership training is an important part of ICA’s activities. This training course was an opportunity for the local people to make future plans for the community after looking back at their past.

In December, two facilitators from Japan visited the project sites. Workshops on "Social Trend Analysis", "Practical
Vision", "Underlying Contradiction", and "Strategic Directions/Proposals" were held at the Environmental Education Center (a research facility managed by ICA India).

The workshops were held over two days. Opinions between participants (old and young, men and women) were exchanged. When discussing alcohol consumption manners, alternative schemes were looked into. One of the women participants was worked up over this issue. In the end, all issues were discussed in the workshop.

　

This photo on the left is an irrigation water pump system that was built in 2001. At the same time this was built, it was decided that an irrigation association would manage it. This year, the irrigation association contributed funds to expand the irrigation system. ICA is giving financial and administrative advice to continue this project.

　　　

ICA's activities are made possible through collaboration with ICA India's staff.
(Above: ICA India's director Mr Jadhav (right) and field coordinator Mr Tupe (middle))

ICA India holds dressmaking classes and healthy checkups in the project areas. There is no opportunity for young women to learn new things after graduating from junior high school. Most of them spend their time helping out at home. They enjoy the dressmaking classes thoroughly as it gives them an opportunity to design and make their own casual clothes.