ICA Japan - India 1999

India Afforestation and Reservoir Pond Construction September 1999 - August 2000
Project Overview
New life. Villagers carrying seedlings from afforestation nursery of Environmental Education Center. These seedlings will be brought by truck to villages and transplanted carefully, one by one by villagers.
Life in Malegaon Cluster
	1．Farmers ploughing fields with oxen. After the south - west monsoon brings the first rains in June, villagers start preparing the land for their main crop - rice.
	2．Local wisdom - stone bunds built in small streams for water conservation and prevention of soil erosion. Over a few years, top soil is carried by water and collected between the bunds. When it is filled, farmers cultivate the land again.
	3．Water storage tanks in Malegaon Kd. village. ICA India facilitated the process and villagers implemented the Drinking water supply scheme in 1990. Now, the villagers themselves take responsibility of repairs and maintenance of the system.
	4．A local grocery store started by a village woman with initial support from ICA India. About 35 families participated in these small scale business programs, such as tailoring, poultry, goat raising, small grocery shops etc., and are generating income.
	5．Students of tribal residential school in Malegaon cluster. Currently 150 children are studying here. ICA has supported schools in Malegaon cluster in many ways to improve the quality of education, such as teachers’training, provision of teaching and sport materials, school rooms, hostel facility during monsoon, tree plantation and school beautification etc.
	6．Mr. Shankar Supe, a village leader. After going through many ICA leadership programs, in the past 10 years, he has journeyed from an ordinary villager to a well respected Maval Panchayat Samittee Chairman.
Reservoir pond for afforestation nursery at EEC
	7．Environmental Education Center (EEC). In 1997, this center was constructed by ICA to meet the needs of not only villagers but people of all sectors, for education, awareness programs, training and networking activities concerning environment. Now it has become a resource and demonstration center for environmental activities.
	8．Design of reservoir pond for afforestation nursery at EEC. The size is approximately - length: 30 feet , width : 50 feet and depth 10 feet each. Since the surrounding area of EEC is hilly and does not have enough ground water, the major objective is water conservation - to develop the small stream running at the boundary of EEC and harvest rainwater.
	9．Pond digging by JCB machine. All the construction work was done before the south - west monsoon, when water of the small stream was completely dried up.
	10．Nearby villagers digging the rocky land, widening and deepening the stream. Villagers themselves organized and participated in the labor work. They showed great interest to know that the reserved water will last for at least 2 to 4 months in the dry season when there is scarcity of water.
	11．The construction work also contributed to some income generation, since the villagers were paid at the market rate of Rs. 80 for 8 hour work per day.
	12．Mr. Shankar Jadhav ( ICA India Director), Mr. Khanekar (Khamboli villager) and Mr. Sachin Barve (engineer) discussing about the design and how to construct the wall of the reservoir pond.
	13．Wall construction of reservoir pond. To protect the soil-made wall of reservoir pond, stones (local resources) were pitched. The stream was plugged at 2 different places, each 1.5 m thickness.
	14．Reservoir pond filled with rain water. This will be utilized for the afforestation nursery and also be a potential of implementation of some agro base demonstration plots. Trees and grasses will be planted around the pond to prevent evaporation of water.
Afforestation nursery in EEC
	15．Ploughing with 2 oxen and preparing farm land for nursery at EEC. 50,000 tree seedlings ( 27 different species ) were raised this season. Multi - purpose trees ( 12 varieties ) such as teak, eucalyptus, gliricidia, casurina, fruit trees ( 12 varieties ) such as mango, custard apple, tamarind etc., medicinal plants ( 3 varieties ) such as curry leaf were decided after consultation with Malegaon cluster villagers.
	16．Nursery gardener, Mr. Vittal Viranak and staff, filling plastic bags for seedlings with soil and compost, with the ratio of 50 to 50. Black plastic plots are used to raise seedlings to prevent roots from hardening.
	17．Nursery gardener and villagers bringing seedlings raised at EEC to Malegaon cluster, where the afforestation is taken place.
	18．Main nursery at EEC. Teak, eucalyptus, casurina, mango, custard apple etc. 27 different species are raised here. It is hard work to raise all these seedlings.
	19．EEC staff making extension of nursery.
	20．Seedlings raised in the farm of EEC. These are also part of the extension nursery.
New tree plantation in Malegaon Kd. village
	21．Making ditches and contour lines by tractor for tree planting. Ditches are dug and left to dry in the sun for 1 month to disinfect the soil. The depth of the ditch is approximately 30 cm.
	22．Contours made by tractor on slope land. Before, this land was waste land. Now it has been cultivated to plant trees. 5 ha of waste land in total has been contoured to be afforestation plots in Malegaon Kd.
	23．Mr. Kisan Supe, Malegaon Kd. villager, standing in his field. He has decided to plant teak, eucalyptus, cashewnut, drumstick, tamarind, on his own land.
	24．Field training. Local supervisor, Mr. Baban Takalkar, training villagers how to transplant seedlings. ICA India staff train villagers how to prepare land, make ridges, transplant, make spacial arrangement of seedlings etc. They also encourage villagers to plant various species of trees.
	25．A family transplanting eucalyptus trees in their plot. Many villagers asked for eucalyptus seedlings, since they have high survival rate even when there is lack of water, and also have good economic value. After 5 to 7 years, they will be able to sell 1 tree for approximately Rs. 300 to Rs. 400.
	26．Mr. Baban Takalkar, ICA India staff and Ms. Fumiko Nakashima, ICA Japan staff, monitoring the afforestation plots. These trees were planted by Malegaon Kd. villagers. In the middle of the plot, there is a sign board indicating that this project is supported by Green fund, a program of National Land Afforestation Promotion Organization.
	27． Mr. Chindu Borhade, youth leader of Malegaon Kd, transplanting teak seedlings on his farm. Many villagers are showing keen interest in planting trees.
	28．Mr. Kisan Supe and his brother and sister transplanting eucalyptus seedlings on his farm.
	29．ICA Japan staff, going around the tree planting area, talking with farmers, seeing the growth of trees. This season 25,005 trees,13 varieties, were planted on 10 ha land by Malegaon villagers.
	30．Mango and tamarind seedlings intercropped. These local variety mangoes will be grafted to an improved variety this coming November & December. After 4 to 5 years, it will bear fruit.
	31.Tamarind seedlings. After 4 years, it will bear fruit.
	32．Drumstick seedlings. After 1 year, it will bear pods.
	33.Acacia seedlings. After 4 to 6 years, it will be ready and can be utilized in many ways.
	34. Silver oak and coffee seedlings intercropped.
	35. Custard apple seedlings. After 4 to 6 years, it will bear fruit.
Re - planting in Ansute village and Kune village
	36.An Ansute villager, carrying Mango seedlings to replant in his afforestation plot. Mango is also a popular tree variety for villagers.
	37.Ansute villagers replanting mango seedlings. Last year, 20% of the transplanted trees had died due to lack of water. But since villagers understand the importance of afforestation activities, they actively participated in replanting seedlings again this year.
	38.The second year of a mango and teak plot in Ansute village. This season 4,500 trees, 9 species, were planted by Ansute villagers.
	39. An afforestation plot in Kune village. Villagers have made fencing using cactus trees and thorny branches to prevent damage from livestock and wild animals.
	40.Another afforestation plot in Kune village. Eucalyptus have grown well. From now on, these trees will not be influenced so much by climate. Therefore, the maintenance time by villagers will be less. The short trees in front are the replanted ones this year.
	41. A fruit of efforts of the villagers. A successful afforestation plot in Kune village. Under intense care of villagers, teak and eucalyptus have grown very well. This season 7,900 trees, 9 species, were planted by Kune villagers.
Agroforesty plots
	42. Mr. Vasantrao Therkudes agroforesty plot in Kune village. He is a diligent farmer and has adopted agroforestry methods by planting mango trees and cultivating nachini ( minor millet ) crops on same land.
	43. Mango trees planted around nachini (minor millet) crop fields in Kune village.
	44. Eucalyptus trees planted around a rice field in Kune village.
Natural Farming - making clay balls
	45.EEC staff straining ant hill soil to make clayballs. This year, Mr. Masanobu Fukuokas natural farming was introduced by a Japanese trainer and was practiced at EEC. Clay balls - pellets mixed with different varieties of seed and clay, were made and scattered in an experimental area.
	46. EEC staff mixing fine ant hill soil, water, different varieties of seeds of trees and vegetables, and making clay balls.
	47. Sprouts from clay balls after 2 weeks from scattering.
	48. A well grown tomato sprouted from a clay ball.
Future plans
	49.ICA India director, Mr. Shankar Jadhav and local supervisor, Mr. Baban Takalkar, checking the growth of trees in afforestation plots in Ansute village and evaluating the environmental conservation activities. These trees were planted in 1997 by villagers.
	50. A well in Malegaon Kd. village. To expand the afforestation area, villagers are thinking to lift water from the well to water the trees.
	51. ICA staff in a meeting, discussing about the future activities of afforestation and environmental conservation activities.