Lahanti
Case Studies
Stories from our intervention areas
Cash crop and grocery shop bringing
5K monthly savings
Santosh Hansda, a landless Santhal tribe residing in Bheekha village of Bhunkunda Panchayat of Dumka block. A family of 5 with 3 children for a landless individual Santosh, without much educational qualification or technical skill remained a serious challenge for their survival.
In the wake of his courage to educate the children, Santosh approached the Jharkhand Lahanti project team 4 years ago. Lahanti team sponsored 1 girl child of Santosh for her educational growth. Within the span of 6 months, Santosh enrolled himself in the Skill Enhancement and Entrepreneurship building sessions organised by the project for the parents of sponsored children, where he learnt the cash crop farming skills and entrepreneurship skills.
Santosh Hansda utilised all his skills for enhancing income. For the last 3 years Santosh has been running his grocery shop in his village and has managed to plant 100 trees of Mohagani, Lichi, Mango and Sagwan in half an acre of land. Santosh argues that he earns around 15,000/- per month from his small business and plantation work. Santosh is now not dependent on any sponsorship for his other two children and argues that he is managing Rupees 5 to 6 thousand of savings per month.
Merchandise supplies at its full swing
Parents Lakhan Hansda and Sonali Tudu of girl child Mariyam Hansda who studies in class 6th at in St. Rita School, Shikaripara were in a very vulnerable situation a few years back. The family didn't had pakka home and were facing food sufficiency issues. With two children and not having any land for agriculture and solely dependent on deteriorating inherent traditional bamboo craft work, the family sustainability was a far cry.
Meanwhile the Jharkhand Lahanti project covered its intervention in the village. Gradually Mariyam got enrolled with the sponsorship program and the fellow parents of children got skill enhancement training on bamboo craft. New methods with marketing skills were taught by the resource persons of the training session. Lakhan and Sonali, the parents of Mariyam, participated and enhanced their skills.
From the last 3 years the duo has grasped the modern marketing art. The sale of various utility products from bamboo, the decoratives, the gift items, show pieces having huge demand in various parts of the country. Lakhan specially has been in connection with merchandise traders from southern India and getting supply orders at regular intervals. Lakhan has been instrumental in dictating terms with them now as he has innovated many new products which attract the customers with different tastes. This family has purchased
Widow ensuring higher education for children
Poor widow Rasmuni Hembrom with her three kids was one of the most poor families in a village of Dumka district. With the death of her husband their poverty was at its maximum height resulting in the possible dropout of her three children from the school. Rasmuni and her family had no land holding for altering their income opportunities.
Deepak Hansda, the second child of Rasmuni, got enrolled for sponsorship under Jharkhand Lahanti Project. Meanwhile, Rasmuni who had little experience of bamboo craft art joined the skill development course under the same project on the serious request of her children six years ago.
During the last three years, Rasmuni had become a resourceful Master Trainer in bamboo art and craft work. Rasmuni provides training to aspirational talents who want to excel further in this art by teaching the modern skills of this art. Along the lines she sells the products and earns sufficient money. She has managed the elder son to complete his PG in 2022 while Deepak is pursuing Graduation in Maths Hons. From all the sources Rasmuni is earning around INR 5000/- per week. The family has acquired their own land, vehicles for every child, repaired their inherent home and have come out from very vulnerable situations to live a better life.
Horticulture tripling the income
Purnima Manjhi five years back was studying in a Govt. School near her village Bandhdigha of Ladabahar GP of Ramgarh block of Dumka district. With extreme situations of poverty his father, Manoj Kumar Manjhi had decided to drop out Purnima from school and become a migrant labour himself to counter the poverty. Manoj as a farmer used to face ill effects of rain fed agriculture and didn't had any alternatives to manage them at that time.
With the introduction of the Jharkhand Lahanti project in the area, Purnima eventually received academic sponsorship. Lahanti project also collectively engaged the interested parents to skill building training. The area specific Agronomy techniques and Agribusiness topics were offered where Manoj Manjhi did participate. Hoping for betterment, Manoj initiated farming of vegetables with the optimum methods as taught during training sessions.
As the outcome Purnima excelled in academics while Manoj started getting better returns from agribusiness. Manoj across the year grows seasonal vegetables and pulses on his available less than an acre of agricultural land. Manoj confidently says that his income has grown three times in comparison to the project pre intervention era. Manoj is dealing with regional vegetable dealers and supplies vegetables to West Bengal and Odisha. Purnima has also advanced to Dumka for her high school studies and she stays in the school hostel.
Project Animator Ignatius Hansda confronts that if the intervention with the parents for income generating skill enhancement wasn’t there, the educational life of the kids here would have been surely discontinued. There is a huge impact on the lives of families associated with the Jharkhand Lahanti project of this village, that is with agriculture which is considered as one of the most undermined income generating activities for livelihoods.