Field visits to remote lands in East Africa

Taking forward Pragya’s initiative to address the needs of communities in remote areas of the East African highlands and the indigenous peoples of the arid savannah lands in the region, Ms. Gargi Banerji and Mr. Sunil Pillai visited Kenya and held discussions with stakeholders in the target region.

The stakeholders they held discussions with included representatives of the NGO Coordination Board, ACORD, DFID and ICIPE. Field visits took them to Kisumu district in Nyanza province and Kakamega district (highland area in the Western province of Kenya), and they visited the programs run by WEAEP, a local NGO, and the Muliru Farmers Cooperative. They also visited the Il Ngwesi community (Maasai people) in the remote parts of Laikipia district (arid lands in the Great Rift Valley), where they interacted with traditional healers and studied village water needs. Pragya plans to consolidate the relations built during the visit and take its development actions in East Africa a step further.

Community toilets in Dalit settlements of Dolpa

Members of Dalit communities in Ralli village of Tirpurakot VDC in Dolpa District were very happy as the construction of the community toilet blocks were completed last weekend. 19 households would benefit from this initiative. This is part of a Pragya’s water & sanitation initiative in Nepal, which also has a focus on interventions related to potable water and irrigation. The initiative is underway in the high mountain districts of Dolpa, Humla and Mustang.

A multi-stakeholder workshop on ‘Himalayan Heritage: Valorization & Preservation’

The workshop - ‘Himalayan Heritage: Valorization and Preservation’ - organized by Pragya at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi was aimed at catalyzing heritage-based enterprises, collaborations and networks in the Himalayan region. The two-day event held on 15th and 16th of November 2010 got together a cross-section of stakeholders to a common forum for interactions, deliberations and participative problem solving. The said stakeholders ranged from from local cultural actors and producers of Himalayan products to national experts and policymakers, as well as industry representatives.

The workshop began with the cultural performance by Bhotiya Sanskriti Kala Manch Samiti from Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, giving the Himalayan artists an opportunity to showcase their talent. Kumari Agatha Sangma (MoS, Ministry of Rural Development), who graced the inaugural session of the workshop as the Chief Guest, inaugurated the website ‘Himalayan Voices’ (www.himalayanvoices.org), a portal meant to bring the voices of the people of the Himalayas to the rest of the world and bridge the information gap existing in the Himalayas. Mr. Uday Kumar Varma (Secretary, Ministry of MSME) addressed the participants as Guest of Honour on the second day of the event. The workshop also included keynote addresses by Mr. Mahendra P. Lama (Vice Chancellor, Sikkim University) and Mr. G.B. Mukherji (Ex-Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs). During their brief presence at the workshop, Padma Bhushan Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia and Mr. P. Udayakumar (Director, National Small Industries Corporation) addressed the participants with a few words of encouragement.

During the workshop, apart from other deliberations, a session was dedicated to facilitating interactions among buyers, community producers and experts specific to identified Himalayan niche sectors. The session enabled discussions and dialogue on potential opportunities, issues and strategies for each niche sector. At the conclusion of the event, the district level conveners of the Himalayan Heritage Network facilitated by Pragya shared their experiences during a panel discussion. Ms. Ellen Pedersen (EU delegation to India) and Mr. G.B. Mukherji, who joined the network conveners at the dais, shared their own experiences with the Himalayas and in the mountain regions in other parts of the world.

Active Democracy and Political Participation of Tribal Communities - Pragya’s new initiative supported by UNDEF

Pragya has launched a new initiative to encourage active democracy and political participation among the Himalayan communities. The initiative is supported by the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF). An addition to Pragya’s ongoing programmes on indigenous rights and evidence-based advocacy, the project would seek to empower especially marginalized groups - the women, the disabled and the pastoralists in the Himalayas.