Watershed and Integrated Socio Economic Development of Phalode Cluster Villages.

Community Service | Projects 2020-21

Watershed and Integrate d Socio Economic Development of Phalode Cluster Villages, comprising of Phalode, Savarli and Pimpri in Ambegaon Taluka (Block) of Pune District, Maharashtra State, India.

Undertaken as a Global Grant (Project No. GG2015093), Under the Aegis of The Rotary Foundation

Imagine the plight of villages in the 21^st century, which receive an annual rainfall above 2000 mm, all of it in the four months of the monsoons, yet are not even able to provide the requisite quantity of water to meet even the basic drinking water requirements of its inhabitants for 4 to 6 months in a year. There are many such villages in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra; however this narrative is about three villages of the Phalode cluster. Covering an area of 1521 hectares of farm and forest land, the combined population of three villages’ is approximately 1000; the inhabitants are entirely of the Mahadeo Koli community, classified as a “Scheduled Tribe” with farming being their basic source of livelihood.

Scarcity of water has had a debilitating effect on the quality of their life; it means the villagers cannot afford to use toilets even if they build them, they cannot grow more than one crop, or engage in commercial dairy farming and animal husbandry, reducing their agriculture to subsistence levels, besides the effort to fend for water consumes most of their day, leaving precious little time to the inhabitants for improving their lot through education, secondary employment and other economically beneficent activities. Seasonal or permanent migration becomes a necessity for the villagers further debilitating the village economy.

An appreciation of geography and climate of the region has highlighted, that the main cause of the problems plaguing the villages is the inability to retain water and moisture as also conserve its soil, this is due to the village and farmlands being located on a plateau or the steep narrow ridge line. Deforestation and global warming has only worsened the situation.

Rotary Club of Pune Metro (RCPM), along with three partner clubs from Pune Rotary District 3131 and forty six partner clubs from District 1830 of Germany led by Rotary Club of Stuttgart- Weinsteige have taken up the challenge to take up the watershed and integrated socioeconomic development of the Phalode cluster of villages. Watershed development will be based on all possible interventions to arrest the flow of rain waters in a way that it can be trapped or retained under, or over ground and thus become a dependable resource for irrigation which will enable multi cropping, agro-forestry, horticulture, animal husbandry and agro based industry, leading to increase in income, employment generation and prosperity.

Besides watershed development interventions ”Capacity Building” interventions to educate, skill and assist the villagers to manage maintain and utilise their watershed keeping in mind ecological balance. Establish self help groups for improving the socio economic conditions and prosperity levels through modern farming, horticulture, dairy and animal husbandry, agro forestry, farm produce processing and marketing management techniques will be undertaken.

An application for assisting the funding of this project through the Global Grant funds of “The Rotary Foundation” (TRF) has been approved. Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been generated and the Project has been formally launched on 31 January 2021. The project has been planned to be executed over a period of 3 years and 3 months, in partnership with WOTR a renowned NGO with a good record of success in watershed and rural socioeconomic development.

Finally the tremendous will and enthusiasm of the villagers to participate in the project, in order to break their shackles of poverty and move towards all round long term prosperity, as also the mutual trust built up with them by the RCPM, through our past association with them in the field of adult literacy and drinking water enhancement projects provides firm foundation to launch this project and make it a success.

Rotary Club of Pune Metro Charitable Trust (RCPMCT) is registered with the Charity Commissioner; it is managed professionally by our Club in an absolutely transparent manner, income tax returns of RCPMCT are filed every year on time. The donations to RCPMCT qualify for deduction from income, under section 80 G of Income tax rules. RCPM has a wide range of experience in executing social welfare projects in various fields. RCPM has expended over Rupees Two Crore over the past two years in executing a variety of social welfare projects.

We therefore seek generous donations from members of the society at large to the RCPMCT, to help fund future projects as also for further development of the Phalode Cluster in aspects such as Public Health, Sanitation, Adult Literacy etc, which do not fall under the purview of this Global Grant Project. Besides cash donations, RCPMT can also accept donation in kind as also contribution of domain expertise in this as well as other projects.

To join in this journey, please contact us (details below).

Individuals, Corporates from India and outside India all are welcome to join the journey.. Together let us make lives better for our fellow citizens!!.

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