Project Detail

Tarikhet Non Conventional Energy Project

The five villages of Khudoli, Thapla, Mori, Doba and Pali in Almora district of Uttaranchal had a story similar to that of other villages in remote, hilly, infrastructure-poor areas. Increase in population, changed economic conditions and lifestyle resulted in loss of bio diversity, decrease in land fertility, erosion and over exploitation of forests for fuel and fodder and made the once self sufficient economies increasingly un-productive.

In such a situation Chatrasal Seva Sansthan (CSS) intervened with the objective of conserving the bio diversity, to minimize dependence on forests and forest products by emphasizing and raising awareness about non-conventional energy. CSS approached the UNDP GEF SGP and was supported with a grant amount of INR 1,260,000.

The Conserving the bio-diversity to minimize dependency on the forest and forest products by emphasizing & raising awareness about non-conventional energy.

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Chhatrasal Sewa Sansthan (CSS)Rameri,Hamirpur-Uttar Pradesh

Country:

India

Area Of Work:

Climate Change Mitigation

Operational Phase:

Phase 2

Grant Amount:

US$ 28,200.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 11,358.83

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 20,609.10

Project Number:

SGP/GEF/IND/OP2/03/UP10

Start Date:

12/2003

End Date:

11/2005

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

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Project Characteristics and Results

Notable Community Participation

Prior to the implementation process a PRA was carried out and the resource position mapped. A series of group meetings and discussions were conducted leading to the micro-planning process in each of the villages. Six (6) Self Help Groups were formed in all the villages. These groups were formed with special focus on including the marginalized and the women and ensure their participation in the project. Livelihood generation trainings were organized for the SHG members. This helped in trust and rapport building. Nine (9) Seminars and workshops were conducted with the local communities in villages surrounding the Tarikhet area and members were selected from each cluster of villages. The final implementation of the project was done on the basis of the Community Action Plans that were chalked out in open meetings with the communities. This ensures complete community participation in all the areas of the project implementation.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

The 6 SHGs have been strengthened and are not only maintaining records of their own groups but also on sharing and utilization of resources. The members have saved INR 90,000 in two years and have mobilized bank loan of nearly INR 200,000 for income generation activities like stitching, food processing and animal husbandry.

Capacity - Building Component

The 7 SHGs have been strengthened and are not only maintaining records of their own groups but also on sharing and utilization of resources. The members have saved INR 90,000 in two years and have mobilized bank loan of nearly INR 200,000. The bank has fixed a limit of INR 120,000 for one of the groups. The project has raised a co-financing of INR 459,000 from the government as well as other sources. Extensive trainings were organized for the SHG members in operations and maintenance of the biogas plants. The series of training camps, awareness camps, interactions with masons and workshops enhanced local capacities. Demonstrations were done on composting, and the slurry and compost used in fields. Further, skill enhancement trainings were conducted for the women self help group members on vermin composting, food processing and bio dynamic composting.

Gender Focus

The partners in the project were the local communities from 4 villages, especially women. The women were formed in Self Help Groups and have participated actively in the planning and execution of the project.

Project sustainability

The project had strategically included the sustainability component from its inception. It was decided to ensure community contribution for the same purpose. During the meetings, it was always kept in mind that the actual information was being provided to the partners and fasle expectations were not being raised. The quality of the materials used for the construction of the biogas plant were also checked thoroughly. Care was also taken in selection of beneficiaries in order to select only those who has genuine interest and weer willing to contribute to the project. Beneficiaries were trained in operations and maintenance of the plants so as to reduce dependence on outside agencies. Further, informal kinship based groups were formed, savings initiated and credit linkages made in order to sustain the livelihood generation activities.

Planning non gef grant

The project has mobilized funds from the District Administration, Shri Ratan Tata Trust, Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Forest Department, Veterinary Department and the State Horticulture Board for scaling up their activities.

Replication of project activities

The project is showing a potential to scale-up with positive impacts and interest from neighboring villages for similar interventions. The project can be replicated in regions where similar problems are noticed. However, scaling up needs to be considered after taking into consideration the local conditions of the area. Also capacities need to be built at the community level to achieve scaling up of such efforts. The sensitivity and responsive ways in which the community worked need to be shared as case studies with other partners.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

With the efforts put in and through involvement of the community, awareness about issues regarding environment has spread. This has shown positive results such as reduction in the use of fuel wood, acceptance of biogas as an alternative fuel, land arrangement being made for fodder and livestock management.

Project Results

One of the biggest reasons for de-forestation is the growing dependency of fuel woods by the communities. With the interventions made by CSS the community?s dependency on forests for fodder and fuel has reduced by 50% in winters and by 80% in summers. The introduction of biogas has been able to save 47mts of wood per year, which has resulted into checking 5mts of carbon emission per year. In addition, the plantation activities and livestock management has been able to increase the forest cover. The shift to organic manure by the communities has reduced the application of chemical fertilizers. The manure produced by the biodynamic heap and cow pit pats have increased the productivity by removing Kirmul, a type of pest.

The 6 SHGs have been strengthened and are not only maintaining records of their own groups but also on sharing and utilization of resources. The members have saved INR 90,000 in two years and have mobilized bank loan of nearly INR 200,000. The bank has fixed a limit of INR 120,000 for one of the groups. The project has raised a co-financing of INR 459,000 from the government as well as other sources. The members are now engaged in income generation activities such as food processing and 25 biogas plants are running successfully on the project area.

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