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Book Review |
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Farmer-led Participatory Research: Cases from Western India
Edited by Astad Pastakia, Brij Kothari, Vijaya Sherry Chand, Books for Change, 139 Richmond Road, Bangalore – 560025, India. pp 112, Rs 150/ $ 10
This is a compilation of four case studies from Western India of Farmer-led Participatory Research. The editors frankly admit that the work ‘raises more questions than it helps to answer.’ As one journeys through the cases, it is impossible to ignore the depth of sensitivity demanded in the interaction of formal science with informal science, because ‘western models of education made farmers lose confidence in their own systems of knowledge.’ This is precisely where Participatory Research comes in, to restore confidence in the value of local knowledge systems, effectively backed by scientific studies.
The first study deals with the control of the Leaf Curl Virus in the chilli crop. Of the districts in Rajasthan that were considered, in 1995-1999, the problem resulted in the production of the cultivated area falling by an estimated 60-70%. It was then found that Raw Cow Milk (RCM) was a standard traditional treatment for a range of diseases affecting vegetables. Institutional experiments conducted in the fields of the interested farmers showed that RCM did in fact work in dealing with LCV in the chilli crop, in addition to offering improved quality and yield. The results of this research led other farmers not just to adopt such practices but to experiment on their own plots. (See HB 9(3): 14, 1998)
The next two case studies deal with water. There are two successful examples of community-based water conservation. The first example deals with the work of Tarun Bharat Sangh in Alwar, Rajasthan. It took an NGO to point out to the people that the answer to their woes lay with themselves – in reviving the abandoned traditional practice of constructing johads or check dams. (See HB 13(1): 1, 2002) Along similar lines, the second example deals with water conservation and artificial recharge in Saurashtra. Another case-study deals in greater detail with the johads and the work of College of Technology and Agricultural Engineering (CTAE). The studies are good examples of how synergies between formal and informal institutes can also be symbiotic and bring mutual benefits.
The book concludes neatly with a final chapter by Sunda Ram Verma, a farmer-scientist (see HB 8(1): 3-4, 1997), which provides insights into the practical challenges facing farmers. A book full of interesting processes..
Hands On: Food, Water and Finance
Hands On: Energy, Infrastructure and Recycling
Compiled by Emma Judge, ITDG Publishing, 103-105 Southampton Row, London WS1B 4HL, UK, 2002. Price not mentioned
This pair of books comes out of a multimedia project called Hands On – It Works. The principal success of the project, subtitled ‘Practical Innovations for a Sustainable World,’ has been an eponymous television series which has now been broadcast in 167 countries.
The first book, Food, Water and Finance, has examples of innovative work under the heads of: improved water supplies; better sanitation; fruits of the sea and the lake; small-scale farming; cash crops; banking on local enterprise; and health and safety matters. They seek to demonstrate how the appropriate use of technology should be able to transform the way many human and environmental problems are addressed.
There are some very interesting tidbits. For example, a South African company has invented a new device that uses the energy of children at play as the power supply to collect water. While the roundabout cavorts, pure, clean borehole water is pumped from the ground into sealed holding tanks. It is dampening to read though that the installation cost of the play pump is about three times that of a standard hand pump.
The second book, Energy, Infrastructure and Recycling, has the following chapter heads: power without destruction; energy-efficient living; recycling a valuable resource; transport for the future; and building a safe environment. It is nice to read of the use of discarded inner tubes in the manufacture of accessories like rucksacks in the UK, one of the few places where the book touches on the desperate need for the culture of recycle and reuse in the North.
The books have been brought out by the Intermediate Technology Development Group, whose proclaimed mission is ‘to build the skills and capacity of people in developing countries through the dissemination of information in all forms…’ Unfortunate phrasing, perhaps, given that not everyone in the still ‘developing countries’ wants foreign missionaries coming to ‘build’ their capacities. The books are said to be aimed at ‘development professionals’ in the South. One wonders if similarly efficient solutions would be directed at the prodigal North. An example is the three pages devoted to environment-friendly Mercedes ‘Smart Cars,’ with details of the ecological soundness of their production plant. But why should big corporates be praised for something they should have been doing in the first place, as a matter of course and duty? |
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 13(3): 22, 2002 |
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