Livelihood Skill Training for 300 tribal women in Niyamgiri

Vedanta Aluminium Limited, with an objective to provide improved livelihood support, has trained 300 women, mostly tribal on leaf-plate making and collective trading. All these women are all set to produce market standard leaf-plates on a mass scale. Out of the 300 women, 120 women are from Dongria Kondh, 90 from Kutia Kondh community. The rest 90 women are from Schedule Caste and other backward caste community.

As part of the 30 day training program, all these women also visited Bolangir and Bhawanipatna - nearby towns – in order to interact with various traders and leaf plate – makers as well as to gain knowledge of the business.

In order to promote livelihood of tribal women, the Company has launched ‘Project Jeebika’ in eight villages in the slope of the Niyamgiri Hill. About 50 Joint Livelihood Groups (JLG), comprising 300 enterprising women have been formed under this project. “Dongria Kondh Community is the focus of the project,” according to Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, Vedanta Aluminium Limited, Lanjigarh. The project will also provide ‘door step’ marketing of the mass production of leaf-plates by the women. Each of the JLGs will also be given two sewing machines in order to stitch the leaf-plate for better price.

“Locally available Sal or Siali leaf, trained human resources and marketing support by Vedanta will ensure sustainability of the project as well as give a sustainable livelihood support to the tribal community”, adds Dr. Mukesh Kumar. The tribal women are also highly optimistic about their new found livelihood option after the training. “We may need not to go to wage work once this leaf-plate business starts”, says Anda Majhi, a Dongria Kondh woman from Khemdipadar. “Unlike before, we can earn more than Rs. 100/- per day sitting at home by making machine stitched leaf-plates”, says Radha Majhi of Balabhadrapur Village.

People from other neighboring area have also shown their interest for such training and intervention in their respective village. According to Dr. Mukesh Kumar, “Other villages will also be included in the project very soon. We are planning to making a hub for leaf-plates in Lanjigarh by making a federation of these enterprising women groups around Niyamgiri and replicating the success”.

Vedanta Aluminium has engaged SHAKTI Organisation, a local NGO to execute the “Project Jeebika” as an implementing partner. The villages covered in the project are Tadijhola, Hadaguda, Phuldumer, Khemdipadar, Trilochanpur, Kadamguda, Balabhadrapur and Semilibhatta under Lanjigarh Block of Kalahandi, Orissa (India).

The Alumina Refinery Unit of Vedanta has also successfully implemented several livelihood promotion programs, in order to provide better income and living for the tribal people in Lanjigarh. One of the most successful programs is Shashya Shilpa Abhiyan, in which the company provides support for vegetable cultivation by the tribals.

Vedanta increases farmers’ income by 200%

Farmers in Lanjigarh area has proved that agriculture and industry can grow hand in hand. Unlike other farmers in their neighboring area, Farmers in Lanjigarh area have enhanced their household income by more than 200%. Thanks to the Shashya Shilpa Abhiyan, a sustainable livelihood promotion program, spearheaded by Vedanta Aluminium Limited, Lanjigarh in the areas.

Janak Sahu from Harekrushnapur village in Lanjigarh Block is one such farmer, who speaks the success of Shashya Shilpa Abhiyan. Prior to Vedanta, he, with his limited knowledge was practicing single crop (paddy) farming. The five acres of land, he owns, remained green for 120 to 140 days, in the Kharif season. Rest of the days in the year his land was left fallow and he has to go for daily labour to manage his family. His earning from agriculture was a paltry amount of Rs. 25,000/- a year. Same was case for most of the farmers in the locality.

It was a challenge for the CSR wing of Vedanta to ensure year round livelihood for average farming households and enhance their quality of life. The company adopted multifarious approaches, including training of farmers on benefit of commercially viable sustainable agriculture, organic farming, and managing irrigation by diverting the streams or by using water lift method, and integrated pest management. All agriculture guidance were provided free of cost. Materials help in terms seed, bio fertilizer and pesticides were also provided to the farmers.

Janak took advantage of the agriculture and livelihood promotion program by Vedanta. He participated in Training Sessions; Workshops organized by Vedanta and started practicing the modern and best agricultural techniques bringing into use quality seeds, organic fertilizers and other support. His irrigated land has increased from 0.75 acres to 5 acres. Regular monitoring, technical support rendered by VAL has helped him to increase the productivity of the land. This support by the Company motivated him and reaffirmed his faith with agriculture.

Unlike previous days, he started practicing double cropping along with vegetable cultivation in a large scale. His land remains green throughout the year. Now he earns about Rs. 80000/- a year.

Increased income has also enhanced his quality of life. He stresses on education of his young son and sends him to school regularly. He also owns a number of assets like electric connection, television, radio, etc in his house. He gives all the credit to Vedanta for the improved life. “Vedanta’s intervention has helped not only me but also other farmers in the area. With their support only I can now make a move from subsistence farming to commercial vegetable cultivation,” says Janak.

MOBILE HEALTH UNIT

An effort by Vedanta to bring the primary health care to the people’s doorstep

Primary Health Care at Lanjigarh previously was not like as it is now before the advent of Vedanta Aluminium Ltd there. The entire scenario witnessed a revolutionary change with the earnest effort of the Company.

This is what is clearly evident from the true version of Tudu Majhi of Khematipadar village who narrates about the medical facilities available in his village 1 year before and compares the same with the situation now. “Previously we used to visit the local ojhas and the quacks in case of illness because of our inability to purchase the medicines. Even we did not have faith in the medicines provided by the Government run Lanjigarh Primary Health Care Centre (PHC). Moreover, the bad condition of roads and lack of conveyance facilities made us inaccessible most of the time. Only in case of severe illnesses or when the quack could not heal any patient, such cases were taken to Lanjigarh hospital. If the patient’s condition became critical, then the patient had no other option but to die.” narrates Tudu.

He also added by saying that the situation started improving tremendously with the coming of Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) in the area. Immediately after acquiring land, VAL started its community development programmes in the peripheral villages. Providing Primary Health Care to the people was at the top of the agenda considering the plight of the villagers. As the first step VAL started sending Mobile Health Unit (MHU) to all the peripheral villages with the objective of making health facilities available in remotest corners. One doctor accompanied by two pharmacists started moving from one village to another to treat the people and give free medicines to the needy ones. The villagers have stopped going to the ojhas any more. The MHU goes once in a week to each village and the needy people get the medicines at their doorstep.

Besides providing MHU to the peripheral villages of Lanjigarh VAL has also organized several health camps at the Government Hospital Lanjigarh "I am extremely happy that VAL, Lanjigarh is organizing so many health camps in the field and also inside Govt. Hospital, Lanjigarh such as Anti Natal Check up, Malaria Awareness camp, Infectious disease checks up camp. VAL has been coordinating with Government for various health programmes like pulse polio, Family Planning Operation Camp etc says Mr. Tunna Panigrahi the Pharmacist-Govt. Hospital, Lanjigarh.

Regular awareness camps are also organized through MHU team to make people aware on Government run health programmes and small family norms. All this has resulted in increased number of patients being treated by MHU and reduction in the number of fatalities. Malaria & Tuberculosis used to be the deadly disease earlier but now people have realized that these diseases are curable. There has been substantial reduction in the number of malarial cases and other diseases like scabies, viral fever etc. The medical staffs at Lanjigarh PHC are providing service on a regular basis have improved a lot. The villagers are oblieged to Vedanta for providing all the necessary medical facilities to them.

Vedanta Along with District Administration joins hand with Naandi Foundation to provide mid-day meal in Lanjigarh, Orissa

• Signs MoU with District Administration and Naandi Foundation for providing nutritious mid-day meal in Lanjigarh, Kalahandi district, Orissa.
• 17000 children from 235 schools in the districts to be benefited by the program

Vedanta Aluminum Limited, Lanjigarh signed a Memorandum of Understanding with District Administration of Kalahandi and Naandi Foundation for providing mid-day meal in Lanjigarh block of the district. The program will provide nutritious food to 17000 children in 235 schools in Lanjigarh block. The project aims at improving the nutritional status of children in classes I-VIII in government aided schools and encourage poor children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Shri R.S. Gopalan, IAS, District Collector and Magistrate, Kalahandi; Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, Vedanta Aluminium Limited, Lanjigarh; and Ms. Leena Joseph, National Head (Mid-Day Meal), Naandi Foundation at office of the Collector, Bhawanipatna on February 13, 2009. In the MoU signing ceremony, Collector and District Magistrate said that the administration would extend all support to make this program a success. Dr Mukesh Kumar said, “In line with the Millennium Development Goal, the program will further to minimize the cases of malnutrition by providing nutritional food cooked in the Centralized Kitchen managed by internationally renowned professional body.Better nourished children perform significantly better in school, partly because they enter school earlier and thus have more time to learn but mostly because of greater learning productivity per year of schooling”. The program has been guided by Dr. Mona Sharma, IAS, Principle Secretary Ministry of Women and Child Development

As per the MoU, school children shall be provided freshly cooked food under this program. Vedanta Aluminium will develop a centralised kitchen, where the food shall be cooked and sent to schools. The company will also bear the cost of transportation. Naandi Foundation shall be responsible for cooking and management of the centralised kitchen and also for delivering the food at the doorsteps of the schools. The district administration shall provide ration and other necessary items as per the Mid-Day-Meal scheme of the government.

Mr. Rajesh Rajan, Manager (CSR), VAL; Mr. Jagannath Mohanty, Sub-Collector, Dhramagarh and Dr. Ajay Mishra, Professor, Govertnment Womens’ College were present in the MoU signing ceremony.

Education and nutrition has always been focus of Vedanta’s CSR Initiative. The company is running 39 childcare centers and supporting 400 anganwari centre, where children are provided pre-school education and nutritious food in different villages of Lanjigarh block.

Naandi Foundation is one of the leading social sector organization, founded by Dr Reddy’s. The organization based in Hyderabad and has interventions in health, nutrition and education areas. Mid-Day Meal through centralized kitchen is one of the flagship interventions by the development organization. At present it provides mid-day meal to about ten lakh school children in four states. In Orissa, Naandi has similar program at Ganjam.

About the Company:

Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) has set up a Greenfield Alumina Refinery in Orissa with a capacity of 1 Million tons per annum. It is also setting up a 0.5 MTPA Aluminum Smelter, 1215 MW Captive Power Plant. The Group Company Sterlite Energy Limited is also setting up a 2400 MW Independent Power Plants at Jharsuguda. VAL is one of the world’s premier alumina refining complex in terms of its technology, human resources and high quality infrastructure. VAL has built a high caliber team who are passionately contributing to the growth and efficiency of the organization.

For Further Query Contact Please visit our website at
Mr Bibek Chattopadhyay www.vedantaaluminium.com
Bibek.c@vedanta.co.in