TURA:
The first pre-launch project review and planning meeting of the Integrated Tribal Development Programme-V (ITDP-V) was held in Bakdil HQ, Tura, on Tuesday.
The livelihood development project funded under the Tribal Development Fund (TDF) by
NABARD will benefit as many as 200 households in 15 villages having at least one acre of cultivable fallow land under Chokpot Block, South Garo Hills.
The project is being implemented by Garo Hills-based NGO Bakdil with an objective to involve women in the development process and to empower them.
It also aims for an effective utilisation of available land, water and manpower resources of selected tribal families through a participatory approach. Development will be carried out through people’s organisations like Farmers’ Club and Self-Help Group federation.
The ultimate goal of the project is to develop sustainable livelihood opportunities for participating tribal communities through remunerative self –employment, driven by management of fruit orchards (wadis).
Each of the 200 households will be provided with 30 saplings of Assam Tall variety of coconut and 50 Budded Khasi Mandarin variety saplings of oranges as base crops. The project will also provide 1000 suckers of Queen pineapple as intercrop and 100
cuttings of drumsticks tree as a border crop.
These four crops will be incorporated in a land of one acre. Prior to plantation, training on spacing using A-frame will be conducted in each and every village.
The project will be implemented for a period of six years. Following this, the beneficiary households are expected to make their wadi apart of their livelihood which will provide them sustainable income through sale of the produces, both fresh and value-added.