Yasidipalem – A Village Revived

“A child’s well-being depends on the family’s well-being and a family’s well-being depends on the community’s well-being.”

Yasidipalem is a small but beautiful village in Kotauratla mandal, Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. Nestled amongst dense trees and surrounded by vegetable farms it is more than idyllic. 22 Dalit families live here farming the lands using organic methods, supporting themselves through a variety of livelihoods. All the children go to school and there older children are in high school and colleges.

But Yasidipalem was not always like this.

In 2005 Yasidipalem was a ghost-village 6 months in a year. Only the old and the very young were left behind. All the able-bodied, adult men and women and the older children were out of their village earning a livelihood. Many of the families went 800-1000 kms. away looking for work.

The children left behind were mostly in the care of grandparents. They didn’t go to school and many of them were busy doing the housework which their grandparents couldn’t do. Children of migrant parents are known to be distressed, missing their parents, feeling lonely and abandoned.

The 6 months that the adult men and women returned were spent on carrying out agricultural labour work in the fields of the richer, higher caste farming families. The lands owned by the villagers were entirely rainfed with no water source for irrigation. Those who did manage to grow something grew cash crops. Food security was only for 4 months a year.

What could be done?

It is impossible to work for children’s development without working on their larger context, their families and their communities. Even if child development activities were taken up their situation will only temporarily change eventually resulting in them going back into the same situation they were growing in. It is with this understanding that KNH took up a Child Focussed Community Development project and the story of Yasidipalem goes to show how such approach can have long term impact on children’s lives.

So, the first question we, with our local partner Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (CeFHA) and the community, asked was “how could migration be stopped in the village?” Clearly, the answer was that if people found and had livelihood opportunities within their village or close by they will not migrate, and that is how the story of Yasidipalem began.

We began with a 5-pronged approach – children’s development, farm-based development activities, skill trainings for alternate livelihood options, Self-Help Groups for women and coordinating with government agencies for helping people access their entitlements.

So, what was done?

Children’s Development Activities

We began with what was required most urgently – health and nutrition. A supplementary feeding centre was set up which ensured that 16 children were regularly fed. Nutritional gardens were promoted and taken up by 22 families. A village health clinic and a under-five clinic screened and provided care and support to the community and the children respectively. Preand- post natal care ensured that pregnant women were supported during their pregnancy.

Children’s education was taken up in a big way. 13 children were enrolled in schools and education assistance was provided to them. A Children’s Group was formed through which children took up a variety of fun activities like school plantations through an eco-club. Workshops were conducted on fabric painting, jewellery making etc. and sports materials were purchased for regular games. Children also raised their own funds and set up their own education fund.

A Child Rights Protection Committee was set up which looked into issues which children faced and these were resolved together with the parents and the community.

Self-Help Groups

Self-Help Groups for women were promoted with the mothers of the children and others. Women began to save small amounts regularly which helped them with their micro home needs. Regular dialogues with them and their families about status of women and their rights helped empower them. Leadership training programs helped bring out their leadership qualities and built confidence and a sense of empowerment.

Farm-based Activities

An ecologically sound agro-forestry system was introduced. Diversification of crops, inter-cropping of vegetables, tubers, fodder and fruit trees was demonstrated on a demo plot. Organic methods and practices were re-introduced. A bio-resource centre was set up which became a key meeting place for the farmers where they could learn new techniques and share their experiences. A series of training programs on preparation of organic fertilizers and pesticides, seed preservation and multiplication, soil fertility management ensured that people’s knowledge on this was renewed and increased. Livestock, cattle, goats and sheep and poultry were provided which not only provided the manure for agriculture but also ensured supplementary income. The combination of these things ensured that the families had enough food to eat and had cash for their other needs. Surplus produce from the farms and their livestock was sold in the local markets.
Two borewells were dug which provided irrigation to the agricultural lands.

Alternate Livelihoods

A series of skill trainings were held which helped the families take up supplementary activities. They learnt to make soaps and detergents, food processing, mushroom cultivation, bird rearing etc. and this created multiple livelihood options.

Village Governance

People’s organisations were promoted that helped people actively participate in the governance of their village and engage collectively with the government agencies. Farmers’ Committee, Youth Group, Forest Committee and a Dalit network ensured that issues relating to the respective subject were dealt with collectively. Their collective strength helped them negotiate with the panchayat and other agencies to garner and access schemes, solve problems and demand for what were their rights. Working collectively has also ensured that the relationships within the community and with other villages around become healthy. Conflicts are resolved together and where support is needed it is given.

So, did all this work?

Yes, it did. The community of Yasidipalem that was entirely dependent on migration and agricultural labour work became entirely selfreliant and self-sufficient in a few years.
They began to grow their own food. Traditional seeds began to be used. Kitchen gardens supplemented and bolstered family nutrition.
Children began to go to school. They were now involved in child relevant and child appropriate activities. They no longer did work which was better suited to adults.

Women became economically independent. They started participating in community level decision making and their own leadership qualities emerged.


Farming became diversified, sustainable and a viable activity. Surplus began to be sold in the local markets. Bio-degradable wastes were recycled into farming manure. Soil became healthy.

A variety of supplementary and alternate livelihoods activities now supported the families. The diversification of livelihoods meant that families were not starving during lean seasons.

Individual and collective savings created a safety net and became resource during emergencies. The dependence on moneylenders decreased and debt traps avoided.

A host of government schemes were accessed and village infrastructure, water and sanitation facilities, housing improved.

Yasidipalem story in pictures

Growing food & vegetables

Fodder for animals

Organic manure preparation

Purchasing buffaloes

Goats and sheep

poultry

Working on Child Rights

Children’s plantations

Children’s groups

Children’s health screening

Women’s SHGs

Skill trainings