Empowerment of Tribal People in India (ePub)

Development, driven by macro-economics, has waged an unabating war on the poor through the depletion of natural resources and the marginalisation of people who are already poor, especially women. The appropriation of the world's resources has taken place through the merciless extraction of mineral wealth, reduction of biomass and biodiversity, the gradual disappearance of indigenous knowledge, and the destruction of self-sustaining ecological systems. The much-promised benefits of development have never trickled down to the people, instead it has created multiple forms of dependence. So the challenge now is to strengthen self-sustaining local systems, and re-establish people's faith in their own capabilities and the wealth of indigenous knowledge for self-development. Agriculture has been commercialised, with promotion of cash crops and the introduction of machines and use of chemicals, which also results in external dependence. Therefore we are promoting the concept of farming for health. Women are encouraged to grow new varieties of nutritious vegetables and fruits at their homes, which will cater to the health needs of the family, and at the same time they can earn money by selling the surplus. Community Nurseries jointly owned by the community and developed on a piece of land offered by the villagers are also being promoted, these will continually supply seed and saplings to the families. The primary aim of writing this book on this subject is to present the subject matter in a concise and an intelligible form, keeping in view the needs of the average student.