“I owe it to my children and I owe it to my land!” - says this rural woman who is taking climate action
Nagamani has independently been able to create alternate water supply systems at her home and her agricultural fields. She completed Hasiru (Green) programme last year in October, and is a Green Motivator from Sundarapalya village, Kolar district. She lives with her son and daughter.
Nagamani used to grow water apples but barely made anything out of it to sustain herself and her children. She was also struggling to manage waste water on her property, as there is no sustainable drainage system in Sundarapalya. The training was important for her because she resonated with the idea of ‘responsibility’ that we as individuals and communities have over the environment.
Nagamani is an Anganwadi teacher and finds herself responsible for shaping the lives of her children. Therefore, doing the ‘right’ thing for them in order to set an example, is imperative for her. Furthermore, Nagamani has been the sole guardian of her children for several years now since she made the decision to leave her husband after years of marital strife. So, the concept of ‘responsibility’ and taking action is quite natural to her. She seeks change and her personal struggles at home and her commitment to moulding the lives of children has facilitated her in internalising that ‘change comes from within’ and that anyone can be a changemaker. When asked about why she’s enthusiastic about being a Green Motivator, she exclaims, “I owe it to my children and I owe it to my land!”
Her biggest learnings from the Hasiru programme is ‘sustainable living’ which she understood was multi-fold. She realised that in order to achieve this living, she has to nurture nature and show kindness to her, as well as have money and good health. So, she envisioned a plan and four months ago even executed it, just three and a half months after completing the programme.
On her land, she now grows guavas, mangoes, a few other varieties of fruits and various flowers in addition to the water apples. Apart from this, she cultivates vegetables like spinach and brinjal. To efficiently use water for her produce, she developed a drip system, which she devised herself after speaking to a local agricultural worker on how to create one, to ensure there is absolutely no wastage of water.
Starting this initiative has been profitable to her in a holistic way. Nagamani sells her vegetable produce every two days and saves money by growing vegetables solely for her own consumption. She even sells her flowers to local flower vendors. Secondly, she is confident that her produce promotes good health for those who consume it because she doesn’t use chemicals on her produce unlike those you get at the markets. She’s yet to reap the benefits of her fruit produce as she just began to grow them. Lastly, this effort is environmentally safe and cautious since her land was once used only for one kind of tree. This mono-crop cultivation was eroding the soil. Now, other varieties are being cultivated and the land is regaining its vigour.
Embracing sustainable practices, Nagamani has also implemented rainwater harvesting and conservation of groundwater at her home, following the intervention of the Buzz Green programme. This too she developed by herself. As a farmer, water is essential for her livelihood and has hence committed herself to conserving water in whatever capacity she can.
Nagamani has overcome a lot of obstacles and has been able to change her life on her own by taking initiatives. Green motivators like her are true inspirations for all of us.