Field Visit Report: Swayyam

1000 Tree Project

Land:
Of 100 acres, 60 acres farmer’s land is finalized.
12 acres - fencing, earthworks and plantation is done
22 acres - fencing is done
26 acres - work is yet to start

In talks with another group of farmers with a total of 15 acres - to be finalized soon.

Saplings survival rate - 20% to 40%

Swayyam Farm Land

The community garden started during the lock-down is now being expanded.

Temporary Training Center

Nursery Setup

Seeds for Replanting and Distribution

Next steps

Immediate and vital necessity - A market access for value-added products and a few produce.
Connection with moderately experienced individuals to ease the involvement and process of tasks such as

  • website building/social media concerns
  • video making/editing.
  • Labels/packing designs for products
    Land purchase near the highway (center for 250 villages) - Millet Processor, Oil Mill, Training Center and Cafe

Replicable Model

One Collective = 10 Acres (4 - 5 farmers)
Compulsion of at least a 100 trees per acre with a choice of tree saplings
Provision:

  • Design,
  • Tree saplings,
  • Water until the rainy season
  • Animal focused fencing with 25% investment by the land owners.
    Training the farmers
  • Farming
  • Value added products
    Market Access

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WwJ7yRQ4ZZ9qnIbvrFA6-QAOU4jzOLXm

Please check the drive folder for more pictures.
Also find short videos of talks with new farmer’s group and an old lady - a part of the collective presently taking care of the tree saplings on her land.

Market Access for impact innovations is crucial, and to address the same, Villgro has launched RAIIN: Rural Access to Impact Innovation. An initiative that supports market-ready startups in Climate-Smart Agriculture and Healthcare Space to enter markets and accelerate their commercialization journey.

It provides business opportunities to our partners via innovations that amplify social impact. It equips enterprises with a robust go to market strategy developed by experts, and ensuring access to rural markets by enabling credit to end users and driving utilisation through partnerships.