In rural Haveri, women learn to drive Swaccha Vahini vehicles, manage solid waste

Spurred by pandemic induced job losses and financial instability, women in rural Haveri turn auto tipper drivers, spearheading efficient waste management practices while also gaining livelihood security.Haveri: "I am an M.A. degree holder, and I was working as a guest lecturer when the COVID-19 pandemic hit us so unexpectedly. I never imagined becoming a driver for the Swaccha Vahini auto tippers that collect dry solid waste. But I am ready to drive an auto tipper to collect waste in our village along with nine other women in our group," shared Gopini Giddammanavar. Chalagere, where she lives, had recently signed an MoU with the Sanjeevini Self Help Group (SHG) to oversee the entire dry waste management in the gram panchayat. Wheels of independenceThe Sanjeevini SHG, formed under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and registered under the State Cooperative Act, comprises 10 to 20 women members on average who receive livelihood training and financial assistance through the NRLM and Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS). Haveri district has 6,183 Sanjeevini SHGs and Karnataka has 1,81,931 in total.Gopini admitted that driving an auto-tipper is difficult in rural areas, but she wanted to try something new, and this was an apt opportunity. "I will never hesitate to drive Swaccha Vahini and collect dry waste even though I am a graduate; I am proud of this work," she beamed.This is not just Gopini's story, but that of all 32 women who have received training at the Bank of Baroda Rural Self-employment Training Institute (RSETI) at Haveri to run the Swaccha Vahini at different gram panchayats. Among them, three women are graduates, working part-time jobs as teaching faculty. The rest have completed their SSLC. The group has completed their one-month training and are ready to be part of Haveri Zilla Panchayat's pilot programme to employ women drivers. "The first batch of one-month driving training along with food and accommodation for the women has been successfully completed. Apart from driving, we have also trained them in life skills and banking services. They will be well-equipped to be self-sufficient after this training," claimed Shajit S, Director of RSETI.One of the trainers told 101Reporters, "Along with driving lessons, we have also explained to them about the main parts of the vehicles and taught them minor mechanical repair skills. They have participated enthusiastically, and each woman trainee has driven a vehicle for 6 km every day. They can run auto tippers without any hassle in rural areas."The Zilla Panchayat is planning to start a second batch for training women drivers through RSETI. Earlier, women would only collect and segregate dry waste like paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, cloth, and metal, and it was male drivers who would operate auto tippers. The dependency on male drivers will drastically reduce after more women drivers complete their training. As many as 109 gram panchayats (out of 223 in Haveri) received auto tippers worth Rs 6 crores under the Swacch Bharath Mission, and the newly trained women drivers will operate these vehicles.The women being trained in minor mechanical skills (Picture courtesy of RSETI) When contacted, Mohammad Roshan, the Chief Executive Officer of the Haveri Zilla Panchayat, explained that women aged 18 to 45 had completed their driver training and would get a light motor vehicle driving license after the prescribed period. "These 32 women drivers will operate Swaccha Vahini auto tippers at their respective villages to collect dry waste door-to-door and dispose them at solid waste management units," he told 101Reporters.The CEO also said they had planned to set up solid waste management units in 170 gram panchayats. "We will employ the services of local women members of the SHGs to manage the units. They will manage everything – from collecting dry garbage from each household, producing manure from the waste, selling it, and driving auto tippers. The initiative will help women become financially independent," emphasised Roshan.Currently, most gram panchayats are implementing waste management at open spaces and are not following scientific methods of segregation and recycling garbage, affecting people's health in surrounding places and causing severe distress to the environment. Moreover, waste management staff have no protocol in place to manage the process. Cattle and other animals end up ingesting harmful waste, affecting their health as well.Tumminakatti gram panchayat in Ranebennur taluk has recently started using waste management units and is receiving a good response from the public. They have been collecting dry waste from households and segregating it for recycling. They have also built an eco-friendly park in the village out of recycled materials. The gram panchayat provides the vehicles and waste management units, and the Sanjeevini team does not have to make any investment. The team will eventually pay salaries using the earnings from selling recycled waste. The women in a classroom training session at RSETI, learning about the disposal of solid waste under the Swacch Bharat Mission (Picture courtesy of RSETI)Quashing stereotypes and challenging the status quoSatish Ilager, a member from the Agadi gram panchayat, believed that women could only drive light motor vehicles, and running auto tippers for dry waste collection in rural areas would prove challenging. Many drivers in these areas do not follow driving rules. Also, most rural roads are pathetic, especially the interior pathways, which are very narrow. Another critical concern for sanitation workers is that they are looked down upon due to their choice of occupation. However, villagers are curious about them and want to witness how they manage the solid waste management unit, including driving a vehicle themselves.Initially, even family members hesitated to allow their women to attend driving classes and work in waste disposal, but the Zilla and the gram panchayat officials convinced them. Women drivers will start work soon. Meanwhile, the Zilla panchayat has planned a one to two-day training at every gram panchayat level to boost the women's morale and confidence."We are confident that they could manage the entire solid waste management unit in our gram panchayat, including driving Swaccha Vahini themselves. They display great commitment, and this will reduce the dependency on male drivers, and solid waste management will be a smooth process," said Venkatesh Ukkadagatri, Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) of Chalagere gram panchayat in Ranebennur taluk.Female drivers concur with the PDO, are confident of their driving skills, and reiterate that they could handle large vehicles just like their male counterparts."We are not worried about driving auto tippers for dry waste disposal in the villages because we do not drive speedily and avoid rash driving. Moreover, we only need to drive a maximum of 6-8 km per day, so it is very easy for us. The only thing is that people in rural areas judge us as inferior to them based on our job. However, we try not to let it affect us. We believe that work is worship and many government officers have great respect for us. We know this is a noble profession because we are contributing to our environment," asserted Nirmala Harijan, an auto tipper driver from Chillurbadni of Savanur taluk.

Rural businesswoman's homegrown vermicompost courts customers across Karnataka

Nagaveni Gollar (far right in white and yellow) at her vermicompost unit; (below) earthworms are also sold separately for those who want to try composting at home (Picture credit - Fakiraswamy Mattennavar)For two decades now, Nagaveni Gollar has been making and selling natural fertilisers, securing a livelihood for her family while building a loyal customer base.  Haveri: The lack of formal education has not stopped Nagaveni Gollar (40) from running a successful business — neither has the pandemic. In fact, those returning to agriculture in the past few months have given her business a boost. For the last 20 years, the resident of Lakshmipur village in Karnataka’s Haveri district has been farming and has been selling the vermicompost that she formulated on her farm, where she has cultivated banana and areca nut crops. She beamed with pride when she recounted the fact that she started the business by herself. “We did not even have a shelter earlier. Now, we are well-settled,” she said.Gollar has, in a true sense, cultivated her vermicompost fertiliser brand — Sanjeevani — over two decades by promoting zero-budget farming. There was no monetary investment involved. She picked the elements from her surroundings and turned it into a profitable venture that brings Rs 2.5-3 lakh every year. Moreover, she has created jobs for 25 women in the village. Together, they have been producing 75-100 tonnes of fertiliser every year. She has also been selling at least 25-50 kg (priced at Rs 300/kg) of earthworms every month to those willing to produce their own vermicompost.  Truly homegrownGollar has a four-acre land from where she runs her venture. Her 'equipment' includes two kinds of earthworms — the eudrilus eugeniae popularly known as the African Nightcrawler and the eisenia fetida, more commonly known as red wigglers. They are recognised for their fast multiplication rates and relatively low maintenance. Further raw materials include grass, cow dung and other waste materials.  Gollar has five cows that are her primary source of dung. When the demand for her product spiked, she has had to purchase cow dung from neighbouring farmers. These materials are brought together at the ten vermicompost pits under two sheds that essentially provide the required shade and moisture. At one shelter, the cow dung and chapped-dry leaves are mixed in 3:1 proportion. The worms are added and the whole mixture is left for 50-60 days to decompose. Gollar sprinkles water over certain periods to maintain the temperature for worms. The mixture is then transferred to the second shed and cleaned with the help of the women workers. The compost mixture is filtered and Gollar makes use of the discarded portion to fertilise her farm.Every sack of the compost weighs 50 kg and costs Rs 450. They are labelled neatly and sent away to the intra-state hauls.(Clockwise from top left) Gollar and her colleagues put together the raw materials for the compost; the earthworms are added to the mixture; after decomposing for around two month, the compost is filtered; and weighed and packed into bags for shipping (Picture credit - Fakiraswamy Mattennavar)  Bypassing agents to ensure qualityThe produce has courted customers from Haveri, Dharwad, Karwar, Davanagere, Belagavi, Udupi, Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Koppal, Ballari, Vijayanagar and Raichur. Demand from the neighbouring state of Maharashtra has been slowly rising, too.While Gollar started marketing her product with the guidance of Pune-based NGO Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation, the company now handles all the customers on its own. Gollar has refrained from handing over her product to agents. They have previously mixed Sanjeevani with low-quality produce, she said, and so she now directly deals with her customer base. The customers are loyal, too. Some have relied on Sanjeevani for a decade. T Shivakumar, a farmer from Shivamogga district has bought the vermicompost from Gollar for eight years. “The quality of Sanjeevani has been steady. The product reaches me on time. It has benefitted my areca nut crop abundantly. Gollar is a woman committed to her work and it shows in the quality of compost that she produces. She has run her business very ethically,” he said. Gollar’s husband, Babanna, told 101Reporters that his wife is wholesomely responsible for the success of the fertiliser. “I only look at the marketing end, whereas she looks at customers and production. She has maintained the business and ensured that our family flourishes,” he said. Gollar is proud of her work. It has enabled her to secure a good education for her children, along with a decent livelihood. “Our son is studying food technology, our daughter just got into a college for a bachelor of science degree and our youngest son is in pre-university college,” she said. @font-face {font-family:Mangal; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 2 3 3 2 2; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:32771 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073732485 9 0 511 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Mangal; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB; mso-bidi-language:HI;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Mangal; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}