DEVTI BAIGA

MICRO-ENTERPRISE

Those who know Devti Baiga know her to be an indomitable spirit. For a tribal woman working as a daily wage labourer and struggling to make ends meet, Baiga, today, has inspired 700 households in six villages in the core area of Bandhavgarh National Park to adopt alternate sources of livelihood which allows them financial security. Baiga’s husband passed away early and she had five children to look after. As is the custom of the Baiga tribal community, she practiced shifting cultivation in a forest area which earned her very little. Baiga’s biggest problem was the scarcity of water in the area. “Five different sarpanch came and went, but my constant request for water was never heeded,” she says. Finally she got Rs 40,000 through the Kapildhara Yojna and she put all of that money to dig a well. As luck would have it, even after digging for 30 feet, there was no sign of water and Devti’s efforts and money went to waste. When the Indian Grameen Services were brought in to help the tribal community at Bandhavgarh National Park, Baiga was the first person to adopt new farming techniques. From the system of rice intensification method to sericulture and vermicompost, Baiga always jumped at any opportunity to learn new farming methods. Her perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit has inspired and helped change the lives of many in her community. “One should always be able to look beyond their means,” Baiga says.