Chandrakala Shelke from Shirsala in Aurangabad district is from a vulnerable family and depends on meager income. Before joining SSP, she cultivated cash crops like maize and cotton on 1 acre of land, and also worked as a labourer on other farms to make ends meet.
Through her SHG, Chandrakala Tai learnt about SSP and was inspired to adopt the ‘one-acre farming’ model after attending trainings organized in her village. Starting with a small section of her land, she slowly began increasing the amount of land farmed organically and reduced her cash crop cultivation. Today,
Chandrakala Tai only grows food crops like vegetables and pulses using organic methods on 1 acre of her land. Through her joint income from vegetable cultivation and animal husbandry, she does not need to work as a labourer in neighbouring farms anymore. With the recent cultivation of Azola in her farm, she has also reduced her expenditure on animal feed, and improved the health of her cows, goat and chicken and seen a marked improvement in quality and quantity of milk produced. Overall her income has doubled by switching to organic food crops and animal husbandry.
When Chandrakala Tai first started cultivating vegetables organically, she saw an opportunity to improve her economic situation by selling the surplus produce. She started by visiting the nearby village of Tanda, which had no markets, and thus was ideal to sell her vegetables and make a good profit. Today with an increase in production, she continues to sell her vegetables in both Tanda and the weekly market of 10 combined towns.
Due to Chandrakala Tai’s excellent work, today her farm is recognized as a ‘demo farm’, and is used to showcase the success of the ‘one-acre farming’ model and livelihoods diversification to other farmers. Through her continued interaction with other women leaders and the SSP team, she has gained the self-confidence to participate in local affairs and raise her voice for the rights of marginalized women farmers.Swayam Shikshan Prayog
26th August, 2022