Monday, August 6, 2007

Action Required!

I was on my way home from the AID weekly meeting. My dad reminded me to buy some vegetable seeds which my uncle can try out back in India. The topic moved onto how it's getting difficult to cultivate crops or find any farm help as people are migrating to the cities or getting used to easy money through the various schemes (funded by the Indian government) which were actually meant to make them independent and self-sufficient. Since there are no workers, there's not much cultivation and people are increasingly becoming dependent on the farm produce that come in from other places. It's a shame that this is the case for vegetables or other food materials that were originally produced locally. We thought about alternative ways such as frozen food but it needs continuous supply of electricity(which may not happen in our villages anytime soon) and we've already tried ways through which we can make them want to stay back in their hometowns (like offering quality education to their kids etc). It doesn't seem to be working - people are trying to hoard as much money as they can by misusing the funds now and they fail to see the long term benefits for the future generations. It may not seem like a big problem at present but few years from now we may all have crisp notes but no food to buy with them. I have to stop here as I don't have the facts in numbers to substantiate this ranting. I have a vague understanding of the cause of the problem (based on only the information spread through word of mouth). But I believe that the effect of the problem is not favorable to anyone if proper action is not taken at the right time(which is now!!!) I've always day-dreamed about doing some idealistic stuff like starting a school for the underprivileged, becoming a jeevan-saathi in an NGO ... blah blah and chickened out soon after I thought about all the comforts I have to leave behind. This time, I believe I can do something with the few resources I have. But I need the facts. I know I have to talk to the people first in order to understand the cause of the problem. But here I am several thousands of miles away from the place that I am concerned about. Despite such advances in technology, I'm unsure as to how I can communicate with the common man at the root-level. Where and how do I begin? All the smart, practical, environmental conscious people out there.. please help me find the facts and some feasible solutions...

2 comments:

Karteek said...

Even I dream big. When it comes to implement something which actually needs a very serious decission, I lag. I slow down and I finally stop.

When I dream big, total country is in my mind, not just me. When I've to do, I get myself in my mind. I convince my selfishness as "I've only one life and God gave me some priviliges. I really should not screw it up."

Some how, I've a strong feeling that, its NOT JUST ME who wants to do and who never do.

Go Karts! said...

Right. Very few of us can actually get over the inertia to make such dreams into reality. It takes a lot of will-power unless we are directly affected. The practical aspect of pursuing such goals scares the hell out of me.
But this time around I've been interacting with people who've worked on similar projects. So I know I have the resources. All I need is some information about the people to understand their issues. Once I have that I'd be able to get a better picture of what can be done about the farming or any other needs of the locals. Since I can't do a site-visit at this time of the year, I am trying to find someone to get the ball rolling and provide me with the initial information. I'll comment more on this only after I am done with the first step. Otherwise it'll be the case of empty vessels making a loud noise!