Peoples Organisations

Tribal Development Forum

The Tribal Development Forum (TDF) was the first People’s Organization to be formed in 1992 by Astha Sansthan. Between 1986 and 1990, organization and training, awareness raising, struggle, action, reflection-on-action, took place. In 1990, the various village and gram panchayat (village council areas) groups came together to struggle for higher payment for the collection and sale of tendu leaves. From the struggle, they went on to form a Tendu Leaf Collectors’ Cooperative. This struggle and constructive action was empowering, and led the Astha team & the group leaders, to the decision to form a Block-wide People’s Organization to work together and share the analysis about the variety of issues confronting the people.
Over the years, the men and women of the Tribal Development Forum have continued to work together on both struggle and constructive action, and have expanded their Forum to the neighbouring Block of Jhadol in Udaipur District, and to now four Blocks in neighbouring Sirohi District. They have worked on soil and water conservation projects, Tribal Self Rule at the village level, networked widely in the state, and even in the country, on issues of livelihood affecting their lives.

Tribal Women’s Awareness Society

The Tribal Women’s Awareness Society has been working in Jhadol and Girwa Blocks of Udaipur District, for the last 14 years, and they have been working on the issues of gender equality, violence against women, women’s empowerment. The Awareness Society started a “Women’s Court” to bring quick and just decisions in matters brought to it, by tribal women in the area. The Women’s Court operates as part of the work of the Social Reform Committee, and also, the members meet to plan for needed changes in social customs like reducing expenditure of marriages, and reducing the amounts of “bride price” (dappa).
The various issues that the Tribal Women Awareness Society has been working on recently, include: Community Grazing Land Management, income-generating activities for women, natural resource management, claiming homestead land rights for homesteads on Forest Department land, the implementation of the Employment Guarantee Scheme, Tribal Self Rule.

The Society has successfully implemented the UNDP supported project “Social Mobilization Through Natural Resource Management for Poverty Alleviation and Women’s Empowerment”. Anicuts were made, pastureland developed, wells were recharged, and contour terracing on the private lands of the tribal families were constructed. At present, the Society is working in 106 villages of 34 Village Council areas (Gram Panchayats) in Jhadol and Girwa Blocks of Udaipur District. The membership of the Society is 5,179 women, and there are sixty first and second line women leaders of the Society.

Jarga Area Development Society

The Society was established in 1997, with the objective to help the adivasis/ tribals in Kumbalgarh Block of Rajasmand District to improve their conditions and to ensure the rights of unorganized tribals. The tribals of the area are cut off from the mainstream of development, because of lack of education and awareness. Working area of the society is 139 Villages, in 27 Village Council Areas in Kumbalgarh Block of Rajsamand District, and in addition, there are 6 Villages in 3 Village Council areas associated in the Saira area in Gogunda Block of Udaipur District.
In the last twelve years, the Society has worked on increasing the selling prices of non-timber forest produce (NTFP) collected by the adivasis, and has worked on the issue of getting minimum wages for daily wage labour, and on water and drought issues. The Jarga Area Development Society has established itself as a social development organization in the area, in the eyes of the administrative and political persons.

Gordwad Tribal Organization

The Gordward area of Rajasthan is located around Pali District, in what is the Marwar cultural area of Rajasthan. The Gordwad Tribal Association was formed in 1998, and its members reside in Bali and Desuri Blocks of Pali District. The tribals of the area are mostly Garasias, a member of the Bhil tribal group. With the focus on the Forest Land homesteads struggle and proper payment of wages in drought relief, the image of the Association was one of struggle and confrontation. The Association has been helping members to access pensions, get Job Cards for the NREGS 100 days of employment guarantee, and other schemes. The association did Wasteland Development on 18 hectares of wasteland, formed women’s groups of savings and loan societies (SHGs) under Central Government Supported CAPART’s project.

Vagad Labourers and Farmers Association

The Association was established in 1997 in Dungarpur District, and at present it is working in four Blocks of Dungarpur and two Blocks of Banswara Districts. The Vagad area is a Bhil tribal area, and comes under the Schedule V Areas. While formulating the objectives of the Association, it was thought that the Association would work basically on issues of adivasi/ tribal labourers and farmers, and would establish Tribal Self Rule in the area, under the PESA Act. It was thought that the new Association would work for widespread awareness among people, to strengthen the Village Assemblies/ Gram Sabhas. 192 villages declared their villages as Village Republics due to awareness generation by the Association. These Village Republics have started to establish clusters of Village Republics, called Village Republic Federation. The village Assemblies works on the issues of solving disputes and exercising control over natural resources. The Association is working in 480 villages and having 16,282 members.

Association of Strong Women Alone

The Association of Strong Women Alone (Ekal Nari Shakti Sangthan) was formed in year 2000 as a follow up of the state level convention for widows from different parts of Rajasthan. The issue was taken by Astha In 1997 and efforts were made to bring widows into the mainstream of society through interventions with government and non-government agencies working with women. In the follow up meeting of the convention widow representatives from different districts decided that there are other single women such as divorced, separated, women more than 35 years of age who never married, married women whose husbands are mentally unwell etc. whose struggles and pains are almost same as widows, and should included in the Association.
Since beginning till now, the Sangathan is ever growing and becoming stronger. At, present, the Sangathan is working in 29 districts, 112 blocks and has a membership base of 29,601 members. With the inspiration from the Rajasthan Association of Strong Women Alone, similar organizations have been formed in other states of the country. Organizations are actively working in the states of Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Work with single women has also started in Maharastra and Bihar, and
Visit www.widowseparatedwomen.org for more details about the Association of Strong Women Alone.

Rajasamand Mahila Manch

The Rajasmand Women Forum is a village and block level federation of poor, deprived, marginalized and unorganized women. The forum was established in 1998. Before formation of federation Astha was resource agency from EDARA project (Supported by government). In 1997 project was closed and Astha took opportunity to fill gap of work after the government project withdrawal. This initiative provided platform to women of Rajsamand to share their problems and issues in collective way.

The forum’s major objective is to organize poor and marginalized women, so that they understand their collective strength and can make efforts towards changing their socio-economic conditions.

The forum is working in 216 villages, constituting 75 Gram Panchayat (council of villages), in the Rajsamand, Khamnor, Kelwara, and Railmagra block (4) of district from 10 years. Sangthan have total 6983 members where 93 are male members.
Visit www.rmm.org.in for more details about the Rajasamand Mahila Manch.