2.  Women groups plant 1 million saplings

Preparation
Initial training for women tree-planting groups (ecoSHGs) will take place at the campaign's field demonstration site where over 50,000 experimental trees are already growing on typical barren wasteland. Drawing from the experience gained by campaign's technical experts on the field site and the local community's own traditional knowledge, the women will draw up a formal set of practices around soil, water and tree care that they will use.  Asking them to commit to this explicitly will help fix expectations regarding the requirements and growth of the trees.

Commitment test
Before receiving any payment, the ecoSHGs will be required to use their initial training to prepare their plots for planting, including water management work, correctly laying out different tree species and digging pits.  This will be reviewed by the Environmental Champion and finally campaign staff to gauge the cohesion, motivation and preparation levels of the group before actual tree-planting.

Planting material and inputs
With the onset of the rainy season, the qualified ecoSHGs will be given appropriate saplings, bio-fertilizers and  tools. To guarantee best sapling performance in local conditions, the campaign team will distribute the most suitable and productive planting materials prepared onsite through assessment of material collected from around the country in 2005, and saplings sourced from well-run Forestry Dept and Agricultural University nurseries.

Seed funding
Planting trees requires significant labor input at the beginning of the monsoon. This is an intense period for all agricultural activity and therefore the women face a real opportunity cost in planting their trees. To ensure that critical tree-planting tasks are not jeopardized, delayed or delegated due to other income-generation commitments, the ecoSHGs will be given cash payment for the actual time spent on campaign activities (for amounts see Questions:Economics).

The women receive the first payment as a group after inspection of their tree-planting preparations.  The rest of the payment for transplanting and establishment care will be disbursed after inspection of the trees 40-60 days later.

Collaborative commitment
The disbursement of seed funding is the most significant stage of the campaign for the ecoSHG because it marks the start of a 5-year process of shared responsibility for nurturing new trees. The failure of a couple of members to uphold their responsibilities will jeopardize benefits for the whole group, therefore our strategy ensures positive peer pressure.

But each member will also have a strong personal incentive to care for the trees:  these assets will benefit their families for generations to come.
 

Targets:

• All ecoSHGs complete training and pass tree-planting assessment

• Seed funding up to $1,200 disbursed per woman to compensate for land preparation, tree-planting & care

• About 1,700 trees planted per woman on an average of 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of their wasteland
  (minimum of 5 species, including Castor, Jatropha, Pongamia, Sitaphal, Ramphal, Ber, Tamarind)

• Total of 1 million trees planted on 600 hectares (15,000 acres) creating about 60 "micro-forests"

 

contact us

newsletter

donate

An initiative of CleanStar Trust, a non-profit organisation registered in New Delhi, India
© 2008 CleanStar Trust