With JDC Alternative Livelihood Program, Indian Village is on the Road to Recovery

Rajambal has an unforgettable presence. Her intense, dark eyes seem capable of penetrating a wall; her leathered skin is the only indication of her 70 years. The traditional Indian piercings that adorn Rajambal’s nose are modest; she lost all other family jewels and worldly possessions in the tsunami. The elderly widow showcases with pride a piece of rope-like material that she has made from the fiber of a coconut husk. Her hands are visibly chafed and worn from the harshness of the coir, but she is content. "I get such happiness in doing this work which I never used to get when I sold fish," she exclaims.

Indeed, a veteran of the Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu, India, Rajambal used to sell the day’s catch in order to support herself. But suddenly, everything that she knew — save for her two sons — was destroyed. She lost her house, household items, clothing, cash and jewelry. Her fishing nets were also spoiled. Though Rajambal managed to survive the deluge, she had to be hospitalized for 10 days.

No longer able to rely on an income from fishing, Rajambal became proficient in coir (working with coconut husks) through the Alternative Livelihood Program, a partnership between JDC and the Disaster Mitigation Institute (DMI). The program, which has reached over 1,200 families in six villages of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, is training women such as Rajambal in "alternative" skills that can then become secondary occupations to help them support themselves and their families.

Through her village women’s group, Rajambal sells what she makes each week to the contractors who make thatch houses. "This work gives me an income which is very useful for me," shares the determined woman. Rajambal has taught many other women within the village to work with coir so that they, too, can get back on their feet. In fact, the Alternative Livelihood Program and its impressive success grew out of the dedication and imagination of village women who were in continuous contact with one another through JDC and DMI’s Cash for Work Program. "They expressed interest in developing training in alternative skills, and our team enabled them to develop such skills as secondary occupations," explains Jikesh, DMI Senior Program Coordinator.

In each of six villages, training in income-generating activities, such as the making of candles, coir, leather items, thatch or terra cotta; incense rolling, basket weaving, and tailoring is taking place.

Mageshwari, 38, had no means of supporting her three sons after the tsunami ravaged her home and possessions. Having benefited from the Cash for Work program, she was eager to be trained as a candle maker through the innovative, grass roots Alternative Livelihood Program. She now earns 50 Rs. per day making candles — enough to provide for herself and her family. "We became organized by making candles; to survive we need to have alternative earnings during the period when we cannot fish."

December 2005