Plant trees for Gaja Cyclone recovery

After shifting our focus toward providing emergency aid in the early days of the pandemic, we have redirected our efforts back toward promoting sustainable, organic farming practices.  We are grateful for the opportunity to return to our work leveraging your generous donations toward helping farmers reseed their farms, which were destroyed by the devastation of Cyclone Gaja.  

Over the summer, we distributed packages containing ten types of vegetable seeds to 100 farmers in the small village of Edumalai.  The seeds were all non-GMO varieties that can be banked for future seasons.  This fall, you enabled us to provide 200 coconut tree saplings to 50 farmers in the villages of Mahilambadi, Purathakudi, and Irungalur.  Along with each seed package and sapling, farmers also received natural, non-toxic pest repellants and nutrient-rich manure fertilizers.  As you can see in the picture, these saplings and supplies represent renewed hope for people who have seemingly lost everything.  Your generosity has helped other humans to remember that there is good in the world, that perhaps their plight is not forgotten in the chaos.

While COVID-19 restrictions have prevented Voice Trust from conducting the in-person permaculture training sessions as we had originally planned, we have worked hard to adapt.  We are developing instruction modules that can be delivered via teleconference, to respect social distance.  Participating farmers will have access to Voice Trust staff for advice regarding sustainable agriculture, and follow-up surveys are planned to assess the effectiveness of the training.

In addition to the challenges of COVID-19, a new amendment to India’s Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) has presented another challenge.  To comply with the new regulatory requirements, we are undergoing the necessary reviews that will allow us to open a dedicated FCRA Account with the State Bank of India, Delhi.  We are hopeful that once we complete this process we will again be able to receive funds directly from GlobalGiving, rather than via a US fiscal sponsor.  Direct receipt would be more streamlined and efficient, minimizing administrative requirements and maximizing the impacts of your donations.

As we face a variety of unexpected difficulties, we never forget your support, which has empowered us to overcome them. Thank you, sincerely, for your generosity.  If you are able, please consider another gift to help these farmers find renewed hope and stability.

Looking forward to a brighter future together --

Janet Preethi

It has been six months since the Gaja Cyclone slammed into Tamil Nadu with winds that blew down more than 100,000 banana and coconut trees that had farmers depended on for their livelihoods.  Although we were able to provide immediate emergency relief after the storm hit, we were not able to receive the funds you had generously donated until recently, due to GlobalGiving’s temporary inability to disburse funds to Indian Banks.  But, as we reported in April, we were finally able to partner with a fiscal sponsor in the US who could receive the funds and transfer them to us.

But by then the COVID crisis had changed everything.  For a while, we could focus on nothing but getting food to people who were starving because of the lockdown.  

Once we were finally able to begin work on tree planting, we realized that our plan to conduct workshops on the permaculture concept of magic circles was no longer viable, because of the distance the farmers would have to travel to attend them and the close proximity in which they have to be seated.  So instead, we purchased 1000 coconut tree saplings, which could be distributed individually.  

We purchased a hybrid Tall and Dwarf (T&D) variety that will also fruit more rapidly and more abundantly than the Tall variety, to provide a quicker road to economic recovery, while having a stronger resistance to environmental stresses, such as drought and diseases, than the Dwarf varieties.

The saplings were distributed to 600 families in the Pudukottai District, 100 families in the Thanjavur District, 200 Families in the Nagappatinam District and 100 Families in the Trichy District, based on the recommendations of local leaders.  

Village leaders also helped to distribute the saplings and to explain simple sustainable practices that would help the trees thrive, such as recycling wastewater to keep the soil moist, and recycling vegetable and other biodegradable wastes for manure and mulch.

The families we have been able to help are a small fraction of those still struggling to recover.  If you are able to afford another small donation, just $10 buy a sapling that will provide comfort and hope as well as support for one of the devastated villagers who feel that they have been forgotten in the wake of the COVID crisis.  If you prefer not to donate online, there are many other ways you can give.

But whether you are able to give anything additional or note, please feel proud of having helped the beneficiaries in these photos and many more like them.

Gratefully, 

Janet Preethy