The Nuiances of Family Adventure Holidays

17th May, 2018 · Abanindranath Das · Leave a comment

The Nuiances of Family Adventure Holidays

Obviously say the caliber of these images wont be super amazing however you might ben’t shooting moments for organization functions. The folks, the great thing concerning the nation, and the very simple truth that most these Filipinos talk English are just the starting things. Natural beauty is 1 reason many men and women get associated with outdoor recreation. Thus amazing and distinctive areas to learn on your head will probably go there and see them.

Every place in the continent gives you a distinctive set of things to do and hence, after you’ve determined what exactly you want from one’s journey, it is going to become easier that you list locations out, that may give you that sort of expertise. The impulse to discover and overcome distinctive lands of pure elegance has ever become an individual psychology attribute. There is the full world to think about. There’s an exemplary major world filled with adventure out there, even using too many exciting regions to research to get immobilized by the boundaries of their conventional career course.

Family Adventure Holidays Help!

If you should be simply wanting to spend some time in the vicinity of the Lhasa region, 5 to seven days will be an adequate quantity time. 6 days for to the summit must grow. From here on, you will truly have a exact long driveway to Akureyri.

Again an activity established trip can be a fantastic way to make sure you just never really feel lonelyparticularly because you are apt to be more drowsy daily and eat and sleep! Its vital that you work out just how long you wish to invest inside the auto daily, then begin copying your schedule. Whether thanks to your holiday weekend, either having per day of PTO, or receiving a change covered, and applying this possibility to possess a long traveling weekend a month will be actually a really accessible and affordable aim. Sooner or after, even travel might develop to work.

What You Don’t Know About Family Adventure Holidays

The enormous selection of summertime activities is just about infinite. You have to go right here in case you see Frankenmuth, whether it’s the christmas. The elements is fine since it is not overly hot as I’m arrived two days ago. In the peak of the usa aspect, there’s a playground for kids.

Should you have a modest budget, then be certain to consider all of trip-related expenses therefore that you may judge your financial plan and be amazed in the price of your travels. Rooming preparations differ from location to location. If at all possible, plan to dedicate a couple co-workers to serve as emergency contacts to get sellers or clients who might want to accomplish your company throughout your journey. Obviously such vacations are character building might or might not be true, however they truly are undoubtedly family building.

Spend a high quality time to get a family group looking new pursuits or doing a couple prior favorites. A household safari in Botswana includes a lot of assortment. You can opt from an range of choices which you and your family members will love.

Top Choices of Family Adventure Holidays

Like a result, though preparing your visit to Siem Reap, then ensure you’ve completed a whole research job of the things you would like todo at the journey, and make as many reservations as you possibly can prior hand. There are plenty of tours which you’re able to take, to make the the large part of the time which you may spend in Siem experience. Or else, you might desire to extend your trip with a few additional times on Zanzibar to genuinely unwind. Where you opt to select your RV road-trip will depend largely on your geographic space, the length of time you’ve obtained for your travel along with when you https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_religion want to go.

You may locate the cost of a mean meal, hotel and excursion. You will find several dog friendly hotels and other accommodations throughout Earth, however, you will need to check before assuming such. Initially you have to explore the sort of lodging available on the market. Choose the kind of accommodation you wish to stay in.

Residing at a campground is a wonderful method to fulfill unique family members. africa safaris Exploring the internal waterfall might be accomplished by mule rides that are easily available. For instance, the listing of palaces may incorporate some trekking. You may either opt to remain within the lodge located there or stay static in the developed campground.

There are a number of side tasks which you can perform when seeing the playground. You can find lots of sites to see your family adventure holiday season. The park is so enormous, you have the capacity to to select which areas to relish. adventurevcompass com In the event you require more than that there are a lot of adjoining spots you are in a position to explore nearby the playground.

The very-best RV journeys will be the consequence of great planning, but not everybody knows the solution to create a plan which causes an relaxing and enjoyable holiday season. The best method to locate an experience traveling agency is to perform a search on your favourite searchengine online. If you’re able to drive to a destination, it really is really a much simpler travel plan than simply flying. An additional means to secure greater travel on your own life is to create a traveling bunch of your own .

On most of our excursions Research will probably possess the capability to supply a individual transport at an excess pricetag. Family members HostelsFamily hostels are popping across the globe and so are a fantastic alternative for the budget oriented traveler.

The next thing to think about is to get hold of a traveling agent. Make certain you plan your trip itinerary in Tibet so you don’t spend long amounts of time every day within the auto. Whatever the amount of your remain I can tremendously indicate a strolling trip of New Orleans and also a lot of distinct tours are readily available. The very best information I can supply you for vacation or travel planning is always to work out the vacation destination.

As soon as you’re finished using the sports, throw snowballs at the other person and assist your young ones make a snowman. Holland is a superb place to take your children and there are tons of interesting activities to do. A massive area of the action may be the way that you nourish your whole human body. Children and youngsters are interested in tangible rewards for his or her own effort.

” the entire point worked out quite nicely with a wonderful mix of contrasting pursuits and enjoyable! Everyone adores a little experience! You may possibly change from me, however, you must be ready to own a freakout second (or a selection of them ) Spending time with your relatives will be utterly the most wonderful gift you could devote to your family members.

The Mystery of Adventure Travel Vacations No One Is Talking About

17th May, 2018 · Abanindranath Das · Leave a comment

The Mystery of Adventure Travel Vacations No One Is Talking About

What About Adventure Travel Vacations?

Planning your day to make sure you own a opportunity to control your own electronics. The quantity of timing that could be used a break depends upon the Visa degree of this Sims the ball player wants to choose vacation. You will find plenty of cruise bundles that cater to families with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Marat young kids and simply take you round the whole world. Someone with a one-time offence which didn’t bring about jail period is currently granted entry to Canada, without the fees or application.

The Adventure Travel Vacations Trap

A travel is thought to become worthy when it is often finished with total enjoyment by capturing most your precious seconds with appropriate safety. Sooner or after, it’s better to be aware that a clear large part of the time in your life, you’re likely to become by yourself. There aren’t just a great deal of partners so it’s additionally a terrific post divide place too. Most likely, most significantly, you’ll detect that africa adventure extended travel can allow you to observe the bubbles you could be living in, benefit the capacity of an outsider’s view in your own life and offer you the courage push the reboot button to determine whether things run better consequently.

Moving on vacation does not will need to derail fitness objectives and your wellness. When there’s one certainty at the adventure travel business, adventurecompass it truly is that it truly is in constant flux. It is imperative to read and research as much as possible about that specific park you are very likely to visit. Using a yearly travel insurance policy policy method, the adventure not has to finish, and you also may be assured that you’re planning to own a really dependable escape application.

Our business office staff consists of years of knowledge and knowledge of Costa Rica that empowers the opportunity to create the ideal offer for groups or families. You’re going to get the very same remarkable services described above no matter the option you decide. As you study the remainder of the informative article, you are going to find a assortment of feelings and selections to get a family vacation. Following you’ll find way too many selections to checklist.

Adventure Travel Vacations Can Be Fun for Everyone

Speaking concerning the very best holiday destinations on Earth and dismissing Bali because the top best vacation destination will not be reasonable, since it’s really a favorite tourist destination located in the western most end of this Lesser Sunda Islands. Unlike many in Costa Rica CR R isn’t merely the excursion agency but we’re authentic Touroperator of every one of the experiences you’re likely to function about. You may go to the Trip Advisor page for the town and have a look in the Items to Do tab to receive thoughts. Click our bear-viewing page for more info on the keep screening program, or you may learn more on the topic of the truly amazing Bear Lodge.

Adventure Travel Vacations Fundamentals Explained

From the appropriate period of your very first query to this period you return in your travels, you’re getting to be well maintained. You may possibly vary from me personally, nevertheless, you must be effectively prepared to have a freak-out instant (or some of those !) If you’re feeling brave it’s often excellent to state that you’re travelling on your own for the very first time and also a tad nervous. Pay attention to carrying a couple of hours from your day as soon as you usually would be free any way.

Whatever They Told You About Adventure Travel Vacations Is Dead Wrong…And Here’s Why

If you would like to spend additional even though working full-time, you have must understand how to work with your own weekends. What you have to do is decide wherever your road trip will likely end. When you are without a vehicle, look at getting public transportation to another prevent and learn more concerning the region. Go someplace you’ve never ever been leave from your mobile phone from your car or truck.

The Upside to Adventure Travel Vacations

Again an action based trip can be a superb way to make certain you just never sense lonelyparticularly because you are inclined to be more drowsy daily and sleep and eat! At least one time a month, almost everyone can really have a three-day weekend. You don’t need to stay always at house to relish your baby’s precious ancient decades. Whether due to your holiday weekend, either utilizing a daytime of PTO, or even receiving a change covered, and employing this prospect to have one long traveling weekend per month can be definitely an incredibly obtainable and acceptable objective.

The Lost Secret of Adventure Travel Vacations

You will be astounded at the wide variety of tasks it is possible to gratify in in case you head to a desert. Travel on thefeluccas can be a huge way to learn more on the subject of the monuments built across the Nile. Most excursions return the moment. You will find several amazing National Parks in the united states that it’s an impossible task to select one single.

Time won’t stand still, and won’t maintain any grudges. The exact same is true for chilly fun. For motivational suggestions and useful suggestions to help you want the perfect family vacation potential, look at our own FREEGuide to organizing the supreme Family Vacation!

My children was not made from the money. Family members and close friends will support you. As grown ups you’re going to be fascinated with the good picture worthy view while kiddies will adore the experience they simply study in books. Family experiences will be the ideal strategy for you and your loved ones ones to earn remarkable memories jointly.

Introducing Adventure Travel Vacations

Afterall, there isn’t such a thing wrong with needing our adventure and also a small luxury as well. Women and men who wish to delight in a previous minute adventure visit to the united kingdom will discover there are lots of areas which provide people physical and fun pursuits. When you should be watching out for adventure traveling ideas, you’ve come to the proper location! Additionally, there are plenty of outside adventure travel thoughts which can be ideal for that complete family .

A Secret Weapon for Adventure Travel Vacations

In reality, cultural immersion is a fundamental reason traveling will help improve imagination. The hotel is totally protected for toddlers also offers a lot of fun items inside their own opinion. Sooner or after, even traveling can develop right into operate.

With tens of thousands and tens of thousands of beaches that the world offers, the undertaking of picking these is equipped to be overpowering. It will be possible for you to plan to discover the distinguished parks around the U.S. or have a visit over seas to observe other superb parks the world supplies. The nation is well-known for the vast land also it provides a great deal of tasks for nature fans. A lot of the country hasn’t yet been touched, so which makes it the most best backdrop for a seasoned hiker.

If you’re a foodie and electrifying nightlife lover Miami is really a best stop by. Lease an AirBnB and learn how numerous new regions you are able to research.

My preferred features numerous the scuba diving on the planet! Whitewater rafting is essential in Austria. Exotic traveling isn’t simply to escape from the routine and also as a refreshment.

Data-aware Community and the Impact of the Hatiasuli-Bankber Watershed Development Project

13th October, 2016 · Bhaiyada · Leave a comment

Abstract— Data-aware Community (DAC) is a community that uses data-driven approach, collecting local data; employ information technology and software analytics tools to understand the socioeconomic condition of their community. A DAC can evaluate effectiveness of development projects from the target community’s point of view and serve as a vital resource for getting feedback. This paper presents the role of DAC in tracking the impact of the Hatiasuli-Bankber watershed development project sponsored by the Watershed Development Fund (WDF), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Government of India.

Keywords—data-aware community; watershed development; family survey; impact of development action; grassroots development

I. INTRODUCTION

Various public projects in rural development aim to raise the socioeconomic standard of communities at the grassroots. A data-aware community (DAC) is a community at the grassroots that conducts village surveys and analyzes the data to assess the benefits achieved in their community. This approach promotes participatory development by community involvement and can provide insight in the return on investment.

The idea of the DAC grew out of a study made four decades ago under the auspices of Seva-Bharati (see section II), on the socioeconomic condition and future possibilities of development of a very backward rural society in West Bengal, India. More recently, information technology and the availability of applied data science software have made the idea of DAC feasible. Seva-Bharati has implemented DAC in the surrounding village community for general socioeconomic analysis of a14 village community [1, 2]. This paper addresses the role a DAC can have in analysing impact of a particular watershed project on the target village communities. The goal is to find out how the methods of data collection, analysis and visualization of a generic DAC be used for specific project impact.

A key characteristic of DAC is that the local people carry out all the steps involved. They usually come from local village clubs, schools, colleges and interested individuals. They work with external resources to set up desktops/laptops and applications as necessary. It is advantageous if the local people have a general acquaintance with information technology. In many cases this is the case but today it is easy to provide necessary training for this purpose. In a broad sense the activities bring out the active role of information technology in the rural context. Details of implementation of DAC at Kapgari, the village where Seva-Bharati is located is given in [1].

DAC helps in promoting community integration through the obvious discussions on common problems such as water shortage, healthcare, benefits of multi-cropping or upland farming. The socioeconomic data and their visualization promotes the value of cooperative action for community level planning and action.

Multiple DACs can be formed and can integrate into regional, national or international level to provide valuable feedback data on development activiteis. Some initial ideas have been presented in [2].

The paper presents the role of DAC in assessing the impact of the watershed development project on the thirteen village community. The project is sponsored and funded by the Watershed Development Fund (WDF), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Government of India [3]. In section II, we introduce Seva- Bharati which has been working as the Project Implementing Agency (PIA) [4]. In section III, we present the methodology used in family survey for analysing the impact of the development project. In section VI we discuss the findings of the impact analysis. In section V we present a discussion.

II. SEV A-BHARA TI

Seva-Bharati, an Institute for Integrated Area Development and Social Change, has been founded in 1948 by late P.K.Sen, a renowned agricultural scientist, thinker, reformer and educationist. Seva-Bharati is located in the village of Kapgari, West Bengal, India. The area is one of the most poor and backward in the country.

Sen used the phrase “land and man” as the relationship between available resource and human creativity to use it for the good of the community [5,6]. The region poses a severe challenge to land and man relationship. The land is undulated and rainfall is less than 1113 mm/year. The economy is primarily based on agriculture and the extreme production constraints together with broken social conditions pose enormous challenges for development.

A. Seva-BharatiandtheVillages

horticulture, livestock, fisheries, agricultural engineering, extension, and plant protection are organized to address these issues. Additionally, exhibition, diagnostic service, scientist visits, farmers’ visit, farm science clubs and women centers, radio/TV talks are used.

Examples of training programs in agronomy include areas such as management of problematic soil, production management, seed production, crop diversification, nutrient management and disease management. Similar trainings are given in horticulture, fisheries, livestock production and agricultural engineering. The SBKVK also maintains and manages several units in agronomy, horticulture, livestock, fishery etc. as well as runs various service centers. The Krishi Kendra has extensive background in farmer training and has been regularly performing similar tasks for the last forty years and has extensive reach. A village fair attended by over 5,000 farmers takes place each year. More details can be found at the web site [7].

C. Watershed Development Project

Watershed development refers to the conservation, regeneration, and the judicious use of human and natural (land, water, plants, animals) resources within a particular watershed [ 3, 4]. It brings about the best possible balance in the environment between natural resources and man and grazing animals on the other.

The components of watershed development are, community development/human resource development, conservation – soil, land and water management, afforestation, pasture/fodder development, agricultural development, livestock management and rural energy management. These components are interlinked and related. For example, livestock management depends on pasture/fodder, which in turn depends on afforestation and soil, land and water conservation.

As PIA, Seva-Bharati has completed the Hatiasuli- Bankber watershed project early 2016 and has started to work on a second project in a second watershed project. The project team comprises of subject matter experts (SME) from the SBKVK. Technical planning for soil and water conservation is created by SBKVK SMEs. This includes data collection, technical survey and format for compilation of data in a systematic manner.

A watershed is chosen based on a number of criteria. The size must be over 500 ha (Hectare), the location should be upper ridge of river system, its irrigated area less than 33% of total cultivable land, has less than 33% forest land, should not include high water demanding crops, villages poor backward class and tribal, villagers commit to ban on clear felling of trees and free grazing and volunteer to free labor service for four days. Villages will also create a watershed maintenance fund. They should constitute Village Watershed Committee (VWC) as a registered body and have 30% landless women and widows in it.

The project consists of an initial pre-proposal phase, which is followed by the capacity building phase (CBP),

Seva-Bharati has been working in education and rural development in the area for more than six decades and has extensive community reach. It has established public schools from the kindergarten to the higher secondary level, along with a degree college in its campus. There is boarding facilities for male and female students. Also, school for vocation education and village craft has been established by Seva-Bharati.

The governing body of Seva-Bharati has representatives from all the villages in the community. The Executive Council of Seva-Bharati has members from these villages. The students in the schools and the college are mostly from the village community. They participate in student projects that impact the development of the community.

The different activities of Seva-Bharati, many of which are conducted by Seva-Bharati Krishi Vigyan Kendra (SBKVK) or Farm Science Center, and some via several government sponsored projects and involves interactions with the village communities in the area on a regular basis. Please see [6, 7] for more information.

Today, Seva-Bharati has a number of collaborative programs with different government organizations. These include different activities under the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA), promotion of jute felt for production and income generation under the National Institute of Research of June and Allied Fiber Technology (NIRJAFT) project http://www.nirjaft.res.in/, wasteland management through orchard development under the Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Grantee Act (MGNREGA) http://www.mgnrega.co.in/, front line demonstration of sesame and Niger oilseed development under the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) http://www.icar.org.in/en/node/612 .

B. Seva-BharatiKrishiVigyanKendra

The Seva-Bharati Krishi Vigyan Kendra (SBKVK), sponsored by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was established in 1976. The overall goal of SBKVK has been to demonstrate the application of science and technology and education and training for the farmers in the area with its team of subject matter specialists in agronomy, horticulture, agricultural extension, fishery and social science. It carries out on-farm testing of adoptability of new and advance agricultural production activities, organize frontline demonstration of the potential of such technologies, training farmers to update knowledge and skills, training extension personnel to orient them in the frontier areas and to work as resource and knowledge center for supporting initiative of public, private and voluntary sector for improving agricultural economy.

Some of the problems are low productivity of major cereals, oil seed, pulses, vegetables, fruits, livestock, fish production that hinders net income. Field days in agronomy,

which is in turn followed by the full implementation phase (FIP). In the CBP 10% of the delineated area under the project is treated with area treatment, livelihood activities etc. This provides the opportunity for the PIA to build the capacity to know, learn and work in group for real cause of the watershed development work and allow a creative participation of the watershed development team (WDT), VWC and people in the community.

At FIP stage, based on the feasibility study of the previous phase, several activities are initiated. The VWC will form a central committee (CWC) representative of the entire watershed affected village community.

The Hatiasuli-Bankber watershed project started in 2012. The land area treatment techniques include field bunding (FB), developing new pond (NP), renovation of pond (RP), agro-horticulture (AH), agro-forestry (AF) and fodder development works. Total measures of these works are for FB 19.98 ha (6 villages), NP (10 villages – 53813 cu. m.), RP (4 villages – 39000 cu. m.), AH (2 villages – 1 ha), AF (3 villages – 4 ha) and fodder (7 villages – 13 ha). The livelihood support includes poultry 29 units (beneficiaries), duck rearing for 12 units, piggery for 8 units, 5 self-help groups (SHG) for business enterprises.

The details of area treatment are given in Table I below [8].

Screen Shot 2016-10-13 at 11.49.56 AM

The consolidated investments for field bunding [9], new pond development, and old pond renovation have been 199,810; 2,913,555 and 2,463,885 INR respectively. Those in agro-horticulture, agro-forestry and fodder development were 34,388; 66,975 and 132,574 INR respectively. The

expenses for livelihood support have been INR 116,188 (poultry), 33,600 (duckery) and 72,000 (piggery) respectively. Expense for SHG has been 99,500 INR. Training cost has been 76,600 INR.

In the livelihood support effort 18 beneficiary in 7 villages were provided poultry training, 12 beneficiaries in 7 villages were trained in duck rearing and 6 beneficiaries in 6 villages were trained in piggery.

One SHG group each in four villages was formed for business development in making bead necklaces as craft and piggery, leaf plate stitching, poultry and duck rearing. Thirteen farmers’ clubs [10] were formed and supported in the watershed area. These clubs are assisted in credit linkage, technology transfer and market tie-up. Man of the relatively poor farmers participate in these clubs and benefit through collective action and agricultural and related production.

III. FAMILY SURVEY

The family survey is carried out through a questionnaire with a basic set of queries on demographic data, land, livestock, crop cultivation, daily food consumption, residencial home information, yearly income and expense information. It also includes questions on secondary and tertiary means of income generation such as through livestock, upland cultivation, dry season cultivation, kitchen garden, fishery and others.

This is extended to add questions that attempt to analyze the impact of the watershed development project in the families socioeconomic condition.

A. DesigningQuestionsforWatershedProject

We focus on the villages in the Hatiasuli-Bankber watershed along with the direct beneficiaries of the livelihood support activity. The general framework of the activity and role pair, shown in italics in Table II, impacts the three dimensions of the developmental activities. Watershed activities include the area treatment activities, livestock support, water management including new pond and old pond renovation etc.

The land area treatment activities have components such as FB, NP , RP , AH, AF and fodder development are common resources for the community of the thirteen villages. A subset of villages is affected by each activity. We frame questions applicable to villages that were affected by each activity. We identify which watershed development components are relevant for the activities and frame the questions appropriately. For example, FB affected the village lands of 6 of the 13 villages. The questions are specific to these villages and are expected to reveal benefit acquired by the result of the activity.

We use a simple model for each activity. For example, the “role” segment of the FB activity will be to conserve water, stop soil erosion and improve land quality. This is expected to help in agricultural productivity (multi-cropping in dry season) that increases income. The “income growth” segment of the question would be “what is your agricultural income, how much from dry-land farming, how much increase in income etc.”.

Similarly, the NP or RP activities are expected to conserve water, which in turn will enable fishery production, help duckery development and small-scale vegetable cultivation by small pump based irrigation for crop cultivation. The AH and AH activities will promote development of fruit orchards, firewood, wood for buildings, furniture etc. Fodder development directly benefits livestock management. The “environmental impact” would be given by question that asks if “free grazing”, “felling of trees” or “avoiding water intensive crop cultivation” is discontinued or not. The “sustainability” is given by questions that ask if income-generating productivity from land, soil, and water has been stable.

For direct beneficiaries of the watershed development project we assess the impact of the livelihood development activities such as poultry, duckery, piggery and SHG development. The corresponding questions for the individual beneficiary are essentially figuring out how these activities are working in generating alternate income and help in protecting the environment by avoiding “free grazing”, “clear felling of trees” and “avoiding water intensive crops”.

Community development is typically provided via training in expected benefit from watershed management – avoiding high water demanding crop cultivation – increasing high yielding crops. The goal is to count family members trained, topic and type of training, date, what benefit received from training – knowledge, immediate or future need addressed? In assessing the income from watershed development some of the question are – how many crop cultivation per year – has it increased? Or, is your agricultural income increased; if yes – by how much and what are the different/new crops you have cultivated?

The questions types are outlined in Table III.

Similarly, for new pond (NP) and renovated pond (RP), or for sustainability, how loss of income due to measures taken to address sustainability been recovered via agro- horticulture or agro-forestry or fodder cultivation.

With regard to environment the questions are if any training in environmental issues obtained and what active role has been undertaken (e.g. limited pasturing, tree-felling, avoiding crop cultivation that need lot of water)?

In livelihood development and sustainability the questions are you involved in livestock based business, fish production, fuel wood etc. and has your income increased and overcome the loss due to reallocation of resources to cope with environmental issues? For business via Self-help- group (SHG) questions are- have you taken any training in this role for increasing your income?

B. TheFamilySurvey

As previously mentioned, the survey is carried out by a DAC around the villages of the Hatiasuli-Bankber project. This was accomplished by using the VWC and the CWC concepts along with that of the farmers club. A VWC in each village is also a farmers club and has easy access and understanding of the needs of the village community. The family survey is conducted through the VWC and coordinated by the central watershed committee (CWC) and the Seva-Bharati administration.

As part of the data collection phase of the DAC, the individual VWC worker used the family survey questionnaire to collect responses to the questions from the corresponding village community. The entire set of village data was accumulated via the CWC. These data is analyzed jointly by the CWC and Seva-Bharati for feedback and future planning.

IV. RESULTS

The overall summary of the watershed related question responses is given below in Fig. 1. About half of the population received community training, but more that that had some income rise. One third of the population thought that fishing opportunities have improved due to new constructions and renovation of ponds. Almost all thought the new ponds and renovation of old ponds helped in drinking water supply and improving bath or hygiene in general. Interestingly, almost zero people had training on environment but some had actively participated in environmental activities. Two thirds of the population had income increase in livestock.

Fig. 1. Overall village community responses

The responses at the village level is presented in Fig. 2. These are examined in the context of the area treatments at the different villages shown earlier in Table I which has been shown stacked column chart in Fig.3 for easy reference. Amlator village responses are most complete in addressing the different aspects of community development. Kapatkata village apperently had a significant restoration of old ponds and their sustainable livestock production, including duckery, fish has benefited very much. Purnapani village had some NP activity resulting in fish production although the same is not the case with Barsole village. However, Barsole has inproved in livestock productivity.

Fig. 2. Village-wise responses

Fig. 3. Village-wise Area Treatment

Observe that training in environment is indicated only for Amlator village. Sarakata village has benefited in fish production due to the NP activities.

The family survey also collected data on income increase (see Fig. 2). All the surveyed villages had income increase. Sarakata village had income increase from fish production due to the NP activity.

The survey indicated that the average yearly income of all the villages is 41,635 INR and the average increase in income is around 5% of that. This is a good indication

because the increase is sustainable. The minimum to maximum yearly income of the villages varies widely. The smallest value of this ratio is 0.02 and the largest value is 0.60 showing a wide variation in income levels. Note, that many of the villagers are landless laborers and some villagers do not depend on agriculture and are employed in relatively high salaried jobs.

V. DISCUSSION

The analysis exposes village and individual level socioeconomic condition of the families in the community as a distribution of the “environmental impact”, “income growth” and “sustainability” for overall and individual activities. All villages have indicated some level of income increase and access to more water. The sustainability is a measure of economic stability in the context of control of environmentally negative behaviors. For example, fodder cultivation in uplands and forestlands provides scope for avoiding uncontrolled pasturing of cattle and livestock. Duckery or piggery provides alternate means of income generation to avoid felling of trees from the forest.

The visualization of the surveyed data and analysis has been used in community level discussions and helps in generating community participation and appreciation of the project activities. The different means of visualization such as simple plots, graphs and diagrams with appropriate labels/comments excites the community in articulating common problems and solutions. We see an immense value in using the concept of DAC in understanding the impact of the watershed development projects.

The survey quality and the analysis can be vastly improved by proper design and implementation strategy. Data collection can be carried out within known time period and in a continuous fashion. The village community can self report some of the survey data as they are convinced of the value of DAC. The training component of DAC needs to improve so that these sorts of refinement and improvements can occur.

Seva-Bharati has started to work in a second watershed project involving a fourteen-village community. DACs for multiple watershed projects can be integrated to facilitate higher-level assessment and generating feedback. It greatly helps in community participation. Since, multiple DACs can be integrated and scaled up to link into regional and national ICT network we believe we can open up a new avenue for inter community cooperation in development practices.

REFERENCES

[1] Bulbul Sen, Ranjan K Sen, “Implementation of Data-aware Community in Kapgari Village Community”, IEEE GHTC 2015, 129- 136.

[2] Bulbul Sen, Ranjan K Sen, “Bottom-up integration of data-aware communities: Some initial work in Kapgari village community”, IEEE GHTC 2014, 445-450.

[3] Watershed Development Fund (NABARD) https://www.nabard.org/english/Watershed_Development_Fund.aspx

[4] A Concept Note on Developing Watershed Project Under NABARD’s Watershed Development Fund, India, S. N. Singh, Internal Paper, Seva-Bharati, 2016.

[5] Sen, P.K., S.N.Ghosal. The Village Situation in India and Reorganization of its Agricultural Resources – A Case Study. Agricultural Administration, 3(1), 1976, U.K.

[6] Bulbul Sen, Ranjan K Sen, “Socio-economic Developments of Extremely Poor Communities in Kapgari Area – Some Experiments and Field Results”, IEEE GHTC 2012, 71-76.

[7] Seva-Bharati Krishi Vigyan Kendra, ICAR Project www.sevabharatikvk.org

[8] Progress Report on The FIP Phase (1st to 3rd) of Participatory Development of Hatiasuli-Bankber Micro watershed project (under WDF, NABARD).

[9] Innovative Water Conservation in India https://www.greengrants.org/2012/04/30/whats-a-bund-innovative- water-management-in-india/

[10] Empowering Farming Community through Farmer’s Club http://www.icar.org.in/en/node/5722

Data-aware Community (DAC)

24th April, 2014 · Bhaiyada · 1 Comment

In order to define the idea of a DAC consider what we mean by a community. A community is typically a collection of people that are bound by some common interest. For example, a village community is a collection of villages and the people there who would be interested in improving their agricultural production. Another example, a group of photographers who may be interested in photo products such as cameras, digital processing software, their prices and quality etc.

We can have wiki pages, sharepoint sites for such communities where the members and interested parties posts notes. But these posts are static.

Think about such pages which are active – they can automatically summarize information, send out notifications, allow members to register, analyze products and qualities over time etc.

One example of a DAC we are currently working on in the ECO project is the Kapgari village community. The common goal is to improve agricultural production, improve income, reduce cost and consumptions, improve livestock, tools, technology etc for better socio-economic life.

The stakeholders also collect data, analyzes and inspect the parameters to understand the goals they want to observe.

Data aware approach

24th August, 2013 · Bhaiyada · Leave a comment

Data aware approach of planning and development is possible only when we can capture data, manage them efficiently and use them as evidence of actual development in the grass-roots.

We can argue about what is the correct policy for development to follow – pundits of all sorts are busy doing that. While that is very important and should be continued, the validation that these policies are working can only be possible if we can collect grass-roots level evidences. With modern information technology it is possible to create a data aware environment at the grass roots where people can collect, manage and analyze micro socio-economic data to better understand the development scenario.

The data aware approach is schematically shown in the figure to the right. Individual communities collect, manage and analyze data and optionally provide feedback (the up word arrows) to the planning and deployment organizations at the district, state, national or international (when applicable) levels. Note, in general, multiple communities can participate, each with region specific data. As the data and feedback is moved up to the planning bodies they are collated, merged and aggregated to relevant planning topics.

The communities at the grass roots own and manage the data. They collect the data via family surveys or from data agencies. We assume that the necessary knowledge/skills required to use relevant technology (surveying techniques, mobile devices, database usage etc. ) must be locally available. This can be implemented through special programs that can be part of school or college curricula in information technology.

The data dissemination up ward is implemented via the Internet and cloud technology. In India, there is a eGovernment effort for covering national, state and district level decision making. We plan to integrate the data aware system to provide relevant feedback and data from the communities.