Conversations with Activists Part 2

Invitation: Honour Killings in India

Josephine Jeyashanthi delivers a talk on the topic, 'Honour Killing: A Historical Exploration'

Women’s Day Celebration

The Franciscan Sisters of St.Joseph

FSJ Charitable Trust

Celebrates Women’s Day

on 9^th March 2014 at 10:00A.M.

at St. Thomas Hospital Campus, St.Thomas Mount, Chennai-16

Guest of Honour:
Rev.Fr.S.Wenceslaus, SVD

Chief Guest: I. Josephine JeyashanthiTopic: Women and Media

Guests:
Rev.Sis.Jeyarani, FSJ
General Councillor, Pathiyavaram

Thiru.M.Jesudasan
Chairman – VML, Chennai

2000 Beedis/day = 1 Marriage

Will you be surprised if someone tells “marriage, for over one lakh women, depends on the number of beedis they roll per day.”  Although its shocking, its true.  In the rural villages of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin Districts, more than five lakh women - young, old, school-going girls, small children - are engaged in this hazardous industry.  We all know that smoking is injurious to health.  Then imagine how dangerous it is for the women who roll beedis with tobacco, who live their life - day and night - with tobacco.  When me, along with my team, started working among palmyrah tree toddy tappers among the above said districts, we realized the fact that women, who are not able to access their lands and who are not able to continue their trade in the palmyrah palm fields due to several reasons like debts, poverty, and illiteracy are forced to work in this industry.  They are all aware that rolling beedi will cause asthma, tuberculosis and it may even affect the reproductive system; but they have no other go for their survival and livelihood.  The pity is girl children at the early age of 5, are trained in this life-killing craft of rolling beedis.  They can go to schools only in their dreams.  Our law strictly prohibited child labour, but it is only in black & white, and not in practice.  When the girls are ready for marriage, bridegroom and their parents will verify whether they can roll minimum 2000 beedis per day.  They check the book given by the beedi shop to confirm the number of beedis the girl can roll.

The tobacco smell and the frustrated smile on their face is indelible in their life. The villages witness even deaths of women, but another surprise or shock is, for more than 5-lakh beedi rolling women, there is only one hospital located in Mukkoodal, that too, has been opened after a long struggle.  We want to bring out the dark side of women, who live with smoke, to the light.  Hence, me, along with my project  coordinator, Samson, and few students, traveled to remote villages, interacted, discussed and interviewed them.  I am in the process of producing a 20-minute documentary on the life and struggle of these women with the help of Samson.  In the first phase, we made a small newsreel for viewers who can come up with their own valuable ideas:

Trees: A good news and a bad news

It is quite a contrast to witness conflicting news on a same day. One of the Tamilnadu ministers announced in a program held in Avadi that 64000 saplings will be planted throughout Tamilnadu on the eve of celebration of 64th birthday of our Chief Minister, Dr. J. Jayalalitha. This is really a happy and good news to anyone who would like to save nature and create a healthy environment. On the same day that I heard this good news, I happened to read an article in Dinamalar, Tamil daily, which describes that 1000s of palmyrah trees are cut for the use of brick industry. It is a detailed report on the destruction of palmyrah trees in Krishnagiri district. This is an appeal to our state government as well as people of Tamilnadu. The article illustrates that the palmyrah toddy tappers, who are affected due to the seasonal employment, nature of the risky job, and the occupational hazards, do not want to continue the enterprise. So they cut and sell the celestial tree just for Rs.500/-. The worst factor is that owners of brick industry even go to an extent of destroying palm forests, which belong to the government. Cutting down trees from a land, not their own is not just unethical, also illegal. It is our duty to bring it to the notice of our government so that destruction of our state tree could be prevented.

Our team member, Mr. Sundaramoorthy, along with few other volunteers visited few rural villages of Virudhunagar District, where he witnessed the cutting of lots of palmyrah trees by palmyrah toddy tappers themselves. He narrated that in villages, particularly, in Vatthiraairuppu and Maelappatti, this is happening in great numbers. Followed by his report, we personally contacted the people from that locality and interacted with them to analyze the reasons for their indifferent attitude to the palmyrah tree. It is not only a seasonal unemployment, but also the tappers had forgotten the traditional techniques in growing the multipurpose tree which has lead to their poverty.

Its an absolute fact that palmyrah trees take 10 to 15 years to grow and yield products like ice apple, palm fruit, neera etc. Hence our ancestors had the scientific practice of growing intercrops along with these trees so that they could earn sustainable income. Moreover, palmyrah trees will only need water for one year. We conveniently forgot all these facts and all techniques are gone with the wind. The Dinamalar newspaper states that palmyrah trees grown on their own near the river banks prevent soil erosion are cut mercilessly. Tamilnadu and Puduchery recently encountered with the cyclone Thane. We have lost crores worth of wealth and loss of life. While we panic over this natural calamity, we could recall and refer the 2004 Tsunami, which struck the shores of Tamilnadu when Palmyrah trees on the seashore resist the force of Tsunami and save coastal villages like Manapadu in southern Tamilnadu. Whether flood or famine, palmyrah tree always play a vital role in saving the possession of people. For eg. some decades back, when Tamilnadu was affected by great famine, people as well as animal were fed by palmyrah stump.

Now we are involved in imparting the traditional knowledge of growing intercrops like plantain trees, millets in the palm grove so that the tappers could get sustainable income which paves way for reforestation.

The declaration of United Nations insist that any country should have one-third forest, but we have only 21% forest in our country.  Even in small countries like Japan, which have industrial developments possess 60% forest.  This is the right time to act by planting and saving trees, particularly, palmyrah tree, which does not require water, fertilizer, but has abundance of utility.  It is not only a tree, but an industry, which produces oxygen.


There are lots of people who are unable to afford basic amenities like food and shelter.  It is every man and woman's dream to have their own house.  Eco-friendly and cost-effective houses can be built with palmyrah leaves, wood, which is as strong as steel rods and beams.  It is good for tropical region like India since it moderates the temperature.

Palm Jaggery Coffee for Cold Season

Recently, the cold waves in India captures the headlines of most of the newspapers and television channels.  In many places the temperature goes into minus.  'The Hindu' titled the news as Capital's coldest Christmas in five years.  We feel the severe cold in southern parts of India also.  Many people are affected by cold, fall sick with terrific cough, fever, wheezing during this season.  Hospitals and clinics are flooded with sick people.  If anyone wants to get rid of cold and cough, prepare a coffee, a black coffee, with palm jaggery.  People may have questions while reading this, 'How coffee can be a remedy for cold?'  Before explaining making of this coffee, I would like to give the nutritive value of palm jaggery for you to have a glance.

Mahatma Gandhi said in praise of palm jaggery, "Neera can be converted as Jaggery, as sweet as honey itself.  This jaggery is superior to cane jaggery.  Cane jaggery is sweet, but palm jaggery is sweet and delicious.  Palm Gur gives mineral salts too.  Doctors have told me to eat jaggery and I always eat palm gur."


It is our traditional medicinal practice that for cold, people prepare 'Kashayam' made out of dried ginger, pepper, and thulasi leaves, but most people, particularly children, show the distaste on their face.  So, instead of this 'kashayam', we can make a black coffee with palm jaggery and dried ginger.


Now, let me give the recipe of Palm Jaggery Black Coffee


Ingredients:
1 liter water.
1 medium size palm jaggery (1/4 kg)
Dried ginger - small piece
Coffee powder - 2 tablespoons


Pour 1 liter water in a vessel and heat it up.  Break the palm jaggery into pieces and put it in the boiling water.  Add the dried ginger when the jaggery mix is still boiling.  When the jaggery and dried ginger is mixed very well in the hot water, put 2 tablespoons of coffee powder.  Put off the flame.  Hot palm jaggery black coffee is ready.  It can be served in 5 - 6 cups.


If somebody does not like black coffee, milk can be added.


Try this coffee daily morning and evening and see the result.  Cold or cough would not dare to touch you.


The neera season has just got over and we can get fresh palm jaggery from the palmyrah tree toddy tappers.  Why don't you try the black coffee.

heap of palm jaggery

Palm jaggery prevents cancer, cures asthma, and is good for strong teeth and bones.
Let me again quote Mahatma Gandhi:  "Nature has made this product in such a way that it cannot be manufactured in the mills; it is produced in the cottages, where there are palm trees.  There, this jaggery can be easily produced.  It can be produced worth crores of rupees.  This is the way to banish poverty from the land.  This also is an antidote to poverty."


Let us use our natural resource for a healthy life and contribute to the needy economy of India.

Save Our State Tree - The Great Palmyrah

Recently, the Chennai city witnessed an hot debate on the extraction of toddy or ban on toddy where a group of people for extraction and few against.  One among the speakers were Mr. Kumari Anandhan, the former president of Tamil Nadu Congress Party and former Chairman of Palmyrah Welfare Board of Tamil Nadu Government.  This debate has been on for many years.  The first ban was in place by the British Government in 1921 and later on, it was revoked.  After independence, it was insisted that the palmyrah tappers' must obtain license, otherwise, the trade would be illicit.  This put intense pressure on the poor palmyrah workers.  In the year 1987, when the foreign liquor was allowed, a total ban on toddy extraction was imposed. People who are FOR extraction of palm toddy argue that palm toddy contains only 4.5% of alcohol and also refer the report of Justice Sivasubramanian commission, which recommends that toddy tapping is not illegal and toddy itself is a frothy drink food for locals.

From my own experience, working with palmyrah toddy tappers,  wherever I go for the field work, I happen to see the frustration of the tappers.  The agitation is still on against the ban on toddy tapping.  Me, along with my students, young volunteers would never plunge into that debate.  At the same time,  we understand their problems of frequent harassment from police for not having licences or sometimes arrest even if they have license suspecting that they are extracting toddy.  The major setback for them is their classification under Kadhi and not in agriculture sector. That is why, we organized the so-called existing associations for palmyrah tappers, but not functioning effectively and invited government officials, including police for constructive discussions.  To distribute micro-credit for palmyrah tappers, we involve local police for the program to build an understanding.

From my own observations for the past seven years, palmyrah trees and tappers' trade can be saved if we adapt some logical methods where we could also ask for government help.

1.  The major thing to be debated in various platforms is the inclusion of palmyrah tree and trade in agriculture sector by the government so that the tappers could avail all the facilities like subsidies from the government, which is given to small farmers.

2.  The forgotten techniques like growing intercrops with palmyrah trees can be taught to the tappers to earn substantial and additional income, which in turn would redeem them from loans.  Moreover biodiversity also can be preserved by adapting this method.

3.  Awareness should be created among tappers through workshops and programs that palmyrah tree is an income-generating tree.  For this, market space should be created for all palmyrah food products like neera, palm candy, jaggery, ice apple, and palm fruits through innovative methods.

4.  The present government has ordered to distribute mango juice to the balwadi children and school children along with mid-day meals.  As Mr. Kumari Anandhan has said, neera also can be kept in TetraPak and distributed to children because it contains lauric acid which is found in breast milk.  It is good for bone, memory power, and eyesight.

Neera with ice apple (nungu) in an eco-friendly pot

5.  Researchers in technology can be motivated to design an instrument to extract neera from palmyrah tree which would ease the risky job of tappers.

Along with my team, I tried several methods to encourage the tappers in their trade.  Through various steps like microinsurance, micro-credits, and developing innovative produce from the traditional palmyrah products, we are able to turn them into successful entrepreneurs in few villages of Tamil Nadu.  For example, we innovated a bread-spread from the traditional 'paagu' by mixing fruits like mango, papaya, and banana.  It is well-received by school children, adults, and even diabetic patients.  When I interacted with the palmyrah association leader in Tuticorin, he came forward with the idea of making flour from panankizhangu to make our traditional and tasty food and snacks like idli, upmaa, dosai, and murukku.  Even neera can be converted into powder by which we can make mix.  Researchers should come forward to analyze such products.

I strongly believe that only practical orientation could help palmyrah tappers to save the glorious palmyrah tree as well as their trade.  It is my long dream to have a model palm grove, where we can impart the technical skills to the tappers.  In this process, we have applied for Rolex Awards for Enterprise 2012, which support individuals, who involve themselves in creating better tomorrow for human kind.  From 1978, environmental projects have been awarded for 38 individuals.  Our project for palmyrah tree, which preserves the ecological balance, also has been selected in the pre-application process and I was invited to submit a full proposal, which I did.  When I share this privilege with environmental well-wishers, I urge everyone to take steps to save our state tree, which has 2500 years of history in our life, culture, and heritage.

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