A Study Trip To The Rural Resource Training Center (RRTC), Umran, Meghalaya.

Field Study Trip to Rural Resource and Training Centre (RRTC)

Umran, Meghalaya

MSW Community Development Specialization

Assam Don Bosco University, Guwahati

September 7, 2013

Introduction

On 7^th of September 2013, the Master of Social Work (Community Development specialization) students of Assam Don Bosco University set out for a field trip to the Rural Resource and Training Centre (RRTC), registered as St. Joseph Agricultural Training Centre (SJATC), situated at Umran in the State of Meghalaya. RRTC has a rich experience in working with rural poor, especially by providing skills and training in the organic farming, livestock management, agriculture low-cost and appropriate technology and entrepreneurship in the field of Agriculture. The centre imparts training and exposure to groups comprising of youth, women and men farmers, young entrepreneurs, school and college students and government officers from all eight states of No rtheast India, numbering up to 5000 annually.

The team of 23 students accompanied by a faculty member gain a wide range of information and knowledge about the variety of programmes and projects and to have a firsthand experience of organic homestead farming, horticulture, floriculture, fishery, herbal and flower garden, dairy, poultry, piggery and food processing. The main objective of the visit was to get an exposure to an integrated rural development approach leading towards uplifting and empowerment of agricultural community in a sustainable manner in context of the Northeast India.

Rural Resource Training Centre (RRTC)

Rural Resource and Training Centre (RRTC) is a development organization, legal body registered under the Societies’ Registration Act of 1990 with number SR/SJATC=230/91 of 1991. It is located in Umran, Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya under the care and management of the Salesians of Silchar Province. It is a unique organization where it visualizes a society which is self-reliant in food and income requirements from land resources and livestock, through eco-friendly and mutually collaborative entrepreneurship. Its mission is to achieve a self-sufficient and self-sustaining society through generation awareness, capacity building, skills development and dissemination of appropriate technology.

 RRTC reaches out all the tribes of Northeast India especially to school dropouts and farmers. It has a rich experience in working with rural poor, especially by providing skills training in the organic farming, livestock management, agriculture low-cost and appropriate technology and entrepreneurship. The centre is perched on a hillock surrounded by a lush-green model farm of 175 hectors with farm models such as, homestead farming, horticulture, floriculture, fishery, herbal garden, dairy, poultry, piggery and food processing.

The Field Visit

The Masters of Social Work (Sem III) with Community Development specialization started at 6.38 am in the morning from Don Bosco University campus and reached the RRTC at 9:21 am. Given below are the various activities that the students were engaged in.

1.      The trainee met Fr. James Mani (Director RRTC) and later a short orientation was given by the manager of administration Mr Kynsai Mukhim. During the brief orientation Mr Kynsai told about the organization. He said, it is a training centre with a difference, surrounded by a large great vegetation, fish pond, mountain stream and ample space. The centre conducts different types of training for the farmers and school dropouts. He adds up by saying, a place of learning, lesson of handwork.

After a brief orientation the trainees had field visits to various training sites some of which are given below:

2.      Fisheries: In the fisheries units the trainees came to know there are many kind of fish like Sheetal, Mirza, Gonios fish etc, also with Ornamental and Table fish with 17 ponds and for the first time in Meghalaya was successfully hatched. The supervisors told the trainees about how to identify male and female fish i.e. by touching the smooth and rough fins.

3.      Processing food room units: There are availability of edibles things like chillies, gooseberry for making pickles and different fruit for making jam through different process. Raw materials were from within and all are organic material. After it done from processing it shifted to production room and later to the outlets for selling. The supply was within Meghalaya especially Ri- Bhoi district.

4.      Nursery units: There are five units in the nursery these are vermi compost manure, garden, vegetables, horticulture with intercrop like pineapple and oranges. The purpose is for own use it is also for selling or commercial base. They usually used organic pesticide and not those chemicals pesticide like used of chillies, garlic etc.

5.      Vermi compost and dairy main unit: In this unit earthworm are mixing with the soil and cow dung in order to form into manure. As this manure is one of the best for cultivation and it is in high.

6.       Bee units: In this unit the supervisor Mr Joseph Basumatary explain to us the scientific method of bee keeping. There three types of bee mother queen bee, workers bee and drawn bee. There are also predators that could harm the bees these are, lizard, snake, cockroach etc and water are use to protect bees from the ants on reaching the hives...”bee keeping can be practice anywhere, only to have the skills” said by the supervisor.

7.      Poultry unit: In this unit there are different poultry consisting of broiler, kroilar, turkey etc it is mostly for commercial only.

8.      Piggery unit: There are two breed. These pigs are kept for 6-8 months; it is for breeding purpose and also meat.

9.      Farm unit: Here with small crop nursery with different varieties of vegetables like bitter gourd, pumpkins, chillies etc.

Therefore with the above activities the trainees were able to complete the day by observing and learning about the activities rendered by the centre to the farmers mostly the rural community on how to have a sustainable life by the using of natural resources and rich heritage of nature.

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Departure: The trainees depart from the centre at 4: 10 pm.

Observation and Learning

It was an enriching experience for the students of MSW who are being specialised in the Community Development in DBISS of Don Bosco University. They gained a lot of information about the ways in which the organisation help the rural communities to develop themselves to a state of self-reliance and self sustaining with the organic and modern farming and cheap technologies.  The hardworking, dedication and cooperation rendered by each worker had made the centre a successful one, though they are less in number now. Following are the main areas of learning by the trainees.

Vermi compose

The trainee observed the manufacturing and use of organic manure which was extracted from the waste of onion, garlic, chillies and other waste from their farms and forest mixed with cow dung, and also by preserving cow urine for useful purpose. It goes through different stages where earthworms are used to convert it into a product called vermi compose.

Fishery

 It was interesting to see how each fish were identified and well fed, each pond were divided by rearing small and big fish, also the ornamental fish for the aquarium purpose. Their food was mainly mustard cake given in good proportion and different times. The trainees learnt to identify the male and female fish by touching the smooth and rough fins.

Bee Keeping

Through this centre the farmer gains knowledge of how to keep bees, within three days of training in a scientifical manner in a wooden box specially made with two different parts, where different activities are done by the different worker bees. They also learn how to extract honey without destroying the comb which can be used again by the bees to collect honey. It will take about three months to form a new comb if it is destroyed and they can also leave the place looking for a new place. This is one of the easy ways to gain profit for a village person and can create its own business for its own benefit and can earn its livelihood in an easy way, even an uneducated person would be able to earn by this three days of training.

               

Food Processing

The farmers in Ri-Bhoi district are rich because of the hard work and by making use of natural resources with the training given by the RRTC. The trainee also observed all the way from Shillong to Guwahati road most part of Ri-Bhoi the selling of pickles made by organic food processing by RRTC. They also produce jam, jelly, squash and many other items and the students learnt a lot about the process.

Nursery unit

The trainee also observed that most of different flowers were planted in the nursery unit of the centre. At present there are few flowers like Australian pine trees, petunia flowers, impatient flowers etc, at the same time they cultivate intercrop pattern and also depending on seasonal flowers. The trainee also learnt that because of shortage of water it is hard to plant the quality flower plants and since it is near the road stealing also happens. Flowers are in high demand in Meghalaya and they plant flowers depending on people’s want and since peoples of khasi hills love flowers they buy it from the location itself.

It was a centre where they give training to the farmers by exposing them to practical fields where they can do and learn. The MSW students too got an opportunity to see by themselves the way they do different kinds of farming and vegetation. It would surely boost the students with different ideas and inputs to plan for their future action in their venture to help the villagers and marginalised people to earn their livelihood in a better and effective way as social workers.

Livestock department

Like agriculture, live stock department comprising piggery, poultry, and dairy and rabbit unit also support farmers by providing good breed of chicks, piglets, kids, calves and rabbits. The trainees could gain a lot of knowledge and information about the way they look after these animals.

Hence indeed it was a great learning for the trainee and achieved and in depth knowledge about how to help the rural community with the use of cheap available resources.

Team Members

1.      Adoreen Marbaniang

2.      Anupa Basumatary

3.      Augustine Dungdung

4.      Augustine Iano

5.      Balentina T. Lamare

6.      Beauty Khawbung

7.      Berniki Shylla

8.      Byron Mandy Lamare

9.      Carienylla Marthong

10.  Edward Diamary

11.  Elpuis Lyngkhoi

12.  Esalanmidaka Lyngdoh

13.  Fr. Lijo George

14.  Ibapaleishisha Rashir

15.  Josheph Shadap

16.  Kakoli Gogoi

17.  Marbakor kharbyngar

18.  Micheal Tanti

19.  Mimumcy Dkhar

20.  Neelakshi Gohain

21.  Preeti Gogoi

22.  Sumi Safique Baruah

23.  Tapobrat Borah

Faculty

Sir Jacob Islary

Documented by

Ibapaleishisha Rashir, Marbakor Kharbyngar, Elpuis Lyngkhoi, Fr. Lijo George