This document provides a situational analysis of the Vaspula Village in Mahabubnagar District, Telangana, India. It summarizes the village's resources, social structure, agriculture, livestock, self-help groups and provides recommendations. The village depends on agriculture and livestock for livelihood. Key issues include depleted water resources, lack of housing and infrastructure for marginalized communities, and disparities in land holdings. Self-help groups are working to support women's livelihoods. Recommendations focus on improving water management and sustainable agriculture and livestock practices.

1. GEOVASPULA VILLAGESITUATIONAL ANALYSISDr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy9/10/2011<br />This is the study of Vaspula Village, Mahabubnagar District<br />CONTENTS<br />INTRODUCTION <br />RESOURCE MAPPING <br />SOCIAL MAPPING <br />SELF HELP GROUPS<br />AGRICULTURE<br />LIVESTOCK ANALYSIS<br />SUGGESTIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS <br />REFERENCES<br />INTRODUCTION<br />VASPULA VILLAGE<br />Vaspula village in Midjil Mandal of Mahabubnagar District is selected for the mapping of rural livelihoods to understand the intricacies and to understand the factors for sustaining the rural livelihoods. <br />Vaspula village is located to the west of Mahabubnagar town about 34 Kms away. This village is linked to Jadcherla and Kalwakurthy road with a distance of 4 kms. This is a heterogeneous village with representation of people from diverse socio-economic structure. For livelihood people are dependent on various livelihood activities. The ground water resources are highly exploited, this whole Mandal was declared as dark. <br />Some other observations in the village: <br />It is noticed that in the S.C colony, most of the houses were very old constructions with mud and also most of the families are not having pucca houses. <br />The are the following institutions / structures in the village. Z.P. High School, Central Primary School, S.C .Hostel, Sub- post office, ICDS Centre and Grampanchayath office. There are two community halls too. <br />The drains are constructed in all the streets of the village but are not clean, filled with mud and sand. <br />At North-East corner in the village Anjaneya Swamy temple is being renovated with the estimated cost of Rs. 5.00 lakhs with the public contribution of Rs. 1.3 lakhs the rest by Endowment department. <br />In the year 1984, 20 houses were sanctioned in this village under RPH programme and constructed with brick and un-plastered walls, and roofing was done with Bangalore tiles. The houses constructed are very sub-standard as a result 7 houses collapsed in a very short period and are presently in ruins. <br />MAHABUBNAGAR DISTRICT<br />Mahabubnagar District is part of the Telangana Region and it is the second largest District in Andhra Pradesh, Covering 18, 432 sq. kms. The district is located between 160 and 170 north latitudes and 770 and 790 east longitudes. This is a land-locked region, with hot summers (Temp. 390 C to 410 C), warm winters (250 C to 350 C) and low rainfall about 600 mm which is erratic. The distinctive feature of this region is an undulating topography dotted with maonadnocks. These are relict hills which are covered with heaps of granitic boulders. Bare hills, plains with scattered thorny scrub, open fallow lands, rivers bone dry for most of the year, tanks dotting the drainage line, all combine to produce a landscape serene and beautiful.<br />Drought is ever persistent in the District so the people’s adoptive and coping strategies have become a way of life. Seasonal migrations for alternative livelihood opportunities have become a tradition / routine for the people. There are various projects / programmes going on in the district to mitigate the drought and its impact on livelihood opportunities. There are various departments in the District actively working for improving the livelihood opportunities, namely DPAP, DRDA, DPIP, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, SC corporation and other line departments. Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Programme (APRLP) is another important program going on in the District for improving the livelihoods opportunities of the poor, women, landless and marginal people. <br />BACKGROUND<br />Livelihoods are the means of living for all human beings, some survive and some thrive. In space and time the livelihood opportunities and options vary, there can be various factors responsible directly or indirectly. Livelihoods in the rural environment are diverse and are vulnerable to shocks and trends. There are also certain policies and structures existing for the sustainability of the livelihoods. A study focusing on these issues will help us to understand the issues relating to the complexity of the livelihoods in rural areas for strategic interventions.<br />OBJECTIVES<br />1. To analyze various types of livelihoods existing in the village and diagnostic in nature.<br />2. To identify the possible livelihood options / opportunities to strengthen the existing livelihoods.<br />The title selected for the study is <br />“LIVELIHOODS MAPPING OF VASPULA VILLAGE, MIDJIL MANDAL, MAHABUBNAGAR DISTRICT, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA”<br />METHODOLOGY<br />The mode of eliciting the primary information was participatory. PRA (Resource Mapping and Social Mapping) and Focused Group Discussions (FGD), And some more information was collected from the secondary sources i.e., Mandal Development Office (MDO), Mandal Revenue Office (MRO), and other Mandal level offices like Agriculture Department and Animal Husbandry Department etc. <br />In the process all almost all the Human, Social, Physical, Natural and Financial factors are considered. <br />For the focused group discussions stratified sample was taken. For PRA it is the random sample with the representation from all the sections of the community. <br />The field study was done in the month of July 2002.<br />PARTICIPATORY RURAL APPRAISAL (PRA) TOOL:<br />PRA is a research / planning methodology in which a local community (with or without assistance of outsiders) studies an issue that concerns the population, priorities problems, evaluates options for solving the problem(s) and comes up with a Community Action Plan to address the concerns that have been raised (Community Forestry Field Manual 7, FAO, 1997).<br />PARTICIPATORY MAPPING<br /> In participatory mapping, community members sketch maps to elicit information and provoke discussion on spatial issues. The maps are not intended to provide accurate cartographic information but rather to generate approximate information that can be used to generate further discussion. <br />Maps are most useful when a group of people participates so that everyone contributes to the activity and information can be crosschecked by several sources. It is sometimes useful to do resource maps with different groups of people (to see how their perceptions of resource issues differ).<br />In the mapping exercise the following are done<br />RESOURCE MAPPING AND SOCIAL MAPPING<br />Wo/men from all sections participated in the mapping exercise representing poor, landless, occupational groups, farmers, and others. The people collected in a large open area have drew resource and social maps. They have used various markers like chalk powder of various colors, seeds, stones etc., to indicate landmarks on the map. <br />In the process the people have identified the critical resources and the principal user groups and social structure of the village. <br />TRANSECT WALK:<br />A transect walk is a mobile interview in which the research team walks from the centre of the village to the outer limit of the territory, accompanied by several local informants who are especially knowledgeable about natural resource issues. Together, the team members and the informants observe what happens in different micro-ecological niches and discuss issues of mutual interest. Later the collected information will be organized. <br />RESOURCE MAPPING<br />The villagers were asked to participate in the resource mapping exercise. The villagers had chosen the shady area of an acacia tree for the exercise. The villagers started with the drawing of approach roads to the village using the colored chalk powder. Then they have demarcated the residential area of the village, tanks, watershed treatment area and structures. They also participated in the transect walk. The following information was collected during the process. See also the Resource map.<br />228600130175<br />The tanks existing in the village:<br />457200160020<br />. <br />1.Soorappa Kunta:- Under this tank 20 acres of land is being cultivated, they pointed out that the tank bed is fully silted as a result of which the tank capacity is abnormally reduced and under this five surface bores are working with less yield of water.<br />2. Reddy Kunta:- Under this 20 acres cultivation is possible but the tank condition is similar to the above and under its influence zone four surface bores are working with less yield of water, and also 6 open wells and five filter points are dried up.<br />3. Amma Kunta:-Ayacut under this tank is 24 acres, five bores are existing out of which only two are working, five open wells are dried up due to breach of Alugubanda (surplus weir). There is lots of silt in the tank and the feeder channels are non-functioning as the bed is being used for un-authorised cultivation by farmers.<br />4. Chintala Kunta :- Ayacut under this tank is 50 acres, 6 bores are working with less yield, and 9 open wells are dried up due to heavy silt filled in the tank bed. The kunta's main problem is that the tank bed is under a pattadar’s name so pattadar is objecting to removal of the silt. There is another problem too that the capacity of the tank has reduced as a result of silting. <br />5. Rakula Kunta :- There is no official ayacut in this kunta but is useful as a re-charging source for bore wells and five open wells in the vicinity. <br />6. Nagula Kunta : -Under this 30 acres of land is being irrigated with the help of 20 surface bores. 6 open wells are dried up and not functioning. <br />Other problems / issues relevant to the tanks of Vaspula.<br />KuntaProblemsKallakuntaWeir ruinedOn the bund and inside kunta covered with spiny trees and bushes and it is in ruined conditionIrrigation kalva under repairAmmakuntaWeir damaged.Bund ruined conditionTank bed silted upSluice damagedIrrigation canal ruined conditionChintalakuntaBores low yield in all boresReddykuntaBund breachedNo repairs since (20) yearsWells and bores dried up fields are fallow. 5 filter points are not functioningPinjarlakuntaStream water is the main source for filling the kunta the due to damage of katva 20 years back no water is received in the kunta and no cultivation is done under kunta.Rekulakunta (Vallabraopally) 250 Ac. SC gairan fields.<br />Watershed activity<br />Under the DPAP watershed programme in the village the following works are done. The amount of money spent on different works is as such. <br />68580057785<br />Watershed related information S.No. & Name of the ActivityStructures completed as on today Further Proposed Phy.Fin.Phy.Fin.1. Percolation Tanks i) With rivetment 31.50ii) Without rivetment 2. Drainage line treatment i) GC Works (nos)790.73569 ii) Loose boulder structures iii) Gabion Structures iv) Others A.F/S.F (saplings)150000.09303 3. Checkdams i) Masonary Checkwalls ii) Masonary Checkdams (nos)72.5869121.304. Ponds i) Feeder Channel (no)10.06 ii) Fodder development (acres)4500.107 iii) Home seeds 0.060 5. Bunding (running mts)174.63.17699 6. Administrative 0.17563 <br />Funds WSC and WDF (Rs.in Lakhs) Name of the WatershedVASPOOL Funds received by WSC9.00Balance funds available2.06475Total WDF Collected0.62164<br />Watershed - Income Generating Activities <br />Since the inception of watershed activities in the village since past three years, about 120 no. of families are benefited during the bunding work in 174 hectares. Majority of them have participated to supplement their income, their routine work is agriculture. The bunding works found to be more attractive as on an average the daily wage is @ Rs 70/- where as for agriculture works they are paid @ Rs. 50/-. More over these woks were done during the lean season. Moreover in watershed works both men and women are paid equally. Whereas women are paid less for agricultural works in the village. <br />Two women SHGs are given nurseries about 2 years back. Till today they have raised about 10,000 plants. The 40 women members from the 8 SHGs in the village are directly benefited from the watershed works. <br />After the initiation of watershed works the milk production in the village has increased from 30 liters to 80 liters. About 15 families are dependent on the milk production activity. <br />The user groups under the influence zone of two water harvesting structures have benefited with secured crops as their borewells are giving more yields. <br />10 mason families have benefited as they were involved in the construction of masonry structures. <br />SOCIAL MAPPING<br />1Yerakali1Baindlu1Brahmin1Oslollu1Mangali1Katika1Gangerlu2Beggars2Voddolluu2Kummari5Balija9Mala10Muslims10Komati10Vodlollu13Chakali30Telugu30Kurva70Madiga100ReddySHG members came forward to draw the village social map while all other villagers participated in the exercise. The SHG members had drawn complete village details like location of houses, temples, Government Institutions, Community halls and residential houses. (see fig) <br />228600419100The caste wise composition in the village is as follows:<br />00<br />According to 2001 census the total Population of this village is 1013 with 57% being Men and 43% being Women.<br />1371600148590<br />< 6 Years102Male49Female53Literates603Male435Female168Main Workers445Male225Female220<br />Marginal Workers9Male5Female4Non workers559Male348Female211<br />The basic amenities available in this village are as follows:<br />The major Livelihood activities in the village are as follows:<br />Sl.No.OccupationNo.of families1Agriculture2802Agriculture labour1903NTFP754Horticulture55Migration656Traditional157Services258Landless9 No.9Disabled2 No.10Single Women15 No.<br />Interpretations on Social map: The social map reveals that most of the institutions and services are accessed by only some classes of the village. The presence of schools and high school in the village gives the children an easy access and opportunity for education. The veterinary services in this village are also weak as most of villagers are dependent on small livestock. The river stream which flows by the village happens to be the major source of water, a katva (a small anicut) which was being suggested by the villagers needs to be looked into. From the social and economic angle the village population is distributed into colonies according to castes. The time line shows that in the past nearby and surrounding villages were dependent upon this village for almost every service, but that seems to be changing as most of the villagers are going to other surrounding villages for labour work. The details of migration are as follows:<br />Migrants: 1-3 months:- 30 people<br />3-6 months:- 20 people<br />> 9 months:- 15 people<br />Some people in this village have permanently shifted to Hyderabad for better education or better employment, 2 villagers have gone abroad after pursuing their studies. <br />SELF HELP GROUPS<br />In this village there are 8 women SHGs and one SHG with men. Among women groups 7 of them are functioning with quot;
Aquot;
grade another one is quot;
Bquot;
grade. During the discussions with the SHG members and leaders the following details are collected. <br />0786130The caste wise representation of the members in the SHGs is as such. <br />There is need to organize more SCs into the groups, as majority of the poor are from that community. <br />AGRICULTURE<br />Majority of the people in this village are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. As being located on the banks of Dundibi vagu the alluvium deposited along the banks is fertile. <br />The soils existing and the main crops cultivated in the village are as such. <br />SoilsCropsBlack Cotton / Black RegadiMirchiCottonPaddy (Wet)RagiJowarRed gramCastorRed SoilsCastorCottonJowarMirchiDubba Chelka / ChelkaCastorJowarHorse gramRed gramCotton<br />CropKharif (in acres)Rabi (in acres)Paddy162.3970Jowar1500Maize400Millets20Redgram2000Chillies300Vegitables100Cotton2000Caster3000Groudnut010<br />9144000<br />The caste wise average land holding in the village is as such.<br />11430045720<br />Caste wise Marginal, Small and Big farmers land holdings. There is disparity in the land holdings by different types of farmers.<br />9144004495800914400220980091440038100<br />LIVESTOCK ANALYSIS<br />Although this village has very little CPR, the villagers are supporting their livestock with the biomass generated in their own fields. Some people in the village take their animals to the nearby hills for grazing. <br />The cattle population in the village is as such.<br />571500552450<br />The matrix ranking was done by the villagers to assess certain parameters such as Cost effectiveness, Seasonal availability, Nutritition value, Palatability, Growth rate, Milk production and Milk quality to the type of fodder is shown below.<br />68580088900<br />There is still potential for the following activities in the village. <br />The seasonality on the following factors related to livestock promotion and development is done in the village. Rainfall, Green Grass production, Breeding, Milk Production, Egg Production, Sheep production, FMD, H.S and Ephemeral Fever is shown in the chart (See Chart). <br />SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS<br />This study helps us to understand the various types of livelihoods existing in the village. And based on this study the following suggestions or recommendations are made as conclusion for the improvement of livelihoods i.e., (options / opportunities / activities) in Vaspula village. <br />The major income source in the village is agriculture related, hence there is need to give them better skills in on-farm and off-farm related activities<br />On-farm: Olericulture and Horticulture<br />Off-farm: Backyard poultry ram lamb, sheep development and dairy.<br />The women and youth in the village should be imparted trainings in Micro enterprise development. <br />The villagers need to be mobilized for collective decision in choice of crops and marketing.<br />The stress period for availability of fodder is during March and July. There is a need to promote alternative measures to mitigate the impact. The milk production is directly related to availability of fodder.<br />Breeding is limited to few months only, between February, March, October, November and December months. There is need to improve the overall breeding programme and also to control the seasonal diseases with the help of Gopalamitras / traditional veterinary practitioners.<br />The farmers are well aware of the leguminous fodder, there is need to encourage and provide seed and other inputs for dairy development in the village.<br />Majority of the farmers are small and marginal farmers, there is need to provide additional livelihood opportunities for the farmers. <br />The traditional occupational groups need to be provided trainings for improvement of their skills.<br />Except 17 acres of CPR as road margins and dundibi vagu, there is no other CPR in the Vaspula village, therefore very little scope for development in this regard.<br />There is 32% of the land under current fallows, which can be better utilized through drought proof practices.<br />The soils are black, red and chelkas of different grades suitable for diverse crops.<br />Only 11% of the area is under irrigation, more area can be brought under cultivation through water conservation measures and practices.<br />The 40 open wells in the village are not functioning.<br />There are 6 tanks in the village on an average each tank is supporting 20 acres of land for irrigation. <br />Under the ongoing watershed programme there is scope for development in the following sectors, fodder development, Agro- and social forestry, horticulture development, promotion of quality of seeds.<br />Facilitation for silt removal from the village tanks for application in the dry lands needed. Tanks are under the control of very few villagers. <br />The villagers are demanding the repair of a Katva on Dundibi vagu for development of irrigation sources.<br />More credit should be made available to the villagers through banks and other sources for their activities. <br />CBOs in the village need to be networked at the village level.<br />More women from SC community should be involved in SHGs as majority of the poor people are from this community.<br />The construction of houses in the SC colony were not completed, as the bills were not sanctioned, there is need for completion of them with the cooperation of housing department.<br />Because of high school in the village the literacy rate in the village is considerable, and people are well aware of the developments in various fields, therefore it is easy for them to adapt to new diversified livelihood options. <br />REFERENCES<br />Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods, (2002) Breaking New Ground, Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods (ARLP) <br />Carney, D., M. Drinkwater, T. Rusinow, K. Neefjes, S. Wanmali, and N. Singh, (2000) Livelihoods Approaches Compared (Draft): A brief comparison of the livelihoods approaches of the UK <br />Department for international Development (DFID), CARE, Oxfam and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Mimeo.<br />Carney, D.(1998) Implementing the sustainable Livelihoods Approach. In: Carney, D.(Ed), Sustainable rural Livelihoods: What contribution can we make? London: DFID.<br />Chambers, R,(1983) Rural development: Putting the Last First. London:Longman.<br />Chambers, R. (1988) Sustainable Livelihoods, Environment and Development: Putting Poor People First, IDS Discussion Paper, No 240.<br />Chambers, R. and G.Conway, (1992) Sustainable rural Livelihoods: Practical Concepts for the 21st Century, IDS Discussion Paper, No.296.<br />Chen, M. (1991) Coping with Seasonality and Drought. New Delhi: Sage Publications.<br />Czech Conroy, Sudershan Iyenger, Viren Lobo and Bhaskar Rao. G, (2001) Household Livelihood and Coping Strategies in Semi-arid India: Adapting to Long-term Change : Research Project Report, Delhi: Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development<br />Government of Andhra Pradesh (2000): Draft Report of the Rural Poverty Reduction Task Force, Ministry of Rural Development, Hyderabad.<br />Jodha, N.S.(1991) Rural Common Property Resources: A Growing Crisis. Gatekeeper Series No. 24. London: IIED.<br />Sainath, P. (1996) Everybody Loves a Good Drought: Stories from India’s Poorest Districts, New Delhi: Penguin Books.<br /> <br />