Why should they suffer from malnourishment and poverty?

Twenty months after the great deluge 2022 occurred, 45-year-old Kashi and her 9 boys and 4 girls sit under a makeshift shelter in her devastated village Vio Kohli in Mirpur Khas with little prospect of adequate food for her family.

She is not alone in this challenge for survival. The majority in Pakistan suffer from multidimensional poverty. Listed in ‘low’ human development category in Human Development Index, the country has a ranking of 161 out of 191 countries. Even though agriculture is considered the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, employing 42.3% of labour force, much of the rural population lacks the means to purchase food and continues to remain insolvent.

The flood in Kashi’s village had swept the fragile huts away as well as standing crops in the area. After the waters receded, the landlords soon recovered and their extensive fields and orchards were flourishing again. However, her own village remains a picture of desolation, with hardly a blade of grass or even a stunted tree to be seen.

She thought that nothing could be grown in her village as it is on barren land, for this is what she had always been led to believe. She feels lucky on days that she is able to provide her children with roti and tea for survival. Under the circumstances is there hope to reduce malnourishment and stunted growth for almost 50% children in Sindh?

We have all gone past verdant pastures and flourishing orchards in Sindh’s flood plains and floodway fringes, known to be among the most fertile lands. So why should hundreds and thousands of Kashis and their families in the area, themselves skilled in growing farm produce, continue to remain destitute?

It is well known that the poor are not likely to have adequate nourishment unless they begin growing food at their doorstep. It is also widely accepted that farming is among the best ways to achieve poverty reduction. If food production could be organized on a village-to-village basis, all family members, including women, will find livelihood in home farming, and menfolk will not be forced to seek opportunities in urban centres.

From September 2022 onwards as we began to work with flood affected communities in Lower Sindh, the myth of infertility in villages located in floodway fringes began to unravel. At the same time the connection between barren land and flood water inundation became evident where only twelve inches of flooding had caused major displacement.

We determined that the key lay in turning the dreaded flood waters into a valuable resource. At the same time flood mitigation measures would have to be implemented to prevent further displacements.

In a paradigm shift from international colonial charity humanitarianism, we decided to implement our sustainable holistic humanistic humanitarianism. Designed to bring about self-reliance it promotes peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing and skill-training for communities.

As a first step, spatial structure of each village was established: village communities removed the debris as well as traditional flammable boundary bushes. The extent of each para (cluster of families) and the village itself were delineated. This exercise of chalk markings for the construction of earth walls defined the jurisdiction of a group of families as well as the village periphery. The villagers were advised to build thick earth boundary walls to act as the first barrier for obstructing free flow of storm water entering the village.

The act of spatial organization resulted in creating surprisingly large areas suitable for home farming. Under guidance of our trained barefoot experts, the households removed the hard crust that deterred plantation, revealing the fertile underbelly. As families in each para cluster embarked on planting vegetables, the tilled soil, softened with plantation, would act as a sponge to absorb flood and rain water.

In addition to vegetables, each para family planted a combination of fast-growing fruit and shade trees. At the same time, by triple digging large areas next to the boundary, each household was required to closely plant 10 indigenous tree saplings in Miyawaki style community forests.

The dense plantation would cool the air and boost biodiversity, at the same time soak up a large quantity of storm water. Other measures for flood mitigation included aquifer trenches at vulnerable points and creation of wetlands in the form of village ponds for storing excessive water flowing into the village.

Household chicken farming has been popularized along with fish breeding in domestic tanks filled by subsoil water of the flood plain, leading to protein sufficiency. In the last few months, in addition to vegetables and fruit crops, using regenerative farming principles, grains such as corn and millet are being harvested.

With limited support in the form of materials that they received from us, households have been able to self-build their climate resilient,zero-carbon, sustainable one room houses. On sharing basis they have acquired eco toilets, solar panels and hand water pumps. The housewives have self-built the World Habitat Gold Award winner elevated earthen Pakistan Chulah stove to provide clean food to their families.

For income generation, most households have learnt to make barefoot products for marketing among poor communities in the area. With nutritious food now available in their village farm – fruit, vegetables, eggs and fish as well as grain, they feel confident about withstanding the next flood.

Today, a few thousand other Kashis in our holistic villages have become entirely food secure and are pursuing a path to attain a better quality of life. Being healthy and confident, and with unwavering belief in their own abilities they know that they are on their way to achieve Sustainable Development Goal # 1: Zero Poverty.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024