this is a booklet i had written for my interim course at Srishti. i had gone to Wayanad and studied the working of a NGO, the biodiversity of that geographical region and the aborigines of those parts.

1. SRISHTI SCHOOL OF ART,
DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
INTERIM COURSE
FIELD TRIP DIARY REPORT
AMEESHI GOENKA
FST 101

2. ITENERARY:
DAY 1-
M.S. Swaminathan Foundation (Wayanad)
Uravu
1st micro industry
2nd micro industry
Lunch at a home-stay
Trek to see different species of bamboo
Temple
Uravu bamboo nursery
DAY 2-
1ST cluster (Neravu)
2nd cluster (Unarvu)
Lunch (Kerala thali)
3rd cluster (Sneha)
4th cluster (Soubhagya)
DAY 3-
Edakkal cave
Lunch at New Taj
Heritage museum
Waterfall
DAY 4-
Trekking behind M.S. Swaminathan Foundation
Lunch at M.S. Swaminathan Foundation
Kanavu (indigenous school)
DAY 5-
Uravu
Enroute to Bangalore

3. My interim course at Srishti needed me to go to
Wayanad district which is on the border of
Karnataka and Kerala to understand the working
of a NGO that deals with bamboo craft, the
aborigines of that region and the biodiversity of
that geographical region.
OVERVIEW:
URAVU
We went to Uravu, which is a legally constituted non-
governmental organization (NGO) started by a group of
people in the year 1996. Uravu seeks to achieve small
scale changes directly through projects, product orders
and supporting self-help groups. They mobilize financial
resources, natural resources, other materials and
salaried personnel to create localized programs in the
field. They apply to the government and organizations
for grants and contracts in order to raise money for
their projects. Uravu trains indigenous and other local
men and women in bamboo craft, and empowers them
to work on their

4. own or continue under them after the training period.
They are paid every month based on the number of
days they work. Uravu heads six clusters and renders
support to several others. These clusters are mainly
self-help groups, like Sneha, Neravu and
Soubhagya, which are based in the Wayanad district.
Uravu is dependent on the government for funds and
projects. Uravu has a finance team, a designing team,
marketing company and trained labourers. The main
aim of Uravu is employment generation.
Uravu has its own bamboo nursery and also has the
permission to cut bamboo from different parts of
Wayanad in a sustainable manner and buy them from
the Government at highly subsidized rates. Uravu
functions every day except Sundays and festival
holidays. To make a product they cut the bamboo,
process it to prevent fungal growth, dry it, cut them
into required pieces and prepare reeds, then they make
the product, polish it, price them, package, and
distribute them to various places all over India
according to the approved orders. To get a product
made by the clusters under them, they provide

5. the processed bamboo, polish the end products,
price, package and then distribute them to different
places. Uravu is a trust itself and also has an Uravu
marketing company linked to it to facilitate market
research and analysis, pricing, packaging,
transportation and sales. Uravu as a trust uses the
subsidies provided by the Government and as
separate entity (company) helps the Government
with various projects, such as the promotion of eco-
tourism. Getting a live experience of working with
bamboo in a bamboo factory was amazing, a lot of
work and tiring.
CLUSTERS (SHG)
An SHG is usually composed of 10–20 local women
that make small regular savings contributions over a
few months until there is enough capital in the group
to begin lending. Funds may then be lent back to the
members or to others in the village for any purpose.
The clusters under Uravu receive orders and raw
materials, capital goods, training and complete
support from Uravu in every matter whereas those
that are not

6. under Uravu may or may not receive orders from
them but can ask Uravu for assistance if necessary.
The women working in the clusters work for
approximately 7 to 8 hours per day, six days a
week. They get holidays for festivals and one paid
holiday for Onam. Two members from each
cluster attend the exhibitions that are held all year
round in different parts of India. They are paid
₹ to ₹ per day, depending on the product
120 180
they produce and the quantity thereof, paid every
month counting the number of days they work.
Each member is required to have mandatory
health insurance through the village panchayat.
The women working in these clusters do not take
any work home. None of them throw away any
waste materials because what is waste for them
may be useful to another cluster. Children of every
member of the cluster are educated till 12th
standard at least. Each cluster produces only one
object at a time and believes in division and
specialization of labor. The members of the cluster
usually stay near their work place.

7. Neravu cluster started with 20 people but now
there are only 19 working women. They use
reed bamboo and elephant bamboo to make
flower vases, candle stands, frames and lamp
shades. As and when they finish the production
of one order they immediately process the next
order. They are liable to Uravu for everything.
Every week each member deposits ₹ into50
Malabar Gramin Bank.
Unarvu cluster was started by 18 people five
years ago but now has only 12 working laborers.
The women left mainly due to dust allergies.
They were free to make their own designs and
implement their own ideas in making bamboo
jewellry. They use elephant bamboo for that
purpose, which they buy in bulk every month
with the money they deposit in the banks every
week. Even though they are not under Uravu
directly, the polishing of their ornaments is
carried out by Uravu.
Sneha SHG was started by 15 people but 5 of
them left on account of marriage. They are

8. not directly under Uravu but receive orders and
raw materials from them. They are also free to
process orders from third parties. They mainly
make utensils and photo frames. Uravu performs
the polishing of their products.
Soubhagya cluster has about 15 members working
on various objects like trays, spice boxes, bottles,
wall hangings and pencil stands. Each member
deposits ₹20 every week into the Malabar Gramin
Bank. It is mandatory for them.
WATERFALL, MUSEUM AND EDAKKAL CAVE
The Soochipara waterfall, tribal museum, and
Edakkal cave in Wayanad were amazing, however
the surrounding areas could have been
maintained better. At the waterfall, we had to pay
an entry fee and digital cameras were prohibited.
People were allowed to bathe in it and there was
an old security guard helping everyone. Though
some of the local people were helpful they didn’t
appear that way. There was only one man made
sitting area. For some

9. reason the trees had really smooth trunks. We were
there to understand the biodiversity of the region. We
had to buy an entry ticket for Edakkal cave, pay
separately for the digital cameras and we had to pay
for a sticker to stick to our plastic water bottles which
would be refunded on our way out since it was a
plastic free zone. It was a steep climb to the cave and
we were not permitted to take pictures from our cell
phones. There were guards everywhere. The cave is
known for its rock-cut carvings from the Stone Age
era. There was one carving behind the stairs which
was not open to public. The tribal museum was
located in the town and also required an entry ticket.
It was a small museum with ancient local artifacts and
bamboo work.
BIODIVERSITY TREK
We were taken for a short trek on the hill behind the
M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. A local
scientist was our guide who spoke only in Malyalam.
The land belongs to the aborigines of that region.
They had to fight for their land but now it’s legally
theirs. They

10. They don’t buy food from the markets
instead dig and pluck them from the
forest. The forest is loaded with
medicinal plants, different species of
spiders and lovely flowers, like the
peacock flower, and butterflies.
KANAVU
We also visited an unregistered tribal
school named Kanavu which was
started by Joy Mon Baby located
about 20km from Kalpetta. That
school is run by the tribal families.
The elders teach folk music, martial
arts, history and other subjects which
are learnt or practiced by kids and
teenagers. They go for exchange
programs all over India to learn
pottery, weaving, agriculture, etc.
That land was bought was Vistar in
1993 for the adivasis of

11. that region for cultural and educational
reasons. Vistar used to provide for their
exchange programs and other expenses
but they stopped doing so in 1996. The
aborigines have to carry out their own
expenses now. They perform music and
dance in troops in order to collect money.
The children there start working at an
early age and hence are exposed to
substance abuse at that age. They also
have rehabilitation center for the
aborijines who are addicted to substance
abuse to have a fairly better future.
ISSUES, REASONING AND SOLUTIONS:
URAVU AND CLUSTERS
At the moment, Uravu is facing a shortage of funds and skilled employees. Some of the women leave on
account of marriage, health reasons, family issues or they migration to the urban area. Given their existing
situation, they should first complete their pending projects and orders, consider diversifying their product
range, possibly invite educational institutions for bamboo workshops and volunteer programs, provide
better health facilities by supplying work-suits

12. and masks to their workers, and they could have some women work from home, like painting on cut
pieces of bamboo to make jewellery or taking reeds from the main work place, bringing them home and
processing a small order. Uravu being an NGO should hold fundraisers in different parts of India, in
exhibitions or workshops. Bamboo craft and furniture is the next big market after wooden craft and
furniture and their main target should be the general public. They need to get recognition by making
their products more appealing as per the latest fashion, giving them to stores as consignments or in
common exhibitions and melas, and having interactive sessions with the people. They need to spread the
word about the usefulness of bamboo, the history of bamboo craft and its future market. Since bamboo
is a highly versatile material they should come up with innovative ideas. The experts should do some
research and see if bamboo and technology can be linked and, for starters, they should make bamboo
toys and game items. If bamboo can be linked with technology it would take the whole industry to a
different level. Uravu should consider becoming a brand name and expanding beyond Wayanad so as to
reach people with higher income level to increase their profits. They could cut down on their packaging
expenses by hiring a kabadiwala and getting paper from houses at the cheapest rate possible and
recycling that paper. Uravu should allow its artisans to design and make their own products once in a
while so that they take pride in what they create. If they receive appreciation then they would feel more
confident about their work. After getting a hands-on experience of working with bamboo my idea of
thinking of the bamboo products to be over-priced has completely changed.

13. WATERFALL, MUSEUM AND
EDAKKAL CAVE
The waterfall did not have enough
security guards and lacked restrooms.
Considering that they have space and
could offer more employment, they
should make pay and use toilets near the
waterfall and some changing rooms.
They must have more than a single
security guard for safety reasons as there
are several unsavoury individuals
attempting to swim there. The heritage
museum requires English speaking
guide, and is not as appealing as it can
be. By increasing their entry ticket by ₹2
to ₹4 they could arrange for an English
speaking guide or train a local to
converse in English. They could have a
souvenir store to make it more
profitable. They could also make it more
appealing by improving their lighting
system or having interactive sessions.
The hidden

14. carving in the Edakkal cave should be allowed for
public viewing. If the concern is of someone
damaging it then they should build an enclosure
around it or allow only one person at a time to view
it. The profit margins of these places are quite low,
and may be improved by increasing the ticket prices.
Also, the tickets themselves may be made more
attractive, so as to double as a keepsake for tourists.
This would also help in the word-of-mouth
promotion of these places.
BIODIVERSITY TREK
The trek in the natural forest surrounding was fun.
Since the forest is abundant with flora and fauna,
and the land belongs to the aborigines. They have
extensive knowledge of the medicinal properties of
the local flora, which they could use to make the
natural medicines for themselves and sell the excess
in the market, thereby increasing the level of
income. However, they should practice sustainable
cultivation of these plants in order to ensure future
availability
It was nice to see the rubber, tea

15. and coffee plantations and acres of paddy fields that we walked
across. Pepper, there, is a commercial spice and honey is also
sold in large quantities. Banana is an important part of the diet
of people in Kerela and hence there were huge banana
plantations too. Eucalyptus and lemon grass are also available in
plenty and well commercialized.
KANAVU
Kanavu faces problems with getting students to learn, acquiring teachers
and raising funds. Since they are already performing in troupes
locally, they could expand that by going to neighbouring towns and getting
recognition. If they were registered and open to foreign companies for
grants they could approach an MNC for donations (such as KFC, which
adds ₹ to each bill as a donation to a charitable foundation). The elders
5
of the society should take more serious initiatives towards the school’s
growth by holding cultural fests and motivating their students to
learn, dream big and follow their dreams. They could attract more
children by providing better facilities and making them do more innovative
and creative things.