Organo is undertaking social impact initiatives in the five villages identified as part of the eco-habitat boundary. The villages being Antharam, Hasthepur, Venkannagudem, Nowlaipalle, and Kandlapalli.

To ensure focused intervention for development and to foster mutual cooperation, three thrust areas have been identified namely Skill Development initiative, Education initiative, and Farmer -consumer connect.

Farmer-consumer connect:

As part of the Farmer-Consumer connect initiative, Organo undertook extensive survey of the five villages and identified a group of 55 progressive farmers. Based on the call given by Organo to try Organic agriculture in a small portion of their lands, a total of 8 farmers havecome forward. Of these, one farmer had to drop out due to health issues. Hence a total of 7 farmers have formed into a group (Sangham) with a mutually elected President and Vice-President.

The names of the farmers are as below:

1. M. Ramachandraiah (Red Chilly)
2. G. Mahender (Jawar/ Jonnalu)
3. Viveka Reddy (Chickpea/ Senagalu and Kabuli Channa)
4. Vishnuvardhan Reddy (Korralu/ Foxtail Millet and Sajjalu/ Pearl Millet)
5. Ram Reddy (Onion/ Ullipaya)
6. M. Myagaiah (Moong Dal/ Pesara and Black Gram/ Minimulu)
7. Narsimhulu (Jawar/ Jonnalu)

In order to ensure that the farmers get the right know-how and support in converting to Organic agriculture, Organo has on boarded experts in the field. The organic farming expert along with Organo team conducted the first meeting of farmers on 5th October 2021.

Key discussion points of meeting:

1. Farmers received inputs on their respective crops and how to prepare their soil for the cropping.

2. Guidance on preparation and procurement of inputs such as seeds, organic soil fertility enhancers etc., was also given.

3. It was decided that group meeting shall be held every Saturday with the farmers coming to a single place.

4. In order to ensure that the farmers act as Joint Liability Group which works on the principle of mutual policing and peer pressure, it was decided that everyone will ensure that chemical fertilizers/ pesticides are not used by the members.

5. To drive home the point, it was informed to the farmers that the produce shall be tested for presence of such chemical residues once the harvest is done. In case the harvest is found to have chemical residues, then the entire group gets discredited.

Post the group meeting, the team visited each farmer's land and identified the right location to start the Organic Farming patch

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Education Initiative:

In order to ensure that the children in the identified villages get access to good education especially in times of covid related closure of schools, Organo is working with children in four villages out of the five which fall under the eco-habitat boundary. The villages are Antharam, Hasthepur, Venkannagudem, and Nowlaipalle. The broad aim is to supplement the education of the students through evening tuition classes in the respective villages.

To ensure that the initiative is sustainable, Organo has partnered with Kisaan Sevaks Foundation (KSF) which has rich experience in educating rural children and adults in Telangana. As part of the education Organo has identified one teacher from each of the villages to take up the classes in the evenings between 4 to 7 PM. The classes have been running since 3 months (July 2021). initially there was very less turn out of the students due to skepticism and apprehensions regarding covid. But with the efforts of Organo and KSF team the number of students has steadily increased.

A series of tests were conducted for the students to assess their current levels of proficiency with respect to the subjects for their respective classes. Based on the outcome of this exercise a baseline will be arrived at for the children. From the baseline the students will be segregated basis their proficiency.

Now that the students have gotten used to the classes, starting October 2021, Organo and KSF are planning to run classes in phase wise manner. Students shall get coaching for 2 months’ time for each class where the required syllabus as per Govt. curriculum will be covered. At the end of the 2 months, a test will be conducted to assess if they can be taken to the next class. In case any student requires additional support, they are given special attention and ensured that they acquire knowledge for the respective class.

To set the expectations on the way forward, Organo and KSF teams have conducted a meeting with the children and parents along with the teachers at Antharam Government school. Key excerpts from

1. KSF team brought students and teachers from another village named Depalli where they run similar education initiatives.

2. The students and teachers interacted with the children and parents who had assembled there and took them through their journey and their experience learning and growing with support from KSF.

3. Most of the children and their parents were galvanized by the event and have committed to attending the evening school program for their betterment.

As the Dussehra holidays are staring from 06th Oct, the teachers supported by Organo and KSF shall conduct various games and drills to encourage children to come to school