SUCCESS STORY OF MAWKYRDEP VILLAGE

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SUCCESS STORY OF MAWKYRDEP VILLAGE

UNDER THE COMMUNITY LED LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT PROJECT

Government of Meghalaya

INTRODUCTION

Meghalaya, also known as the abode of clouds is a land with rich biodiversity where 70% of the state

is forested, of which 9,496 km2 is dense primary subtropical forest. These forests are considered to be

among the richest botanical habitats of Asia. Meghalaya is also famous for receiving abundant rainfall

and support a vast variety of floral and faunal biodiversity. The inhabitants of the state especially the

rural folks depend on natural resources for their livelihood.

The Government of Meghalaya has taken many initiatives to support the community to develop

sustainable natural management and one of the recent projects taken up by the Government is The

Meghalaya Community Led Landscape Management Project.

The project objective is “to manage and conserve the natural resources, especially forests,

soil and water sources, in a manner that supports the financial and physical well-being of

communities in the State”

CLLMP Project

The Meghalaya Community Led Landscape Management Project is a unique project of the State of

Meghalaya that seeks to leverage on the strength of the community to develop sustainable Natural

Resource Management system that will lead to the restoration of degraded landscape of the state, build

climate resilience and generate opportunities for livelihoods.

The project Meghalaya ‘Community – Led Landscape Management Project (CLLMP), supported by

the World Bank, aims to strengthen community-led natural resource management based on a landscape

approach in Meghalaya.

CLLMP is a Community Driven Development (CDD) Project wherein the key activities under the

project will be chosen and implemented by the community.

The project is intended to strengthen community-led natural resources management in selected

landscapes within the11 districts of the state. Mawkyrdep being one of the villages in Ri-Bhoi District

to be chosen under this Project.

Mawkyrdep Village

Mawkyrdep Village falls under Bhoi Rymbong C&RD block of Ri-Bhoi district in the state of

Meghalaya. The village is at a distance of 70 Kms from Nongpoh, the district headquarters of Ri Bhoi

District and is at a total distance of 42 Kms from the state capital, Shillong.

Mawkyrdep is one of the oldest villages in Ri Bhoi District formed in the early 1800 by (late)

Mr. Joseph Jymme Duia, who also happened to be the first headman or Sordar of Mawkyrdep Village

and ever since many smaller villages have sprung from it. It falls under the “Raid Madan Kyrdem” with

a total geographical area of 165.17 ha and a total population of 726 villagers.

Agriculture is the main occupation of the people where they mainly take up traditional approaches of

cultivation like Jhum or the shifting cultivation and Terrace cultivation. The Village not only produces

cash crops but also various fruits, vegetables, betel vine. The forests in the village have a lot of medicinal

plants which grow naturally in the wild.

There are two schools inside the village, out of which one is a Secondary School and the other is a

Higher Secondary School. The health dispensary is 1 km away; the nearest Bank is about 7 km away

and the Post office is also 1 km from the village

There are two schools inside the village, out of which one is a Secondary School and the other is a Higher

Secondary School. The health dispensary is 1 km away; the nearest Bank is about 7 km away and the Post

office is also 1 km from the village.

Population

As per Census 2011, Mawkyrdep population is 726. Out of this, 350 are males while the

females count is 376. This village has 149 children in the age group of 0-4 years. Among them

72 are boys and 77 are girls.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

0-4 yrs 05-14 yrs 15-30 yrs 30-60 yrs Above 60 yrs

Male

Female

Age Group Male Female Total

0-4 72 77 149

5-14 117 120 237

15-30 70 55 125

30-60 61 77 138

Above 60 30 47 77

Card Holding Household:

The village has a total number of 130 Health cardholders, 112 Ration cardholders. The major occupation

of the people is farming while some are teacher and govt. servants.

Fuel Type:

Fuel Type Total HH

Charcoal 0

Biomass 0

Wood 16

LPG 120

Electric Heater 0

Kerosene 0

OCCUPATION: The people of the village rely on agriculture and forest products for their

livelihood. The main occupation of the villagers is farming followed by teaching and engineering.

FARMERS

93%

TEACHERS

5%

ENGINEERS2%

FARMERS

TEACHERS

ENGINEERS

Particulars No. of HH

Total HH

136

Ration Card HH

112

Health Card HH

130

Jhum cultivation: mainly take up traditional approaches of cultivation

like Jhum or the shifting cultivation

Drinking Water: There is a shortage of water during the dry season

village. The existing springs are seasonal and their discharge is very low

which leads to water scarcity in the village

LAND

Forest- 90.73 ha

Cultivable Land- 56.35 ha

WATER BODIES

Springs- 10

Streams- 3

River- 1

Challenges and Interventions

The Main challenge of the people at Mawkyrdep is the scarcity of water which had even

previously led to conflicts in the village. Villagers recall the struggles of having to stand in long ques only

to come empty handed. Some would even get up in the middle of the night and fetch water to avoid

conflicts.

Umdaita Dam.

Together with the implementation of the contour trenches and the Check Dam, the Umdaita Check Dam

has been a blessing to the community.

Contour trenches are ditches dug along a hillside in such a way that they follow a contour and run

perpendicular to the flow of water. The soil excavated from the ditch is used to form a berm on the

downhill edge of the ditch. Constructing CCT reduces the rate of runoff and thus results in increase

in percolation rate. Due to construction of CCT, increase in the ground water level has been noticed

considerably to the extend where the villagers of Mawkyrdep have requested for further interventions

to increase the water supply of all their water sources in their village.The villagers have dug upto

3000 Countour trenches having a huge impact on the Check Dam at Umdaita.

Another challenge of the people at Mawkyrdep is the loss of soil fertility. Agriculture is

the main occupation of the people where they mainly take up traditional approach of cultivation like

Jhum or the shifting cultivation and Terrace cultivation. Initiatives have been taken to address this

problem.

Vermicompost (vermi-compost, vermin culture) is the product of the decomposition process using

various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms, to create a mixture

of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. Vermicast (also called worm

castings, worm humus, worm manure, or worm faeces) is the end-product of the breakdown of organic

matter by earthworms. These castings have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a

higher saturation of nutrients than the organic materials before vermi composting

With reduction in Soil Productivity being one of the issues faced by Mawkyrdep Village, this

Activity has been included into the Community Natural Resource Management Plan. The VNRMC

of Mawkyrdep took another initiative to market the Vermi-Compost to other villages as well.

Packed Vermi-Compost

One of the biggest highlight of the Community Led Landscape Management Project at Mawkyrdep

Village is the decision taken by the Village Natural Resource Management Committee (VNRMC) of

Mawkyrdep Village to declare their Community forest (36.5 Ha) as a Protected forest. As on the 5th of

June 2020, the Community Forest of Mawkyrdep Village has been declared as a Protected Forest.

The forests in the village have a lot of medicinal plants which grow naturally in the wild. Mawkyrdep

Village lies in the Lower Hill Region of the Meghalaya Plateau and has a Sub Tropical type of climate.

They have a community forest which is rich in biodiversity and serves as a home to many indegineous

species like Erythrina arborescens (Diengsong) Eucalyptus (dieng Thyrpin), Morus australis (Soh

lyngdkhur), Myrica esculenta (Sohphie), Pinus kesiya (kseh khasi), Bamboo species, Michelia doltsopa

(Dieng rai), Diengsong, Sali, Soh ot, Diengsai, Colocasia, Wild turmeric, Houtynnia cordata, Sohphan,

Soh lynnar, Sohlait,Soh myntait, sohlieng, mango, plum, peach, bananas, teak and cherry Blossom.

Afforestation activities were also carried out under the Community Led Landscape Management

Project covering almost 5 Ha of land.

Project preparation Activities

Meeting with the headman of mawkyrdep Village, Mr. Jibansius Ramshon on the 30th of May

2019, for site verification.

Sensitization program was conducted at Mwkyrdep Village on the 10th of June 2019 at the

Community Hall of Mawkyrdep Village.

The Green Charter, the Village Grant Agreement and the Expression of Interest was signed on

the same day as the sensitization program

The Accountant of CLLMP Ri Bhoi District trained the Purchasing and Procurement

Committee of Bhoirymbong Block including members from Mawkydep Village on matters

relating to Accounts and Book Keeping on the 13th of September 2019

PRA exercise at Mawkyrdep Village took place on the 20thof March 2019. There were a total

of 129 villagers taking part in this exercise who contributed their time and knowledge to this

project.

With the completion of the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) Exercise, a training to help

the VNRMCs develop their Community Natural Resource Management Plan or CNRMP was

organized on the 13th of September 2019

The Village Natural Resource Management Committee of Mawkyrdep Village submitted their

Community Natural Resource Management Plan on the 30t of September 2019.

The Field Enginner of the CLLMP Team made an inspection to the proposed Intervention

sites of Mawkyrdep Village and prepared the Estimates, Work order and provided on the field

training for the same.

All activities have been facilitated by the CLLMP District Project Management Unit Nongpoh. through

a variety of planning, capacity building, and on-the-ground interventions to promote the conservation,

sustainable use of natural resources, social inclusion and community mobilisation; building traditional

knowledge and learning, mapping of natural resources management; strengthening the community

institutions and creating linkage with financial institutions and community organizations.

The Community Led Landscape Management Project period is from 2018-2023 for a period of five years

and is being implement across 30 villages in Ri Bhoi District and 400 villages across the State of

Meghalaya. Project activities at Mawkyrdep Village and other CLLMP villages are still in Progress.

(A Detailed Report of Mawkyrdep Village can be downloaded from the CLLMP website)

Pictorial Representation of the NRM activities at Mawkyrdep Village.

Report Prepared by

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT, RI BHOI DISTRICT

MEGHALAYA BASIN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY