TIST
September 2005
CHEZHUMAI ©
TIST – High Goal
TIST is in the process of obtaining the Host Country Approval from CDM Authority of India (Ministry of Environment & Forest) for running the TIST Project effectively in India. CDM is Clean Development Mechanism. This approval will enable TIST to help the Small Groups to sell the greenhouse gas credits created by their trees to buyers around the world and therefore making it possible for TIST to continue to make voucher payments for the Small Group's trees. TIST Officials have attending a high level meeting at the National CDM Authority Office (Ministry of Environment & Forest), Delhi, on 25th August 2005 with regard to the Host Country Approval.
TIST Officials have also called on the USAID at the US Embassy, Delhi, on 26th August 2005 to have fiscal support from USAID. USAID is United States Agency for International Development.
Adopt your neighboring village
The development goal of the TIST program is to empower and equip subsistence farmers to restore their natural environment, increase soil fertility, create jobs, strengthen the local community, and move from famine to surplus. In that way, TIST has developed few villages like, Chittoor, Kandoor, Marudham, Ulundhai and Mel Kodungalur, where there are Small Groups who have more than 10,000 trees belonging to them and getting minimum Rs.5,000 as voucher per quarter. By these developments, TIST is planning to form more Small Groups in the neighboring villages to Chittoor, Kandoor, Marudham, Ulundhai and Mel Kodungalur. With the help of the existing Small Groups it is simple job to activate the villagers. Every active village should adopt one of their neighboring villages. Like for example, Chittoor village can adopt Aandiseruvallur. The members of Chittoor village had enough land area to start the tree plant, but the members of Aandiseruvallur do not have much land area, the little land area what they have is uncultivated with full of Velikathan trees. Chittoor Small Groups can save 5-10% of their voucher payment, which can be utilized to cultivate the land area of Aandiseruvallur by removing Velikathan trees. Chittoor Small Groups should appoint one person as their village coordinator, who will be responsible for handling the cash and carrying out the needful to their adopted village.
If a Small Group has got 1000 mango trees, they will get their yield only during April – June. During the rest of the year they are left with no fruits. Suppose they had planted two more different species like Sapota and Gouva, and then the rest of the year will also be a happy period with continuous yield.
The main two reasons to have multiple species is:
1. There should be some trees always, which have full leaves in it, so that the process of burning the carbon is never-ending.
2. Continuous fruit yield will help you to be self-sustained.
Form Pond
Farm pond is yet other important activity for the areas where there is less rainfall. Have a well planned ridges and furrows in your field, so that, the water gets accumulated in one corner of your form in the pond. For one hectare, the dimensions of the farm pond should be 40 x 10 x 1.5 m. It can hold 600 m3 of rainwater when it is full. Water in the farm pond will be there for 30 to 40 days after last rain and can be utilized for pot watering twice using family labour to the trees. This pond, will not only hold, run off water but also act as silt setting pool and thus could retain 4 to 6 of eroded, nutrient enriched top soil of the land every year. The settled silt in the pond after drying can be removed and applied to the tree species as a source of organic nutrient. If the seasonal rainfall of the tract is wide spread, and if the stagnation of water in the pond is going to be more than 31/2 to 4 months, “kelithi or gendai”, a local fish can also be reared in the farm pond like the Chittoor lake (which is a common lake). If it is your own land, it will be your own. This would yield 30 to 40 kg of fish meat at the time of drying of the pond. An extra income of Rs.750 to 1,000 can be achieved through the sale of fish.
Balaji Small Group of Mel Kodungalur
Vermicomposting is an effective process of recycling farm residues like rice straw, wheat straw, sugarcane trash, groundnut husk, banana sheath, cotton stalks, turmeric leaves, coir waste, vegetable wastes, tree litters to enriched manure by earthworms and to increase humus content in the soil. It helps in enhancing the productivity through sustainability in agriculture. As already mentioned in our Chezhumai, March 2005, this Small Group follows the effective process of recycling the farm residues and allows the farmer’s friend, earthworm to do a great job in their field.
There are cotton, teak, agathi, and drumstick planted in a single grove. Apart from this multiple tree species grove, they have yet another grove with casuarinas trees. The seedlings are kept in the polythene bags for a long time period, so that, the seedlings grow to a height of 5-6 feet and gain enough strength to withstand the water shortage. Even while transplanting the seedlings, utmost care is taken, The seedlings are transplanted in between the food crops, so that, the available water is distributed both for trees and crops. Recently, they have transplanted cotton in between sugarcanes. Sugarcane is one-year crop; whatever water and nutrient go to sugarcane goes to the trees as well. By the time the sugarcane is harvested, the cotton trees will be grown to a good height. Over all, this small groups has16,600 trees in their grove.
Salsa Small Group of Mel Kodungalur
This Small Group started with more than 20,000 causarina trees during 2003. Again, during 2004 they started yet another nursery with more than 30,000 casurina seedlings, which they had transplanted during end of 2004. All in total, after this years peak summer, they have 13,500 two year and 13,550 one year old casuarinas trees. The members of this Small Group have planned to show at least 5,000 different species of trees in another couple of months to receive their next voucher payment. Unless they show the different species and sign the GhG Agreement, their voucher payment will not be released. This is not only for this group, it is mandatory for the entire Small Groups to enter into the GhG Agreement with TIST and to have at least 3 different species of trees in their groves.
Some time back this Small Group had earned a considerable amount by selling the trimmed branches of their casuarina trees. Trimming the side branches, helps the trees to grow tall and trimmed branches goes for good value, but at the same time, some amount of prudent act is required during trimming the branches. When the side branches are dense, the direct sun light does not fall on the ground and the naturally available nutrient, humus content, and the farmers friend earth worm does a great job for the trees growth. The members of this Small Group trimmed the side branches in the wrong season and due to which, during the hot season, direct sun light destroyed the naturally available nutrient and humus content in the grove. This in turn damaged several trees, at least 2,000 trees had become hopeless.
Trim the side branches of the casuarinas, but before that allow the trees to grow to a good height to withstand the heat and more importantly trimming should be done only between September to February, i.e, during wet weather.
