Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

AHADS project uplifts tribal people

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Eco Restoration Project that began in Attappady in Palakkad district in 1996 has helped rejuvenate quite a large number of dried-up water sources of the region, thereby improving the livelihood status of the tribal people domiciled there, according to a recent study of the project’s impact done by the State Government.

Enthused by the success, the Government has now decided to continue the initiatives under the project till 2010. In the beginning, the focus of the project was solely on eco-restoration measures such as forest and soil conservation in the barren hills of the region. The Attappady Hill Area Development Society (AHADS), which coordinated the project, had also encouraged the tribal people to take up simple ventures such as processing pulses and other products gathered by them from the forests for being marketed in the nearby towns.

Subsequently AHADS also concentrated on social activities among the tribal people, trying to wean them away from alcohol and the hold of ganja cultivators who exploited their labour. Houses are also being built for the tribal families now. According to project director V.K. Unniyal, the benefits of various initiatives under the project have already reached the families of 122 of the 187 tribal hamlets in the region. The Government has now decided to extend the activities under the project to the remaining hamlets also.

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