The Thar Desert region (Tharparkar) of Pakistan, close to the border
with India, is affected by drought most years. Periodically, droughts
are severe and large numbers of poor families must migrate to the canal
fed irrigation areas to the west of Tharparkar until the end of the
dry season. Measured by a range of social indicators, this region is
one of the poorest in Southeast Asia.
The district has an area of 20,000 sq km and a population of approximately
1,000,000. The annual population growth rate is 3.13%. This is one of
the highest in Pakistan. The population is estimated to double in the
next 22 years. The Thar Desert is one of the most densely populated
deserts in the world.
Water shortages
are an annual problem for poor families. Water from deep communal bore-wells
is expensive to pump and often brackish, and sometimes traditional shallow
wells dry up altogether, during the dry seasons. This problem has been
alleviated to some extent through the construction of large numbers
of below ground cisterns (cisterns) in family compounds whose urn shape
facilitates minimal use of materials.
This paper describes this simple construction method and other development
activities intended to improve the living standards and quality of life
of 1,200 families over the period 2004 to 2008.
The very word desert
suggests a hostile environment for human habitation and paints a picture
of its inhabitants essentially following a traditional nomadic lifestyle.
The people of Tharparkar today, however, choose to live an essentially
settled existence. Some have found that fruit and fodder trees will
grow with careful watering which many families use to supplement their
main income from the rearing of livestock.
Composition and activities of the community
Tharparkar has a 95% rural and 5% urban, population. Half the total
are under 15 years of age and only 4% are over the age of 65 (1999 census).
The livelihood of 70% of the people is derived from livestock rearing
and sale and 80% are engaged in subsistence agriculture during the monsoon
months. About a third of households also earn their living by doing
handicraft work or as migratory workers outside of Thar. About 5% are
engaged in trade and business - they are the richest people who also
lend to the peasant and labour community.
Only 30% of the households own land and the rest work as share croppers
for landowners. The district has one of the largest animal populations
in Sindh including nearly three million goats and sheep and half a million
cattle, 80% of which are owned by the richest 5% of households. Large
numbers of peasants also survive as share herders of the livestock owners.
Coping with drought
Drought is a frequent threat and one of the major causes of poverty
and deprivation. The mean annual rainfall of Tharparkar is 200 to 300
mm, increasing from NW to SE, the erratic rainfall occuring in the monsoon
months of June to September with continuous droughts experienced for
up to four years. Potential evaporation exceeds 1,900 mm per year. During
severe droughts the problems of the poor are compounded by debt repayments
on loans taken out to buy food for themselves and fodder for their animals.
Shop keepers and money lenders will often take advantage of this coping
strategy and charge interest rates 10 times more than normal bank rates.
How do people
cope in such circumstances?
Other alternative coping strategies include:
§ reliance on wild food
§ children leave school to work as labourers to help support their
families
§ rationing of food and changes to less nutritious diets
§ credit is taken out to buy seed for future crops
§ livestock is sold at throw away prices to meet basic food requirements
Other causes of poverty
Other causes of poverty include unemployment, the caste system (among
the 50% Hindu community) and cultural beliefs, lack of education and
external financial and trading factors which impact on Pakistan as a
whole (for example, the country's debt burden). Women are placed at
a particular disadvantage because of these factors. Women will periodically
have to walk up to 5 km to fetch water when the water in nearby wells
runs out or turns brackish.
Only 15% of the men and 2% of women in the district are literate. Women
are not generally consulted or involved in decision making processes
affecting the community. There is a high incidence of unhealthy habits
such as drinking alcohol, smoking and chewing tobacco.
Poor people lack power and influence and the district has a low priority
in government poverty intervention measures and education facilities.
More than 80% of the people live below the poverty line. The infant
mortality rate is 100 per 1,000 live births and the maternal mortality
is 500 per 100,000. These are among the highest in Pakistan.
Primary and secondary school enrolments are among the lowest in Pakistan
as is the female to male literacy ratio. Tharparkar is ranked 14 out
of the 16 Sindh districts in a system of indexes measuring multiple
deprivation.
Consultation
and identification of needs
The aim of the project described in this paper was to improve the lives
of some of the poorest people within a budget constraint of £90,000
spread over four years. The project, based on earlier projects pioneered
in the area over the past five years, which started in June 2004.
This resulted from a partnership between a UK registered charity and
a non-government organisation based in the project area. The project
is being financed by the Big Lottery Fund.
Many of the statistics above were obtained from government and local
government sources but how did the potential beneficiaries perceive
their needs?
In order to answer this question, the local partner organisation entered
into a consultation process with local communities, having particular
regard to the needs of
women. This consultation process had in fact been taking place over
a period of many years and had led to a development model which was
named 'A Poverty Reduction Model'. This is a non-cash model developed
on the concept 'build on what people have'. This model has been tried
and tested and 90% of the community feels that this is the model that
will make huge differences to the lives of poor and otherwise disadvantaged
communities in the region. The project is an extension of a model which
has already been tried and tested successfully in the past. It forms
part of a long term aim to not only provide for short term needs, but
also empower people to press for their rights in both a cultural and
political context. Under this model a poor household is selected by
the community using pre-agreed poverty criteria. After the poor household
is selected it is supported by providing:
§ Six she goats (for milk and the sale of the he goat offspring
for income)
§ 50 fodder trees to support livestock (which are planted and protected
by the beneficiary family)
§ 50 grafted fruit trees (bair trees for the income from the sale
of fruits after 2-3 years)
§ A rainwater harvesting cistern (cistern) to store clean rainwater
for drinking
§ A fuel efficient and smokeless stove (to reduce the use of fuelwood
and protect women's eyes from smoke)
§ Materials to produce embroidery for sale
The long term empowerment aim requires some care, sensitivity and patience
and regular contacts with stakeholders including government departments,
landowners and other organisations working in the region.
In addition to the consultations with the community, meetings were also
conducted with the District Health Officer, District Education Officer
and the District Co-ordination Officer all of whom gave advice and statistical
information which informed the project.
The project plan and activities
After the consultation process, and having regard to budget constraints,
a decision was made to target 1,200 of the poorest families living in
10 villages and help each of those villages establish their own organisations
for administering activities and training. The following activities,
over a period of four years, are being undertaken:
§ The establishment of 10 Village Development Organisations and
project management training for a male and female organiser plus a field
supervisor, in each village
§ The provision of a rainwater harvesting cistern, fuel efficient
stove, and embroidery material for each of 1,200 families
§ The supply of 30,000 fruit (bair grafted) trees and 30,000 fodder
trees
§ The training of 20 school teachers in civil and political rights
§ A training workshop on civil and political rights for 600 school
children
§ 20 workshops for 2,100 participants from the 10 villages in civil
and political rights
§ Regular consultation meetings with local government representatives
and other stakeholders
The expected project
outcomes
The main outcomes expected from the project are:
§ Education - Children, especially girls, will gain access to formal
education and both parents and children will be made more aware of the
opportunities and benefits that education will bring for the whole of
society
§ Health - Poor families will gain improved health
§ Natural resources - Poor families will suffer less from environmental
shocks, especially drought
The water cisterns
