Leadership in the right direction, assertion and tremendous empathy can pave way for transformation. This has been achieved by Anshu Pragyan Das, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Ecotourism.
Muduligadia, a small village in Nayagarh district of Odisha consisted of about 35 households. The residents of the village had for years engaged in gathering forest resources like honey and timber. They used firewood for cooking and drew water from the Mahanadi river.
Without proper awareness about the environment and hygiene, the villagers used to bathe and wash in the river, and use the same river water for drinking purposes. Open defecation was rampant, often leading to disease breakouts in the village.
With an intent to improve the lives of these households, Officer Das, erstwhile formal Divisional Forest Officer of Mahanadi Wildlife division and her team, lead the villagers to their journey of transformation. Now, since 2019, Muduligadia is the first village in Odisha to attain self-sustainability with zero-waste and 100% eco-friendly initiatives of livelihood. The re-modelling of the village into an eco-village was done exclusively by the community members under leadership and mentorship of Officer Das and team.
Road to Change
Muduligadia falls in the buffer zone of Satkosia Tiger Reserve. Since 2016, the small villages around the Satkosia Tiger Reserve had been integrated into a Community Managed Nature Tourism programme. As a part of this project, around 45 ecotourism destinations were developed in the forested area, which was exclusively managed by the local villagers. 80% of the amount generated from this is returned to the villagers in the form of profit, and 10% is utilised in the further development of villages. It was the utilisation of these funds that facilitated the transformation of the village.
The creation of the eco-village was life-altering for the villagers since they had to unlearn their traditional way of things and adopt sustainable alternatives. However, the villagers determined to make a change, adopted the new order actively.
The villagers were made to take up LPG gas which not only contributed to better health and improved standard of living but also brought down air pollution significantly. Through active awareness and education, the community was persuaded to set up toilets in their houses and turned their village Open Defecation Free in 2019. Some community toilets were also set up for further convenience. Water connectivity was been established in all the homes, thus negating their dependence and exploitation of the riverine water.
Previously, household garbage used to be thrown astray at the roadsides or even into the Mahanadi river, leading to abject pollution. Now, the villagers themselves have decided on a “No-Litter” policy and installed several common public dustbins along the village roads. Household garbage is deposited every day in these community dustbins from where recycling is also done. The villagers have also pledged to make their village 100% plastic-free.
The project has also pushed them towards organic farming. Earlier, agriculture was never of significant importance in Muduligadia, though some families occasionally cultivated seasonal vegetables and grains — resorting to conventional chemical farming for the lack of better understanding. Presently, the village practises organic farming using cow dung manure.
The project has also brought about some economic benefit to the villagers. The eco-village has attracted a lot of tourists to the village generating a revenue of more than Rs 1 crore in each of 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years. This has upgraded household incomes of each of the families in Muduligadia with each household earning on an average Rs. 15,000 per month.
