WOMEN AND FOREST NURSERIES IN GANESHPURA VILLAGE

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Abstract
The success of social forestry programmes in Gujarat raised demand for seedlings from 0.2 million in 1970 to 211.5 million in 1985. This stretched the limited personnel resources of the Forest Department, which therefore decided to decentralise seedling production by encouraging schools and farmers to establish nurseries. In 1986 a similar scheme was launched nationwide by the National Wastelands Development Board with a particular focus on disadvantaged members of society, who receive a small wage and also earn money when they sell the seedlings. This paper describes the experiences of six landless women from the village of Ganeshpura, Gujarat, who joined the scheme. Each raised 25,000 seedlings during 1986–87 and received a net wage of Rs. 5,000 and an additional Rs. 2,392 from the sale of seedlings. The nursery scheme has given the landless women a new self- confidence and has also improved the standards of living of their families. Privatising seedling production frees Forestry Department staff for more highly skilled jobs, allows the raising of seedlings of species which local people want rather than which the Forest Department selects, and since there are more nurseries people now have a shorter distance to travel to their nearest nursery than before.

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