| What does "Gotong Royong" mean? |
"Gotong Royong" is a concept familiar to many parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Translated into English, it evokes the concepts of "reciprocity" and "mutual aid".
We use the term "Gotong Royong" to refer to the idea of doing things together and helping each other in the spirit of goodwill. |
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| Announcements |
Call for Contributions
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is publishing a new magazine called Development Asia, which will be devoted to the discussion of development issues relevant to the Asia and Pacific region. A section of this magazine called "First Person" will feature 600-800 word articles on successful, innovative development projects written by the people spearheading them.
The magazine is open to proposals to contribute to this section. If you are interested, send a brief description of your project to:
Bart W. Édes
Head, NGO & Civil Society Center
Regional and Sustainable Development Department
Asian Development Bank - Manila , Philippines bedes@adb.org
The editors will get back to you if your story fits their criteria, along with guidelines for writing the article. The magazine has a tight production schedule and the editors would need the draft of the article in about two weeks, along with corresponding photos.
New FAO Publication
"Approaches to Linking Producers to Markets - A review of experiences to date"
Shepherd, A. W.; FAO, Rome (Italy), 2007, English, 80 p.
The paper deals with problems faced by farmers in maintaining linkages with the market as well as issues involved in sustaining and scaling up linkage activities. The paper also considers the enabling environment that governments must provide if linking farmers to markets is to prove successful.
A check-list of issues to address when planning market linkages is provided as an annex.
Download in pdf (1.2mb) at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/ fao/010/a1123e/ a1123e.pdf
Hard copies can be obtained by writing to AGS-Registry@fao.org |
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| Dear Maricel, |
Welcome to ANGOC Gotong Royong, the e-newsletter of the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC).
This issue contains updates from four ANGOC members: AIRD, BINA DESA, SARRA, and Gandhi Peace Foundation. It also features a retrospective on Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired the philosophy and movement called "Satyagraha," which celebrated its centenary in November last year.
We welcome your feedback on any of the articles that appear here. We also invite you to send updates on the socio-political situation in your country, as well as developments in agrarian reform, sustainable agriculture, and participatory governance, among others.
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AIRD
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AIRD puts up own farmers' center
In June 2006 AIRD established a Raitha Kendra, or Farmers' Interaction Center, in Doddamaralawadi, in the town of Kanakapura, in Karnataka, India. Raitha Kendras serve as resource centers for information on crops, irrigation, cultivation practices, technologies and markets. The state government usually puts up these centers, but because of the government's broad based approach, the centers are frequently unable to respond to local needs and problems.
AIRD's Raitha Kendra already has 120 farmer members. These have participated in AIRD organized training programs on crop maintenance, soil testing, pest and disease control, animal healthcare, organic farming, and horiticulture. In partnership with the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore, AIRD has also conducted Front Line Demonstrations (FLDs) in 32 villages, benefitting 52 farmers. Various plant and crop cultivars, including ragi and ground nut, were also distributed by AIRD. |
BINA DESA
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Education and SA top BINA DESA programs in 2006
Education figured prominently among the programs implemented by BINA DESA in 2006.
In the first half of 2006, BINA DESA conducted its Education for Marginal People (PKM) training for some 100 participants. The PKM seeks to develop critical awareness among the participants and to promote the development of self-supervised organizations.
BINA DESA held 10 Education for Rural Community Organizers (P2KM) sessions for a total of 309 beneficiaries, both men and women. Meanwhile 89 beneficiaries took part in three sessions of Bina Desa's Education for Strengthening Local Peasant/Fisherfolk Organizations.
A Leadership education session held in February 2006 produced recommendations to amend Indonesia's agrarian reform law, and to reject the Draft Law on Security, among others.
BINA DESA facilitated the holding of three sessions of the Gender Education, Globalization and Women Capacity Strengthening program. Five hundred participants took part in the sessions.
Meanwhile, BINA DESA's activities related to Sustainable Agriculture focused on the development of demonstration plots in Banjarnegara, Central Java, and in Caringin, Bogor, West Java. The Banjarnegara station consists of 900 square meters, which are divided into two sections: one for growing paddy; and the other, for intercropping vegetables, herbs, and local food plants. Work at the Banjarnegara station has so far shown that (1) pests and paddy fungi could be controlled by using local materials; and (2) the cultivation of pest-chasing and nitrogen-binding plants is very effective in growing multiple crops; among others.
The Cinagara Station on the other hand is concentrating on land management and improvement of irrigation. Twenty-two kinds of local variety vegetables and paddy are being cultivated at this station. BINA DESA has been working for a number of years to develop the Cinagara Station as a pilot organic farming location, where a local leafy vegetable, long bean, corn and paddy are grown.
At the same time, BINA DESA conducted education and training programs on sustainable agriculture to complement its work on the demonstration plots. |
SARRA
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Farmers take lead in SARRA's eco-agri promotion
SARRA's "lead farmers" have been actively promoting natural farming systems (NFS) through their participation in activities organized at the central demonstration farm in Pulicherla village, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The farmers took part in the preparation of fermented plant juices and in the grafting of cheeku fruit plants. The demonstration farm showcases a central nursery program, from which seedlings are distributed to beneficiaries for replanting.
Following their work on the demonstration farm, the lead farmers would apply NFS technologies in their own farms, particularly in vegetable production.
In 2008 SARRA plans to launch pilot programs on eco-agriculture in Orissa, Bihar and Rajasthan. Five hundred lead farmers would be deployed by SARRA in different parts of the country to further promote eco-agriculture.
In partnership with ANGOC, SARRA is preparing to hold within the year two major regional training programs on eco-agriculture initiatives to enable development practitioners to participate more effectively in advancing the agenda of sustainable agriculture. |
| Gandhi Peace Foundation |
GPF co-sponsors Satyagraha centenary
An international conference to mark one hundred years of the "Satyagraha" movement was held on 13-19 November 2007. The first part of the conference was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, while the second part took place in the village of Bithiharwa, in Bihar. Bithiharwa is the place where Mahatma Gandhi, who coined the term "satyagraha," lived with his wife Kasturba for six months.
"Satyagraha" is the term used to refer to Gandhi's movement and philosophy of non-violent resistance. It combines the principles of truth (satya) and firmness (agraha), which, when put together, mean "the force that is born of Truth".
The conference, whose theme was "Globalization of the Gandhian Way: Sociology, Politics and Science of Satyagraha," put forward the argument that in order to address the societal ills wrought by globalization, a holistic world view, which would synthesize the positive aspects of the experiments and experiences of the past, is needed. Satyagraha could contribute towards the reconstruction of such a world view.
In effect, the conference participants urged that Gandhi's Satyagraha be globalized. |
| FEATURE: Remembering Gandhi |
 "Satyagraha," which refers to the philosophy and movement of non-violent resistance, was Mahatma Gandhi's "gift to mankind", said the Indian freedom fighter Ram Manohar Lohia.
Indeed, Gandhi not only coined the term "satyagraha"; he embodied its essence. Thus, on the occasion of Satyagraha's centenary, we choose to honor the man who inspired this movement by remembering his wisdom, encapsulated here in quotes from his letters, and in advice given freely to friends and comrades.
On how he coined the term "Satyagraha":
"None of us knew what name to give our movement. I [had] then used the term "passive resistance" in describing it...As the struggle advanced, the phrase "passive resistance" gave rise to confusion and it appeared shameful to permit this great struggle to be known only by an English name. A small prize was therefore announced in Indian Opinion to be awarded to the reader who invented the best designation for our struggle. One of the competitors suggested the word "sadagraha," meaning "firmness in a good cause". I liked the word, but it did not fully represent the whole idea I wished it to connote. I therefore corrected it to "Satyagraha". Truth (satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) engenders and therefore serves as a synonym for force. I thus began to call the Indian movement Satyagraha, that is to say, the Force that is born of Truth and Love..."
On the ethics of economics:
"I must confess that I do not draw any distinction between economics and ethics. Economics that hurt the moral well-being of an individual or a nation are immoral and therefore sinful. Thus the economics that permit one country to prey upon another are immoral."
On women as leading proponents of non-violence:
"Women are more fitted than men to make exploration and to take bolder action in nonviolence...There is no occasion for women to consider themselves subordinate or inferior to men...Women are the companion of men, gifted with equal mental capacity...if by strength is meant moral power, then women are immeasurably men's superior...If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with women..."
On religion:
"Religion which takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them, is no religion."
On his ideal society:
"While I admire modern science, I find that it is the old looked it in the true light of modern science which should be reclothed and refashioned aright. You must not imagine that I am envisaging our village life as it is today. The village of my dreams is still in my mind. After all every man lives in the world of his dreams. My ideal village will contain intelligent human beings. They will not live in dirt and darkness as animals. Men and women will be free and able to hold their own against anyone in the world. There will be neither plague nor cholera nor small pox; no one will be idle, no one will wallow in luxury. Everyone will have to contribute his quota of manual labor. I do not want to draw a large scale picture in detail...For me, it is material to obtain the real article and the rest will fit into the picture afterwards. If I let go the real thing, all else goes."
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ANGOC Gotong Royong
