Next time you are looking around for somebody to pluck coconuts, worry not. Very soon, women trained in plucking coconuts would be just a phone call away. Aiding them will be a gadget specially designed to navigate one’s way up a coconut palm.
As part of Mahila Kisan Sasakthikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), a scheme sponsored by the Centre, around 536 selected women aged between 18 and 50 years were trained in climbing coconut trees in Ernakulam district. Women who had worked for at least 40 days, under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), were given preference.
For women
“It would be an advantage if 40% of the trained women turn up for work as it will compensate for the shortage of men who do the same work,” explains KG Thilakan, project director, Poverty Alleviation Unit (PAU), and district head of the project. The gadget is designed for climbing coconut trees only, it cannot be used on other trees with branches.
The MKSP was launched in Palakkad, Thrissur, and Malappuram districts in 2011. But the main focus was on training them in paddy cultivation using gadgets. Women workers have been trained in planting paddy seeds, mowing, and harvesting using equipment such as mechanised tractors and tillers. When plans were afoot to implement the MKSP scheme coconut tree climbing was given the preference. “Since the majority of Ernakulam district falls in the urban network, with not too much paddy cultivation and there is a shortage of workers to climb coconut trees, we decided to train our focus in the area,” says Thilakan.
“Two days of theory classes were followed by five days of practical sessions at Wadakkanchery-based Green Army. There is no danger in climbing the trees as the safety belt is hooked to both the feet and the gadget. Even if one accidentally slips, the safety belt will protect the climber,” says Valsa George of Mookkannur in Angamaly Block Panchayat, who has undergone training. Green Army, under Kudumbashree, trains women workers in climbing trees. The workers who trained with the Green Army were trained again in their respective grama panchayat areas.
Insured
All the women who have undergone training were given an insurance cover too.
The project is implemented through Block Panchayats, under PAU, which will organise Labour Banks. At the grass roots, ward level, labour groups consisting of five women would be formed. These labour groups come under a labour team formed in the panchayat. The labour teams formed in grama panchayats come under the Labour Banks of Block Panchayats. The formation of Labour Banks is underway in the Block Panchayats, says PD Elisa, Assistant Project Officer (Women’s Welfare), Ernakulam.
Only after the formation of Labour Banks, will the gadgets be given to the workers. The gadgets will be with the Labour Bank. The fee for plucking coconuts is yet to be decided. The general perception is that the charges could be fixed locally. Which means the charges in Kochi city would not apply in areas such as Kothamangalam or Muvattupuzha.
The PAU initiative is a welcome step in tackling the shortage of traditional coconut-fellers as also empowering women find self-employment. The 14 Block Panchayats in the district will soon have Labour Banks consisting of trained women capable of climbing coconut trees with gadgets.
