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The URMUL TRUST has grown and developed into an integrated
rural development project, with health care being an important
component of the diverse development package. Lunkaransar
, Bajju and Phalodi belong to the district of Bikaner in
Rajasthan, having one of the toughest climates. These areas
primarily constitute the project region of the URMUL (Uttari
Rajasthan Milk Union Limited) Trust which was established
in 1984 by farmer members of the cooperatives.
An URMUL – The Uttari Rajasthan Milk Union limited
grew from (200 litres/day collected in 1984 to 1,50,000
liters /day in 1972) besides this, a variety of other
services were added on such as mobile veterinary care
and the supply of balanced cattle feed.
The primary goals of URMUL are to strengthen the ability
of project communities to manage their primary education
needs, and to lead village communities towards self reliance
by giving them access to sustainable employment opportunities,
both traditional and non traditional.
Off Farm Activities
Income Generation Activities
The Trust, with the help
of National Institute of Design (NID) has chanced the product.
Blending wool of different colours, and then hand spinning
it, the resultant product is a live blended which can effectively
used as a raw material for dhurry (carpet) manufacture,
without need for any additional design input by the weaver.
The women are extensively engaged in spinning a kilo of
thick yarn everyday, earning as much as twenty five rupees
as against five rupees earlier.
By upgrading the traditional loom and introducing the Gramlakshmi
loom (a product developed by a khadi institution in Bassi,
near Jaipur ) the Trust has been able to quadruple productivity
and income.
Pida (stool) an rope manufacture (using keemp- a weed like
wild grass- fibre) constitutes an important income generation
activities. Using Keemp as a fibre is tedious and time consuming
process.
The Trust is working on an alternative appropriate technology
to reduce this processing time, and then dyeing the yarn
(called annkalo in the local dialect and using it as a raw
material for stool and charpais.
Investing in Fodder production and Storage
The main occupation of the people is animal husbandry. Bikaner has always been a fodder deficit district, leading import of fodder from Punjab Haryana, and large scale migration of animal as well.
Presently the Trust is working with seven village communities
to help them to develop a long term solution to the chronic,
fodder problem. In Sui, the Mahila Mandal has fenced off
25 hectare of land on which they will plant grass - a high
protein fodder that used to grow naturally in the area till
it was depleted by consistent overgrazing and deep tractor
ploughing.
In Dulchasar, Nathusar, Malkisar, Rambagh ,and Dhirera the
Trust has purchased large quantities of dry fodder which
have traditional preserved. The fodder was purchased just
after the harvest at lower rates and will be sold in the
month of April- May when the rate in the open market is
high on no profit and no loss basis. In spite of these preventive
activities in drought prone areas, the Trust provides funds
to village Sangathans that can purchase and distribute the
fodder on no profit and no loss basis.
Contact Address:
MR. Sanjoy Ghose
Programme Director
Urmul Trust
Lunkaransar 334603
Rajasthan
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