From Our Correspondent
NONGPOH, June 4: There was a time when Mawkyrdep, a village under Raid Madan Kyrdem of Bhoirymbong C&RD Block in Ri-Bhoi, was reeling under the lack of potable water and sustainable livelihood.
Thanks to the intervention of the Community Led Landscape Management Project (CLLMP) in 2019, the same village has now metamorphosed into an exemplar and continues to grow at a fast pace in all spheres of development, keeping in mind the importance of conserving and safeguarding the environment.
The intervention of the CLLMP has not only changed the perspective of the villagers but has also helped them understand better about the environment and sustainable livelihood through various activities.
Few of the activities that the village has taken up under the CLLMP include contour trenches, nursery for variety of local endangered trees, fruits, medicinal plants and orchids, vermicompost, afforestation, agro-forestry, horticulture, bio-fencing, apiculture, check dam for fish sanctuary, and an office built with waste plastic bottles.
These activities have helped the community generate an income of over Rs two lakh within a short span of time.
A total of 153 households and 307 women from the village are known to have been benefited through these activities.
The success of this intervention by the CLLMP can be attributed to the unified cooperation of the village leaders, its residents and also the dedicated approach of the officials and staff of the Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA) from Ri-Bhoi as well as from the state.
Cheerily Kharbikhiew, a bookkeeper of the Village Natural Resource Management Committee (VNRMC), explained about the afforestation project being implemented in the protected community forest of the village.
She said the idea is to conserve the endangered fruit species and other trees as well.
Our main focus of planting these endangered trees and fruits is to conserve for our future generations as well as to earn sustainable livelihood out of it. She also informed that the protected community forest was being looked after by the whole community.
Village Community Facilitator Pynshai Suphai, on the other hand, informed how the village was bedevilled by water scarcity in the past.
Suphai said that before the intervention of CLLMP, the village did not have enough water supply as the source could discharge only four to five litres of water per minute.
However, after the intervention of the CLLMP, a check dam was constructed and now the village has enough water supply for the whole year, which is indeed a blessing to the people of the village, Suphai added.
Recharge, bench and contour trenches in the protected community forest, where several types of trees and fruits are being planted, also came up with the funding received from the CLLMP.
Another innovative project the village has completed through the intervention of CLLMP is the construction of the VNRMC office, known as operation house, with waste plastic and plastic bottles.
Mawkyrdep headman, Jubansius Ramshon, informed that the operation house of the VNRMC was constructed at a total cost of Rs. 2.24 lakh out of which Rs. 1 lakh was contributed by the village community.
He also informed that the project, which started in August 2021, was completed within three months.
Ramshon revealed that the idea behind constructing such an office was conceived when officials of the MBMA led by Vanshan Buhphang, District Project Manager of CLLMP, Ri Bhoi DPMU, and others visited the village and sensitised them on the need to protect and conserve the environment as well to implement the 3R principle of managing waste products. The 3R stands for reduce, reuse and recycle.
Through these success stories of Mawkyrdep village, Assistant Manager of the State Project Management Unit of MBMA, Andre Kongri, has urged upon other villages, who are also facing similar issues, to come forward and avail the projects under the CLLMP.