Poppy John Xavier, team coordinator in Kudumban, India

Every human being should have access to his or her basic rights. If there is collective management, everyone can access their rights and improve their livelihood. Collective management would contribute to creating a fairer society.

Kudumbam set up its community plantation in 1990. In each village, there are community wastelands. We got the young people in the village involved in mapping community wastelands and contacting the existing government officials to assert rights to acquiring these wastelands. After they were acquired, water harvesting structures, like trenches, bunds and farm ponds, were created and traditional drought-tolerant species were identified and planted on this community land.

Managing the community plantation and sharing the benefits from it, like fruits and wild herbs, is an example of the collective management system in our target area.

We have a children’s home called Vidivelli. These children come from single-parent families. We have formed a committee to manage the children’s home.  The management committee consists of three parents, three members of staff and three students. This management committee meets once every three months to discuss the children’s education, food, health and fund requirements. The children have the right to share their views and expectations at the committee. We strongly believe collective management systems are the only solution to achieving our fundamental rights.