India 800 Projects in the Tribal belt Sundabans

As an advisor to India 800 Foundation Anil Bhanot OBE was privileged to be invited to visit their projects in the Sundabans forest area near Kolkata for the very poor tribal people. India 800 is opening a school there for the children and Dr Krishna Sarda the CEO of India 800 and Paul Mathurin from the Ethnic Minority Foundation in UK, EMF, opened the plaque on the new site for the school.

India 800 is helping the tribals in health care, eye operations and women’s hygiene products, making them affordable by new production techniques.

Dr Krishna Sarda then took the delegation to the islands where the tribal people live to show us how India 800 is helping them to earn a living from sustainable farming. For instance the crop they used to cultivate was of a poor quality but by helping them with better techniques and the right organic seed they are able to make a profit. It is the women here in fact who do the farming. The men go fishing which is their staple diet. Recently one of the fishermen was killed by a tiger on one of the islands – surviving at the sharp edge of life.

Anil Bhanot  –  10 October 2010

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