About Vayalagam Mutual Movement

Vayalagam Mutual Movement (VMM)is a farmer collective working on water conservation and agriculture development across six states in India. Launched with 25000 farmers in the year 2002, the movement has reached over 4.2 lakhs poor farmers as on December 2022. VMM has a unique architecture and engineered to facilitate community to handle development works along with various stakeholders. It is spear headed by a group of leaders drawn from the tank farmer’s federation at district level. VMM works towards empowerment of marginal and small farmers, promoting self-governance, conservation of water bodies, creating farmer friendly policy environment and agriculture development. Being a farmer based movement, it represents the voices of marginal and small farmers at National and International level.

The Background

The southern states of India are blessed with around 1.5 lakh water bodies, which serve as a lifeline of livelihood of farming communities. Earlier, these water bodies were maintained under Kudimaramathu system, under which village communities participated in renovation and creation of water bodies. The centralization ownership under the British rule resulted in alienation the local community. Due to poor maintenance and absence of local management, many of the water bodies are in pathetic condition. Post-independence the government maintained the status-quo. DHAN Foundation launched the Vayalagam Tank-fed Agriculture Development Programme in the year 1992 to regenerate community management and improve the conditions of water bodies. Realizing the need for a movement to bring policy changes and to involve community into direct action, DHAN Foundation facilitated the promotion of Vayalaga Mutual Movement in the year 2002. The VMM has completed Twenty years and have stepped into the 21st year.

Vayalaga Mutual Movement (hereinafter called the Trust VMM) is an irrevocable public charitable trust deemed to have been established on 2nd March’2011. VMM will be a membership based body working for the benefit of its members on principles of mutuality. Vayalagams are having a membership of fifteen to hundred farmers who getting benefit from the water bodies.

Purpose of the Vayalagam Movement

• Creating awareness among the people about our traditional water resources like Ponds, River, Rainwater harvesting and other water management.
• Build the people institution with sustain and empowerment.
• Promote FPO and business activities for livelihood serving to all farmers.

Aims and Objectives of the Vayalagam Mutual Movement:

• To provide hand holding support to member organization whenever needed.
• To empower constantly the member organization by improving knowledge, attitude and skill on various development spheres.
• Guide the Member organization for poverty reduction, livelihood, and health and education initiatives, to improve the status and living conditions of poor people.
• Evolve guidelines and monitoring system for efficient functioning of member organizations and to make them attain self sustainability.
• To help member organization in raising resources from Government, Bankers, funding agencies.
• To support the income generating activities to the member through Vayalagam by the required services to their business.
• To promote PPG and PMG for livelihood promotion and involved in activities for the benefits of its members.
• To develop the leadership skills among the poor people for efficient management of people Organisation through training.
• To collaborate with central and state governments and participate in all meetings for development of needs of people Organisation /Federations.
• Resource centre for member orgranisation to carry out programmes for improving the life of poor.

Core Components of VMM

Vayalagam Dhanam

Tank Programme promotes people organizations like Cascade, Vayalagams and AFGs Federations and FPOs. Once these organisations achieves growth, they support promoting Vayalagam, which is called as Vayalagam Dhanam.

Vayalagam Kanikkai

Our farmers are treating every vayalagam as temple. So, every meeting at Vayalagam, Cascade and Federation level we keep Hundi and collect money for savings. This amount finally use for some necessity and development purpose.

Vayalagam Vidhya Dhanam

Vayalagam members are donate money through their vayalagam or AFGs to School children’s in the form of Notebooks, stationary or other kinds. And also in the form of cashless service to School childrens like Water awareness programme and Rainwater harvesting work to School.

Vayalagam Kumbaabhisekam

The Kumbaabhisekam is celebrated by the members of Vayalagam once in five years or ten years like temple. In this celebration, members are gathering neary by bunds/sluices. Aadi 18th also celebrating the pooja in the places water tanks and Ooranis treated as temple. By this, members are realized the importance of water bodies to their daily life.

Vayalagam Award

Every year one farmer is identified and awarded with Rs. 25000/- for his achievement in their agriculture activities. Our Movement committee leaders are spot out top five best farmers who performed well in every academic among five, we selected toper and appreciate his activities and giving cash prize of Rs.25000/-. The prime objective is to sustain the livelihood through agriculture activities.

Vayalagam Celebrations

Vayalagam farmers are celebrating the national and international level events regarding our agriculture related things. For this, people are gathering in one place and sharing their experiences and new initiatives.

Vayalaga Jothi

The Vayalagam Jothi fund is collected from members of vayalagam to promote new vayalagams, cascades, federations etc.,

Shramadhan

Shiramadhan - kind of voluentering physical works by the village community to remove the weeds or jungles occupied in such important places and common water bodies like tanks and village ponds without expecting labour cost (wages)” “Shiramadhan” work is used to make proper and clean bunds for the village ponds, helpful to access of quality water and also regular maintanance of common water bodies periodically.

Vayalaga pongal

Vayalaga pongal celeberating at Village level which is nearby tank. This event will create uniquness and mutuality among the farmers as well as beneficiaries. All are equal in eyes of God. (Anaivarum samam) Some of the villages pongal celebration with shramadhan process. World environment day, world water day, Vayalagam birthdays and Movement day celebrations are having Pongal.

Vayalaga Dhaniyam

After crop harvesting, some portion donate by farmers to association who is benefited by our intervention. So, they are realise our nature of work and helping to others. And also they are giving some portion of cultivated grains to poverty people.

Self Regulation at people institution

It is very much needed for our people institution and this practice is having the following principles.

• Promote Self-regulation at people’s organizations.
• Promotion of people institutions with the prime focus on self-help, mutuality and sustainability.
• Value collaboration with mainstream financial and development institutions and promote direct linkages between community organizations and mainstream institutions.
• Promotion of sustainable nested institutions and graduate them as civic institutions.
• Working with poor to address poverty and development of women.
• Action of scaling-up
• Self management of systems and financial part requirements
• For operational of institutions needs optimum size of leaders
• Reaching the size of Cascades, Vayalagams and AFGs in a stipulated time frame
• Optimum size of membership in nested institution and preparing members and institutions to meet their costs within short period
• Efficient system for managing costs (Cost control, cost reduction and cost coverage)
• Cost coverage based on contextual, age and size.