Stones Are Valuable Too
A story about innovation and God’s provision
Jabra Pahariya hails from the Bada Gutipada village, which is situated in the Pakur District in the eastern state of Jharkhand, India.
Jabra owned four acres of upland fields that were stony and full of boulders, considered barren and not fit for farming. Besides being sloping and rocky, intense soil erosion degraded the quality of the land and rendered it fallow.
With the support of Tearfund Canada and CFGB, EFICOR, our partner in India, implemented a food security project in the rocky hills for the marginalized Malto ethnic community. Since some of the farmers in the village owned barren land, the project planned to help them control soil erosion and convert their farms into cultivable land.
After attending awareness meetings on natural resource management, conservation agriculture, and land treatment, Jabra was convinced that his land could be transformed into a fertile, cultivable farmland. During the stone bunding work, he contributed by clearing away unwanted bushes. He was amazed to see the change that the land had undergone on the first day alone!
Motivated by the transformation, he and his wife, Baidi, continued to help in the stone bunding work along with the other labourers. Finally, they witnessed the full transformation of their undulating land.
Now, they are planning to grow maize and pigeon peas in the same plot for the first time during the coming monsoon. Following the advice given to them during the conservation agriculture training, and noticing the benefits of stone bunding on their land, the couple is careful not to plough the land too deep for sowing seeds.
The support of donors like you has helped change Jabra and Baidi’s lives!
