Transforming Wasteland into a Productive Asset

Pilid village, which is located in the Ichagarh block of Seraikela-Kharsawan district, faced significant challenges due to a large expanse of wasteland spanning 56 hectares. This barren land with limited agricultural potential, contributed little to the livelihoods of the local farmers, many of whom struggled with economic hardships. The community primarily depended on subsistence farming and seasonal labour, which provided meagre returns.

Recognizing the untapped potential of the wasteland, a collaborative effort was initiated by TRCSC, along with the local authorities, agricultural experts, and community members. The goal was to transform the barren land into a productive asset through the plantation of cashew trees, a crop well-suited to the region's soil and climatic conditions.......

Self-Changing Realization

Kundiamarcha is a small village in Maranghatu Panchayat of Kuchai block in Seraikela-Kharsawan district in Jharkhand. The village is inhabited by mostly marginal farmers belong to Ho tribal community. Poverty and lack of basic education is very common to these families. Radheshyam Gagrai, a 17-year-old boy, who after completing his matriculation in 2024, became school dropout along with number of children in the village. In the same year, a program titled SWAYAM was initiated in the block by TRCSC with focus on child protection and empowerment. As a part of this initiative, Child Resource Centres (CRC) were established in all villages in the Panchayat and children’s groups were formed. To mentor the children, besides the CRC Facilitators, Peer Educators were selected and trained in different child protection and development issues. Radheshyam became one of them. After going through different trainings, he realized that being a school dropout himself, as Peer Educator of his village, it is not possible for him to encourage other children who are not going to school regularly or dropped out, to attend regular classes or to be re-enrolled. So, he decided to become a role model and took admission in class – XI in the 2025-26 academic session in +2 Government High School, Kuchai. Now, he not only goes school regularly but became School Monitor, and proactively inspires others to continue their school education, and helps SWAYAM team and his children’s group to discuss and raise child protection and development issues in community forums.