My Tryst with the Jenu Kuruba Tribe

It was sometime in March this year when our team proposed a visit to a remote village ahead of Mysore. We had funded a series of CSR projects in this village, and the intent was to go on-ground, meet the team who had executed these projects and see the impact they created.

Covid-19 had kept us from visiting many of these places over the past years, but now, it felt like the time was right. So, end of March, we packed our bags and started our journey towards Seegur Haadi – about 230 kms from Bangalore.

What started as a two-day trip ended up being one of the most memorable experiences of our lives. We came back richer and feeling more grateful than ever before. For we had the opportunity and privilege of transforming the lives of hundreds of people. Such was the impact of meeting the Jenu Kuruba Tribe – A Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) from the Nagarhole forest region of Karnataka.

The Jenu Kurubas originally are a tribal group from the Nilgiris and true to their name (Jenu means honey), their traditional occupation inside the forest was to collect honey and cultivate the forest. They consider the forest as their deity and worship it too.

However, several decades ago, they were shifted out to the forest fringes owing to conservation measures. Not knowing the ways of life outside the forest, these tribal groups remained vulnerable and lived in extreme poverty. Identifying the challenges these tribal groups face, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM), an NGO based out of Mysore has been working on their upliftment for several decades.?

When SVYM reached out to Trellix with a proposal to uplift these communities, we were both excited and humbled. Now, this project was complete, and we decided to pay the community a visit.

Our Journey to Sargur

We started from Mysore in the morning and reached Sargur Village. Here we met Dr. Dennis and his wonderful team from SVYM, and they shared anecdotes from their decades of working with these tribal groups.

We started with a visit to the SVYM Hospital in Sargur. We were amazed to meet doctors from some of the most elite hospitals in India (like PGI Chandigarh) who had left the comforts of the city and are working in this village, devoting their lives to the upliftment of these communities.

After the hospital, we stopped at the beautiful village of Kenchanahalli and visited the Village Community Center. Lunch was served to us, and we were humbled by the simplicity and love with which the locals greeted us. Not to miss, it was the most delicious lunch we had had in ages.

Our next stop was the tribal school, and our car passed by the serene landscape of the Bandipur forest. As we crossed the jungles and small hamlets, I wondered what school might have come up in such a remote village? After all, we were in the midst of a dense forest.?

The Tribal School by SVYM - An Oasis of Education

My thoughts were broken as we approached a big gate, and a little further, we saw the Tribal School run by SVYM. It's one of the most beautiful and well-thought-through schools I have ever seen. The school took me down the memory lane and I recalled my village school in Rajasthan. The well-planned school also reminded me of SECMOL school in Ladakh that was made famous with the movie 3 idiots, where kids had access to experimental and skill-based learning. Where books were not the only focus, but the key was to focus on a child’s overall development.?

Open and airy classrooms, skill centers, and sports grounds, this school was well on its way to nurturing a generation of tribal kids who otherwise had a tough life ahead of them. We also heard from the school Principal that a group of these village kids had aced a mountaineering expedition in the Himalayas!?

Seegur Hadi - Bringing Light into the Lives of the Jenu Kuruba

It was almost 5 p.m. by the time we left the school, and with the dusk setting in, it was time to go to Seegur Hadi – for the big inauguration for which we travelled all the way. It was almost completely dark when we were closing in on Seegur Hadi, and now, we could see the lights of the Kabini Dam on the horizon. Seegur Hadi is a small hamlet of about 70+ families, and they have been living in complete darkness until now. Trellix had funded a project to electrify the entire tribal village with Solar Power Plants.?

As our car stopped, I tried to look around and make sense of my surroundings. We were in the thick of the jungle now and in complete darkness. Our driver kept the car lights on so we could see where we were heading to. We had barely walked a few steps when we suddenly heard drumbeats and cheers. Several mobile flashlights switched on in a jiffy, and an entire village started cheering and dancing. Oh - what a sight it was. The villagers warmly welcomed us with bouquets and garlands made from forest flowers.?

As we entered the village, our eyes became more accustomed to the darkness, and I started noticing the houses. There was one main electricity pole outside the village, but none of the houses had any power.

We walked towards one of the houses to inaugurate the solar powered electricity, and I realized that?this was the moment these families had been waiting for their entire life. Light had graced the village of Seegur Hadi for the first time, and the villagers' joy knew no bounds. As we inaugurated several houses, the villagers continued to celebrate with drums and local music.

We also distributed school bags and water bottles to the 100+ kids in the hamlet. We spoke to the locals, and they told tales of hardships. Stories of kids studying in the dark, wild animal attacks, kerosene burning a hole in their pocket, no fan during summer months, and no way to charge their mobile phones. Things we take for granted daily are nothing less than a luxury here.?

Even if they had access to the govt. funded power, there was no way they could afford to pay the bills, change the bulbs or repair any broken wires. Most of the tribal families work as daily wagers and live on as little as Rs 150 a day.?

SYVM, our NGO partner on the ground, was well aware of these nuances. Hence, our funding also included maintenance of the panel for three years. In these three years, SVYM will collect a nominal amount of Rs 10 from each house for using this solar power. These 10 Rs accumulated over three years would help the villagers create a small fund and manage the cost of repairs from thereon. SVYM also trained two youths from the village to look after the plant, thereby giving employment to the locals.?

Over the next few months, the NGO will also conduct a socio-economic study to measure the impact of such initiatives. The day ended with dinner with the tribals, leaving us thinking about aspects of our own life.?

This experience changed my perspective in several ways. To value things we have in our life, including electricity and water. And to live one day at a time and to find little joys in life that we can count as memories. It also showcased the power of change that CSR can make to society. The power of choosing the right causes and making a real difference.??