By: Amarjyoti Borah
At a time when a nationwide lockdown imposed since March 2020 shut economic opportunities putting people into distress, two people from the Tiwa tribe from the Morigaon district in Assam managed to start a new chapter in their lives. Both received support from Oxfam India, just when they had almost begun to lose hope. In fact, this new phase in their life ensured that they managed to earn more than their pre-Covid earnings. 27-year-old Puheshwar Patar of Bongalpara village located in the Garmari Gaon Panchayat was struggling to make ends meet until just before the lockdown was announced, but now he comfortably earns over Rs 6000 per month. Puheshwar, with a family of nine including his wife and daughter, during the best of times was able to earn only about Rs 1500 a month as a daily wage labourer.
However, a chance encounter with Oxfam India in May 2020 proved to be the turning point in his life. He was admitted in the government hospital in Morigaon and was struggling to buy medicines or do his tests because he had no money. Oxfam India helped then. “I had to buy medicines and get tests done but I was without anyone. Oxfam officials immediately gave me Rs 5000 for the medicines and tests. And that was not the only support he received. “Puheshwar told us his future looked quite dark and he needed our support. When he told us that he knew fishing and was confident that he could start afresh with fishing if we helped him with that,” said Iftikar Hussain, a project officer of Oxfam India. “We supported him with Rs 8000. He used that to buy some ration for his family and a fishing net. Since then there has been no looking back for him,” said Iftikar.
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Puheshwar was able to earn over Rs 45,000 between May and December 2020 from fishing; his earning went up further in 2021. “I was able to earn over Rs 55,000 last year,” he said.
Puheshwar added that now he doesn’t have to migrate and travel for work like before; this way his expenses have come down. He is confident of the huge potential to earn more from fishing, and he hopes to increase his earning. “There is the river nearby and during the pre-flood and flood seasons fish are there in abundance. Moreover, the local fish from the river is one of the most sought after, and so will always be in demand,” said Puheshwar.
On being asked how he markets them, Patar said that apart from selling the fish to market agents, there is also a huge demand in the village itself. “Not even once in the past 2 years I had to worry about fish not getting sold,” he added. On his future plans, he said that he doesn’t want to give up farming, which is the traditional livelihood income source for the Tiwa community.
“Once the Covid situation improves I will try to buy some land and start cultivation on my own land; it will also be an asset for our family,” he said.
Also in Bongalpara village was Anju Moni Patar. The 38-year-old Tiwa woman was on the verge of pulling her children out of school and college in mid 2021 when Oxfam India came to the village to provide financial support to women. She was among over 20 women who were identified by Oxfam India for support to set up a handloom unit.
“My son is in BA third year and daughter is in class 8. After a year of lockdown and pandemic, we were no longer in a state to continue their education. The very timely support by Oxfam India turned everything around,” said Anju.
In fact, she bartered woven cloth for her daughter’s school fees and books. This is how she prevented her education from being discontinued. “Immediately after I received the loom I went to the school authorities and we bargained. The school fees is Rs 500 a month and I was given time till the end of 2021 to clear the fees, in kind. I gave them two ‘large size’ Gamusa in lieu of a month’s fees,” said Anju.
Anju said that though the price of one large size ‘Gamusa’ varies in the range of Rs 300- Rs 400, she didn’t have any regret giving 2 Gamusas to clear the fees.
Anju’s family has a small plot of 2 bigha cultivable land, but she also worked as a daily wage labourer and brewed the local tribal liquor for sale in the village. But she found all this work tiring and wanted to give up liquor brewing especially. She was looking for an alternative and she found it in the form of the handloom support. Both her children are the first in her entire extended family to get an education; Anju doesn’t want to discontinue their education at any cost.
“Education is very expensive and I plan to dedicate my earning from the handloom solely for their education. This way I will not have to make any compromise on their education for money,” added Anju.
For both Anju and Puheshwar the timely cash support by Oxfam India helped them secure their future especially at a time when most people were losing jobs and staring at a bleak future.
