Siruseri Watershed Ecological Master Plan Project - Community Outreach & Engagement Strategy -2019

SIRUSERI WATERSHED ECOLOGICAL MASTER PLAN PROJECT COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY

Prepared by

In collaboration with

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION SIRUSERI - HISTORY AND CHARACTER PRESENT DAY CHALLENGES COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND VISIONING PROCESS Stage 1- Knowing the demographics and apprising the community of the project Stage 2 - Household questionnaire surveys Stage 3- Identifying local champions, community networks and communication channels Stage 4- Gathering stories through focus group discussions Stage 5- Organizing data Stage 6- Listing needs, issues, challenges and opportunities Stage 7- Consolidating and Evaluating needs Stage 8- Reviewing and confirming priorities PROJECT TIMELINE PROJECT TEAM & ACKNOWLEDGMENT

BUCKINGHAM CANAL

SIRUSERI PERIYA ERI SITTERI

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

INTRODUCTION In November 2018, Urban Design Collective (UDC), was invited to work in collaboration with Pitchandikulam Forest Consultants to assist in developing a research-backed idea of what the future could hold for the Siruseri Watershed region. Towards this, UDC’s role was specifically • To design and execute an outreach and community engagement strategy • To identify the immediate and long-term needs of the resident community who will be both the beneficiaries as well as the custodians of the interventions on the ground • To study the socio-cultural and socio-economic perspective of Siruseri • To support the ecological master planning process for the Siruseri watershed region through a participatory planning approach In essence, the mission for the project is to work in collaboration with the community; to listen and seek to understand the character, stories, values, and goals so as to be able to guide the future of Siruseri through a watershed restoration approach.

Over the course of 60 days, several community visits, surveys, interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to better understand the values, visions, and needs of residents. Interacting with the residents enabled the developing of relationships, understanding community values, and getting to know the land.

This listening process has revealed a strong desire to protect and preserve the environment as well as the fact that residents place the needs and future of their children above everything else. While this document contains the findings of our engagement strategy, it is merely the beginning of an engagement that should continue into the future in order to ensure a holistic and responsible development approach.

The mission is to work in collaboration with the community; to listen and seek to understand the character, stories, values, and goals so as to be able to guide the future of Siruseri through a watershed restoration approach.

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IMMEDIATE GEOGRAPHIC SETTING OF THE WATERSHED REGION ON A 1KM GRID

Thalambur lake Periya Eri

Sitteri

Eechangaadu Eri

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Siruseri village

Bay of Bengal

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Buckingham Canal

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SIRUSERI - HISTORY AND CHARACTER Siruseri is a designated village that falls within the Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu. The earliest cartographic instance of Siruseri is from the US army maps that were created through a large scale controlled ground survey between the period of 1914 to 1941.

Siruseri is distinctly unique in its transect that traverses from a forest to a cascading system of eris (man-made water reservoirs) to the settlement and further eastward onto the Buckingham Canal and the Bay of Bengal. Even today, it is hard to miss this settlement which is nestled between the two eris on satellite imagery.

Siruseri village Bay of Bengal

“During Pongal, we used to take water from the Eri to make the festive Pongal at home.

During Maatu Pongal all the cattle are gathered at the Mandaveli and we used to conduct cattle race. The Eri used to be very clean.� _______________ Voices of Siruseri

The eri system serves to control floods, prevent soil erosion, reduce wastage of runoff during heavy rainfall, and also recharge groundwater aquifers. Irrigation channels from the eris enable paddy cultivation which otherwise would have been almost impossible in most parts of Tamil Nadu owing to a relatively flat terrain. Traditionally, the eri system is designed to hold rainwater in one and allow for surplus to flow to the next one. This also ensures that other settlements can thrive around the eri as is the case with Siruseri too. The Siruseri watershed is comprised of the Periya eri, Sitteri and the Eechangaadu eri and its 3 villages - Siruseri, Pudhupakkam and Thalambur.

Besides its role in nurturing the livelihoods of the villages, native residents also reminisce celebrating various festivals along the banks of the eri. Even a decade ago, Siruseri’s youth enjoyed a refreshing swim in the eris on a daily basis. Women cooked with the water from the eri and men went fishing for various native species of fish.

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Birds and humans co-existed peacefully in this eri ecosystem.

There were so many types of fish in the eri!

We loved taking a dip in the clean waters of the eri!

Nothing beats a swim in the eri!

We’d come together to wash our clothes and chat a bit too while we’re at it!

We could always count on the eri for a refreshing drink of water on a hot summer day!

Relaxing under the trees along the banks of the eri is good for the soul.

We loved playing games like balsappalam on the banks of the eri!

The water from the eri irrigated our fields. It gave us our food.

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

Our drinking water came from the eri.

Essentially, until the late 90s, these eris were the socio-cultural and socio-economic lifeline of this primarily agrarian settlement. And then it all changed.

PRESENT DAY CHALLENGES In the 90s, the land between the Siruseri village settlement and the Old Mahabalipuram Road came to be developed as a special economic zone (SEZ) known better as SIPCOT IT Park as part of the proposal to establish an IT corridor along this axis. This prompted many landowners to give up farming, sell their lands to SIPCOT and migrate to other neighbourhoods. Since traditional farming practice was mostly feudal, it meant that with the sale of farmland for non-agricultural purposes, many others lost their livelihoods.

And with less or non-existent opportunities for developing other skills, this led to a steady decline in prosperity among the residents of Siruseri and adjoining villages.

While the development of SIPCOT came with the promise of lowskill jobs for the villagers, it also started to draw on the water resources of the region. Water from the eris which was used until then for farming became surplus and could now be given to SIPCOT. After this point, the eri began to be accessed by the villagers only for leisure very infrequently; the lack of agricultural work in the village meant that villagers now needed to travel to other places for work. As commute times increased, time for leisure decreased. With no agriculture in the villages, harvest festivals too lost their relevance. This decline in patronage further induced a vicious cycle wherein the only people who now frequent the eri are men folk either to drink alcohol or to defecate.

Eventually, over time, the eris themselves lost their pride of place among the villagers.

“We have witnessed grand Pongal celebrations. During Kaanum Pongal games were organised in the community; Earlier we used to feel safer as we were able to identify our neighbours, now due to increase in number of strangers (population increase), we feel unsafe. Brother has a gang of friends and they play cricket together at the eri spillway.� _______________ Voices of Siruseri

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Today, the eris of Siruseri including the banks are in a state of neglect having been relegated to the purposes of water extraction, garbage dumping, defecation and a gathering spot for miscreants and alcoholics.

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CERES COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT PARK The CERES Community Environment Park is an internationally recognised model of a sustainable society located in Melbourne, Australia. CERES shares its name with the Roman Goddess for agriculture. CERES stands for the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies, and is pronounced ‘series’.

CERES is located on 4.5 hectares (10 acres) on the banks of the Merri Creek, East Brunswick, close to Melbourne’s centre.

atmosphere, which provides a model for a possible future, where innovation and appropriate technologies sit harmoniously in a human scale environment.

CERES is engaging with 470,000 people each year about living more lightly and equitably on the planet. It is the most

CERES runs on renewable energy, is a 55 tonne carbon sink, conserves and recycles its water and waste, grows organic food, and teaches diverse audiences about more just and environmentally friendly ways of living. Various sustainability initiatives have developed at CERES over time in a participatory social setting which has created a village-like environment.

Walking around CERES today, you can enjoy a peaceful green environment with a village-

visited community environmental centre in Australia, known for being a pioneer of community arts, experiential education, sustainable urban agriculture and for demonstrating innovative and achievable solutions to pressing environmental and social issues.

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

CERES hosts numerous practical community projects for sustainable living, including an EcoHouse demonstration home and the CERES electric car project, and a bicycle workshop.

Other attractions include: • CERES Café for fine organic food and drinks • CERES Nursery with permaculture and native plant varieties • The Organic Farm and Market • CERES festivals and education programs • A range of independently managed site groups and volunteers which enrich the community landscape and provide diverse opportunities for participation.

BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLE

CERES has been in existence 25 years and employs 200 people (equivalent to 60 full time positions). It is an incorporated not for profit organisation governed by a Committee of Management. CERES has been created for community by community and is an available model for communities all over the world.

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Knowing the demographics & appraising the community of the project

1 2

Identifying local champions, community networks and communication channels

3 4

Organizing data

Gathering stories through focus group discussions

5 6

Consolidating and evaluating needs

Household questionnaire surveys

Listing needs, issues, challenges and opportunities

7 8

Reviewing and confirming priorities

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND VISIONING PROCESS Creating a work plan for the community engagement and visioning process for Siruseri was an iterative process that was continually shaped by the steadily increasing readiness of the community to participate in this endeavour. The initial plan was to have 2 broad phases- one for the household surveys and another for focus group discussions; the household surveys being the data collection component and the focus group discussions being the consensus building component. The flowchart on the facing spread details out how the community engagement and visioning process eventually panned out and the stages and results are elucidated as follows:

STAGE 1- KNOWING THE DEMOGRAPHICS AND APPRISING THE COMMUNITY OF THE PROJECT

“The Eri was out of bounds for the SC, ST and MBC people. Only the brahmins were allowed into it one day of the year. We used to drink water that came from the Eri into the irrigation channels.� _______________ Voices of Siruseri

Demographic data is used to create a community profile of who lives and works in a place. This knowledge is useful to identify groups and individuals who will affect or be affected by the project as well as to ensure that no group, organization or minority is left out To start this exercise, a preliminary understanding of the demographics was derived from the 2011 census data. This data, though outdated, revealed a community profile that is both caste and faith-based.

Further, in a meeting with former panchayat head, Mr. Ekambaram, who resides at the heart of the village, he sketched out a mental map of the village when asked about the various groups of people/ organizations in the village.

This local knowledge and census data informed us that in order to ensure full community participation for the project, we too would need to reach out using this tapestry which is based on religion, caste and income as a point of reference. We also made sure to include people and organizations that are typically not part of the public process such as kids, as well as those who might be sceptical of our planning effort.

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State Name District Name Sub-district Village Name Level

Tamil Nadu (33) Kancheepuram (604) Chengalpattu(05706) Siruseri(629402) VILLAGE

Total Number of Households : 335 Population Total In the age group 0-6 years

Persons 1,346 164

Males 669 89

Females 677 75

Scheduled Castes (SC) Scheduled Tribes (ST) Literates Illiterate Total Worker Main Worker Main Worker - Cultivator Main Worker - Agricultural Labourers Main Worker - Household Industries Main Worker - Other Marginal Worker Marginal Worker - Cultivator Marginal Worker - Agriculture Labourers Marginal Worker - Household Industries Marginal Workers - Other Marginal Worker (3-6 Months) Marginal Worker - Cultivator (3-6 Months) Marginal Worker - Agriculture Labourers (3-6 Months) Marginal Worker - Household Industries (3-6 Months) Marginal Worker - Other (3-6 Months) Marginal Worker (0-3 Months) Marginal Worker - Cultivator (0-3 Months) Marginal Worker - Agriculture Labourers (0-3 Months) Marginal Worker - Household Industries (0-3 Months) Marginal Worker - Other Workers (0-3 Months) Non Worker

612 177 953 393 535 374 19 63 11 281 161 4 13 37 107 136 4 6 34 92 25 0 7 3 15 811

306 85 486 183 363 284 17 47 5 215 79 3 8 18 50 62 3 3 16 40 17 0 5 2 10 306

306 92 467 210 172 90 2 16 6 66 82 1 5 19 57 74 1 3 18 52 8 0 2 1 5 505

Census data for Siruseri village; 2011 Facing page- Spatial distribution of various groups based on faith and caste as drawn out by former panchayat head, Mr. Ekambaram

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MIXED

OLDER SETTLEMENT MIXED

MIXED

MIXED

MIXED

MIXED

OC

SC

VAN-NAN

SC SC

MBC

OC

MBC ST

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STAGE 2- HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEYS A household survey was designed to capture some insights into the level of basic services, needs and priorities of the residents.

Although we started our outreach by visiting households, apprising them of the project and collecting information, what actually transpired was that the household surveys quickly segued to focus group discussions because residents were more comfortable sharing their views in groups rather than as individual households.

The surveys however worked well as a format for engagement with residents of gated communities who were reluctant to meet in person but willing to fill out a form in anonymity.

From our survey sample of approximately 250 residents, the demographic is split almost equally between native residents and migrant populations. It also emerged that most migrants had moved in over the last 7 years.

26 %

22 %

18 %

14 %

10 %

6%

2% 1-2 years

3-4 years

5-7 years

8-10 years

Duration of time since migrants moved to Siruseri SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

10-15 years

>15 years

This trend is indicative of a challenge in terms of the fact that nearly half of the residents have no prior connection to the eri.

This is over and above the fact that even native residents and early migrants now have lesser and lesser reason to go to the eri on a regular basis.

Household interviews in session at Siruseri.

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STAGE 3- IDENTIFYING LOCAL CHAMPIONS, COMMUNITY NETWORKS AND COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

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Am

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Sam

Ekam

A people connector diagram for Siruseri; each radial indicates the person who connected us to another local champion.

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baram

ha

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Aru

m

gam

Nisha VAO

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Aru

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Ven k

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san

The household surveys yielded a number of positives that shaped the trajectory of further engagement with the residents of Siruseri.

For starters, we were able to identify local champions who helped us in mobilizing various groups and organizations towards crafting a vision for the eris. These champions are people who are trusted by others in Siruseri to provide sound counsel, useful information, and help link people to each other. These champions provided insights into the community and became ideal people to help spread the word about the project to people that we were unable to reach through our round of household surveys. Some of these champions also became communication channels and provided the personal touch necessary to get people to participate. We were also able to identify various formal and informal community networks particularly the existence of 27 women’s self-help groups

Ravi

Balaje

e

ree Jayash n

bi

Ro

An

Ranganathan

Kri

an

shn

Ram

an

sh

ne

Di

Kumar

na

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

du

ra

i

Ranee

(SHGs) and several youth groups who were bound by their love for cricket. While the women SHGs met once a month near the community park, the lads came to the Periya eri’s spillway to play cricket every evening; these places became conversation opportunities for us to reach out to these groups.

Ekambaram Venkatesan

Ranee

Damodaran

Muniamma

Ranganathan

Devika

Nisha - VAO

Asvini

Annadurai Raman

Raman

Ranee

Arulraj

Amudha Meena

Ravi

Samuel Deepak

Children

Women players

Minorities

Power players

Priyanka

Mahadevan Deivane Kumar parents Kasturi Rajendran Muniamma P Kumar Jayashree

N.M.Vannan Ravi Robin Hariharan

Gopal

Migrants

Youth

Oral histories

Devika

Gated communities

A diagram showing various community groups and networks in Siruseri along with a listing of key players

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STAGE 4- GATHERING STORIES THROUGH FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS After identifying local champions, community networks and communication channels, a revised approach was adopted to gain insights into the past, present and future prospects for Siruseri. Having segued from household surveys to focus group discussions, storytelling was encouraged as a mode of engagement as it seemed a less intimidating method to get people to share their views. Stories were collected and recorded in written and video format. Some residents and children also sketched out their visions for Siruseri’s eris. When speaking in groups, stories were corroborated by others present. Others also learnt a thing or two about the original state of the eri and the village that they were previously unaware of. This enabled an opportunity to collectively reimagine the future of Siruseri that is informed by its past.

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Focus group discussions in session with various groups at various locations identified through stages 1 & 3.

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STAGE 5- ORGANIZING DATA Storytelling may have been an effective approach for engagement but a master plan also needs to be backed up by data. The next stage therefore was to distil the stories for data and organize them in a manner that can inform the master plan particularly with regard to programming based on current needs, issues and challenges. This required the team to go back to the drawing board and sieve out the salient points from the stories that we had collected.

Sieving through and organizing data from the stories gathered through stage 4.

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Apart from being able to vividly imagine how the eri was an integral part of their lives through their stories, it became clear that as they continue to be engulfed by the wave of urbanization in the postSIPCOT era, their needs and aspirations too have been calibrated to reflect those of urban populations. This implied very clearly that there was no desire to go back to life as it was in the past but that a clear direction was needed to ensure a better quality of life for Siruseri’s residents as they march into the future.

STAGE 6- LISTING NEEDS, ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT As we organized our data to draw out the needs, issues and challenges, we were able to extract 6 broad themes, all of which have a direct or indirect impact on the ecology and conservation of the eris. The findings are summarized here: 1. NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT With the disappearance of agricultural practice in the village, over time the eri presented itself as a resource for water and sand from the lake-bed; enterprising villagers began to set up businesses around an emerging demand for water and sand to cater to the construction of new developments in the vicinity. Water for drinking too became a valuable resource and Small businesses dealing with drinking water supply for these new developments also extract water from the eri. This is apart from the copious amounts of water that is supplied to SIPCOT through tanker lorries.

The extraction of water and sand has resulted in the altering of the topography of the lake-bed and this may have been a possible cause for the eri to have breached its sluice-gate and flooded parts of the village during the 2015 December floods. This is also why the eri appears to have many crater-like formations in its lake-bed today. Additionally, in the face of failing monsoons, the excessive extraction of water is indicative of an impending supply shortage in the near future.

2. INFRASTRUCTURE Both household surveys and focus groups discussions revealed a deficit in terms of various infrastructure and civic amenities. A unanimous complaint was the lack of transportation options to get to and from Siruseri. There are only 3 public bus routes that come into the village from Adyar and Saidapet via OMR and Medavakkam road and the number of services too is just 3 per day. This SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

Map showing Siruseri and the various places that residents access for education, healthcare and leisure.

The 3 bus routes that service the village are also superimposed to show that their coverage barely addresses the catchment.

MARINA BEACH

SIRUSERI VILLAGE HOSPITAL / CLINIC

S.I.E.T COLLEGE

COLLEGE SCHOOL LEISURE M51D BUS ROUTE 19K BUS ROUTE 19P BUS ROUTE

THIRUVANMIYUR SCHOOL

SAIDAPET

SIDDHA CLINIC

ADYAR NEW PRINCE SHRI BHAVANI COLLEGE VELACHERY ELLEN SHARMA SCHOOL SITHALAPAKKAM GOVT. SCHOOL

THORAPAKKAM PANAIYUR GOVT. SCHOOL

VANDALOOR ZOO MEDAVAKKAM COLONY ST JOSEPH’S COLLEGE SHOLINGANALLUR SHOLINGANALLUR SCHOOL THALAMBUR CLINIC VIVIRA MALL TASMAC

KOOT RD. JN. CLINIC

NAVALLUR CLINIC

CRICKET GROUND

TS NARAYANAN COLLEGE

ANNA PARK NEHRU PARK

MOHAMMED SATHAK COLLEGE SIRUSERI

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KM

3K

PADMA ADARSH HR. SEC. SCHOOL

M

M 5K

M 10 K

PUDUPAKKAM GOVT. SCHOOL KELAMBAKKAM

20 K M

SFS SCHOOL SUSHILHARI INTNL. SCHOOL KELAMBAKKAM SCHOOL

CHETTINAD HOSPITAL KELAMBAKKAM GOVT. HOSPITAL

30 31 KOVALAM BEACH

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Sachidananda Puram Nethaji Nagar

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Thazhambur Lake

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Rd bur m za Tha t o ipc

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Thazambur Rd 12

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Periya Eri

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Sitteri

Natham

Siruseri

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Sipcot Thazambur R

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Sipcot Industrial Park 6

4 3

Eechangaadu Eri

First Main Rd

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SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

OMR

Buckingham Canal

WATERSHED COLLEGES RESTORATION 1 Mohammed Sathak College of Engineering 2 Mohammed Sathak academy of architecture 3Type Sri of Venkateswara Dental college mapping 4 Agni college of technology 5 Anand higher institute of technology 6 Chennai mathematical institute

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Muttukadu Backwaters

Rd 5

1

First Main Rd

Srinivasanagar Main Rd

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OMR

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PUBLIC AMENITIES 1 Siruseri panchayath office 2 Siruseri panchayath park Mapping done by 3 Siruseri Ration shops 4 Thazhambur post office 5 Thazhambur panchayat office 6 Thazhambur Ooratchi Manram office HOUSING - GATED COMMUNITIES 1 Tejas Lake View Homes Notes 2 L&T Eden Park 3 XS Real Catalunya 4 L&T Eden Park Phase II 5 Indus Anantya Apartments 6 Shri Ram Priya Avenue 7 Ram Priya Apartments 8 Greenwood City Phase2 9 Ram Beuan Havens 10 Creations genesis 11 Arihanth Heirloom 12 Adroit District S 13 Bloom Avenue Apartments 14 SSPDL Mayfair Apartments 15 KG Earth Homes Siruseri

OMR

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SCHOOLS Design Collective 1Urban St John’s public school 2 Vel’s vidhyashram 3Project PSBBName School 4 KFI School 5SIRUSERI Siruseri Government Primary School

RELIGIOUS NODES 1 Refuge of God Church 2 Arulmigu Sidhi Vinayagar Temple 3 Naagathamma Temple 4 Hanuman Vinayagar Temple 5 Arulmigu Sri Perumal Kovil 6 Bethel Prayer House 7 Mary Uniter of knots 8 The Pentacoastal Mission 9 Sudar Gospel Church 10 Hope of Jesus Mission 11 Amman Temple 12 Masjid Rahima Date 13 St Anthony’s Church 14 Sri Kailasanathar Temple Scale 15 Mohammed Sathak AJ Masjid 16 New gospel 500 mchrist church 17 Swamy Kovil 1: 13 712 18 Mamothiamman Kovil 19 Vinayagar Temple 32

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paucity has repercussions in other sectors of development such as education and health. Siruseri only has one government-run primary school and kids are required to travel beyond 3 kilometres once they get to 6th grade and beyond. Private schools though many in number in the neighbourhood are unaffordable for most residents. There is also no immediate healthcare facility and most residents travel between 3 to 5 kilometres to reach the nearest hospital. The small clinics and pharmacies near the Koot road junction too are a 30 minute walk. With no viable or regular mode of transport available, residents face a huge problem with respect to access to basic services. Limited transport options also puts a strain on monthly incomes of households wherein a significant Open drains along streets become a safety hazard for children playing on the streets and also a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

portion needs to be kept aside to cover their daily commute via auto, school van, personal vehicles etc.

Open storm water drains along streets become breeding ground for mosquitoes. With not enough attractive play areas, children tend to play on the street and are in constant danger of either falling into the open drains or being bitten by mosquitoes. There is also the occasional line that drops raw sewage or grey water into the drains as there are no sewage lines in place..

Solid waste management is also a problem area in Siruseri. While most streets appear clean thanks to the dumpsters placed in every street and the efforts of the panchayat workers, the collected solid waste from households is merely dumped and burned at the landfill site abutting the Periya Eri. Cows that are let out to graze from the houses in the village unfortunately find their way to this landfill and are always found to be eating the garbage.

Waste-pickers from Pudhupakkam and other villages scavenging for recyclables from this site is also a common sight.

Besides, these basic services, residents also lamented over the lack of a bank/ ATM and leisure spots in their neighbourhood.

3. ACTIVITIES Despite the lack of places for leisure, residents continue to avoid going to the eri for many reasons. Residents expressed deep concern over the use of the eri’s banks for drinking and associated activities by the men folk. The youth on the other hand claim the spillway adjacent to the village for cricket games every evening.

Residents also spoke of the practice of washing personal vehicles and domestic animals in the waters of the eri.

The lack of sewage lines in the village entails that households have to figure out their own ways of disposal. Nearly all the households that were surveyed had soak pits or septic tanks within their property. These systems however have a periodic running cost to suck out the collected sewage using ‘honeysucker’ trucks/ vacuum trucks. In order to minimize these costs, the men folk resorted to open defecation along the banks leaving the toilets in their homes for the women and children.

4. SAFETY With no active spaces or building uses after dark in the village, safety becomes a concern especially for women and children. This 34

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coupled with unreliable transport options puts them under the threat of theft, harassment, rape and murder. Most access roads to the village do not event have street lights. While there are no alarmingly high crime rates, stray incidents negatively affect the perception of safety for most residents.

There is also a very high number of dogs in the village and during breeding season when they get overly protective of their litter, residents also find it unsafe to walk the streets for fear of getting bitten.

5. LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES Most native residents of Siruseri village reported difficulties in finding permanent jobs to sustain them throughout the year and having to rely on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for work. They also reported that jobs under the MGNREGS was erratic and that many get left behind in allotments. Both men and women seemed to bank on the housekeeping jobs from SIPCOT and the many gated community households that have come up in recent years. These are contract jobs with no guarantee of renewals and no scope for ‘climbing the ladder’. Some native residents who used to be farmers have managed to translate their skills to become gardeners in SIPCOT and the gated communities.

Skills development opportunities were highlighted strongly especially by women to enable them to find better jobs and prospects. Women also sought skills that would help them work from home such as tailoring. For their children, most seek quality education so that they don’t lose out from a socio-economic perspective. This sentiment is also rooted in the idea that education and skills development can bridge the clear disparity between the native residents and the newer population in the gated communities.

6. YOUTH INVOLVEMENT From our interactions, the youth of Siruseri seemed to be swayed by two topics- Cricket and politics. Although most of them shared a camaraderie with each other, we were informed that they get segmented during election campaigns based on their leanings. But cricket on the other hand brings them together in a united front and the place where they play is none other than the spillway of the Periya eri. As a result, they have a strong sense of ownership for this parcel of land and many villagers informed us that any SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

efforts to use that land for building public amenities have always been thwarted by the cricket-crazy youth of Siruseri.

IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT Interactions with residents also involved asking about ways in which they could be involved in the rejuvenation and upkeep of the eris in Siruseri and whether they had any skills that could become useful for this process. The following skill sets that exist among the residents have been identified as most pertinent for this project and its mission: • Farming • Gardening • Medicinal herb farming • Forestry • Dairy farming • Sculpting • Carpentry • Metal fabrication

STAGE 7- CONSOLIDATING AND EVALUATING NEEDS The discussion on needs, issues, challenges and opportunities for Siruseri and its eri led the residents to then imagine solutions to these problems. This resulted in a set of programmatic requirements that are listed as below:

WHAT DO SIRUSERI RESIDENTS WANT?

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Flower Garden Fruit trees / Orchards Ration Shop Island Temple Boating/ coracle ride SWM Facility Cricket Ground / Sports Area Seed Bank (Nursery) Fishing Area Hospital / PHC Walking trail Amphitheatre Outdoor Gym Water Slide Toy Train

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Swimming Area Medicinal Garden Co-operative Milk Society Open event space Women’s Skills Training Centre Farmers Market Organic Vegetable Farm Library Viewing Tower Birdwatching area & Ghats Children’s Park Eco park & Nature trail Public Toilets

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Internally, we evaluated the programming options under three heads as shown in the table below: • Level of capital required • Level of maintenance required • Stakeholder roles and responsibilities envisaged as a ratio of Public: Private: People This stage was essential to inform the community in subsequent meetings about the varying levels of feasibility for their desired programs. This also gave a cue to how soon these could be realized on the ground.

S. Programmatic requirements no. desired by the residents

Level of investment Level of maintenance required required ★ ★★★★ Flower Garden ★ ★★★★ Fruit trees / Orchards ★★★★ ★ Ration Shop ★★★★ ★★★★ Island Temple ★★★ ★★★ Boating/ coracle ride ★★★★★ ★★★★★ SWM Facility ★ Cricket Ground / Sports Area ★ ★★ ★★★ Seed Bank (Nursery) ★★ ★ Fishing Area ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Hospital / PHC ★★ ★ Walking trail ★★★★ ★★ Amphitheatre ★★★★★ ★★★ Outdoor Gym ★★★★★ ★★★ Water Slide ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Toy Train ★★ ★ Swimming Area ★ ★★★★ Medicinal Garden ★★★★ ★★★★ Co-operative Milk Society ★★ ★★ Open event space ★★ Women’s Skills Training Centre ★★★★ ★★★★ ★★ Farmers Market ★★ ★★★★ Organic Vegetable Farm ★★★★★ ★★★ Library ★★★★★ ★★ Viewing Tower ★★ ★★ Birdwatching area & Ghats ★★★ ★★ Children’s Park ★★★★ ★★★★ Eco park & Nature trail ★★★★ ★★★★ Public Toilets

Public:Private: People role ratio

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

1:1:1 1:1:1 1:0:0 0:1:1 0:1:1 1:1:1 0:1/2:1 0:1:1 0:1/2:1 1:0:0 0:1/2:1/2 1/2:1:1/2 1/2:1:1 1/2:1:1/2 1/2:1:1/2 1/2:1:1/2 1:1:1 1:1:1 1/2:1:1/2 1:1:1 1/2:1/2:1 1/2:1:1 1:1:1/2 1/2:1:1 1/2:1:1/2 1:1:1 1:1:1 1:1:1

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

STAGE 8- REVIEWING AND CONFIRMING PRIORITIES As a final essential aspect of the outreach and communication strategy, a large scale community meeting was organized at the Annai Kalyana Mandapam abutting the Periya Eri on 24th February 2019. The permission to use this space was given by former panchayat head, Mr. Ekambaram who also helped with spreading the word about the meeting. Amudha and Rani, both key players with the Women’s SHGs also immensely helped to gather the residents for this meeting.

A visioning exercise was also organized where children had to imagine what the eri could look like in the future. This had a twofold purpose- one to seek the views of this demographic and two, to ensure full attendance; parents need not worry about childcare while attending the meeting. Thirty two children participated and all their drawings were mounted on the walls for everyone to see.

Senior members of the community were called upon to pick the best prize-worthy drawings.

Residents being welcomed to the community meeting with a refreshing slice of watermelon to beat the heat.

The meeting itself was structured loosely on the themes of Past, Present and Future of the eri. We started off sharing memories of the eri and its environs and moved onto discussing its present state. The main purpose of hosting this meeting was however to review and confirm the priorities of the residents with regard to the various programmatic requirements that were identified

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Community meeting in session at the Annai Kalyana Mandapam in Siruseri. Residents came forward to share their memories and desires for Siruseri and its eris.

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

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in previous stages i.e. take decisions with regard to the future.

Posters with images of all the 28 identified program requirements were mounted on the walls of the meeting hall. All the attendees were given 5 sticker dots and each of them had to walk up to each poster before deciding on which 5 out of the 28 desired programs they wanted most. In conclusion, the meeting ended with everyone

Voting in progress to choose what matters most for the residents of Siruseri.

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

enthusiastically pledging their support towards the revival and upkeep of the eri and leaving with hope for a better future. This is still only the start of an engagement process that recognizes and seeks to work with existing social structures for both the shortterm and long-term efforts towards maintaining the restored eris of Siruseri.

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AMPHITHEATRE BANK / ATM BIRD WATCHING AREA / GHATS BOATING/ CORACLE RIDE BUS SERVICE CHILDREN’S PARK CO-OPERATIVE MILK SOCIETY CRICKET GROUND / SPORTS AREA EATERIES ECO PARK & NATURE TRAIL FARMERS MARKET FISHING AREA FLOWER GARDEN FRUIT TREES / ORCHARDS HOSPITAL / PHC ISLAND TEMPLE JOB OPPORTUNITIES LIBRARY

Graphs showing priorities of Siruseri’s residents in terms of number of votes for each program/ activity.

Village residents made their choices through the community meeting that was organized while gated community residents made their choices through survey forms.

MEDICINAL GARDEN OPEN EVENT SPACE ORGANIC VEGETABLE FARM OUTDOOR GYM PUBLIC TOILETS RATION SHOP SCHOOL SEED BANK (NURSERY) SWIMMING AREA SWM FACILITY TOY TRAIN TUITION/ LEARNING CENTRE VIEWING TOWER WALKING TRAIL WATER SLIDE

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100

80

Choices of village residents

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WOMEN’S SKILLS TRAINING

0 CENTRE

Choices of gated community residents

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

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Graph showing consolidated votes from both demographics.

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Kids actively participating in the visioning competition for the Periya eri.

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

Jurors for the visioning competition announcing the winners.

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Winning entries for reimagining Siruseri’s eri. Harish on the left and Gowtham on the right.

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

Ecological restoration projects actively involving indigenous peoples and local communities are more successful. This is the result of a study carried out by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), which places value on indigenous and local knowledge contributions in the restoring degraded ecosystems, and highlights the need to engage indigenous communities in these projects for ensuring a long-term maintenance of restored areas.

IN THE NEWS

INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION

Indigenous peoples and local communities are affected by global environmental change because they rely on their immediate environment to meet basic livelihood needs. Therefore, safeguarding and restoring ecosystem resilience is critical to ensuring their food and health sovereignty and overall well-being. Their vested interest in restoring the ecosystems from which they directly benefit and their intimate knowledge of their lands, resources and the dynamics affecting them, position them as key elements in the attainment of the ecological restoration projects goals. However, the contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities continue to be largely absent in international environmental policy fora, which prioritise biological importance and restoration feasibility over local concern.

The study, led by ICREA researcher at ICTA-UAB Victoria Reyes-García, reviews hundreds of instances in which, through traditional practices, indigenous peoples have contributed to managing, adapting and restoring the land, sometimes creating new types of highly biodiverse ecosystems. “There are many examples in which indigenous peoples have taken leadership roles in restoring forests, lakes and rivers, grasslands and drylands, mangroves and reefs, and wetlands degraded by outsiders or climate change, successfully coupling the goals of restoration and increasing participation of local population,” explains Victoria Reyes-García.

However, the research stresses that not all restoration initiatives engaging indigenous peoples and local communities have been beneficial or successful.

“Some campaigns have not successfully involved local communities or impacted afforestation outcomes given the lack of clarity of the policies designed at the central level or the neglect of local interests,” says Reyes-García. She highlights that positive outcomes are normally associated with projects in which local communities have been actively involved in co-designing activities, customary institutions have been recognised, and both short-term direct benefits to local population and long-term support of the maintenance of restored areas have been ensured.

APA citation: Indigenous knowledge key to a successful ecosystem restoration (2019, February 27) retrieved 2 March 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-02-indigenous-knowledge-key-successfulecosystem. html

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TIMELINE FOR THE EXECUTION OF THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY OUTREACH INITIAL ROUND OF DATA ANALYSIS

COMMUNITY MEETING

HOUSEHOLD SURVEY HOUSEHOLD SURVEY

DATA ANALYSIS

INITIAL VISIT

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

MAPPING OF THE RELEVANT VILLAGES

CONNECTING THE COMMUNITY

REPORT PRESENTATION FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION

SIRUSERI ECOLOGICAL WATERSHED MASTER PLAN | MARCH 2019

TEAM Project lead: Vidhya Mohankumar Project support: Abinaya Rajavelu, Eshwar S.Ve and Srivardhan Rajalingam Advisory support: Karen Coelho

ACKNOWLEDGMENT Many thanks to former panchayat head, Mr. Ekambaram for his unrelenting support to the project including giving us permission to use the community marriage hall to conduct a full fledged community meeting.

Many thanks to Mr. Krishnan who not only came forward with a storyboard drawing for the future of Siruseri and its Periya eri but also encouraged many kids in the village to make their own drawings.

Many thanks to Rani, head of the 27 women SHGs and Amudha for enabling full attendance at the community meeting which was a pivotal aspect of our engagement strategy.

Many thanks to Jayashree, a resident from Thalambur who singlehandedly conducted all the household surveys among the gated community dwellers. Without her, this demographic could have been left out.

Many thanks to all the villagers who welcomed us warmly into their homes, served us refreshments and participated wholeheartedly in this endeavour.

Many thanks to Mr & Mrs Mohankumar for transportation support and Munusamy for patiently driving us to and from Siruseri.

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Prepared by

In collaboration with