Jawhar on my mind

As the days pass since our visit to Jawhar and the tribal village of Kelichapada, I can’t help but continue to return to that experience and the warm memories of the hospitality offered to us as their guests.  Here was a proud village, made of three proud tribes, living in unity, and excited to share their traditions with the outside world.

            Having seen all this as an outsider, with no prior exposure to the caste system nor much knowledge of the traditional Indian ideology, and learning that this group has been largely ignored by the Indian population to the point that they are not even included in the caste system, really left me bothered.  How can it be that one group of individuals can completely ignore another’s existence and have no concern for their well being? It also makes me wonder what it does to a villager’s self-esteem to know that they live in a country that does not acknowledge them and makes their needs a low priority. How must it feel to know that despite your skills and efforts, there’s only so much that society will allow you to climb?  This was hard for me to comprehend even though it’s not the first time I have seen this type of marginalization. 

            However, despite feeling bothered and angered with the Indian mind frame regarding the tribal people, I also felt hopeful when learning that there’s such organizations, like BIAF-MITTRA, that look to empower these groups and offer them tools to help them improve their quality of life.  Coming into these villages and affirming the beauty and allure of their customs, while also identifying self-sustainable methods of using those skills and resources available within the village, are important ways that social workers/ social entrepreneurs can come in and make an impact in this type of vulnerable population.  For the villagers, inviting guests and offering their village as a picturesque escape from the city, sharing of their traditional meals, and displaying their amazing Warli painting are all forms empowerment and a step in exposing themselves to the outside population that has ignored them for too long.

            As more time passes and I have more time to process this experience, I find myself feeling more hopeful than saddened by this groups situation.  This tribe and their culture has largely survived due to their strong bond and their resilience.  These are innate qualities that, when complemented with motivated social workers and increased resources, will continue to ensure their survival and eventual climb out of the bottom of the social ladder.      

            The concept of eco-tourism, self-sustainability, and social entrepreneurship has left me pondering how all this experienced here can be applied in the United States.  When thinking about this, it hit me that I have witnessed something similar to this.  Years back I visited the Acoma Pueblo Tribe located just west of Albuquerque.  The village, situated on top of a mesa, gave the illusion that the village was on the sky while also surrounded by visually stimulating hills and valleys.  This tribe was at one point facing large unemployment, lower crop yields, and the increased out-migration of their youth to the larger outside cities.  Reacting on these realities, the tribal member giving the tour explained that they began to invite outsiders into their reservation and soon realized that outsiders were impressed by the scenery and intrigued by their cultural traditions such as native dances, traditional meals, and the beautiful arts and crafts produced there.  With proper marketing and increased support, the Acoma Pueblo village has increased its revenue through this type of eco-tourism and in turn has increased the villager’s quality of life.

            Although there’s is still much work to be done to help both of these marginalized communities, one can also acknowledge the steps taken to begin the process of empowering these stakeholder through measures that help them use their available resources and skills to develop a self-sustaining model that provides for the economic and increased self-efficacy needs of their village.