Human life has been completely relying on Nature for its survival; history has witnessed many such great civilizations. Such type of living, that highly depends upon season cycle is diminishing due to volatile conditions of climate change. Such is the case of several villages in India, one such village is Achara village in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. It has been witnessing depopulation, with newer generation shunning away from the traditional occupations and moving out. Migrating to commercial capitals thus over-populating city centers and leaving the villages empty. One of reason for this shift is the dependency of primitive nature of occupations on wavering climate conditions, which make them unreliable for revenue generation.
As the village is located along the western coastline of the Arabian sea and river Achara, utilizing these resources communities are engaged in primary occupations. The thesis performs within the patterns of nature and human life and provides with a platform to understand the transient nature of the Sea, land and Sky and the way it affects livelihood. Older climate forecasting methods are unreliable and inefficient for primary occupations such as agriculture and fishing activities. Introducing adaptive methods that aid existing occupations and create new opportunities are required. This will act as the ‘Seed of growth for income generation’. Other aspects are providing space for allied activities and auxiliary functions that happen with agriculture, fishing and animal husbandry. This will help mend the situation and enrich the quality of life along with betterment of rural landscape. The approach is to have smaller inserts at the community level and provide solutions for bolstering existing occupations along with the changes at policy level. Government aids for training centers for newer technology and opportunities proves beneficial for imparting knowledge to help sustain the climate change. One such identified aspect introduced is Pisciculture. This includes large scale production of export quality fishes. A platform for the locals to directly sell their produce to companies is made available asserting the economic evolution and in usage of potential of the rural landscape.
The thesis began with an inquiry of ‘Then and Now’ into the Ancestral Village of Achara. ‘Then and Now’ in terms of changing climatic conditions, livelihood patterns and socio-economic aspects of the Village. It belongs to the Southern Konkan Region of Malvan Taluka in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, India and is named after the River Achara that divides Malvan and Devgad Taluka. Research Methodology: ‘Deepening the knowledge on traditional livelihood activities and its transforming patterns over time’ was the methodology undertaken to study various aspects of the village of Achara. Observations: Work, life, cultural and social aspects are intertwined. Seasons ‘govern’ livelihood. Issues Observed: Degeneration within the village and crowding of the adjoining Towns and city centers. Termination of traditional occupations that rely directly on the ever-changing season cycle leading to depopulating of these villages. Identifying the causes: Old traditional methods are unreliable to predict the transient nature of season cycle due to changing climatic concerns. This adversely affects the produce and outcomes of the primary occupations which makes it unprofitable. Intent of the Project: Identifying the ‘Seed of Growth’ by adapting to the climate change. Encouraging by newer methods of Revenue generating activities in this landscape. Adapting and withstanding the changing climatic conditions with the help of community and Governing bodies has become the need of the hour.
The Board:
