The Sierra Club Goes To India

photo by Bonnie Tillery

The driver wrenched the wheel of the jeep back and forth, keeping his hand on the horn the whole time, passing without concern for oncoming traffic and then whipping back into his lane at the last second. It was like being on a terrifying amusement ride, but it wasn't amusing. We were on the road to a SEWA (Self-Employed Women's Association) Processing Facility outside of Ahmedabad, India, on a Global Population and Environment Program study trip. A few days later I read in the India Today Magazine that India has the highest number of deaths from road accidents of anywhere else in the world - 13 an hour! After this hellacious ride we were welcomed by singing women who placed a bindi (a red dot) on our foreheads in greeting.

Still disconcerted from the morning's trip, we walked into a large meeting room where about 50 women in colorful saris sat in a circle on the floor. They began to chant in unison, their voices quietly soothing, and the agitation from the morning's ride disappeared. They had gathered from a 25 to 30 kilometer radius to speak with us, and to meet together and share ideas. They are part of an organization that the Sierra Club recognized in 2009 for their Green Energy and Green Livelihoods initiatives. SEWA's goals include fighting poverty by working with the poorest rural villages, and in promoting green and clean technology. SEWA has trained women in water conservation, solid waste recycling and vermicomposting for organic gardening, among other initiatives.

SEWA works in 9 of the 28 states in India, bringing women out of poverty, raising the living standards of families and villages, and doing so in an environmentally sustainable way.

As we talked with the women, their cell phones rang and they got up to take calls from brokers with whom they were negotiating to get the best prices for their crops. These women, we were told, had come a long way from barely being able to speak their names to now arguing for the best price for their produce.

They told us how global climate change has affected their livelihoods. Rain has been coming in the dry season, and the monsoons are lighter than in the past. Our visit coincided with the wheat season, but it wasn't cold enough so they had to plant their wheat three times. This used to be a tobacco growing area, but tobacco use is now discouraged, so they have shifted to other crops such as potatoes, bananas and vegetables.

With increased incomes, the women have seen a reduction in malnutrition in the villages where SEWA groups work. Some women felt the few rupees it costs to join SEWA was too expensive, but these same women now realize that membership is a good longterm investment.

As women's education and income increase in India and around the world, they are choosing to have smaller families. One of the women in this SEWA meeting said, 'Consumption (may) increase, but the size of the land is the same.'

The processing center also has a room where women are trained to use computers, and other areas where spices, teas, salt, chili peppers, rice, dhal (dried beans and lentils) and other produce are processed and packaged under the RUDI brand name. Working at a processing center such as this is another source of fair-wage employment for women.

The Sierra Club's international program in India, under the direction of Stephen Mills, is supported through funds raised specifically for this work. Steve commented, 'India has a huge, growing population and an economy that is growing faster than America's. If they follow our environmentally unsustainable development path, then we are all toast. As Americans we're largely responsible for the climate calamity that will hit India quite hard, and India is an important country in the international climate treaty negotiations. I believe the Sierra Club's credibility in international negotiations has been strengthened by the fact that we have this program to create green livelihoods in India.'

With development and population growth comes pressure on the environment. The Sierra Club is trying to encourage programs in India that highlight sustainable development and a sustainable population.

Learn more about the Self-Employed Women's Association. To find out about the Sierra Club's 'Green Energy & Green Livelihoods' program, to support and encourage renewable energy initiatives and create sustainable livelihoods for India's citizens, and to read about the other award recipients, go to the Sierra Club India website.