Five tribes: one voice

Tribal people in India are often denied access to the land and forests on which they depend, and can't access essential public services like water and healthcare. In the state of Uttarakhand, tribal people come from five different tribes – the Tharu, Juansari, Buksa, Bhotia and Van Raji. To challenge the discrimination and unfair treatment that they face, tribal communities must unite together and speak with one voice.

Thanks to support from the European Union, our Bhoomi Vistaar project is working with all five tribal groups to help them fight for their rights. By working from the grassroots up, the project is building strong community organisations to have the skills to demand that essential public services are provided in their local communities. These organisations are also uniting together to form a Tribal Rights Forum which means that they can have an impact not only at the local level, but at the state and the national level too.

Find Your Feet has been working with four of the tribal groups for a number of years, and through the Bhoomi Vistaar project we have expanded our work, so that we can reach the Juansari tribe as well. This has been a vital step, because the Tribal Rights Forum is now fully representative of all tribal communities in Uttarakhand, which gives it greater legitimacy meaning it can be even more influential and effective.

We are already seeing the benefits of the project. Tribal communities are now more aware of their rights – and are now accessing services and schemes to which they are entitled, and local grassroots organisations are effectively putting pressure on local government to be more responsive to the needs of tribal communities. In the coming year, the Tribal Rights Forum will be campaigning to make an even bigger impact – putting pressure on the state government of Uttarakhand to ensure that tribal people and their needs are fully represented in the future.

We are meeting more and more women who have a new found confidence to change their situation, here is what Reviti Devi shared with us. Reviti (pictured above) is from the Buksa tribe.

"I have so many stories I could tell you. I work alongside 15 other families in my area and we sowed the seeds on our land, but then we were not allowed to harvest our crop (because of the wealthy elite). This was very difficult as we had no food. The project helped us to unify with other members of our tribal group and we called the district office and told them of the situation. It took time but now we are now allowed to harvest our land and grow maize. Now there is no more trouble. I have grown in confidence. I have five sisters, we are all like this now, we are not afraid." 

Find out more about who we work with and what we do.