PEOPLE
The people of this area are of the Vasava - Bhil tribe. They are a homogeneous
group with their own leadership, laws and customs. They are Animists. Their
religion consists in the worship of various Spirits that inhabit their
areas. Some of them have adopted the Hindu religion practiced by their
more prosperous non-tribal neighbors, and slowly many of them are accepting
Christian religion. The Adivasis are the original inhabitants of the land
but were driven away to the hills by the outsiders such as merchants, moneylenders
and landlords who invaded their land.
Though 95 % of the local population is tribal, there is a sprinkling of outsiders in the area namely: petty merchants landlords, and moneylenders.
Educationally the Adivasis are far behind the national mainstream. It is only now that the villagers have started sending their children to school though with a lot of reluctance. Being poor and illiterate they have been easy prey to the greedy and exploitative tactics of the rich landlords and moneylenders. The Adivasis borrow in kind - grains and other necessities of life and are charged exorbitant rates of interest, sometimes even as high as 200 %.
Many of them own very little land from which they manage to get crop a year, i.e. the monsoon crop. The majority of them have bullocks, which they use for plowing. After the harvest, during the summer months the Adivasis work in the forest, felling trees for timber or cutting bamboo's for the paper mills in other districts. During these summer months, many Adivasis leave their villages because they have no food left, and go far away cities like; Surat, Bharuch, Ankleshwar, etc. in search of work as manual laborers at dam sites, bridges , roads, brick kilns, and the small industries.
Often, they have to put in eighth to ten hours of hard labor for a mere pittance of Rs. 20 to Rs. 25 per day.
By nature the Adivasis are carefree and have very little anxiety regarding
the future. They eat the produce of their fields till it lasts. Years ago,
they used to go hunting rabbits, wild boars, etc. But these too have long
since disappeared. When times get bad, the Adivasis survive on roots and
tender leaves, which they gather from the forests. For some months every
year about 25% of the Adivasis have to face hunger and deprivation - the
produce of their fields lasts but a few months. A few years ago, there
were a few mud/dirt roads, which were impossible to travel in the monsoon
even with the help of vehicles. Today there are a few paved roads and some
villages have received electricity facility. In Dediapada Taluka there
are 214 villages. At present only 169 villages have got Schools. In 135
villages there is a School from std./grade I upto IV. In 34 villages there
is a School from std./grade I to VII. There are in all 9 High Schools,
from std./grade 8 to 10. And there are only two higher Secondary Schools
from std./grade 11th to 12th.
Out of all the schools we are running five Schools. One Primary School
form std./grade 1 to 7 in Nani Singloti region. Another Primary School
from std./grade 1 to 7 in Relwa region. And three other Schools in Nivalda
( Dediapada) proper.
The villagers use timber and bamboo's available in the forests to construct their huts. The bamboo's are used to build the side walls which are plastered with cowdung mixed with mud. The roofs covered with handmade tiles or with a kind of straw.
Some villages have wells, which supply drinking water. In many cases,
however the water is collected from the river and streams. These often
serve for bathing and washing purposes too -- for both human and animals.
New water well under construction