Development support program for stone quarry affected communities in West-Bengal and Jarkhand, Pilot Project 2010-2012, Evaluation Report

Background:
The project is implemented particularly for the benefit of those Santhal communities who are working in stone quarry and crusher units of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The major focus areas of the project are occupational Safety, Health, Livelihood, Food Security, Water and Sanitation, Protection and Management of Natural Environment, Education and Information, Advocacy on Human Rights.
The overall objective of the project is to empower women and men of the disadvantaged communities affected by the stone quarry work and create enabling conditions to secure their rights and achieve greater control over their lives and livelihood by facilitating their participation in sustainable development process.
The project is in the pilot phase (2010 to 2012) and is working in Md. Bazaar Block under Birbhum district of West Bengal and Shikaripara block in Dumka district of Jharkhand.

Purpose/objective:
•        Review the current LWSIT intervention strategies
•        Analytical observations of the failure of strategy
Based on the experience gained from the pilot project and feasibility of future intervention, it was envisioned to further explore the possibilities of continuing the project in second and third phase. It was thought imperative to conduct an evaluation to assess the current strategies, impact of the activities, the working partnership and review future plans.

Methodology:
The evaluation team had initial discussions with the Deputy Programme Manager Ms. Anjana Biswas, at Kolkatta and thereafter with the project staff at the Birbhum unit office to gain an understanding of the project activities and form plans for data collection with the community, partners and stakeholders. Project documents were reviewed and the terms of reference discussed. Data collection tools and evaluation schedule were developed in consultation with the project staff. Field visits were conducted for three days in which the evaluation team had opportunity to visit three villages of Shikaripara in Jharkhand and four villages of Mohammad Bazar in West Bengal. The team met with self-help group members, adolescent girls and boys and communities engaged in alternative livelihood through project partners and other stakeholders. Debriefing meetings were held with local project staff and stakeholders and with head office staff in Kolkata. In all 99 persons participated in the evaluation.
Key findings:
The women groups initiatives may have helped to supplement family income and prevent debts in cases of sickness, children education etc. However at this stage, the size of the income from these ventures may not be enough to completely disengage from stone quarry work.
In the provided health camps services emphasis should have been laid on strengthening the knowledge of community on health related issues. The provision of protective gear was good initiative, however this may not have been as effective as expected. The community members working in the stone quarries are not used to wearing protective gears.
The project has helped to raise awareness on human rights and supported local organizations working for the rights tribal in some ways. Though awareness of rights is the first step towards the process of advocacy, the support to local organization could have been done more actively.
The system of providing grain and facilitating community contribution to the grain banks is a sustainable strategy. The brain banks seemed to have lessened dependency on moneylenders during the lean period. The community feels strengthened and the culture of supporting each other is further nurtured through grain bank initiative.
Through the preschool centers the children are prepared for further schooling and health needs are met. Tuition centers have used local resources and seem to serve the purpose of encouraging children to continue schooling. The quality of education and the environment where the children sit and learn need to be improved.
Deforestation due to the spread of quarries has deeply affected agricultural cultivation and the green cover. Through women's group efforts some good models of plantation and afforestation have been taken up. These initiatives may be useful in reviving community efforts to address environmental degeneration at the local level.
A change in the attitude of the tribal community has taken place. This is due to enhanced awareness of their rights and an attempt to build local leadership. Through community-based organizations, local leadership has been developed which can be further strengthened. 
The overall strategy of local partnership has worked well, particularly aspects related to livelihood, health and mobilization of groups. However the strategy should focus more on women and adolescent girls who are currently regular workers on the quarry and crusher units.

Recommendations:
Emphatically and in a focused manner continue working in the existing project area. At this stage it is suggested that the activities may not be geographically expanded. Impact oriented intervention should continue to empower and strengthen community based organizations, train and equip local leaders and health workers, increase the number of self employed people, encourage more people to choose alternative source of livelihood, initiate research on correlation of flying dust and its harmful content, strengthening and nurturing tribal traditions, knowledge, lifestyle and social customs through all the program activities.
In addition the evaluation recommends that the focus of all the project partners should be primarily on community development in terms of their health, social status, food security and economic development. The continuance of the existing project partnership is recommended.
Frequency of staff visits to these organizations and frequency of capacity strengthening initiatives for them need to be increased.