Savita Dakle (38) from Phulambari district in Aurangabad of Maharashtra starts her day at sunrise. She describes herself as an ‘accidental farmer’. Having spent her growing up years in Aurangabad, Savita never thought that she would one day end up farming.
“He had no connection to agriculture at all. My father worked in a company and my mother managed the house, ”she says. But despite this background, Savita is responsible for initiating more than 900 women into organic farming, both from her district and from neighboring villages.
In 2017, Savita also launched its Facebook community through which she is connected with more than 7 lakh members from all over the country helping each other with advice and tips on the best methods to follow in farming.
This is how Savita went from being a farming novice to an expert farmer.
Baptism of fire
In 2000, 15-year-old Savita started working in a factory as a laborer, where she was paid 900 rupees a month. “That was a lot of money for me at the time,” she says. With that amount, she managed to run her house and also educate her siblings.
While on the one hand she was thrilled to win the money, her parents, she recalls, weren’t too happy that their underage daughter was the unique bra for the family. However, Savita says, “At the time I was so grateful to be able to support my brothers, I had nothing else on my mind. My first wins will always be special to me. She made me feel so safe.”
In the two years he worked there, he says his salary rose to 1,500 rupees a month. “Earning money made me believe that with hard work I could change our luck,” she adds.
But Savita’s parents were still going through a financial crisis and after her father lost his job, there was no choice but to marry off the girls in quick succession.
“Shortly after completing my 10th class I got married. It was difficult for my father to marry me. He had lost his job by then. he he he had a two acre lot that he had to sell in order to get us all married. Eventually even the house we had was sold. As a constant, every night my father and I sat down to cry over our misfortunes, ”she says.
At the time, Savita’s two older sisters were married. It was at her insistence that her parents returned to the village. She continued to stay in Aurangabad with her two younger brothers, whom she began to take care of her.
Recalling his initiation into farming, he says: “I was no more than 17 years old when I started farming. It was the same year I got married. I remember resenting it, both the marriage and having to work in the fields. I did not sign up for this life,” he says.
a reluctant bride
Savita married in 2002. “I didn’t want to get married so soon. It was more because of social pressure that my parents decided this. At that time, I was more interested in educating my two brothers. Marriage was the last thing on my mind,” she says.
Even the marriage took place under a lot of financial pressure. “I married into a farming family and didn’t know anything about farming as I grew up in Aurangabad. I had spent so many days crying. I didn’t know which one is me the future was reserved for me,” he recalls. Shortly after the wedding, Savita was expected to work in the fields. From a reluctant bride, she became a reluctant farmer.
“I couldn’t even walk properly on the field. I remember slipping and falling so many times on the sleet that was collected in the field,” she says. What kept her going was her determination to make her life a success. She says that she didn’t want to let her father down in any way and so she found ways to adjust to the new life. One of the first tasks she was assigned on her farm was to do some weeding work.
“I had no idea about it and I remember the other women laughing at my disabilities. That experience hardened me. Even though I remember crying a lot that day, it taught me to be resilient. Little by little I learned the job and although I was a good student, I chose to work in the fields and help my husband and family”, she adds.
Sunil Dakle (44), Savita’s husband, says: “We have been married for more than two decades. Savita is not the same young bride who entered this house. She came from a city, she had studied and did not know anything about agriculture. I know it was a struggle for her at first, but she adapted very well.” While it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the couple, they worked together to make things better. He adds: “What I was sure of was Savita’s ability to learn. She was also very confident in learning. She put her doubts aside and worked very hard.”
Commercial
There was a time when Savita could only pluck about 10kg of cotton a day and now she can easily pluck up to 80kg a day. When she started working in the fields, she did it for 200 rupees a day. From that day until now, Savita says that she has undergone a complete transformation. Now there is nothing she doesn’t know about farming.
A life changing decision
Like many things in Savita’s life, her association with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) also happened by accident.
SEWA, an organization that works exclusively to help women, made an entry in Phulambari in 2004. Like many other women in the village, Savita also attended the meeting. “I had to ask permission to attend that meeting. I was working in another field. If I went, my in-laws were worried that I would lose a day’s wages. It was only at my husband’s insistence that I got permission to attend that meeting,” she says.
In more ways than one, one session changed the course of Savita’s future.
“I learned everything about SEWA at that first meeting. We were about 60 women, some were better educated than me, but none were willing to volunteer her time without money,” she adds. Savita went through a round of rigorous interviews and says that when she was chosen for the task, she was confused.
“I wasn’t sure if I should do it without receiving money. But after three days of discussing the matter with my husband, I called the SEWA ladies and expressed my desire to join the organization,” she says.
This infused Savita with a new burst of energy. She began to work doubly hard in the fields and ensured that she, too, gave herself 100 percent to the work that SEWA had given her. She says, “I started waking up at 5am to finish all my housework and cook. Then I would go to the fields at 10 am and work there until sunset, when I would come back and make dinner and spend time with my children. Only after dinner did I leave the house again to work with the women and help them with organic farming methods.”
Head held high
It was important for Savita to establish her own identity. She says that making money and finding a way to support her husband’s income was important to her. “Why shouldn’t we take on this responsibility? We are very capable and I am glad that we managed to positively influence another 900 women,” she says.
With women taking on so many roles and responsibilities in all spheres of life, Savita says being stuck at home and not knowing how the world works is not an excuse women should hide behind. “We need to take ownership and make sure we are financially independent,” she adds.
It was this desire that pushed Savita to launch her Facebook group, women in agriculture as of October 2017, it has more than 7 lakh members. “In this online community, I teach women about organic farming, tips and tricks for growing and harvesting different types of crops, pricing them, and even some marketing techniques.
In recognition of the work Savita’s online community has done, in 2018 she was invited to visit the Facebook office at Gurugram and says it was the first time she had boarded a plane. “The experience was surreal. They even gave me a smartphone that I still use,” she says with a smile.
Meera Sable, one of the women who was mentored by Savita from Georai Gungi village, says: “Despite being an educated woman, she was only involved in basic farming activities. she was savita I did who encouraged me to do more. She not only taught me everything about organic farming, but she also made me a part of her Facebook group, where I learned a lot. Of not being able to ride a bicycle, Savita I did He encouraged me to buy a scooty, which I drive with such confidence today.”
She continues: “Before, I depended on my husband to carry me out even for small errands. Now I am an independent woman. Even for that, I am grateful to him. [Savita].”
Today, the Savita women’s group is moving the work forward by initiating more women under its wings.
To follow Savita, click here.
(Edited by Yoshita Rao)
