The following piece by Ramesh Kaul & Anil Kumar Lamba NCUI project officers is a story about how NCUI Coop Field Project helps vulnerable people build their own future in the countryside.
The story describes in detail how Dalvir Lal Hira a villager from Punjab changes his life into a great success story with the help of NCUI.
Dalvir Lal Hira is a resident of village Khojkipur, P.O. Salala in Jalandhar district of Punjab. After finishing graduation, he completed a six-month course in nursing from Palampur in Himachal Pradesh and was looking to start his own work. NCUI Project Officer Shri Anil Kumar Lamba met him in 2016 and helped him acquire a piece of 2-acre land at village Boundhinpur. He provided Dalvir all the necessary support to start farming.
Attending multiple meetings organized by NCUI project team, participating in a number of exposure visits, and getting training at the pavilions of Agriculture and Horticulture Departments of Punjab State proved beneficial to Dalvir in various ways. He started a nursery of flowers, medicinal plants, shadow trees, fruits and ornamental plants. The plants in the nursery were nurtured with tender care using organic manure. Since then Dalvir never looked back.
In 2017, Dalvir became a member of Kisan Club formed by NCUI, and set up a vermicompost unit to increase production and quality of the yield. His dedication for the work fetched him good results and he became a well to do farmer. But Dalvir did not stop there.
In 2018, Dalvir took the assignment of maintaining public parks from the government. He started supplying plants and laying grass in the parks. This helped him gain recognition at the district level and later also at the state level.
An environmentalist by heart, Dalvir later started supplying fruit and shadow plants free of cost to each Panchayat block of East Jalandhar as well as Adampur Block of Jalandhar district. He employs a workforce of 5-10 labourers on a decent monthly salary to carry out his assignments.
Starting his career initially with the meager financial support from NCUI Cooperative Education Field Project, Jalandhar, Dalvir now earns an income of approximately Rs.6 lakh per annum.
ATMA, Punjab Agriculture Department and Horticulture Department of Punjab State have organized exposure visits of their employees to the organic farm of Dalvir. His farm has emerged as a model for showcasing the benefits of organic farming for better health and environmental protection against excessive use of chemical fertilisers in the state. To cooperatives, Dalvir supplies flower plants free of cost to Verka (Milk) in the district.
NCUI is showcasing Dalvir’s farm as a successful model by arranging regular visits for the participants of its International Diploma Course.
Like Dalvir, NCUI Cooperative Education Field Project in Jalandhar is changing the lives of many people living in the rural areas of the district. They are assisted to make their own living through a number of economic activities. In the process, many of them have become entrepreneurs. The Project officials actively support, guide and monitor people like Dalvir to help them achieve their dreams.