The traditional form of governance prevails where the village head is the Rangbah shnong. There is a Village Employment Council (VEC) that oversees the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and other developmental works. Besides women representation in the VEC, the village women are members of a women only village based organization that provides them a platform for decision making on various issues pertaining to the village.

There are a number of streams and springs in and around the village. The main source of livelihood is agriculture. The Village not only produces cash crops but also various fruits, vegetables, betelnut and betel vine and Broom-Grass.

There are three schools inside the village, two of which are private institutions and one is the Govt. Upper primary School. The health dispensary is 6 km away; the nearest Bank is about 7kms away and the Post office is 1 km from the village.

As per Census 2011, Umlakro population is 464. Out of this, 254 are males while the females count is210. This village has 56 children in the age group of 0-4 years. Among them 31 are boys and 25 are girls.

 

The people of the village rely on agriculture and forest products for their livelihood. The main occupation of the villagers is farming followed by teaching and government service. Every household owns arecanut and beetle leaves plantation and fishery ponds.

The village has a total number of 420 Health cardholders, 74 Ration cardholders. The major occupation of the people is farming while some are teacher and govt. servants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Ground Truthing

Dated: 5th February 2019

On 5th February 2019, the District Project Management Unit (DPMU) met with Mr.Intusing Doloi who is the Headman of Umlakro Village for Ground Truthing. He provided the Team with important information regarding the current scenario of the landscape and the natural resource management under his headmanship

Case Findings

1. The village has more than 60 HH (81). Out of the 81 HH, 58 belong to the below poverty line (BPL) category.
2. It has an actively performing VEC.
3. Availability of Community forest (~1 hectare)
4. There is no proper access to drinking water. They have four drinking water sources but only one is in use. Their drinking water source is located outside the village.
5. Water management is also a huge issue in the village and with no proper access to drinking water and a lack of catchment areas, there has been a rise in community problems.
6. The village has an outstanding growth of Wild Orchids and a unique practice of growing them.
7. It was also found that deforestation is high (~20 ha) .
8. There are some local tree species which are endangered.

List of natural resources at Umlakro village

• Orchid, jackfruit, banana, orange, pomelo, papaya, elephant apple, litchi, coconut.
• Bay leaves, betel leaves, betel nuts, black pepper, broom grass, lemon grass.
• Brinjal, tapioca, chilli, tomato, pumpkin, neem, green vegetables, yam, ginger, turmeric, mustard, sesame.
• Rice, corn, millets, silkworm (seasonal).
• Pond, streams.

 

 

2. Sensitization Programme

Dated: 18th January 2019

The sensitization programme took place on the 18th of January 2019 at the Community Hall of Umlakro Village. The headman of Umlakro Village, Mr. Intusingh Dolloi presided over the programme. Around fifty villagers attended the sensitization program and a significant number of the attendees were women.

The Assistant Manager (Environmental management) gave a brief introduction on Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA) and elucidated about the various programmes and projects that MBMA is working on, but mainly focused on the Community Led Landscape Management Project (CLLMP). He also spoke about the different aspects and procedures of the project and gave due importance on its environmental aspects.

The Assistant Manager (Social Management) spoke on the social aspects of the Community Led Landscape Management Project by giving numerous examples. She also enlightened the various benefits that the villagers could obtain from the project.

The Program was followed by an interactive session to answer the doubts and questions of the villagers.

• The headman of Umlakro Village wanted to know if the CLLM-Project could help the community build a fence around the community forest.
• The other question raised by an elderly of the village was if the CLLM-Project could aid the community with trainings in agriculture and husbandry.

 

2.1. Signing of documents

After the interactive session, the village signed the Expression of Interest (EOI), the Village Grant Agreement (VGA) and Green Charter followed by the selection of candidates for the Village Natural Resource Management Committee (VNRMC). The Village Executive Committee (VEC) and the entire community carried out the procedure and elected the members of the VNRMC on the same day.

 

2.2. Formation of the VNRMC: The formation of the VNRMC was done in a public meeting in the presence of the entire village and the DPMU team. The community members chose the President, the Secretary and the other executive members of the Committee.

 

3. Opening of bank account

The opening of the bank account was initiated after the village signed the EOI (Expression of Interest), the VGA (Village Grant Agreement) and the Green Charter.

A Meeting was also held with all members of the Village Natural Resource Management Committee (VNRMC) of Umlakro Village where the accountant of the CLLMP team had briefed them before opening the bank account.

 

4. PRA Exercise

The participatory rural appraisal (PRA) exercise aims to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of the community in the planning and management of development projects and programmes.

PRA exercise at Umlakro Village took place on the 20th of March 2019. There were a total of 129 villagers taking part in this exercise who contributed their time and knowledge to this project.

During the PRA exercise, the CLLMP officials and the community members were divided into groups to carry out the transect walk, fill the Social and Environmental Templates, the Seasonal Calendar, draw the Boundary map the Resource Map the activities conclude with an extensive discussion on the issues and challenges that the community faces and how they can be addressed through the CLLM-Project.

Community Members participating in the PRA exercise.

 

Resource map of Umlakro prepared during the PRA exercise.

 

5. Development of the Community Resource Management Plan (CNRMP)

The Community Natural Resource Management Plan was prepared at a village level meeting held on the 5th of February 2019. A total of 18 men and women from the village, including members of the Village Natural Resource Management Committee (VNRMC) were present to voice their problems and opinion while preparing the Community Natural Resource Management Plan.

Plan Estimate:

The CLLMP Team also made an inspection to the proposed intervention sites of the CNRMP along with the Technical Assistant under Jirang Block who is responsible for providing the estimates of the plans.

 

 

6. Project Implementation

Sl. No.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
1.	Nursery	Umjaji	25°54’45.06″N	91°34’35.41″E	₹ 1,19,300.00	Completed

 

 

Chief Minister’s visit to Umlakro Village

The Honourable Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Shri. Conrad K. Sangma launched an initiative called ‘Block to Block and villages visit’. The objective of the visit was to understand the needs of the villages and the challenges faced by them while drafting policies and implementing developmental schemes.

He started the initiative by visiting Jirang C & RD Block in Ri Bhoi District, one of the most remote blocks in the State, accompanied by Shri. Sosthenes Sohtun, MLA of Jirang Constituency, Shri. Sampath Kumar (IAS), Commissioner and Secretary, GoM, Shri. Shantanu Sharma (IAS), CEO MSRLS and APD CLLMP, Smt. Rosetta Mary Kurbah (IAS), Deputy Commissioner, Ri Bhoi District and other officials from various departments.

The CM visited the Community Nursery at Umlakro village and praised the innovative approach of using pots made of bamboo in their nurseries for the propagation of indigenous and endangered local species.

The Secretary of Umlakro village submitted a Memorandum to the Chief Minister on behalf of Umlakro Village. He thanked the Chief Minister for his visit and stated that it was a blessing for the people of Meghalaya to have an efficient Chief Minister who personally visit villages to understand the condition of the farmers and the rural people. The Chief Minister appreciated the forward thinking of the people of Umlakro village for saying ‘no to plastic’ and for starting an innovation of using pots made of bamboos instead of plastics in raising their nurseries under Community led Landscape Management project (CLLMP). He congratulated the officials of CLLMP for the initiative and said that the village can be a model village and an example for others.

 

Sl. No.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
2.	Traditional Nursery for Orchids	Umjaji	25°54’45.06″N	91°34’35.41″E	₹ 51,420.00	Completed

 

 

 

Sl. No.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
3.	Contour Trenches	Amsmawmluh	25.9083 N	91.5766 E	₹ 11,500.00	Completed

 

 

Sl. No.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
4.	Check Dam	Amsmawmluh	25.906 N	91.584 E	₹ 4,46,100.00	Completed

 

 

Sl. No.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
5.	Dug-Out Pond	Amlhilamet	25°54’45.06″N	91°34’35.41″E	₹ 97,000.00	Completed

 

Sl. No.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
6.	Fire Line Control	Kliar umsohbir	25°54’45.06″N	91°34’35.41″E	₹ 51,420.00	Completed

 

 

Sl. No.	Type Of Intervention	Site Name	GPS Co-ordinates		Amount Sanctioned	Work Status
7.	Afforestation	Kliar umsohbir	25°54’45.06″N	91°34’35.41″E	₹ 51,420.00	Completed