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meeting livelihood challenges

Discussions with Kalandars
In the last couple of months, persistent consultations with the Kalandars of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan have helped us to come closer with the community which has given a positive momentum in the rehabilitation process. The consultations also helped in building confidence between Kalandars and WTI, which have resulted in the subsequent surrender of the bears to the forest department.

The process of identifying other Kalandar settlements in the country is ongoing. The Entrepreneurship Awareness Camp will be carried forward at other settlements in the near future. Alternative livelihoods and empowerment of the community will be crucial to find a lasting solution to the problems of Kalandars. This alone can pave the way in stopping this prohibited tradition of dancing bear.

Kalandars are being trained for making Detergent as alternative livelyhood on May 13_06 at Bhopal
Kalandars being trained for making Detergent as alternative livelyhood on May 13, 2006 at Bhopal

 

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Working with Kalandars

Entrepreneurship Awareness Camp in Madhya Pradesh

The main objectives of this camp were to motivate the Kalandars to stop the dancing bear profession, to inform them about alternative livelihoods, to discuss self-employment schemes, loans and other benefits provided by the government, to empower the community to be able to take decisions of their livelihood and welfare, and to build leadership among Kalandars who in turn will encourage others to go in for alternative livelihood.

A survey was conducted at the Kalandar settlement of the Kotra Sultanabad Township in Bhopal to identify the Kalandars who were willing to enrol for a training of small business enterprises. Wildlife Trust of India in partnership with the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development in Madhya Pradesh organized a three-day workshop for the Kalandars from March 22 to 24, 2006.

A group of Kalandars were trained at the workshop to start new livelihoods by means of small business enterprises such as manufacture of detergents, phenyl, liquid soap, incense stick etc. After successful completion of the training Kalandars were felicitated at a function organized by WTI. Eighteen Kalandars received certificates and bank drafts, which would help them, start new livelihoods. About sixty individuals including the families of the Kalandars participated at the function. Prior to this event, legal agreements were signed between WTI and the Kalandars on the proposed alternate livelihoods.

The Kalandars here have been in the dancing bear profession for the past many decades. Out of the 55 Kalandar families in Bhopal, 22 families were found to be totally dependent on the dancing bears. Almost all members of the community here are illiterate and unskilled.

A nationwide survey has been initiated to identify the Kalandar settlements in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan. Data on family size, population size, occupation other than dancing bear, health status of the bears, registration of the bears provided under section 40 A of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, rehabilitation status of the Kalandars and the number of sloth bears still being used has been collected from a few important Kalandarsettlements.

Many Kalandars have expressed their willingness to accept the alternative livelihood options,  if they get help. The elders of the Panchayat have also promised to extend support by building consensus among the Kalandars through discussions about alternative livelihood and rehabilitation.

 

Some Kalandars who illegally own sloth bears have also expressed their desire to surrender their bears in return for adequate rehabilitation. Given this positive response from the Kalandars it was felt that Lifetime Care Centres for bears will be essential in the future to undertake rescue and rehabilitation. Keeping in mind the limitations of the existing rescue facilities - inadequate space for animals in various zoos and that of the lone centre at Agra an alternate facility was considered crucial for the rescue and rehabilitation of the bears.

 

A ‘dancing bear’ on an average earns rupees five hundred per day in cities, however in rural areas they usually earn less. Besides this, Kalandars also sell Tabeej (talisman) made out of its hair, claw and teeth. It is considered that a male bear usually performs better than a female. These bears are acquired by the Kalandars from the local community who traps them in the adjoining forests.

 

In many states, as a result of strict enforcement of law against erring offenders many Kalandars have adopted alternative livelihood as daily wage earners (laborers) in agriculture, small industrial units and as rickshaw pullers. Interaction with the Kalandars revealed that earnings from these sources were small (rupees 50 – 70 per day) and had not been of much help.

 

In addition, with 10 to 12 dependents in each family, which is considerably large as compared to their meager earnings, has made the situation even worse. Children are often dropouts or have never enrolled in school, partly due to the nomadic lifestyle of the Kalandars or due to poverty.

 

The Wildlife Trust of India in collaboration with the various forest departments and with support from WSPA has initiated several measures to identify the areas of intervention.

 

After the ban on the street performances of dancing bears in 1998, many Kalandar families had to abandon this profession and were forced into rag-picking, worked as labourers, part-time drivers, or entered into small roadside ventures. Therefore, for any meaningful rehabilitation of Kalandars, a holistic approach is important.