The Wisdom of an Indian Peanut Farmer

Today another village girl from Sindhi came to Barli accompanied by her uncle.  She was tearful, as they all are, leaving family and the comfort of the familiar behind.  I wanted to know what the relatives think of the girls that come to Barli, so we set up an interview.  It was a complicated affair as I needed two translators—one from English into Hindi and another from Hindi into Bhilali.  We sat down and began.  I asked him why he was bringing this girl to Barli.  He explained that she was his niece. 

About 1995, one girl in his village received training at Barli.  He was so impressed by the change in the girl that he brought his own daughter.  His daughter is now working and sewing clothes, so he brought his niece.  He replied that after his daughter received training she became more aware of things. She teaches others how to treat snakebite and gives advice about what is the right and wrong way to do things. She now makes about two blouses a day and earns 15 rupees (about 35¢) each for them and she chants beautiful prayers.

There is only agriculture work and no jobs nearby in his village. This work enables his daughter to stay at home. 

He moved to the region his village is in, which is considered a backward place with high infant mortality, about 20 years ago because he had very little land and the land was being offered at a very cheap price.  He grows peanuts as a cash crop, millet and pulses.  He receives about 20,000 Rs ($435) a year for his peanuts.   The village is located on a hill and in the rainy season, there are mudslides and the roads are impassable. 

I asked him what the greatest need in his village was and he replied better roads and transportation.  If someone is sick, they have to be carried on someone’s back and then it is a 24 hour trip to the hospital by foot.  For daily needs, like food supplies, it is about a two hour walk.   

I asked what his hope for his daughters’ future was and he said that he wants them to have a better future. Now they have skill and can stay at home and improve their future. 

He has three daughters and four sons.  He has given two daughters training at Barli and is waiting to bring the last one.  He observed with pride how his daughter promotes her sewing skill.  She waits outside of fabric stores, and as customers buy cloth, she comes forward and asks them if they need a seamstress to make the clothes.  They do and she invariably gets the job.  She writes down a record of their measurements and names and then delivers the finished products within a week.  This action implies that the girl has confidence in herself and markets her skill effectively.  

Three of his sons are still small, but he has insisted that they go to school to learn tailoring too.  He said that land can’t grow, but giving children education improves their future more securely than land.   It looks like he is starting a tailoring dynasty.  Because of his daughter, his sons are now receiving an education.  He owns a Jeep, which is operated by his eldest son, and has started a transport service with it.  He is an enterprising, entrepreneurial man.  One half of the income from this business goes towards maintenance and upkeep of the Jeep and the other half is income.

He said education is a key to prosperity.  When he sent his first girl to Barli, she came back and told him how important literacy is to benefit people.  As a result, all of his children except his oldest son, who was grown by the time his daughter went to Barli, have schooling and are literate.  

I asked him what the most important virtue was.  He reflected a moment and then said, “Courage.  Whenever we step out we should move forward with courage.”

At the end, I asked him if he had any wisdom to share with me.  He replied, referring to himself, “It is by our behavior that we can show the people the way to develop themselves.  If there was no education there would be idle people and that is not good.”  

I thanked him and said that he was an example of courage because he was strengthening the other wing of humanity, women.  

He brought out some peanuts that he raised on his farm and shared them with us.  They were very tiny, compared to peanuts I had seen before, and all fit on a leaf about 1 ½ inches square.  It was explained to me that these peanuts were kept for eating and the higher grade was sold for income.  I told him that a President of the United States was a peanut farmer.  He chuckled as he walked back to his village.

                                                                          ~ Vickie

                                                 Water pots at Barli