January 9, 2025

Finding Trust in Community

After a hardy meal and good company, we venture back onto the bus. We’ve been told to make observations with a clear and open mind. I see buildings with vibrant colors. I see streets lined with motorbikes, and motorbikes, and again, more motorbikes. I see chili peppers sitting on the steps of people’s homes. I observe those chili peppers laid, but I have no idea what it truly means for them to be placed there. When experiencing our day with the Green Foundation and all the lovely people from a few Self-Help Groups (SHG’s) of the Maralwadi cluster, we’re able to learn about their work and lives. I have no idea what this type of work truly means, but I can relate to the sense of community the Green Foundation and the SHG’s showed me throughout the day.

Starting with the first SHG, consisting of 13 farmers growing a variety of millets, we observed people coming together to form a small community themselves. This particular SHG’s farmers bring their product to a centralized building we all visited, where they then process and prepare the product for the Green Foundation. In partnership, the Green Foundation helps market and sell the product to a broader audience. We learned that this farmers community use this SHG, you could say as a part-time job. While they also have other responsibilities, they entrust in each other that they can make a good quality product.

We continued to a second SHG, which primarily focused on the production of oils, such as coconut and groundnut oils. We were able to see firsthand how the coconut oil is made, starting with the husked coconut drying in a greenhouse designed to protect it from animals, who also find coconut quite delicious. We then watched the coconuts getting pressed down through a machine and the oil slowly filling up the pot. The byproduct of the pressed coconut, we found out, was even a tasty little treat! It turns out they usually just feed it to the cow. Regardless, we learned that this SHG opened and initially bought their equipment with a loan. The group of farmers formed a community that relied on mutual financial support, as well as commitment to the start of a business. If even one person gave up on this business model or could no longer contribute, the rest of the group would have to make up for it. The idea of trust immediately came to mind and how often we need to find trust in the community around us. The idea of how often we have to embrace kindness to find our community, was a major point of reflection for me.

As we made our way to the Green Foundation’s new processing building, which opens in a few weeks, I was able to observe the community that is home to one of the 47 SHG’s in the Maralwadi cluster. Walking down the road, we’re asked what are you doing here? Who are you? Would you like to come see my home? A 10-year-old boy looking at you and asking for your name and shaking your hand with a smile. To me, that is the epitome of community being rooted in trust and kindness. While I don’t know what it’s like to work in this special community, I do know what it feels like to try my hardest in trusting and embracing kindness from those around me.

To me, the start of community can be a simple smile. Community can even be venturing back onto the bus. I still do wonder what the chili peppers mean.

By
Chloe