Training of women farmers for ecologically sound self-reliant farming SOPPECOM is currently working with over 200 women farmers in six districts of Marathwada and Vidarbha region to facilitate transition to ecologically sound self-reliant farming. The work is being done in collaboration with Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch (MAKAAM) and Chetana Vikas, Wardha. As part of this programme every year a three-day training is conducted with women farmers at Chetana Vikas in Wardha. Details of the content and nature of this training could be found here

Identify and build capacities of women leaders amongst cane cutters for feminist organising for their rights SOPPECOM, as the secretariat of MAKAAM, has been actively working on the issues of women cane cutters since 2019 in various capacities. Initially, SOPPECOM started working in 30 villages of Beed district, supported by the Women's Fund for Asia. The major objective was to identify and build the capacities of 30 women leaders among sugarcane cutters from three talukas of Beed District, to mobilize women cane cutters, and to lead awareness-building at the district level for their rights, with the long-term goal of creating collectives of women sugarcane cutters in Maharashtra. The program entered its second phase in January 2022, expanding to include Hingoli district. Currently, the work is being implemented in a total of 80 villages (10 villages from each taluka, four talukas from each district) across Beed and Hingoli. The various trainings organized since the beginning of the program are: Training of Trainers - Training of trainers was conducted for the district and block coordinators in June 2022. After the review of work done by the team, the following topics were covered 1. Building a gender perspective to the work; 2. understanding their rights and entitlements as sugarcane workers; 3. Understanding reproductive health and the public health systems trained on menstrual hygiene, anaemia and public health system. Online Training on Conducting Mahila Gram Sabhas - The women leaders were supposed to organise Mahila Gram Sabhas on the occasion of 17th September i. e. Marathwada Liberation Day. So, an online training was organised on 17th August 2022 with Block Coordinators who were supposed to guide the women leaders on the importance of Gram Sabhas and the role and power of Mahila Gram Sabhas. Harshada Walake from Mahila Rajsatta Andolan was the trainer. Online training on how to fill calendar details and health survey in the app - Online training on how to fill a calendar prepared to track their work during cane cutting season and a questionnaire to fill all the health-related issues and the expenses on same during the season was organised on 1st Nov 2022. The training was provided to the Taluka and District Coordinators. Online training on communication skills - Online training was organised with Block and District coordinators on 8th February 2023 to develop their skills in communication Online training on communication skills - Online training was organised with Block and District coordinators on 8th February 2023 to develop their skills in communication Trainings on calculations of advance settlements - Taluka-wise training sessions were held for women cane cutter leaders in Beed on April 18th and 19th, 2023 with 32 participants, and in Hingoli on May 17th and 18th, 2023, with 25 participants. The training, conducted by Ravindra Thorat and Manisha Tokle, focussed on the calculation of advance settlements after the cane cutting season. Training on women's health, menstrual hygiene - A women's health and menstrual hygiene training for women leaders took place from August 16th to 18th, 2023, in both Beed and Hingoli. Anaemia, menstrual hygiene, awareness about use of saline, discussion on common illnesses, how to improve water quality at phad, the powers of Jan Arogya Samiti at both PHC and Sub-Centre levels and the role of members of JAA were covered during the training session. Training on second round of survey - A second round of survey was conducted to gather information on children aged 0 to 6 years, school-going children, and pregnant and lactating mothers. To facilitate this, an online training session on how to complete the second round of the survey was organized on July 24th and 25th, 2023. Arogya Sakhi training - Health issues among cane cutters are prevalent due to continuous work and lack of breaks, leading them to avoid visiting hospitals. To address this concern, SOPPECOM has undertaken the initiative to train selected women cane cutters who will migrate for cane cutting as 'Arogya Sakhi'. The training took place at BAIF from September 13th to 15th, 2023, with Bhausaheb Aher and Trupti Malti as trainers. Training sessions on calendar entries and Time Use Survey entries - In September 2023, training sessions on calendar and Time Use Survey (TUS) entries were conducted. Thirty selected women cane cutters, who had consistently recorded their work hours and truck details for over 100 days last season, were provided with calendars and TUS forms. They will document cane-cutting hours and idle days for the entire season and household chores for 10 days each month. Physical training sessions were held in Beed and Hingoli. Training on the types of photos and videos that can be taken while in the phad - In the last cane-cutting season, cane cutters captured photos and videos to share their work and issues, significantly enhancing our understanding of their lives. However, many photos were repetitive and taken from a distance. Despite limitations in photo quality, a training session was held in September 2023. The training focused on the types of photos and videos to capture, techniques for taking effective photos, and how these can be used to amplify their voices and highlight their issues. Trainings on calculations of advance settlements - A training on advance settlements was conducted last year, but it was observed that only a few cane cutters used the training effectively. With the new wage rates declared by the Sugarcane Federation in 2023, it was crucial to ensure that advances were settled accordingly. Therefore, revision trainings were planned after the cane cutters returned and their advance calculations were still pending. On May 29, 2024, a training session was held at Vignaharta Hotel in Beed district with 17 participants, and on May 30, 2024, another session was held at Sai Resort, Hingoli with 30 participants. These sessions reviewed the benefits of last year's training and provided a refresher to ensure advances are settled using the new wage rates. Jan Arogya Samiti members Review and Training - On June 6th and 7th, 2024, a Review and Training session of the JAS members of Beed and Hingoli was held at S.M. Joshi Hall to assess the capacities of women cane cutter representatives who had been selected as members of their respective sub-centres after a training program on the structure, roles, and powers of Jan Arogya Samiti last year. The session aimed to refresh their knowledge, enhance their capacities, and plan for future activities. Thirty participants engaged in various activities, games, and group exercises to reinforce training points and facilitate planning.