Students from U.K. to work on a project for tribals

[sajiv]

CHENNAI: The Irulas living near the Pulicat Lake will soon be the subject of research for a team of four students from the University of Nottingham, U.K., who have partnered with students of Alpha Arts and Science College under the Students for Free Enterprise (SIFE) programme.

The joint team will work on a project to develop an income-generating enterprise for the Irula community. They will receive funding from corporate partners of SIFE. Non-governmental organisation, Centre for Research on New International Economic Order, will guide the team in its project work.

"The Irulas are poor and do not enjoy any rights over the marine resources in Pulicat to support their livelihood," says Harini Manivannan, a student of economics from the University. She learnt about the hardships faced by the Irula community in 2005, soon after the tsunami.

In the course of doing relief work in this area as a volunteer, Harini has come to empathise with the livelihood challenges faced by this community. "I had long wanted to return to India to do something for the community and found that opportunity through SIFE," she says.

Harini is accompanied by her batchmates and SIFE members Laura Ward, Harshdeep Kohli and Phil Ronayne. They will be collaborating with Alpha College students Mahalakshmi, Mariam Verghese, K.Sree Vishnupriya, R.Naresh, A.S.Bharadwaj and T.K.Suraj.

The college students had previously initiated a successful project with the fisherfolk of Rameswaram to cultivate seaweed.

Mr.Ronayne said they wished to benefit from the experience, which Alpha students had already acquired, in implementing the seaweed project. "We would like to empower the local community in our project area through knowledge transfer and developing sustainable livelihood projects." The students will leave for a survey tour of Pulicat on Thursday.