Arjun is a farmer of Dodrepal village, his main source of income was farming and in seasons other than rainy season he used to work as a labour. With this he was merely able to earn an income of 18 to 20000 Rs per annum. With this income it was very difficult for him and his family to survive. During Wadi project in Dodrepal, Bastar he decided to plant mango and cashew in a field, but the land of the area was not fertile enough to grow mango and cashew there. So, Arjun was very excited & he decided to bring soil from some other area for his plantation work. He never gave up and worked hard to grow mango and cashew in the field. Today he earns around 52000-55000 Rs per annum from this 1-acre land where he grows mangoes and cashews. He sells mangoes in the nearby mandi and sells cashews to cashew processing unit which was set up in Dodrepal during the Wadi project.

Produce from agriculture, could hardly meet 2 meals a day, for other needs, we were bound to earn out of wages. Repeated meetings, contacts, and persuasions from Chhattisgarh Agricon Samiti (P.I.A.) executives, made me to participate in the wadi Project. How-ever P.I.A. arranged our visits to adjoining districts and developed plantation under the Project sponsored by NABARD, I had talked to wadi holders. I was a changed person and could feel the rays of hope in me. I developed a participatory will. My wadi got quipped with barbed wire fencing & well. After reclamation of field, high-quality plants i.e 25 plants of mango, 40 plants of guava and some other fruits were planted in my field. I was made to understand that till the fruit plants begin to pour income, I could go for intercropping with vegetables or other crops, which will sustain the income initially. I took, vegetables and Urad as intercrop, which in turn meet my needs sufficiently. Today I am a proud farmer, and don’t need to work as labour anymore. With my present income, I could afford to buy a T.V., 2 Cycles, and other petty needs.