Curry for Change

Changing the lives of families
who suffer from hunger.

Guddu from India is making her voice heard

Guddu from India is making her voice heard

With vital support from our Curry for Change hosts, people living in poverty in India are speaking out against injustice.

The village of Chandayn in India is located high up in the beautiful and dramatic landscape of the Himalayan foothills. Chandayn is just one of the many small villages that can be found hidden amongst the mountains, and is a truly isolated community. The tribal people who live here are thought to be some of the original, indigenous inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent.  

Yet today these people face hunger, poverty and injustice on a daily basis.

Tribal people are cut off from much of Indian society and, with little support from the government, are often taken advantage of and denied access to their own lands.

Guddu, a female farmer from Chandayn, used to own four hectares of land that she would farm to grow food for herself and her family. One day a wealthy land owner of a higher caste seized her land and refused her access. As a tribal woman, she didn’t have the means or support to stand up to him. In order to provide for her family, she was forced to find work as a labourer, and would have to spend hours in the blistering heat with no water.

Find Your Feet set up a support group in Guddu’s community, in order to provide knowledge and resources for local people to enable them to fight for their rights.

Guddu is just one of the 10,500 people in this area who have received training and support thanks to Find Your Feet. The training has helped her to understand her individual right to own land. As a result, Guddu has been able to submit a legal claim and is fighting to have her land returned to her. In the meantime, she has formed a group with nine other women, and together they are leasing a piece of land which they use to grow vegetables such as wheat, rice, maize and potatoes, on their own terms. Guddu is also helping other women like her to understand their basic rights that allow them to earn a living and provide food for their families.

“Before, we were not allowed to collect wood from the forest and we had to walk very far. Even then we did not always manage to get the wood. This made it difficult to cook and make a livelihood. After joining the support group, I received training in forestry and I helped many of the women in the village to get a permit so they can now collect wood from the forest.”

YOU can help more women like Guddu to fight for their rights. Host your Curry for Change night before December 31st 2015 and every penny raised will be doubled by Natco Foods, making double the difference.

So let’s get cooking for change! Browse our recipe section for inspiration. 

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