More than 70% of our population belongs to the agricultural sector. The youth from the rural and tribal areas of our country form a formidable force to be channelised for national development. A large number of governmental and nongovernmental organizations have been set up to educate this sector, but their efforts are just drops in the ocean. A vocational guidance course for the small farmer is the need of the hour. The SOCIOCARE programme is designed to train the rural and tribal youth in the areas of agriculture, horticulture, herbal medicines and cottage industry. The course would be conducted in such a way that the youth can effectively implement the knowledge in their respective villages/areas and achieve a better living. The objective of the Centre is to impart training to farmers on "Economically Viable Farming"

Details of the scheme:

The Centre comprises infrastructure and facilities to train the rural youth (boys and girls) on modern methods of agriculture and biotechnology. The training would be of 30 days duration for one batch of 20 to 30 candidates. The trainees would undergo in plant training in various methods of agriculture such as, Plant propagation, Greenhouse and Tissue Culture methods for fruit and flower crops, and medicinal plants etc. The courses would be conducted by expert staff and visiting faculty drawn from different institutions such as Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Khadi Gram Udyog, NABARD and the State Government. Special lectures would be given on financial assistance available to the farmer and efforts would be made to generate interaction between the farmer and the funding agency.

Course work:

• Planting Material And Nursery Methods
• Greenhouse And Shadehouse Cultivation
• Biofertilizer
• Agronomy
• Harvest and Post Harvest Training
• Irrigation
• Agricultural Economics, Market Information
• Finance available, Government subsidies, Bank Loans
• Cottage industries
• Network

Through this training, the youth from the rural and tribal areas of our country would be able to learn and implement modern methods of agriculture. This will enable them to achieve better returns on their inputs into land, labour and money; and also generate scope for self-employment.

SAI PROTEIN FOOD (A SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE)

Preparing Sai Protein food is a Mahila Vibhagh Activity, but it encompasses the entire family into it. It has three dimensional impact.

SHARING AND CARING SADHANA - FAMILY
The fact that different ingredients are to be contributed by different members in different proportions/lots and that too in a time bound period, encourages feelings of sharing for the needy and poor.

The ingredients are also to be roasted up to certain extent. It involves intense concentration in this activity. During this time, one is fully engrossed in roasting least neither less roasted as it will harm the consumer, nor more roasted as it will spoil taste of the Sai Protein Food. Thus, sharing concept will encompass man folk as they have to contribute and caring concept will encompass women folk, as it is to be roasted up to certain extent.

GRINDING THE INGREDIENTS – INDIVIDUAL SADHANA
In this part the person responsible to prepare powder requires a high degree of devotion and care. She has to ensure that different lots received from different Mahila Members have a uniformly roasted ingredients, otherwise she has to roast them again. Before giving to flour mill, the ingredients are to be mixed in proper proportion and again warm them, so that flour mill can make a proper powder. Apart from this, items like Groundnuts, Ginger and Ilachi (Cardamom) are to be ground in the mixer at home. This is an individual Sadhana of a person/s. It is the most delicate art of preparing protein food.

COMMUNITY SADHANA
After the powder is ready, a group of Mahilas meet on a fixed day at fixed time. Here they chant Gayatri Mantra and with continuously chanting “Sai Ram”, they mix the powder and make packet of 300 Gms each. This is Community Sadhana. It is performed not for the benefits of all those who are involved in making them but to convert the “Protein Food” in to “Sai Protein Food” so that children who partake this, get benefited with this “Sathwik food” which is Sai Prasad.

The results have proved that malnourished children, who use “Sai Protein Food” have improved their health and expense on their medicines have reduced, thus benefiting poor and needy families. Their blessings is the satisfaction of undertaking this Sadhana.

The youth wing of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation, Mumbai with a view to alleviate the suffering of the villagers, took initiatives to provide these villagers with piped water. This project has benefited more than 1000 people in the villages of Tarpatti, Kombhultekdi, Maldunge and Satyechiwadi. Earlier the youth wing of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation had successfully completed a similar Water Project in the neighboring village of Dodhani, which today benefits more than 1200 people.

The current project was initiated on 20th April, 2003. After a few explanatory visits by geologists, a water table was cited at the village. After consultations with the local residents, digging of a well was taken up in right earnest.

The youth wing visited the village on the 20th April, conducted a medical camp, narayan seva and spiritual games for the villagers and also did a symbolic digging thus flagging off the project. Immediately after the monsoon season, construction of water storage tanks, laying an intricate network of water pipes over undulating terrain, construction of distribution points (tappas) and installation of booster pump were carried out.

The water was pumped into a storage tank and then through pipes distributed to various points in the villages. An additional tank was also constructed in the midst of the hill to distribute water for the two villages at the foothills. Thus the project was completed within a record time of 6 months.

The water was pumped into a storage tank and then through pipes distributed to various points in the villages. An additional tank was also constructed in the midst of the hill to distribute water for the two villages at the foothills. Thus the project was completed within a record time of 6 months.

On the appointed date 180 members of the youth wing along with the state president Shri Ramesh Sawant & the district president Shri Nimish Pandya visited the village.

Around 12 different points which included the tanks the 'tappas' & the well were inaugurated by the various guests who graced the occasion which included senior official from Reliance Industries, H D F C Bank & K P M G to the chanting of the 'Vedas'. This was followed by 'Nagarsamkeertan' wherein the youth came trekking down the hillock singing the glory of God making the entire surroundings resonate with Doivine vibrations.