NaRKEL – Natural Revolution with Koconut (Coconut) for Ecology and Livelihood

NaRKEL (stands for Coconut in Bengali- the language of the local populace) is a collaborative project between MUKTI, a charitable and socio-economic development organization established in 2003 and which strives to improve for the social and economic condition of the less and underprivileged section of the society and both Government of India and West Bengal. The primary goal of the project is to build large scale coconut plantations in abandoned and non-arable lands on both sides of river embankments for the social and economic development of Sunderban region. The coconut trees would not only protect the Delta from natural disasters but also generate the much needed revenue, create jobs and industries to make the region economically self-reliant.

Coconut is not a mere fruit in this region but called “The Tree of Life” since it’s the only cash crop that can grow on saline soil and use saline water for irrigation. It requires very low maintenance and is more resilient than any other tree.

In July 2008, MUKTI initiated the pilot project of NaRKEL. The Phase I of the project involved MUKTI building a nursery with 8500 coconut seeds, the fund and labor of it being provided through the NREGA scheme (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act – an Indian job guarantee scheme, enacted by legislation on August 25, 2005) of West Bengal Government. The project is being implemented at the grass root level by 2 types of units- Coconut Nursery Unit (CNU) and Coconut Gardening Unit (CGU) respectively. From mere definition, CNU will be involved in growing the saplings from the coconut seeds and CGU will plant the saplings in designated areas and maintain and nurture them to their adulthood. Each unit will be provided with 1000 seeds as raw material with each unit delivering 700 saplings after one year.

The project is humungous with 3500 km of river embankment being made available in Sunderban for the coconut plantation. This project also encompasses 133,811 hectares of land available for Project NaRKEL. The project was initiated in 2008 and is one of the biggest projects of MUKTI with its end deliverables planned for the year 2017 through a cumulative massive project budget of Rs. 1,231,700,000 respectively. Beyond Phase I, MUKTI has successfully even finished the Phase II of this project with the successful plantation of 4000 saplings.

To honor the success, a small ceremony was held on 11.09.2009 by MUKTI with the honorable presence of Dr. Saugata Ghose, the Director of Coconut Development Board (eastern zone). The clippings of the ceremony are attached below this document in which the Director not only handed over the coconut saplings to the needy villagers but also explained the viability of the coconut trees in their region as well as in their lives. As a kind gesture, MUKTI also provided 2-4 coconut saplings from its coconut nursery to every villager of the three villages in the Nagendrapur GP sector of Sunderban. Coconut trees are almost indigenous of Sunderban area and easily cultivable in the marshy and saline soil. Hence, with proper training and expertise, the multi-purpose coconut trees can improve the living conditions of the people, prevent soil erosion, promote tourism, provide rigidity to river embankments prone to natural calamities, minimize deforestation excessive logging, curtail rising sea level due to global warming and numerous other benefits cumulatively improving the lives of the people and their living standard.

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