Hunting, in India, is prohibited by law and the offense is non-bailable. Yet, the Jurai people living in the Koraput district of Odisha have an exemption. On account of a festival called “Chaithi Parab”, people can hunt for 15 days a year.
Population in the Project Area: 801,000
The People
India
The Jurai people are an ethnic group primarily found in the state of Odisha, India. They are believed to be a subgroup of the larger Kondh tribe, which is one of the largest indigenous communities in the region. The Jurai people are concentrated mainly in Ganjam District, Gajapati District (central Gumma Hills region (Gumma Block), etc.), and Rayagada District, but are also found in adjacent areas such as Koraput and Phulbani districts; other communities exist in northern Andhra Pradesh (Vizianagaram District and Srikakulam District), Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and the Plains Division of Assam.
They have a mix of traditional shamanistic rituals and the surrounding Hinduism predominant in surrounding populations. In the Jurai community people mostly depend upon farming and manual labor. The also collect forest products and sell them. their income is very limited. In non-agricultural season, they go into surrounding forests and collect things that can be eaten or sold for money. Educational backwardness, illiteracy, and unemployment are the three areas where most of the community suffers. Some live in forest areas and the land is not officially registered. As a landless community, they always depend upon outsiders for jobs. They often forget the need for education in their pursuit for daily subsistence.
The Project
Mother-Tongue literacy.
Juari language is classified as an Austro-Asiatic language. This language is spoken by the Sora people, who are a part of the Adivasi. They do not have much in the way of literature except for a few songs and folk tales which are usually transmitted orally. The enthusiastic participation of the populace in the literacy program was palpable. The native speakers of the mother tongue exhibited a constructive mindset toward the development of scripts and educational materials. The materials, meticulously crafted by virtue of a predetermined blueprint and methodology, comprise a pre-reader, a series of books imparting systematic instruction on the alphabet, an associated storybook, a rudimentary mathematical tome, comprehensive teacher’s guides, a spelling guide, and an alphabet chart. The aforementioned educational aids were prepared in conjunction with linguistic experts to ensure their quality and efficacy.
Progress
As of March 2023
We have initiated a movement to bring the Juari people to the forefront of society. The literacy materials have been written and illustrated by native Juari speakers with the assistance of linguists and center around the daily lives of Juari villagers, allowing for a natural and engaging learning experience. The project coordinator, teachers, and literacy committee have all received comprehensive training to drive this important initiative forward, resulting in great success. The program offers students a unique opportunity to engage with stories in their heritage language, promoting the link between reading, writing, thinking, and knowing. This program is gaining momentum and will soon be implemented in additional villages, with more teachers and literature developed in the mother tongue. The lasting impact on the Juari community is expected to be significant.