Kavita Devi, a 26-year-old woman farmer from Kimkhola village in Dharchula block, Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, has transformed into a strong community leader with ARPAN’s support and mentorship. Her husband, Harish Singh (30), works as a daily wage laborer. The couple has three children, all studying in a government residential school for tribal children. Kavita supplements their income by working as a daily wage laborer, collecting grass and wood from the forest to sell at Jauljibi market, along with engaging in agricultural and other manual labor.
Kavita inspires other women in her community to raise their voices. She actively promotes awareness about government schemes and facilitates access to them. Her regular participation in village, block, and district-level meetings has established her as a prominent community advocate. Kavita is associated with the Mahila Kisan Sangathan (Women Farmers’ Collective), a village-level group formed in 2016 to assert women farmers’ identity and rights. Currently serving as president of the Mahila Kisan Phoona Devi Sangathan, she leads a collective of 35 Raji women. She also serves on the Forest Rights Committee (FRC) under FRA 2006, assisting the Gram Sabha in verifying and processing forest rights claims. Additionally, Kavita heads a self-help group (SHG) under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), where five women members regularly meet, save money, and invest in livelihood-generating activities.
When the district administration sanctioned multipurpose halls for Raji villages, Kavita discovered contractors, in collusion with some officials, planned to build their village’s hall at a lower altitude, far from the village. She mobilized villagers to demand proper relocation, organizing community meetings and leading a delegation to the Pithoragarh District Official. Learning that all village land belonged to the Forest Department and acquisition would be time-consuming, Kavita and her husband generously donated 1.5 Naali (0.03 hectares) of their own land to enable immediate construction.
Kavita acknowledges ARPAN’s pivotal role in their collective empowerment: “Once united through our collective, we gained strength to oppose exploitation. Previously, Gram Sabha members, officials, and health workers rarely visited our remote village, and we didn’t understand these meetings’ importance. Now, with ARPAN’s support, we actively participate in local, block, and district-level meetings. Gram Sabha meetings finally happen in our village.”
Her courageous leadership has made Kavita a community role model. After receiving leadership training from ARPAN, she now represents Raji women at the Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch (MAKAAM), a national alliance advocating for women farmers’ rights.