My first masons session in Bihar

Location
Village – Madheli-Hariraha,
Block – Shankapur,
District – Madhepura,
State – Bihar, India

Date
2nd of April

This was a pleasant exercise after a long gap. And apologies for making it late, thought it would be worthwhile to share.

With SEEDS, my employer of yore, and now in the consultants capacity for them, I had this chance to conduct an orientation event¹ with the masons in the eastern part of Bihar state in India. This event - “building artisans experience and knowledge sharing session" was a part of the flood rehabilitation and mitigation initiative by SEEDS as a part of an umbrella group called ODRC, short for - Owner Driven Rehabilitation Collaborative – which basically is a group of rehabilitation experts working along side the GOB (Government Of Bihar).

There are some photos of the event here (on Google's slideshow).

Part 1 of 2

This place, the Koshi region of Bihar, now famous because of the perpetual flooding disasters, has mostly been untouched by modern lifestyle wants. Locals here live much more close to their traditions – and one can argue as well, 'the nature'. And the masons from here, who I am talking about and also insisting be called artisans, play a major role in building and shaping how their living environment looks.

Usually, the first image of a mason (or artisan if you agree) that would come to mind is a guy, the masculine one of the homo-sapiens who with a big spoon in his hands works with some material, often cement, to build a house or something similar. On his head he could be wearing a helmet, a cap or a turban.

We also know about migration, which means moving places in order to survive, so as to get some work to eat and the dignity to live. A major herd of these movers is of construction workers who move to the cities which in turn gives them the opportunities to work at building sites or somebody’s homes. The best of these builders, this artisan finds that from being a master decision maker earlier in his village, he is now working on instructions by a much neater dressed man, known as either an engineer or a contractor. The artisan, oh sorry, the mason doesn’t need to give much inputs, because the buildings look bigger and complicated, and after all he is being paid to do his job. He is also accompanied with an assistant, popularly known as a labourer².

So, with traditional and modernity hand in hand, the masons or artisans, working either in a village or a city, and present for this session, are classifiable into following skill groups –

1. Cement and masonry
2. Mud potters and tile producers
3. Bamboo artisans
4. Wood craftsmen
5. Steel fabricators
6. Village men turning to labour work and many expecting improved prospects in becoming a mason.


Part 2 of 2

Now, thirty of the masons attending (5 each from 6 groups above) was exactly the number I had sought, and got. Thanks to SEEDS community mobilisation method, where the names of candidates is obtained wherever it intervenes. This session was a conclusion event for the hub³ we had constructed along with the local artisans and assistance from the local populace. The construction of the hub itself had been a kind of hands-on exchange. I will try to write about this later in some other post.

But now conducting this training for a majority of artisans from the nearby villages, I realised that I am a new guy, an outsider, and not exactly a mason even! And if I think reasonably, many of them are more experienced than me. Differences between me and the audience becomes apparent because I look uptight. Also note, I am equipped with degrees from a couple of universities. I can communicate in seemingly correct Anglish which appears impressive. I also speak about something called a career, and I can exploit modern tools such as internet or newspapers or contacts to use my qualifications and experience to work in different forms and fields of civil engineering. I also do have the option of making better money or an allegedly better life to migrate. Actually, I may be the best guy to conduct these sessions.

The youngest attending was a steel fabricator, a charming boy claimed he is eighteen.

We were clear that since this was the maiden event of such a kind around, one day of session will not be adequate to hone any skills sets, or what others may argue as deliver safer construction skills sessions. We realised we need to more closely understand the local context. Thus, our work would be more effective if we utilise the day in sensitising the masons and artisans about the impact their work has, and finding a rational way forward. So this is what we tried to do - initiate a dialogue rather than any formal training, so as to pave a way forward.

In the first half of the day, it was we the session experts who mainly spoke. On topics such as basics of constructions, structures, disasters, roles of all involved, and many many. Also, urging the attendees to participate rather than only listen to our blabbers.

And, artisans in return listened in admiration which their eyes showed. I am sure there brew up loads of questions inside which were to come out later in the day.

Then there were a few confusions about the arrangements with the lunch provisioning, nevertheless the food was there. The best item we found was a local speciality called – chana kaddu ki subji (pea and pumpkin stew).

The plan in the second half was to make the attending artisans take some initiative, and for which we had a group discussion session designed. Each group was to present a small speech based on their discussions. Hesitant they were initially, eventually they came forward and spoke. As expected a lot of interesting points came out. I think, since this was their first time with something like this, I feel they will be far better equipped when the next session is conducted.

The day concluded with felicitation of the attendees – which means the participants garlanded with a gamcha; and the local government officials and guest panchayats leaders lending thanks you votes and notes, and some useful wise words.

Now packing up, the day’s light had almost faded, and a group of masons, my artisans, came to me and smilingly one of them asked-

“saab, are we going to have more sessions like these in future?”

First I tell him not to call me saab, then, I ask back, “why? do you have spare time to come for free?”

Raising his chin sideways he says, “why not, sure this was fun…and….” (sorry the author forgets flattery)

I replied, “Let’s hope.”

***

Post Script

1. Masons capacity building exercises are understood to be an important component in reducing the vulnerabilities against natural hazards.

2. In appearance, there exists a feeble distinction between this mason and his helper. These days i.e. towards the end of first decade of the 21st century, this mason earns around Rs 250 for a day’s labour and his assistant, a labour around 120. They don’t run out of work usually unless the market is really bad, and if you can give them a job guarantee for a month they can give you a 50% discount on the monthly total gross.

3. Hub - A facility aiming to cater to the built environment, housing and development needs of the region. Being implemented in Bihar, at block level catering to appx. 100,000 population size.

***