MENDHA-LEKHA VILLAGE

MENDHA-LEKHA VILLAGE

Executive Summary
Mendha village is a perfect example of what a socially unprivileged but strongly united, and 
motivated community can achieve following the path of non violence (ahimsa), learning to be 
informed (adhyayan), and self-rule (swaraj). This is an example of a village where villagers 
would escape into the forest when any outsiders came to visit them about four decades back. 
Today no government schemes, including those related to natural resources, can be implemented
without the permission of the village. As a matter of fact, no one can even visit them without 
their explicit permission. This has been achieved through a long journey with many ups and 
downs. At the centre of the journey has been the understanding that the crux of what a community 
achieves depends on the strength of its governance system and local institutions. In order to make 
these conditions most effective the village has followed the following principles, among others:
1. Open and transparent discussions in the village on any relevant issue
2. Developing a clear and informed understanding before taking any decisions
3. Taking decisions only after reaching a consensus 
4. Not allowing any external intervention in village decisions (external intervention could 
be at the level of developing understanding during the study group meetings but not while 
actually taking a decision)
5. All conflicts within or with outsiders to be resolve through dialogues and discussions 
following non-violent means
In addition to the above, two other factors that have played an important role in the success of the 
village have been:
1. Unselfish and inspirational leadership by a group of elders led by Devaji Tofa
2. Timely and need-based help by civil society groups such as Mohan Hirabai Hiralal of 
Vrikshamitra, 
The village very strongly believes that no external support can help a community if the village 
itself is not willing and united.
In last few years, the major achievements of the village because of following the above principles 
include:
1. Establishing fair and just management systems for the forests around the village, which 
are legally under the jurisdiction of the state government.
2. Resolving conflicts with neighbors not keen to follow the established rules, through 
continuous dialogues
3. Helping to reach a political stage within their taluka (administrative unit constituting a 
cluster of a few villages), where governance by elected representatives has been replaced 
by selection of a deserving candidate based on their achievements.
4. Ensuring year round livelihood options for themselves
An important lesson that could be learnt from Mendha is the concept of study circles. The 
villagers strongly believe that decision making powers can only be effective if the mechanism to 
make informed decisions are in place. Uninformed decisions can be irresponsible and dangerous. 
Regular informal discussions are therefore a way of life in the village. As the youth now prepare 
to take on the work from their elders the same concept of abhayas (continuous learning) has been 
ingrained in them



Background
In last decade or so Mendha (Lekha) (hereon Mendha) has arguably become among the villages 
most written about, in India, regarding their Community Conserved Area (CCA).. Ten years ago 
Kalpavriksh conducted a study in the village seeking to understand why and how the village was 
protecting a patch of forest that legally did not belong to it and how a small group of seemingly 
powerless tribal people were able to thwart all administrative efforts to stop them from doing so. 
Subsequently, much was written about Mendha in popular media, many researchers conducted 
studies with them and many government schemes were implemented there (as they were 
estimated to become a sure success). In 2003, Devaji Tofa of Mendha (one of the village leaders 
behind the movement) made a presentation at the World Parks Congress in Durban (South 
Africa). Many independent consultants, social activists, some government officials and NGOs 
have claimed orally and in their writings that Medha village has taught them many lessons and 
helped them revise many of their prior opinions and beliefs.
Objectives of the study
This consultation was conducted with the following main objective:
1. To revisit Mendha after ten years to learn from the course of action that the village has 
taken since the early study by Kalpavriksh. 
2. To understand the elements of its sustainability, and major threats, challenges and 
opportunities that the village faces today.
3. To understand villagers view on how national and international recognition has helped 
them, if at all. 
4. To understand their views about international recognition and the processes by which 
such recognition should happen.
5. To understand how the village has adopted various laws, which provide space for CCAs. 
This includes, in particular, the implementation and impacts of the newly adopted 
Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006
(hereon FRA). This landmark act attempts to undo the historical injustice to scheduled 
tribes and other forest dependent communities in India by giving them ownership rights 
over lands occupied by them and community rights over the forests traditionally being 
used by them. For the first time in India, this act also gives the communities a right to 
protect a patch of forests, and to constitute a committee for its management. This could 
be an important provision for providing legal backing to many forest based CCAs in 
India.