Name : Sudhakarbhai Gauli and Jeevalbhai Gauli
District & State : Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Category : Herbal products
Award : National
Award Function : 7th National Grassroots Innovation Awards
Award Year : 2013
Innovation Description
Coccidiosis is one of the most common and economically important diseases affecting poultry the world over and is caused by protozoan parasites. Sudhakarbhai (50) and Jeevalbhai (58), two herbal healers from Dang have developed herbal formulation to address this problem. Both of them were identified during a Shodh yatra in their region in the year 2000 and have been associated since them.
Vanki is a small tribal village, where Sudhakarbhai (50), a traditional herbal healer lives with his family of six. He has very good knowledge of therapies for various livestock ailments and is helped by his wife in preparing various herbal formulations. Other members in his family include his eldest son who works as a wireman, younger one who looks after their 11 acres of ancestral land in Maharashtra, his youngest son looks after farming in Vanki itself and his daughter who is married. He has around six acres of land where he cultivates Nagli, Paddy, Pigeon pea and groundnut. He also has some cattle head to take care of. He is quite famous for his herbal treatments in the area and is easily approachable. He even has visitors from nearby Surat district.
His family traditionally has been involved in administering herbal medicines for curing various livestock ailments and he learnt the same through the elders. Realising the importance of this knowledge he made extra efforts to imbibe the maximum from his elders. Sudhakarbhai gives herbal medicines for poultry ailments, bloat in animals and diabetes in human.
Eldest among seven siblings Jeevalbhai was born and brought up in his mother’s village- Maharajchond, Dangs as his father was a ghar-jamai (husband who stays with his parent in law). He has seven members in his family- his wife, two sons, their wives and a grandchild. He owns 16 hectare of land, and some cattle head. Apart from working in his fields he also sometimes works as a casual labourer, getting rice and other food items in return of the labour. Sometimes, he also works in different rural government projects for earning money.
His village Kosambiya has around 300 families, most of which indulge in agricultural activities for their sustenance and grow paddy, verai, tuvar, maize etc. The main source of water is the river Khapri. The village is surrounded by dense forest and natural sub-tropical deciduous vegetation. Sometimes the villagers also work as migrant labourers in sugarcane and grape farms in the plains of Gujarat and Maharashtra. With only two bhagats (traditional healers) and trained dais (midwife), primary health facilities are negligible in the village.
http://nif.org.in/innovation/herbal-formulation-for-treating-coccidiosis-in-birds/524