Training Animator and then worked as the Training Coordinator in 

Program for Community Organization (PCO) in 1980s and early 90s.

The Program for Community Organization (PCO) was the off-shoot by the team of social workers assigned by the Bishop Peter Bernard Pereira in the socio-development project, popularly known as ‘Marianad Project’, funded by European Catholic Agencies like Caritas.

Maryanad Project

In 1978, that team of ‘social workers’, who later became professionals and consultants, initiated this non-profit organization or non-governmental organization, NGO as refered in India. In early 80’s, after my Masters in Economics, while teaching in Tutoring Colleges, Fr.Paul Valiakandathil S.J., the Director of Fides Center and the Publisher, invited me to be the Managing Editor of ‘Theerasabdam’ (‘the voice of the coast’). The Magazine was the extention of the Fides Center, a Jesuit project, based at Poonthura, my parish. That project was the off-shoot of the AICUF activities in the coastal villages in general and in Poonthura in particular. I had associated before with the Jesuit-priests in general and this Fr. Paul in particular, while being a college-student in AICUF (I was the regional President of the AICUF in 1978, inccidentally the year of the formation of the PCO!) and in the early years of the Fides Center. I accepted that invitation of Fr Paul Valiakandathil SJ, as the Managing Editor of the Theerasabdam, in 1983, in spite the then Managing Editor Mr Baisil Fernandez had discouraged me, saying, the magazine being a social one and not commercial, it would not sustain. That warning came out true. During those of my prime-youth years, I tried my best to sustain the magazine. Even, I pooled money from my sisters to be a partner of the Samarpan Printers, to have own press to print this magazine, when Fr.Paul mooted that idea. It was another risky venture, as the technology was obsolete one (the teddle-press, which was replaced by the off-set printing, (which may be compared with the displacement of the  typewriters by the computers). Mr John Fernandez (late), with whom, I had closely associated in my early college years as part of AICUF and Fides Center, by that time had returned from Nigeria with his family (he was teaching there).

In 1984, PCO invited both of us to take the responsibility of the Training (CAPART Project, funded by the Govt.of India). It was mainly to impart training programs for the fish workers and the coastal-youth. John joined as the Training Coordinator and I joined as the Training Animator. Aftern John’s phase I was assigned as the Training Coordinator.

Photos below:

The inauguration of the Fish workers training series (FTP) by the Deputy Fisheries Director, Govt. of Kerala, Shri. Appukkuttan K, . Fr.Eugene Pereira (the present Vicar General of Arch Diocese, Trivandrum, and John Fernandez); . Right: Clement addressing the gathering (sitting from left to right: Fr Eugene Pereira, DD Fisheries Dept, Govt.of Kerala, and John).

John addressing the new FTP (Fish workers Training Program) Panel; sitting from left: Clement, T.R.Thankappan Achari, Late (who worked as the Head of PCO Research Cell, after his retirment from the Govt service), Director, Fisheries Department, Govt. of Kerala, etc

Handling a Training session for the Fish workers group at PCO Hall (below); right-side P.C.Gomez, ?,

John Fernandez and Mercy Alexander

PCO General Body Meeting: John Fernandez presenting the Annual Report

PCO Team and Friends Meeting  

From room to steets: Seminars, Agitations, Gatherings, ………

‘The Water and Life’ Seminar as part of the National Movement by NFF on ‘Protect Waters and Protect Life’

John Fernandez, K.V.Surendranath MLA, RVG Menon, Aleyamma Vijayan…

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Dalit Adhivasi Theeradesa Sangamam at Shanghumughom 

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ICSF (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers’ International Conference at CDS

 I can still recollect some names and persons: last row, standing from left to right: Mike (?) the President of the Canadian Fish workers (Mechanized Boats) Union, Alio Sall (Senegal, Researcher and leader), Ceasar (?) from Greece, Eugene Culas, ?, Mathani Saldhana, who became the national President of NFF and then the Tourism Minister of Goa and remained a good friend of mine always (late); the sitting row: Vivekanandan, who was the Chief Executive of SIFFS, Dr.John Kurien (CDS and PCO), Brian (ITDG, UK), the far right end behind, Fr. Thomas Kochery (late), the then President of KSMTF (fish workers trade union) and NFF, WFF; third row from behind, standing right: Nalini Nayak (PCO)… I stand at the middle, second row (from back, standing between Alio Sall (last row) and T.R.T.Achari (front row).I may have the participant list in my old files; so may update later…including the dynamics at the international fisheries…

The PCO team and its activities (Training, Community Animation, Research, Alternate Development Programs, Cooperative societies, Women Groups, Youth…) grew far and wide. We closely associated and supported with the FIsh workers movement on the marine resource conservation, against purse-seining and the bottom-trawling. The support was not only through these programs, but some of us even participated in the agitations ( i took the initiative to organize the coastal youth, ‘Theeradesa Yuvajana Vedi’,), while during the absence of A.J. Vijayan as the Editor of Alakal, I brought out the Samara Special, which ‘contributed to boost the spirit for the second phase of the 1984 Struggle after the failure of the negation with the then CM Karunakaran’, as responded by Joychan Antony, the then State President of KSMTF. We also used to share a portion of our salaries to the Fisher Workers Trade Union (KSMTF), its affiliate National Fish Workers Forum (NFF). When NFF organized the national movement for the ‘Protect Waters and Protect Life’, in 1989, under the leadership of Fr.Thomas Kochery, I contributed as the national Convenor of the Publicity Committee (I could brought out a magazine in multi-language and wrote a booklet on the ecological aspects of drinking water..booklet second part.). The movement eventually affiliated with the World Fisheries Forum, but unfortunately it faced a split, the splinter group led by Fr.Kochery in the International Conference at France, in which I had also attended (I lost everything, including my passport, conference photos, etc. by a theif, while waiting at the Hague Railway Station)

When PCO decided to stretch out its activities outside the Trivandrum district, initially to Cochin to start with (the national capital of fisheries), I was assigned to extent the programs at Cochin. I extended the Fish workers and youth training programs in the coastal stretches of Cochin and resided there for two years.  I also actively participated or even took partial leadership in the fish workers’ movement there with Fr Kochery, Geroge and the Fish workers in Chellanam (K.V.Raphael, Podiyan, Johnson, Sebastian, etc) and in Vypin (Pavithran, Unnikrishnan, etc). I may eventually prepare another section on Cochin phase.

The PCO team had also initiated the network of cooperative societies through TDFF (Trivandrum District Fishermen Federation, then into SIFFS (South Indian Fishermen Federation). This was manily the initiative of Mr Eugene Culas, the first Coordinator of PCO and the only person hailing from the coastal background in the initial project team assigned by the then Bishop Bernard Pereira in the Maryanad Project (watch video clip above). The Team also networked with the similar teams in other parts of the world, thus forming the ICSF (International Collective in Support of Fishworkers), initiated by Nalini Nayak, Dr.John Kurien, etc. Eugene Culas was later forced to resign from PCO on the ground that he pursued his own organizations (Trust) and activities….John and me joined in PCO in those days of turbulence! ‘The Ripples and Repercussions’ (the title of the reflective booklet from PCO) continued in the PCO Team and its activities from time to time. The ideological and perspective issues churned around, initially in terms of project-approach vs the working class perspective; then the gender-perspective emerged, then the ecology vs development; finally the anti-caste/community/reservation issues after the national political upheaval during the period of V.P.Singh Govt., especially when that Govt. decided to partially implement the Mandal Commission Report. The ‘anti-caste’ issue was cleverly and subtly countered in PCO too as the ‘casteist’ and ‘communal card’! It was possible because of the savarnna background of the dominant leadership team in PCO. In an internal team workshop, I was entrusted to study and organize related programs on ‘caste’ question – i wrote a book on ‘Mandal Commission and the Reservation’; John on ecological issues, Aleyamma Vijayan on women issues, Dr.John Kurien continued on the Fisheries (sectoral) studies, A.J.Vijayan on Fisheries and trade union ….

(click for higher resolution images…)

When John left us into eternity, I brought out a ‘John Fernandez Smaranika’ (Souvenir) on behalf of PCO. I got hardly 3 to 4 days to collect, edit and print…but I could distribute the same in the gathering on the same week, and thus i could express my deepest relation with him, his contributions to the marginalized communities in general and the coastal community in particular. It was my tribute to him! As it is in the Malayalam language, I may eventually translate the same as my sustained tribute to John and his contributions….

As I indicated above, ‘the ripples and reppercussions’ continued in PCO and its associated organizations and activities…; ‘Struggle Within the Struggle’ (on women and gender questions by Nalini Nayak, and other writings by Aleyamma Vijayan), Class questions by A.J.Vijayan, ‘Marine Ecology and Traditional Knowledge’ by John Fernandez, Anti-Caste, Community and reservation questions from my side,….PCO team through its challenging interactions and reflections tried hard to integrate all these contradictions into a cohorent ideology and perspective. Still, the leaders with the working class perspective remained patriarchs in their homes; women leaders, who sobbed against the women-discrimination and fought relentlessly for the gender-equality, continued to remain as the high-caste Brahmins vs others, who hail from the coastal community; ecology for ecology sake vs environmental conservation along with the community ownership of the resources; one-time social acitivists became internationally paid professionals and slowly evolved as the ‘absentee landlords’ of these organizations, manouvering through the vulnerable and loyal community organizers (COs), who were having only little formal education…Paradoxically, those who forced Mr Eugene Culas to resign from PCO on the accusation that he formed his own Trust without having the consensus on decision in PCO, themselves started their own organizations like ‘Sakhi’, ‘Protsahan’ – initially as a partnership company and routed international funding through SIFFS, later as an NGO…

Finally, all these complexities and conflicts flared up into a show up…! it is a long story indeed…organizational dynamics, election, police, legal courts, management dynamics of the non-profit-organizations, the emergence of leadership (other than the local opportunists) from the coastal community conceived as threat to the ‘professional consultants and redeemers’, misuse of the community-empowerment for the personal careering interests…..this list may go endless!  I may write a book on all these: ‘Another Struggle Within!’ It is also the story of the rise and fall of the first NGO in fisheries, may be in India.

Finally, back to square one: the organization and the property were handed over to the Arch Diocese of Trivandrum, the Diocese that initiated the Marianad Project! Interestingly, the Fishermen organization initially was the Catholic Diocese Union. It did split on the ground of secular vs religious. The secular and the progressive faction became the KSMTF, the Swathanthra Mathsyathozhilali Federation. The splits continued…but not on any ideological grounds, but associated with persons. Thus the complexities and paradoxes continues. The fishermen now again back to ‘Latin Catholic’ identity! State reservation also in the name of ‘Latin Catholic’. Thus, non-backward groups also are entitled to get the benefit in the name of ‘Latin Catholic’. Another complexity associated with the sociological and anthropological question of the identity of the coastal communities…..