Anandpuri is a block in Rajasthan’s Banswara district, home mostly to tribal families who make their living through farming and daily wage labour. For years, one problem quietly shaped life here: the weekly haat bazaar, the local market that villagers depended on for buying and selling, did not exist in Anandpuri at all. It was held in a neighbouring block instead, and that single distance made everyday life harder for everyone who lived here. That story has now changed, and behind the change stands the Krushi avm Aadivashi swraj Saghathan KASS (Agriculture and Tribal Self-Governance Organisation ) formed by VAAGDHARA.

VAAGDHARA has worked across 136 villages of Anandpuri block for the past twenty years. These villages are grouped into four self-governance organisations — Anandpuri I, Anandpuri II, Koba and Chaaja — each covering 34 villages. Within every village, three groups have been formed: the Gram Swaraj Samooh, the Saksham Samooh and the Bal Swaraj Samooh, and one member from each village joins the larger organisation. Every organisation includes 15 men and 15 women, so equal representation between women and men has been built in from the very start. A meeting is held every month, where village needs are discussed openly. Over the past six months, one question surfaced again and again in these meetings: why don’t we have a market of our own? It came up in every village meeting, and slowly it grew into a demand shared by the entire organisation.

Until now, people had to travel 25 kilometres to a haat bazaar in another block just to buy or sell anything. That distance cost both money and an entire day. For those trying to earn a little by selling their own vegetables or fruit, it weighed even heavier often the cost of transporting the produce ate up more than the profit itself. Travelling all the way to markets in Arthuna, Fatehpura, Chikli Badgi or Santrampur had become an unavoidable burden for people here.

“Earlier we had to travel to far-off markets. The whole day would go just in coming and going, and whatever little vegetable we carried to sell, the fare alone would cost more than we earned,” says Subhash Chandra Rot of Kahwara village.

Sukhlal Ninama of Chaurdi village says much the same:

“Even for small everyday needs, we had to go to another block. Now that a market has started in our own block, that work has become so much easier.”

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Organisation  representatives and villagers discussing approval at the SDM’s office.

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Once the demand rose to the level of the organisation, the first approval came from Devlata Ji Damor, sarpanch of the Sera Nagla gram panchayat. The organisation then wrote to Anandpuri’s SDM, Anil Meena, formally requesting that a market be started within their own block.

“We had placed this demand with great hope. When the sarpanch and the SDM sahab both said yes, the whole area was overjoyed   and this is the fruit of our own hard work,” says Manilal Damor of Sera Nagla.

Once approval came through, members of the organization the mselves took the lead. They travelled to markets in other blocks and handed out flyers to traders working there, so word of the new market would reach them and they would come. This was done deliberately, because the life of any new market depends entirely on the traders and customers who choose to show up.

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Officials, organisation representatives and villagers present at the inauguration ceremony in Nana Bhukhiya.

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After months of effort, the new haat bazaar was finally inaugurated on 1 June 2026 in Nana Bhukhiya village, under the Sera Nagla panchayat. The programme was presided over by Ritesh Jain, the Development Officer of the Anandpuri Panchayat Samiti, with Popatlal Kharadi as chief guest. Representing the organisation were Bapulal Ji, Sardar Maharaj and Prakash Damor, while P.L. Patel represented VAAGDHARA.

Subhash Chandra Makwana of Khuta village recalls that day:

“The day the market began felt like a festival for us. So many officials and guests came to our village  it was a matter of real pride.”

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The crowds that now gather  between 1,500 and 2,000 people visit the market every week.

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Ninety-two villages now take part in this haat bazaar. Forty-five shopkeepers come from within the local villages, while 253 come from outside, adding up to nearly 298 stalls each market day. What began as a single market has grown into something closer to a fair, drawing 1,500 to 2,000 visitors every time it is held, with goods worth roughly one and a half lakh rupees changing hands at each market.

“Earlier, only the traders who came from outside understood how to run a market. We were just buyers. Now we have learned how goods are sold and prices are set. Today, many people from our own village set up their own stalls,” says Keshav Maharaj of Pithapura village.

Starting the market was only half the task; running it well mattered just as much. So the organization formed a management committee to oversee the market’s day-to-day functioning. The land on which the market stands belongs privately to a farmer, and the committee has agreed to pay a monthly rent of ₹27,500 for it, paid on the first of every month. The entire arrangement was decided collectively by the committee, so that accounts remain transparent.

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KASS members talking under the shade of a roadside tree.

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Traders and buyers from the villages no longer need to travel far. This has saved both time and money, and ended the compulsion of buying goods at inflated prices. People can now buy what they need with less time and less expense.

“Earlier we had to buy goods at high prices because there was no other way. Now we have our own market — the prices are fair here, and it saves time too,” says Ramanlal Patel of Wanda village.

The benefit has reached sellers just as much as buyers. Earlier, carrying vegetables and fruit to a distant market was difficult, and produce would often spoil before it could be sold. Now, the village’s own produce is sold within its own block.

“Earlier we had to travel far even to sell vegetables, and half of it would spoil on the way. Now we sell close to our own village, and we get a good price too,” says Shantilal Patel of Kanela village.

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Women  standing with handwoven baskets, ready to sell them at the market.

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Women have contributed to this entire effort as much as men. Every organisation has kept the number of women equal to men, and women’s voices were just as strong in the demand for a market in their own block.

“We women also spoke up equally in the meetings. We suffered the same difficulty in travelling to distant markets, so we raised this demand with just as much force,” says Kanta Kamol of Khandora village.

Kalpana Pargi of Chikli Badra village says:

“Earlier, we had to depend on the men to sell vegetables and small household goods, because it was hard to travel that far alone. Now the market is close by, so we go ourselves and sell our own goods.”

Kanku Patel of Bada Talab village cannot hide her happiness either:

“Now we don’t have to worry about travelling far. Our own market is close by, so household work stays on track and the shopping gets done too.”

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Villagers shopping at a stall selling vegetables and spices.

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Today the market has grown into something far bigger than a place to buy and sell  it now carries the atmosphere of a fair. Colourful tents, heaps of vegetables and fruit, stalls of grain and household goods, women selling handwoven baskets, and traders arriving from far away all come together every week to create this atmosphere. The sheer number of people who gather here shows that this place has become somewhere to meet and connect, not simply somewhere to meet a need.

Ramesh Tabiyar of Ganewa village says with a smile:

“Now on market day, the whole area seems to gather in one place. Shopping happens, and so does meeting people — it’s a huge relief for us.”

Many members of the organisation worked hard to make this happen — among them Subhash Chandra Rot of Kahwara, Hardar Maharaj of Katara Wanda, Manilal Damor of Sera Nagla, Sukhlal Ninama of Chaurdi, Himmat Lal Ninama of Bhaler, Keshav Maharaj of Pithapura, Subhash Chandra Makwana of Khuta, Dinesh Makwana of Chikli Teja, Shankar Lal of Chikli Badra, Harishankar Katara of Patanwaghra, Bapulal Maharaj of Haleda, Champalal Pargi of Waret, Kantilal Ji Tabiyar of Tori, Ramesh Tabiyar of Ganewa, Shantilal Patel of Kanela, Ashwin Malviya of Pachor, Mahendra Rot of Mundri, Leela Khant of Puchiyawada, Kalpana Pargi of Chikli Badra, Kanta Kamol of Khandora, Kamla Pargi of Jalampura, Kanku Patel of Bada Talab, Shanti Garasiya and Sheela Damor of Ubapan, Huki Kalsua of Tamtiya, Surta Pargi of Nawaghra, Sushila Pargi of Mali, Manjula Pargi of Obla, Ramanlal Patel of Wanda, Laxmi Pargi of Ratanpura, Ramlal Singhad and Mansingh of Nana Bhukhiya, Radha Pargi of Nana Bhukhiya, Ramila Pargi of Patiya Kondar, Kavita Pargi of Arjunpura, Mohanlal Patel of Dokar, and Chetan Lal Kharadi of Piplai Duda. From attending meetings to securing government approval, from carrying flyers to traders to handling the everyday running of the market, each of them contributed in their own way  and this achievement is the result of their collective labour.

The effort of the Agriculture and Tribal Self-Governance Organisation of Anandpuri shows that when people come together, and carry their voice to the administration with patience, change does follow. It was built on their own organisation and their monthly meetings. Today, thousands of people visit every week, hundreds of shopkeepers have set up their trade here, and village women earn by selling goods made with their own hands. In time, this market may grow even further, and other neighbouring blocks may well learn from it. For now, one thing echoes across every village in Anandpuri: the victory of their own hard work and their own trust in each other is now being found within their own block.

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Vikas Parashram Meshram is an independent writer, social worker, and researcher associated with rural development. He regularly writes on issues related to tribal communities, rural livelihoods, agriculture, climate change, and social transformation. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

Featured image: Members of the KASS discussing the market issue at a meeting, where it kept coming up month after month. / All images in this article are from the author

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