Komison Mili — pioneering green social inclusion
Komison Mili, recipient of the Indigenous Leadership Award at the 8th Balipara Foundation Awards, tells us why sustainability is so important, even in his village, Baligaon Miri
There are seldom people we come across whose ongoing whole-hearted dedication to the upliftment of their fellows spans an entire lifetime. These stories are rare to find. When you enter Baligaon Miri Green Village in Balipara, Assam, however, or any of the neighbouring villages, the road leads straight to the doorstep of Komison Mili, with people often showing you the direction to this local hub where visitors are made more than welcome.
The household of Komison Mili became more of a hub of activity over several meaningful years. As an elder member of the village society now, tall, soft-spoken Komison Mili can look back at where it all began and take sufficient pride in the achievements along the way, which continue to grow.
Born into a Mising family, Komison Mili learnt the traditional basic techniques of farming from his father and took a deep interest in it. It was this involvement at a young age that spurred him to think about ecology and conservation of nature, to think in high school of ways in which their community could rise above distress and what he perceived were social and developmental setbacks. He began to get involved with community development from this young age and it led him to initiate several unprecedented socio-economic changes within the village in the spheres of education, healthcare, women empowerment, sustainable and scientific agricultural practices, livelihood and especially, developing rational thinking.
While he decided to dedicate his life towards upliftment, many others within the community understood the meaning of his actions early on and joined him, making his initiatives all the more fruitful. He says, “It was not our job exactly, as young children, to think and act in this way, but I am glad that we did, perhaps out of adversity, and lack of guiding authority, to think for the future, in terms of preserving our inseparable rich ecology and culture. The more successful we got, the more people joined us.”
Towards community progress
Komison Mili started off as an observant young man, with a deep appreciation for his Mising culture and the ethnic practices that were traditionally passed on to each coming generation, in a bid to keep the existing culture alive. During this time, he also inculcated the importance of grasping modern and scientific thinking and urged his people to develop this as well, as a committed partnership between lucrative new practices and time-tested traditions.
He initiated integral learning workshops for economically weak farmers, traditional and modern weaving training and skill development of the women in the locality and was involved in the establishment of schools and has donated his own land towards this, women’s clubs, youth clubs, play grounds, prayer halls, awareness programs on the importance of education, tradition and culture, even ethnic song and dance, cleanliness, hygiene, and towards stopping the consumption of drugs, which was starting to gain traction in their society.
Forward thinking as he was, propagating a progressive mentality, he also tackled certain other snowballing social issues like domestic violence, and blind superstitious beliefs of the community. He felt that some of the common regressive social and vocational customs ought to be replaced with modern and sustainable practices, something in which he achieved a keen share of success and is much revered and respected by all generations for paving this way forward.
Sustainable green goals
Taking care of the environment and to be aware of the issues we collectively face is an aspect that has been greatly important to Komison Mili. He says, “some of what was taught to us at school inspired me, but most of what I saw around me, the importance of conserving our environment, maintaining an ecological balance, not to destroy our ‘traditional’ relationship with nature, I felt necessary all my life.”
His deep interest in farming led him to encourage and invest in long-term sustainable agricultural practices within the village and to introduce modern technology for crops and alternative farming practices.
He has been working on several wildlife conservation projects like protecting the sweet water dolphin, crocodile, different fish and bird species, use and waste collection of plastics, energy conservation and the use of LED lights and planting more trees. Along with Balipara Foundation, he has planted 1 lakh saplings in his locality and has also donated to local people to inspire them towards a more green environment.
Another remarkable project of his undertaking is the use and propagation of traditional medicinal herbs and plants. He firmly believes in traditional natural medicine and has influenced the community to grow more of these useful plants. His own backyard has long since been turned into a nursery of such plants and trees, where he grows and encourages people to realise the inherent value and importance of these plants. With his efforts to educate and empower the community with the application of traditional knowledge of medicinal plants, several village members are now involved in identification, awareness building and development of these natural species and work often with Balipara Foundation’s Eastern Himalayan Botanic Ark in a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resource, bolstering their collaborative development goals.
Mindful Tourism at Baligaon
Komison Mili has been instrumental in the building up of eco-tourism in Baligaon village. Understanding the importance of conservation of ethnic culture and practice, he has encouraged tourism activities that welcome people from different part of the world to his village, giving them a taste of their rich culture, traditional food, folk songs and dances as well as their beautiful hand-woven traditional clothing.
He has himself hosted several noteworthy guests at his home in the village, where the entire community comes together to provide a memorable experience to tourists from across the globe. Komison Mili has hundreds of photographs and his visitors’ book contains glowing reviews by eminent persons from various fields, with the likes of Indian film producer Kiran Rao, Professor Pete R. Girguis of Harvard University, Rajeev Chaurasia of Viacom 18 and many others leaving gracious comments. Visitors have seen for themselves how the community has deeply entrenched itself harmoniously with nature and natural conservation practices, and the locality has understood the importance and advantage of such tourism which gives them a unique identity along with additional economic stability. For all their hard work and enduring efforts, Komison Mili received the ‘Green Village (IGBC — Gold)’ award given to Baligaon village by the CII and Indian Green Building Council in the year 2016.
He has also been the 1st runner up of the Momai Tamuli Barbarua Award 2008–09 for the Best Fruit-gardener of Assam organised by the Assam Horticultural Show 2009 (15th State-Level Horticultural Show) for maintaining a green environment around his community and growing of nutritious fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants.
Komison Mili has been a member of the Tezpur Mahkuma Parisad in 1974. In 1980, he was elected and won uncontested at the Rangajan Gaon Panchayat of Tezpur Mahkuma Parishad for the 2nd time. In 1983, he was elected as the Chief Executive Councillor of undivided Tezpur Mahkuma Parishad and in 1985, he was elected as the Chairmen of Undivided Tezpur Subdivision. He has also served as Chairman of the Tezpur Integrated Tribal Development project.
Back in 1986, the Assam Agriculture University in collaboration with Hyderabad Agriculture University started a joint project on the management of farming practices in Assam. Komison Mili had been selected by the project committee to build the capacity and skills of the farmers, with the aim being to introduce and provide knowledge of advanced, modern techniques to the farmers of various districts. With this, he tried his best to educate the farming community in Assam to the benefits of new techniques and their implementation.
Komison Mili’s journey has brought remarkable change and upheavals within their society and inspired many others who hear of its prosperity and accomplishments. A man who has been unafraid to venture into unknown territory, still keen to acquire more knowledge, has raised his voice with conviction and authenticity, with an open mind and truly an open heart, he believes that working alongside organisations like Balipara Foundation has inspired him further with innovative ideas and bright concepts from new and different people across the world. He affirms that his life-long ideology is in sync with that of the organisation’s, working together towards growth, transformation and making the world a better place — a truly visionary indigenous leader.
Komison Mili was the recipient of the special Indigenous Leadership Award at the 8th Balipara Foundation Awards 2020. Watch his special message to the Balipara Foundation and its community. Explore the other winners of this year’s awards.
This piece was written by Ruella Rahman Khound for the Balipara Foundation.
