Like many farmers across the East Jaintia Hills district, Kyrsiew Ryngkhlem from Wapung Skur Village struggled to sustain livelihood activities and support her family on account of farmlands becoming infertile because of coal mining.

But after seeing how well it worked, she wanted to expand activities and explore the potential of her homemade organic manure. She bought a plot of uncultivable land measuring approximately 700 sq. meters in 2015. Kyrsiew was convinced that the experiment would in due course result in soil health restoration and water retention. She started by tilling the ground and using limestone to neutralize the acidity of the contaminated soil, and waited patiently.

Nongmadan Shadsngi, one of the CLLMP villages, had a desire to conserve the forest cover of the forests that are  present in this village since the forests play a significant part in enhancing the village’s water  supply for everyday use. However, the uncontrolled deforestation within the village, which causes shortages in water supply and soil erosion, has had a significant impact on the ecosystem and the people’s ability to access clean drinking water.

The village also formed the Village Natural Resource Management Committee (VNRMC), which consists of 9 members, including 5 men and 4 women. Women from this village participate in the meetings, where they share their thoughts and opinions about the CLLMP initiative. Additionally, they engage in interventions like the check dam, community nurseries, and tree planting. They participate in environmental education initiatives and teach the village’s young people how to protect the environment.

The majority of the population works in farming, and the other inhabitants are engaged as daily wage workers, in businesses, or in the government sector. The elders of the community claimed that a plague that ravaged the village of Shadsngi between 1922 and 1923 drove the inhabitants to flee to Nongmadan, a neighboring village. But as the population grew, people gradually began to return to their original settlement area, eventually uniting the two to become Nongmadan Shadsngi.The village has further developed and grown after the introduction and implementation of  government schemes.