To gain an immersive experience and learn about the rich traditions, culture and strength of the villages while understanding the unique challenges faced by them, the Department of Cyber Security Systems and Networks organized a three day field trip to a tribal village at Mully in Attappadi from May 17, 2014. 19 students from second year M. Tech. and 2 faculty members participated.

Attapadi is one among the 101 adopted villages under AmritaSeRVe program. The team conducted a survey with the families and had a first-hand experience of the socio-economic background of the people. Mully village is divided into lower Mully, middle Mully and upper Mully where the upper Mully was the most backward regions and below the poverty line. 

Mostly men are the bread winners of the family. Agriculture and livestock remains the major sources of income, men also go for daily wages like construction work which earns them Rs. 200-Rs.300 per day. The key issues faced by the villagers are scarcity of water and threat of wild animals which destroy their crops. The team came up with few suggestions such as educating about the rain water harvesting and the importance of sanitation facility. “The villagers were very friendly with us,” shared Aparna, II year M. Tech. student.

The team continued their journey accompanied by 32 children from Melemulli to middle Mulli where a tuition center was run by Amrita. Session with fun activities, assessment of their reading, writing and mathematical skills was conducted using Amrita RITE program. Many children showed interest in drawing and came up with nice drawings. The team explained about the ill effects of alcoholism and smoking with the help of some videos. Together they all pledged not to use alcohol and quit smoking. The children and their teachers sang tribal songs. They were supplied with stationary, clothes and bananas.

The team also visited a windmill at the mountain top.

May 17, 2014
Amrita Center for Cyber Security Systems and Networks, Amritapuri Campus