JMA,

You asked:
Does anyone know how Free Range are operating there... and is what they are doing degrading the Taliban?
FRI do explain their non-military role in development work at the grass roots on their website, such as paying day labourers to clear ditches etc. Other schemes are under-way and are shown in articles. Funding appears to be a mixture of private, NGO and taxpayer funding.

Degrading? From this armchair I'd say yes. I expect the FRI day rate is not as good as the Taliban pay during the fighting season. Nevertheless providing work and development can degrade the Taliban. In the blogsite there are odd mentions of how the locals watch over them and the work of other independents, notably an EOD civilian.