Rural Interventions, Natural Resource Management & Livelihoods

The project operates in the villages in drought prone area of Ranibennur and Hirekeruru taluk, Haveri District, Karnataka Kolar district, Karnataka. Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for the majority of the population in the area. This district is one of the most backward, where livelihood of farmers is not secure. The project is committed to help uphold the livelihood of the farming community by promoting sustainable agriculture, with a special focus on women farmers. The major focus is on providing livelihood opportunities for rural based women in 20 villages empowering them to self sufficiency by strengthening the participation in the empowerment process - better participation in community processes, availing bank loans to access various livelihood options and other welfare schemes. Activities include formation of Self Help Groups for female farmers, promotion of sustainable agriculture and financial management and exposure. This programme promotes clusters which directly strengthen Self Help Groups and other functional linkages between women farmer groups and development agencies. The project aims at enhancing the livelihood of female farmers by supplementing their agricultural productivity and nutritional status and improving their decision making through the Farmer Field School.

This programme works with youth having cognitive developmental challenges to help them be independent. The design of the program ensures holistic development of the differently abled by working on their self-confidence and self-esteem. The activities being focused on are personal skills, living skills and working skill which ensures independent living for most of the beneficiaries. This programme runs a vocational training centre that provides training and employment opportunities for the differently abled. The vocational training project is an answer to many parents' desperate plea for a sheltered workshop providing vocational training after completing basic functional education. There is a scarcity of specialized vocational training units that help empower the differently abled to learn skills and earn a living. The centre offers specialized training based on aptitude. Courses include candle making, chocolate making, paper product making, screen printing, gardening and computer data entry.

The project is working in two villages in the tribal belt of South Rajasthan. The area has a very high degree of land degradation, poor land productivity, low literacy levels, lack of proper health care facilities, due to which there is a big threat to the sustainable livelihood and food security especially for the tribal community, scheduled castes, women and other poor and marginalized farmers in this area. The livelihood enhancing project along with watershed lines in the 2 villages is being undertaken, where people are to be organized to successfully implement watershed development. Various village level institutions like Gram Panchayat and Village Development Committee (VDC) are involved to plan, implement and monitor the project. The organisation has a Geographic Information System (GIS) based platform, which is a computer based system used for storing, working and analysing any geographical data like satellite images, maps etc. Following interventions are being carried out by the project; Afforestation; Drainage Line Treatment; Soil and water conservation measures on irrigated and non-irrigated land; Agriculture Demonstration; Horticulture; Floriculture; Solar operated Drinking water system; Capacity Building of the Village Level Institutions (VLIs)

Malapadu is one of the most backward and under developed villages in the western part of the Guntur district. There are a total of 281 families living in this village. It is a drought-prone area; however this can be reversed through the strengthening of structures to retain water bodies. The goal of this program is to restore land and water management interventions, build the capacity of villagers to understand the importance of water management, restore waste lands resulting in improved economic sustenance, The project is working on enhancing rain water harvesting techniques by strengthening the infrastructure through Construction of Gabion Dams, Check Dams, Farm Ponds and desilting of Percolation Tanks. As a direct outcome of this intervention, it is expected that 30 acres of unused waste land will be bought under cultivation. Water storage will benefit 281 families of which 109 farmers with land will have water for agriculture .The structures and water collected during the rains from June - September will initiate the increase in storage of rainwater and restoration of ground water level. The farmers will have access to water for cultivation to safeguard the crops and feed their livestock. The structures constructed will also result in control of flooding and sedimentation problems downstream.