Highlights of #SwadesBuildingLivelihoods Telethon: Building Livelihoods Of Over 15,000 Needy Households

#SwadesBuildingLivelihoods campaign is raising funds to build livelihoods of 15,000+ most needy households (tribal, migrant/daily-wage homes and others, poorest of poor families) in rural Raigad and Nashik districts of Maharashtra.

Our aim is to create self-sustaining communities as we build their capacities, strengthen inputs and market linkages ensuring that every household earns at least Rs 2,00,000 per annum through a basket of programs - be it farm based, off-farm or non-farm interventions.

In our farm based intervention we build check dams and harvest rain water to irrigate land enabling farmers do a second crop and for some even a third crop augmenting their farm based income by 4 to 5 times. We have so far irrigated over 2,500 acres of land and most of it through drip irrigation.

With our off-farm interventions we engage households in poultry, goat rearing, dairy or fishery augmenting their income by Rs 25,000 to 80,000 per annum. We provide input support, training and continuous handholding and so far have created over 13,000 entrepreneurs.

Through our non-farm intervention, i.e., skills training for youth, we ensure that the youth are imparted with the right skills to enable them find employment or are self-employed. We have placed over 2,600 youth in employment with an average annual earnings of Rs 1,00,000 resulting in more than doubling of their family income in most cases.

The current pandemic and associated slowdown has impacted livelihoods and resulted in inflow of over 90,000 people back to their villages in Raigad. Further, cyclone Nisarga left loss of property and livelihoods. The situation continues to be a double whammy for both residents and the reverse migrated families.

Whilst as a first response, we have supported immediate relief with medical aid and grocery/daily essentials, the parallel need now is for recovery, to overcome loss sustained and build their livelihoods.