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     In most rural areas of the world, approximately 90 % of the population is involved in farming as a way of earning a living. Small-scale farming, fishing, raising livestock and non-farm activities are some of the common livelihoods that these populations survive on. Rural livelihood poses a great challenge as these populations are often in a state of poverty where they lack the basic necessities for survival . A rural household with diverse sources of income earning activities has better chances of survival financially than a household which has only one source. Delivery of quality education and training in a variety of skills in rural areas is therefore needed to attain sustainable rural livelihoods . In order for a rural population to strive there is need for livelihoods that would sustain and support their households and communities.

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A Livelihood can be defined as the activities, the assets and the access that jointlydetermine the living gained by an individual or household (Ellis1998). When itcomes to an individual, a livelihood is the ability of that individual to obtain thebasic necessities in life, which are food, water, shelter and clothing. Therefore allactivities involved infinding food, searching for water, shelter, clothing and allnecessities required for human survival at individual and household level arereferred to as a livelihood.

Due to variations in ability to access the basic necessities, there are people whoare rich, able to acquire all their basic necessities without difficulty and those thatare poor, and lack one or more of the their basic necessities. The livelihood of thepoor is gruelling as theyfind themselves in a state of poverty and lack basicnecessities. Therefore to address the issue of poverty and its eradication, a conceptcalled sustainable livelihood was proposed by Chambers and Conway

Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SL)The sustainable livelihood approach offers a holistic and integrative approachwith the capacity to analyse and understand the complexity of rural development. The five assets in sustainablelivelihood are human capital, physical capital, social capital,financial capital and2.1 What Is a Livelihood?19natural capital. These assets play an important role in survival strategies both inrural and urban livelihoods.

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Despite dwindling forest resources that had traditionally sustained them, villagers in Churachandpur district of Manipur have successfully shifted to growing new crops, and are now exploring new livelihood options

       GRAVIMA endeavours and encourage Women, in understanding the power of collective work, form self-help groups to engage in income-generating activities.

     Villages in the northeast were deemed to be little republics, being self-sufficient in socioeconomic and cultural aspects. This was true earlier, when needs were limited. But now resources have become scarce. The villages lack basic amenities, healthcare, infrastructure and connectivity. There are only primary schools in some villages.

Under such circumstances, it has been a struggle for villagers in south Manipur’s Churachandpur district. Jhum, or shifting cultivation, remains their primary occupation, while they depend on forest resources for food supplements, materials for house construction, essential household items and the like.

Despite sufficient resources, these villages remained undeveloped, lacking in all socioeconomic parameters. Traditional knowledge alone could not lift them out of poverty. Most villagers could not afford two square meals a day. However, in recent years, with new initiatives, residents in Churachandpur block have been moving from this stagnancy to an economic progress, giving their villages a new momentum.

Promote Collective progress

GRAVIMA will continue to promote formation of, villages Natural Resource Management Group (NaRM-G) in each village in Thanlon, Henglep, Sangaikot , Tuibuong, Samulamlan blocks of Churachandpur district have been witnessing progressive development. With a representative from every household under the aegis of NERCORMP.

NaRM-G initiates farming, cattle rearing, and fishery as livelihood options to villagers. To enhance the villagers’ productivity, skills and management, NERCORMP conducted relevant training programs, besides offering financial support. Understanding the benefit of collective work, women have come together to earn money.

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Women in the forefront

Women formed self-help groups to engage in economic activities together. “Women groups have made a huge difference in initiating income-generating activities,”

With loans as seed money, some buy essential items from nearby towns and sell them in their villages. The groups engage in collective farming of economically viable crops like ginger and turmeric. Individually, some of the women have taken up non-farming activities such as piggery and poultry. As the loans are on a minimal interest rate as low as 1 %, several women are able to earn a reasonable income.

Inspite of this positive devlopment under NERCORMP with the formation of NARM-G. GRAVIMA felt the need to emphasis on the transparecy and accountability of the stakeholders and actual sustainability to make sure it benefits all and not just few who may find advantage  of the loopholes in the operational village level.

Overview

Poverty — and the conditions that lead to it — is dependent on a multitude of causes, ranging from economic and political to social and cultural. According to World Bank data, the global poverty rate has fallen steadily over the last 25 years. However, India is still grappling with the critical challenge of rural poverty that impacts millions of Indians.

The Tata Trusts aim to create robust livelihood opportunities to enable households to earn more, and lead healthier lives. The Livelihoods portfolio covers a number of integrated community-based interventions across India that strive to improve rural incomes through modern farming practices, water management, soil conservation, livestock and animal husbandry, market linkages, crafts, etc.

Strategic approach

Rural livelihood development has been a key engagement area for the Trusts for a number of decades, with programmes spread across farming, irrigation, water conservation, fisheries, marketing of produce and more. The approach is both systematic and pragmatic: surveys and baselines identify vulnerable households, while ground research helps in understanding the environment, available resources and market conditions.

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The Orgn. also engage with communities at the grassroots level to build community-level resources. For instance, in communities that depend on inland fisheries for a living, the Trusts collaborate with community centres to produce fish feed to sustain local fish ponds. This kind of ground-level institution building helps sustain developmental initiatives while mitigating risks.

 

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Agriculture

India’s food security depends on the production of diverse crops to meet the demands of its growing population. Moreover, agriculture is still the backbone of the Indian economy as 70% of India’s population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture for livelihood. However, farmers in many areas of the country face challenges due to the decreasing fertility of soil, unavailability of good irrigation facilities, low yields, fluctuation in market prices, etc. According to the World Bank, a focus on three key areas will impact the country’s overall development and the improved welfare of its rural poor:

  • Raise agricultural productivity per unit of land through crop diversification

  • Reduce rural poverty through policies that benefit tribal communities, poor and marginalised communities, women and scheduled castes

  • Ensure food security through a productive, diversified agricultural sector

Agriculture has been a focus area of the Tata Trusts since inception. The Trusts work with the local Krishi Vikas Kendras (KVKs) local agriculture universities and subject experts in order to develop specific, focused initiatives that enhance agricultural productivity and rural development.

Water conservation & Irrigation management

Ensuring the supply of water for drinking, agriculture and sanitation is one of the biggest developmental challenges in the world. In India, the water scarcity issue is exacerbated by lack of awareness about conservation practices and poor storage infrastructure.

Adding to the problem is the fact that while agriculture in most of the country is rain-fed, irrigation still accounts for 80% of the country’s available water resources. A long-term approach depends on making local communities aware of the need for water conservation as well as educating them on how to best utilise available water resources for irrigation.

Livestock Development & Fisheries

One of the Tata Trusts’ key thematic interventions under the Livelihoods portfolio is livestock and fisheries development. Supplementing unpredictable crop incomes through sustainable livestock systems can help reduce poverty, end hunger and improve the health of rural communities. The United Nations (UN) estimates that that 60% of rural households in developing countries depend on livestock for their livelihoods.

The Trusts’ approach is to augment natural resources and develop new income opportunities in crops, livestock and fishery products for permanent income generation. In addition, overlapping multiple disparate projects within a community or household helps to create a sustainable impact. For instance, farmers in a village may continue farming, but they are also encouraged to earn through non-agricultural means, such as rearing of dairy cattle, goats, poultry, fisheries, duck farming and piggeries

Community Institution

Sustained investment in building up human and operational aspects of organisations can improve their overall programming and ensure long-term sustainability. The Tata Trusts’ long-term vision is to enable a cohesive eco-system for effective civil society action, thereby positively impacting the lives of marginalised communities. This thematic intervention aspires to strengthen institutional capacities of associates and partners and to fortify the larger ecosystem of civil society.

Strengthening community institutions has two primary objectives:

  • To strengthen institutional capacities of partner and associate organisations

  • To strengthen the larger ecosystem of civil society action.

The ecosystem under this thematic intervention can be broadly classified into:

  • Village Level Community Institutions

  • Cluster Level Community Institutions

  • Apex Level (District/State) Community Institutions

Crafts

The crafts sector is the second-largest source of employment after agriculture. It is estimated that this sector employs over seven million families in India. With a potential for high employment and with great economic importance in terms of foreign exchange earnings, crafts play a significant role in the country’s economy.

But the picture is not all rosy. Craftsmen are grappling with the inability to produce high-quality market driven artefacts. Despite superior skills, the wage growth of artisans has not kept pace with the income growth experienced by other sectors.

To compound their woes, the younger generation is drifting away from the sector at an alarming pace. While the poor income and lack of respect for their skill are often cited as reasons for this lack of interest, the fundamental challenges affecting the crafts sector can be linked to changes in the societal landscape:

  • Craft dilution: With competition from machine-made crafts, cheaper and faster production has become the norm. The emphasis on productivity over creativity has led to the use of poor-quality raw material and the simplification of designs. 

  • Business environment: The drastic change in business practices over the last two decades has distanced the markets from the craftsmen. Social media and digital payments have exacerbated the artisans’ woes, since they are ignorant of these ways of doing business. Existing educational institutions are also unable to cater to the artisans’ needs to adapt to these changes in the business environment.

  • Degrading ecosystems: Any craft form engages more than one individual. Ecosystem service providers perform an important service pre- and post an artisan’s contribution. With artisans departing the crafts sector, this ecosystem that surrounds craftsmen is gradually degrading.

The Tata Trusts’ initiatives in this sector include nurturing young handloom weavers in Madhya Pradesh and uplifting Dhokra artisans in Odisha, to revitalising Kauna grass craft and bamboo crafts in Manipur.

Financial Inclusion

Financial inclusion (FI) is the pursuit of making financial services accessible at affordable costs and it strives to address constraints that exclude people from participating in the financial sector. Financial inclusion plays a pivotal role in reducing poverty and is a recognized enabler in achieving at least seven of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In India, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has made financial services such as bank accounts, remittances, credit, insurance, and pension accessible to large sections of the society. The government has almost solved the last mile problem for delivery of financial services through the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity.

Despite advances made by the PMJDY, nearly 19% of the population still remains unbanked in India. A large number of bank accounts remain inactive which prevents account holders from having an active presence in formal economy. When coupled with the social barriers in front of the financially underserved population, it prevents the people from getting an equal opportunity to develop and grow. Therefore, aiding the financial inclusion agenda at the grass-roots level will be critical for the holistic development of our nation.

The core objectives of financial inclusion initiatives at Tata Trusts are:

a) to make formal sector credit accessible to the beneficiaries in a fair and transparent way
b) promoting community led models for insuring against unforeseen risks
c) ensuring financial awareness and education of the communities.

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Rural communities need relevant and affordable financial products and services to meet their day-to-day needs like livelihood generation (agriculture, fisheries, livestock rearing, etc.), education, nutrition and healthcare. We endeavor to address their needs by:

— Identifying various community based institutions like SHGs, Federations, Cooperatives, FPOs etc. that need financial products and services.
— Assessing the requirements for credit, insurance and other financial products among the Trusts’ beneficiaries at the community level
— Bringing various stakeholders together to provide the beneficiaries with affordable financial products and services
— Engaging with financial institutions such as Banks, NBFCs, MFIs and Insurance providers willing to serve the beneficiaries
— Facilitating capacity building for community-driven organizations and improving financial literacy among the beneficiaries

Financial inclusion has the potential to generate a "multiplier effect" on the impact that the Tata Trusts’ interventions can create. It will make their impact sustainable by promoting self-reliance amongst the ‘grant-dependent’ beneficiaries.

Tata Trusts is undertaking the following key programs for driving financial inclusion.

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1) Beneficiary Loans

The FI team helps facilitate loans to the beneficiaries of various Tata Trusts programs. So far, we have facilitated loans to nearly 10,000 individuals through Rang De, a crowdsourcing platform for micro-credit in partnership with our associate organization Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI). These loans were provided for integrated livelihood-related needs with a key focus on agriculture. The average ticket size of the loans was in the range of INR 1500 – INR 1.5 lakhs.
Going forward, credit will be facilitated through financial institutions like banks, MFIs or NBFCs or platforms like Rang De to help us cater to any credit requirement of our beneficiaries. Loans will be arranged based on the requirement identified in a region and the ability of the financial institutions to serve them.

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2) The Health Mutual Aid Project

We are designing a community-led, technology-driven Mutual Aid Model, wherein the community will collectively meet part of the healthcare expenses, incurred by its member households. We are currently co-creating processes for increased involvement of SHGs and SHG Federations in the model.
Our plan is to initially launch a fixed benefit pilot product that will cover incidental expenses incurred during hospitalization. If successful, the robust mutual aid model will be adapted by various at-risk communities whom Tata Trusts serve across different geographies. We envision the mutual aid to be crucial in promoting risk mitigation and management among underserved communities.

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3) Financial Education

We enabled community-driven organizations like SEWA Bharat, Bihar for empowering its women through Financial Education. Financial education enables the women and the community at large to gain from financial products and services and enhance their livelihoods.

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