Stimulating Tribal And Rural Transformation(START)
“PRADAN’s engagement with tribal communities in the central India belt runs long and deep. Initiatives like the Stimulating Tribal and Rural Transformation (START) project supported by RBL Bank Ltd. are extremely important in stimulating a transformative change in the lives of the poor and marginalized communities, through well planned catalytic investment and support that leverages government schemes and programs to improve the livelihoods and lives of the tribal communities and women collectives. We look forward to RBL Bank’s continued support beyond a good START.”
Saroj Kumar Mahapatra
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— AnujRBL Bank Limited and PRADAN are partnering a three-year project called START (Stimulating Tribal and Rural Transformation) to create growth clusters in four districts of Kalahandi, Bankura, Banka, and West Singhbhum in the Eastern Indian states of Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand respectively.
The project would develop regionally suitable women centric socio-technical-institutional models for agriculture development and farm allied activities. The emphasis will be on supporting women gain knowledge and skills to ensure household food and nutritional security so that no one goes hungry.
START aspires to reach out to a total of 25,000 women from as many households, a majority of whom would belong to socio-economically weaker sections. 70% of the target communities would be from the Schedule Tribe (ST) and Schedule Caste (SC) communities and the remaining would be from the Other Backward Class (OBC) communities. A majority would be small and marginal farmers and a small section would also be landless families. By the end of three years the project interventions would cover 400 villages.
The major strands of interventions for the project are:
- Mobilizing rural women collectives, ensuring food security, and strengthening livelihood activities
- Rural economy revival through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)
- Reviving the farm-sector through promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations(FPOs)
- Micro-enterprise promotion (Sal-Leaf Plates & Tamarind)
- Diversifying livelihood basket of small and marginal farmers (Goat/Poultry)
- Promotion of Self-Employment
START project aims to set-up four women managed and owned FPOs, one in each district, through provisioning of working capital of around INR 11 lakhs to each FPO as grant support from the project. Value-chain and market studies conducted around two commodities - Sal Leaf and Tamarind - would help to shape the business development of the micro-enterprises being set-up under the project. Apart from this, the project will promote and support 100 Goat/Poultry Users Groups formed at the village level, supporting 4,000 families.
The project will help mobilize INR 900 lakhs over three-years, through convergence of government programs and schemes. With the aim to improve agricultural practices, it will bring around 7,500 acres under improved and modern agriculture practices. Along with this, a total of 200 youth will be promoted as entrepreneurs to support the various livelihood activities planned under the project.