Volunteerism: A New Approach

Introducing a new approach to community mobilization, the Nandapur team decided to use volunteers to bring a large part of the community that had been left out of the development process, knowing that if normative and cultural changes were to take place, large-scale mobilization is imperative

Background

T he Nandapur team is located in Koraput district in South Odisha region, where PRADAN initiated its work in November 2009. Koraput is part of the infamous KBK (Koraput-Bolangir-Kalahandi) region of Odisha that is known for its abject poverty, remoteness, under-development and a high level of Maoist activity. It is one of the least literate districts among all the districts in which PRADAN works. It ranks 631 among the 640 districts surveyed in India.

By March 31, 2015, the Koraput team was able to mobilize around 7,000 village women in 600 Self Help Groups (SHGs), and helped raise the income level of around 2,500 families through improved agriculture. In addition, in collaboration with two other Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), the team was able to facilitate the promotion of another 400 SHGs and introduce 2,000 families to improved agriculture practices.

The team has also been associated with government flagship programmes such as the Odisha Tribal Empowerment and Livelihood Programme Plus (OTELP Plus) and the Cluster Facilitation Team (CFT) with a fair bit of success. During the restructuring of PRADAN, the Koraput team was divided into two teams, that is, Lamtaput and Nandapur.