RBS Foundation India Supporting Enterprise

Transcription

The Royal Bank of Scotland N.V.
Maker Maxity, 4 North Avenue,
Bandra Kurla Complex,
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Postal Code 400051.
supporting enterprise
RBS Foundation India
Tel.: +91 (22) 6623 2469
Fax: +91 (22) 6639 6925
Email: [email protected]
© RBS Foundation India | The Royal Bank of Scotland N.V.
For private circulation only.
Annual Report 2013 - 2014
contents
Messages from our leadership
Country Executive, RBS N.V., India
Chairperson, RBS Foundation India
Chief Sustainability Officer, RBS PLC
Director and Head, RBS Foundation India
p2
p3
p4
p5
About the Foundation
Supporting Enterprise
Project Foot Print
p7
p8
p 11
Our projects
Livelihood enhancement through participatory
Natural resource management, Gujarat
Livelihoods in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan
Livelihoods in Ladakh
Integrated livelihoods in the hills of Uttarakhand
Livelihoods in Umaria, Madhya Pradesh
Livelihoods in Simlipal, Odisha
Eco tourism in Mangalajodi, Odisha
Livelihoods in Kanha – Pench Corridor, Madhya Pradesh
Livelihoods in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
Tribal Craft Development in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu
Amchi livelihoods in Thane, Maharashtra
p 13
p 15
p 17
p 19
p 21
p 23
p 25
p 27
p 29
p 31
p 33
Volunteer Engagement
Program and Outcomes
Volunteer Speak
p 35
p 41
The onward journey
Our people, their stories
p 42
message from the
country executive
peace by piece
RBS N.V., India
Brijesh Mehra
the world is getting smaller
and its breaking into bits.
let’s put it back together.
peace by piece
the puzzle fits.
As a responsible stakeholder in the community, RBS
is keen on making a significant positive impact for
the society. Our focus is to address specific needs of
the underprivileged communities through strategic
engagement initiatives, offering them solutions that
are backed by grants and our skills, enabling them to
be integrated into the mainstream economy.
repairs can all be tended
by the tiniest of friends.
as working all together
peace by piece
the puzzle mends.
An excellent reflection of this positive impact is the
work being undertaken by RBS Foundation India. This
report is a testimony to the significant impact on the
community through the Foundation’s work, and
specifically its focus on enterprise development as a
means to facilitate financial inclusion. We firmly
believe that real empowerment provides the
excluded sections of our community the ability to
- Celia Berrell
sustainably change their social and economic
conditions. Through the structured ‘Supporting
Enterprise’ program, the work carried out by RBS
Foundation India has resulted in integrating a
number of households into the mainstream economy
– a feat definitely desirable yet not easily attainable.
Our endeavour is to enable our people to become
active agents of sustainable and equitable
development by leveraging the infrastructure of the
organisation to promote, facilitate and implement
positive change in society. This, complemented
with the motivation of being a socially responsible
business keeps sustainability at the heart of RBS
and is well reflected in our engagement with the
community through RBS Foundation India.
RBS FOUNDATION INDIA
SUPPORTING ENTERPRISE
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ANNUAL REPORT | 2013 - 2014
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message from the
message from the
chairperson
chief sustainability officer
Pankaj Phatarphod
RBS PLC
Andrew Cave
I have been fortunate to witness how the ‘Supporting
Enterprise’ program has visibly impacted the
development of communities across rural India. Over
the years, RBS Foundation India has helped create
sustainable livelihoods for over 87,000 households
across hundreds of villages in our country by
partnering with local NGOs and leveraging our
skilled resource-pool of employees who
wholeheartedly support volunteering initiatives like
‘Magic Hands at Work’. With each visit to our
Foundation sites I get to learn more, but more
importantly I see the power of rural India.
At RBS, we are very clear on the need to be a
sustainable bank in a sustainable world. We have
defined our sustainability programme to be about
much more than just environmental concerns, as
important as they are.
Economies and communities are being impacted by
a number of truly global trends such as shortage of
resources, environmental damage, population
growth and social inequality. Our efforts now are
therefore to integrate sustainability considerations
into our core processes as a bank, while also leading
the way in developing the communities in which we
operate. We need to ensure that the way we run our
entire business supports the new set of international
targets that will replace the UN’s Millennium
Development Goals.
I take immense pride in the work that is being done
by RBS Foundation; it reinforces our commitment, as
a socially responsible bank, to our community.
Our businesses are working on these issues but we
know that many of our employees too are passionate
about promoting the bank's commitment to the
community. This is reflective of the work being
undertaken by RBS Foundation India, who through its
Supporting Enterprise program is encouraging the
economic development of communities as it strives
to include a significant section of the community in
the mainstream economy.
Embodying the RBS’ values of ‘Thinking long term’
and ‘Doing the right thing’, the work of RBS
Foundation India is helping RBS to achieve its goal
of becoming the ‘Most Trusted Bank’ by 2020, and
I commend the Foundation’s work wholeheartedly.
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ecosystems - the forests, rivers, wetlands, grasslands,
and coral reefs also form the repositories of our
water and food security.
message from the
In working towards the sustainability agenda of RBS,
director & head
through the ‘Supporting Enterprise’ program, RBS
Foundation India implements several projects that
strive to make the markets work for the community
N Sunil Kumar
and environment - India’s natural ecosystems that
“As a financial institution with a strong presence in India, RBS strives
to play its part in addressing the key challenges that dominate
contemporary Indian society, viz. equitable growth, financial
inclusion, women empowerment, environmental and ecological
balance among others through its program of ‘Supporting
Enterprise’ implemented by RBS Foundation India (RBS FI).”
In the last few decades, the country has seen much
debate between the ‘Greens’ and the ‘Growth’. While
empirical knowledge suggests that economic growth
has to be equitable and tempered with
environmental balance so that such growth can be
sustained for long term, the society is still faced with
the challenge of finding solutions to making the
market work for people and the environment.
The United Nations’ various protocols on
sustainability viz, the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, UN Convention on
Biological Diversity, UN Millennium Development
Goals etc., emphasise the importance of tropical
forest ecosystems (such as the forests in India) as
major sinks of CO2 for mitigation of the impacts from
global warming, and as major repositories of bioresources (plant, fungi, animal that are used in food,
medicines, industry…) which form the bedrock of
economies while recognising the needs of the
community that are directly dependent on them for
food, fuel, fodder and cash incomes. Our natural
are rich in biodiversity and wildlife and of course our
life sustaining water and food sources. As a strategy,
the Foundation adopts a two pronged approach
which begins with the recognition of the inextricable
interlink between such critical ecosystems and the
communities that are dependent on them.
The strategy draws from the findings of the studies
carried out by World Bank, IUCN, MoEF and their
various research and policy documents that
demonstrate how natural resources are not only the
basis of subsistence for these communities but are
crucial for sustained economic growth. Thus,
implementing poverty reduction strategies that work
in tandem with the efforts towards protection and
sustainable management of natural resources is a
logical course in saving such critical ecosystems. A
good analysis of the community dynamics along with
prevalent subsistence practices, existing gaps and
the local supply chain helps us identify key
livelihood interventions and enterprises. This helps
create value chains that are required to reduce their
level of dependence on these ecosystems while still
enhancing their income levels.
strive to set up governance around the communities,
their livelihoods and the extent of natural resource
extraction. This is followed by building capacities of
individuals and institutions so as to enable them to
not only adopt the key livelihood interventions
needed to increase their incomes but also to work in
consonance with the state government plans aimed
at enhancing ecosystem, resilience through soil
moisture conservation, reforestation and adoption of
improved agricultural and horticultural practices.
Cumulatively, these projects have touched 87,000
families across the country and managing a program
of this magnitude would not be possible without the
support of willing hands from volunteers through the
‘Magic Hands at Work’ program. In 2013, volunteers
contributed 12070 hours at these project locations
to undertake volunteering work that included
teaching school children, preparing marketing
strategies, finding technical solutions to in-field
problems and gathering baseline, monitoring and
evaluation data by conducting surveys.
Our interactions with volunteers show that the
‘Magic Hands At Work’ programme works in two ways
- it makes a difference to the lives and experiences
of the community and affords the volunteers an
opportunity to offer their time and skill through
structured engagement providing them a window
into the ‘India’ that we do not normally experience at
our workplaces or even our holiday destinations. We
look forward to many more ‘Magic Hands At Work’
volunteers at the ‘Supporting Enterprise’ projects.
The adaptive approach begins with the creation of
community based institutions (Gram Sabhas) that
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about the foundation . . .
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is a large
international banking and financial services
company. Headquartered in Edinburgh, RBS serves
over 30 million customers worldwide. As part of its
sustainability mandate, RBS believes in inclusive
growth and demonstrates it by supporting local
communities in the countries in which it operates.
RBS implements several programs to promote
enterprises, with a special focus on livelihood
generation, youth and women.
RBS India in line with the global objectives works
towards economic inclusion for those excluded from
the mainstream economy. By identifying the long
term challenges that are faced by the communities, it
strives to create platforms that would enable
economic empowerment and facilitate social
inclusion. This is carried out through RBS Foundation
India. (Referred as the Foundation in this report.)
In India, our commitment to the communities started
in September 2003 - with the launch of our
MicroFinance business. After three years of lending,
and establishing ourselves as industry leaders in
India, we felt the need to support MicroFinance
Institutes in the under served regions of India i.e.
North and North East. This led to the launch of a
three year MicroFinance Technical Assistance
program wherein 37 small MicroFinance Institutes
were supported, improving their operating
efficiencies, governance, systems and processes thus
enabling them to scale up their operations and
benefit many more lives. The program came to a
successful closure in 2010.
Our interactions with the community helped us
understand that while access to credit is important, it
is not sufficient to eliminate poverty. A poor
household is faced not only with lack of access to
finance, but also lack of access to markets and
technical knowledge to improve production or adopt
ways to improve vocational inefficiencies or simply
even develop an alternative vocation. These issues
are further aggravated for those who live in remote
geographical locations that keeps them away from
mainstream markets and society - primarily forest
dwelling communities that are dependent on natural
resources such as water and forest resources. These
findings led to the launch of the ‘Supporting
Enterprise’ programme in 2007. The aim of the
‘Supporting Enterprise’ programme is to facilitate
enterprise development for those that are
dependent on the resources of the country’s critical
or important ecosystems.
The RBS Foundation India, Annual Report 2013-14 is
a comprehensive representation of the work being
undertaken through the ‘Supporting Enterprise’
programme and its impact on communities we
support.
Why Enterprise?
In the last two decades, India has seen phenomenal
economic growth making it the 10th largest
economy in the world. Economic liberalization,
expansion of service industry, rise in private
consumption and the large working population are
said to be key drivers for the growth. However the
outreach of the economic growth has been skewed;
significantly large portions of the population
continue to remain economically excluded i.e. they
are neither the contributors nor the direct
beneficiaries of the country’s economic growth. For
economic growth to sustain its growth trajectory, the
working age population needs to be economically
active. The excluded population primarily comprises
those who are economically inactive and is
characterised by subsistence means of livelihoods,
lack of access to capital and education.
The Planning Commission in its report of March 2012
on poverty estimates that 29.8% of India’s
population live below poverty line, largely residing
in rural India. The major causes for poverty, both
individuals and communities, are lack of access to
productive assets, markets, financial resources and
technology. High levels of illiteracy, inadequate
health care and limited access to social services
further add to the overall cause. To add to, poverty is
deepest amongst those that depend directly on
natural resources as a means for livelihood. An
interesting pattern emerges when the country’s
forest cover map is superimposed on the poverty
map - there is a significant overlap between poverty
and ecologically important forests landscapes. Rapid
environment degradation, loss of bio diversity and
loss of entitlement to resources further augments
poverty.
The factors impacting poverty are inter related, multi
dimensional and influenced by the diverse socioeconomic factors, resulting in a vicious cycle. Efforts
towards poverty alleviation can be sustainable if
economic inclusion strategies work in tandem with
enterprise development. These should focus on
enhancing production through improved natural
resource management and enabling market access.
Creating financial awareness thus enables them to
manage their thrift profitably, save to manage life
cycle risks and efficiently consume for better quality
of lives. A basket of livelihood activities are needed
to be developed for the household to ensure food
security, regular cash flow and help mitigate the risks
inherent to their livelihoods.
Why support communities dependent on critical
ecosystems?
Our natural capital i.e. land, water, forest, wetland,
coral and other ecosystems along with their
biodiversity and natural resources directly and
indirectly support the foundation of a society and it’s
economy. In India more than a 100 million people
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continued ...
are unsustainably dependent on the resources of our
forest and wetland ecosystems. It is a known fact
that the world’s ecosystem is under threat and most
types of natural habitats are showing signs of severe
degradation, thus affecting their ability to deliver the
ecosystem services efficiently. In 2005, the UN
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment found that 60%
of essential ecosystem services are being gradually
degraded or are being used unsustainably. This has
resulted in the incapacity of the ecosystem to
deliver the services, the impact of which is
disproportionately borne by those communities
who are poor and disadvantaged. This decline
also results in barriers to meet the Millennium
Development Goals and poses severe threats for
future generations.
It is therefore imperative to base livelihood
development on strategies that focus on
implementing appropriate natural resource
management practices and help enhance the
ecosystems resilience against the degradation being
imposed on them. Natural resources are the basis of
subsistence in poor communities and their
livelihoods are directly dependent on its
ecosystems. Poverty reduction strategies working in
tandem with the efforts toward protection and
sustainable management of natural resources is
therefore a logical and essential course for
sustainable development.
What are Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services?
An ecosystem is a dynamic complex of plants,
animals, microbes, and physical environmental
features that interact with one another. Ecosystem
services are the benefits that humans obtain from
ecosystems, and they are produced by interactions
within the ecosystem. Ecosystems like forests,
grasslands, mangroves, and urban areas provide
different services to society. These include
provisioning, regulating, and cultural services that
directly affect people. They also include supporting
services needed to maintain all other services.
Some ecosystem services are local (provision of
pollinators), others are regional (flood control or
water purification), and still others are global
(climate regulation). Ecosystem services affect
human well-being and all its components,
including basic material needs such as food and
shelter, individual health, security, good social
relations, and freedom of choice and actions.
- Source www.unep.org
Our approach
We build our projects on a platform of collaborations
and partnerships between stakeholders, keeping the
community at the core and leveraging resources
from each of the stakeholder to augment enterprise
development. We have learnt that this approach
helps build up community’s ownership for
development and concurrently paves the way for
other developmental needs in a more integrated
manner.
£ At the onset of project design and development
phase, we partner with an NGO having requisite
domain knowledge, subject matter expertise,
experience of establishing Community Based
Organizations (CBOs) and understanding of the
applicable law / policy of the land.
£ Next, a detailed analysis of the prevalent socioeconomic conditions, community needs and
aspirations leads to identification of a set of
income generating interventions that include
both farm and non-farm activities. These are
designed keeping in mind the existing technical
and value chain gaps and form an integral part of
the project design. Local partnerships are
fostered with an understanding that the
partnership would bring in complementing
expertise and necessary resources during the
duration of the project.
£ A project steering committee comprising
representation from each stakeholder group gets
constituted which drives the project
implementation strategy locally, evaluates the
outcome of the project and brings in course
corrections if required.
£ We believe, implementing a development project
is a dynamic and evolving process and we strive
hard to create an environment that is conducive,
flexible and facilitates constant progress. This
approach requires knowledge and experience
based decision making that we bring in through
the stakeholder approach.
We believe each person and organization is a
stakeholder in the process of development and
continue our engagement with them at multiple
levels through a consultative process. We engage
with the Government through the Ministry of Rural
Development, Ministry of Environment and Forest,
National Biodiversity Authority; with financial
Institutions like NABARD, Reserve Bank Of India,
Indian Bank’s Association, industry bodies like FICCI,
CII, TERI, and NASSCOM; with educational institutions
like IIFM, XLRI, IRMA, XIMB, NMIMS, Symbiosis; with
multilateral organizations like Convention on
Biological Diversity, International Elephant Congress,
IUCN; Research organizations like Centre for Wildlife
Studies, Bombay Natural History Society, Wildlife
Trust of India, Wildlife Institute of India and
independent practitioners.
Continuous engagement with the stakeholders has
helped strengthen our strategy and implementation
process and infield learnings have been useful for
the stakeholders in their respective areas of work.
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project footprint
Map showing
project locations.
S. No.
Kolkata
Ongoing projects
1
Livelihood enhancement through Participatory Natural Resource Management in Gujarat
2
Livelihoods in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan
3
Livelihoods in Ladakh
4
Integrated Livelihoods in the hills of Uttarakhand
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Livelihoods in Umaria, Madhya Pradesh
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Livelihoods in Simlipal, Odisha
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Eco tourism in Manglajodi, Odisha
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Livelihoods in Kanha - Pench Corridor, Madhya Pradesh
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Livelihoods in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
10
Tribal Craft Development in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu
11
Amchi Livelihoods in Thane, Maharashtra
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livelihood enhancement through participatory
natural resource management in gujarat
Agriculture is the primary occupation of 60% of
India’s population. It is an occupation whose
financial viability is interrupted by a series of factors
such as reduced land holdings, low productivity of
land, increasing cost of cultivation, dependency on
monsoons, and lack of access to credit. This problem
is acute for small and marginal farmers.
Since the first 5 year plan, there have been
technological advances in terms of agriculture input
supplies including introduction of high yielding
seeds, improved irrigation facilities and access to
finances - yet the resultant impact on small and
marginal farmers has been limited. This can be
attributed to the lack of access to information and
technology to small and marginal farmers, who
this view, RBS FI has partnered with Development
Support Centre (DSC) to increase the equity of
farmers in the agro value chain. It builds upon the
Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) system
established and managed by the combined efforts of
DSC, Gujarat State Government and National Dairy
Development Board (NDDB) for 40000 farmers in 4
districts of Gujarat.
The phase I of the project was implemented from
2008 to 2011. It focussed on a) Increasing
productivity, b) Reducing costs, c) Mitigating risks,
d) Creating access to markets and e) Value addition.
Several pilots that demonstrated improved practices
included soil testing, use of improved variety of
seeds, practice of System of Root Intensification
(SRI), and measured use of water and fertilizers for
variety of crops. Measures like Crop diversification,
micro irrigation systems, reintroduction of organic
manure and horticulture were initiated for risk
mitigation. The pilots were successful and the
learning’s from these pilots were systematically
disseminated through site visits, farmer to farmer
discussions, local radio talk shows, road shows,
theatrical groups, local magazine, literature etc.
NGO: Development Support Centre
Location: District Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Amreli
and Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Duration: 2008 - 2015
Outreach: 40,000 farmers, 180 villages
continue to rely on the traditional farming practices.
Further, the advances in agriculture sector continue
to be driven by input supplies with inadequate focus
on transfer of technology and scientific knowledge,
with little emphasis on creating access to markets.
Increasing the participation of farmers in the agro
value chain is thus seen as an opportunity in
ensuring the long term viability of agriculture. With
value additions like spice and pulse processing. Yet
the challenges of price discovery and direct access
to markets remained.
Phase II of the intervention was initiated in 2012.
This phase focussed on formalising a primary goods
producer owned collectively in the form of a
producer company, the benefits of which were
shared by the producers in an equitable manner. The
producer company would aggregate the demand for
input supply, aggregate products and establish
market linkages, in addition to this, credit and
channelise government programs to the producers.
Also, an IT network to disseminate weather,
technology and market information is being
established to ensure the information reaches
farmers on time.
This model has gained recognition and is being
implemented by DSC in other PIM areas of Gujarat
and Madhya Pradesh.
At the end of Phase I, the outcomes were:
a) Increased productivity in the range of 23% to
167% for crops like paddy, wheat, cotton, maize,
castor, papaya, watermelon, musk melon, chilly,
capsicum, groundnut, pulses and spices b) Reduction
of input cost from 25% to 50% on account of
rationalized use of seeds, fertilizers and water. Also,
the adoption of improved practices resulted in a net
increase in income, in the range of INR 10,000 - INR
20,000 per hectare. Another notable outcome was
the emergence of women as key stakeholders in
agriculture and several small enterprises set up by
women SHG’s for producing organic manure and
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livelihoods in sawai madhopur,
rajasthan
Economic exclusion is one of the main causes for
financial exclusion. There are several other factors
that also contribute towards economic exclusion social exclusion, lack of enterprise, limited access to
markets and formal credit sources, low skills, low
income or assets, lack of awareness, subsistence
existence and illiteracy. This issue is further
aggravated for those communities which depend on
natural resources for income generating and
sustenance activities. Perceptively, natural resources
are considered in abundance, however in reality, the
and its long term sustainability, measures like
optimisation of inputs (natural resources), better
technology, developing a basket of livelihood,
developing vocational skills, and social inclusion for
management of natural resources are necessary.
NGO: Ranthambore Foundation
Location: District Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan
Duration: 2011 - 2016
Outreach: 700 households, 3 villages
increase in population and lack of livelihood
alternatives leads to an increased dependency on
natural resources thus leading to severe degradation.
Therefore, in order to facilitate economic inclusion
Having established a functioning model, the phase II
of the project will focus on scaling up of the model.
This will result in including several more villages and
its households into the project fold to achieve
impact at a district and landscape level.
Sawai Madhopur is a peri urban district; most of it
covered by reserve forest and protected area. About
90 villages with a population of ~ 1.5 lacs are
directly dependent on the forest for livelihoods and
survival. The communities continue to practice
traditional methods of income generation like
agriculture, dairy, NTFP and firewood collections,
thus further aggravating degradation and thereby
compromising on future livelihood security. We
currently partner with Ranthambore Foundation to
create a model that develops options for creating a
basket of livelihood activities and promote
sustainable agriculture. These activities include
vocational training that enables youth to seek
employment in the local service industry, training
youth in ‘Ranthambore School of Art’ - an
economically viable medium of art and small women
led enterprises such as carpet weaving centres and
tailoring units. While carpets are exported to Jaipur
and other nearby towns, the stitching units earn from
the local interest and demand. These alternate
livelihoods gradually help the community build a
small but usable capital base, improve agriculture
productivity and gradually build resilience to risks
that are often associated with natural resource based
livelihoods. Over a period of time it has been
noticed that the community is able to optimise and
reduce the dependency on natural resources.
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livelihoods in
ladakh
Leh forms a part of the Ladakh region which is
approximately 97,000 sq km. It is the largest part of
the Trans-Himalaya landscape and is characterised
by high altitude (>3,500 m), harsh climate, and a very
short growing season (May-September). Local
communities are traditionally pastoralists & agropastoralists and have evolved to a distinct lifestyle
and culture. They have maintained a delicate balance
between their needs and nature’s capacity to supply
these through various social, religious-cultural and
economic mechanisms. The once remote region of
Ladakh has witnessed a dramatic transition in the
past few decades due to better access (transport),
improved communication, and growth of tourism.
Exposure to different set of influences is leading to
We have partnered with Nature conservation
Foundation and Leh Nutrient Project to support
local communities to enhance existing livelihoods,
develop newer income generating options that
have a local supply and value chain. Along with
livelihoods, we are also working with several
schools to impart environment education to youth
and children.
The communities depend on melting glacier waters
for agriculture and domestic use. The agriculture is
fully dependent on gravity irrigation as there is no
rain fed agriculture. As an outcome of climate
change, the small glaciers and permanent snowfield
are melting and hence affecting irrigation for
agriculture. Through the project, the system of
artificial glaciers is being developed. Artificial glacier
is an intricate network of water channels and dams
along the upper slope of the valley. In winter, water
is diverted to the shady side of the mountain where
it can freeze. Structures to retain water are built
down the slope to retain the water and facilitate
freezing. The artificial glacier is created between the
village and the natural glaciers (that are slowly
receding) to ensure melting at different times and
assure continuous supply of water. This technique
has ensured timely availability of water for irrigation
and optimal agriculture production for the
community. An area of 1500 hectare and 2850
households have benefited from the intervention.
NGO: Nature for Conservation Foundation
(NCF) and Leh Nutrition Project (LNP)
Location: District Leh, Jammu & Kashmir
Duration: 2012 - 2015
To channelise tourism revenue to the local
communities the project has facilitated 22 home
stays, 6 eco-cafes and a handicraft based enterprise.
To make the economically active population of
tomorrow that largely consists of children and youth
conscious towards the needs of the environment,
environment awareness programs have been
designed. Through pre-designed modules, the youth
are made aware of the environment, the various
issues on climate change, local biodiversity and the
importance of ecosystem conservation.
Improved transport facilities have led to exponential
growth in tourism in Ladakh and as a result tourism
has become the largest contributor to the local
economy. Similar to other popular nature based
tourist places, the outreach of the benefits derived
from tourism remain limited, giving rise to disparity
of income in the region and leading to degradation
of the closely knit social fabric existent in the region.
dilution and disruption of the systems that had
evolved over generations. The region is being
subjected to a range of changes detrimental for
traditional and sustainable livelihoods. More over,
the impact of global climate change is evidently
visible in Ladakh and has translated into negative
impacts on traditional livelihoods.
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integrated livelihoods in the hills
of uttrarakhand
of livelihoods comprises dairy, apiculture, spice
cultivation and sericulture. Although these are
traditional livelihoods, they result in little surplus.
Adopting a value chain approach includes increasing
the production capacity, backward linkages, access
to finance and markets. Sustainability is strongly
woven into each intervention that factors the
appropriate use of natural resources and aims to
reduce the negative impacts if any.
Development of dairy includes cattle breed
improvement, access to health care, fodder
cultivation and stall feeding. With breed
improvement, the number of cattle with the
household has reduced. Fodder cultivation and stall
feeding has in turn reduced the cattle grazing in the
forest. An ancillary outcome of stall feeding is
increased production of organic manure. The
increase in milk production has also led to nutrient
sufficiency for the household and surplus is sold in
the local market.
Mountain ecosystems are known for their rich
biodiversity and are a vital economic and ecological
resource. Although they occupy one fifth of the
world’s surface area and house only one tenth of the
population, yet more than half of the world’s
population uses the services provided by these
ecosystems. Mountain communities generally live in
small isolated populations and survive in tough
terrain using their traditional and indigenous
knowledge. They incidentally are also one of the
poorest communities as they themselves are not
able to utilise mountain resources like water and
with limited access to alternate opportunities
continue to remain poor. The northern state of
Uttrakhand is one such example where 37% of the
SHGs and federations. A producer owned company
has been established to undertake sale of produce.
Each household has undertaken at least 2 livelihood
activities. Several entrepreneurs from the local youth
have been developed in the value chain as milk
aggregators, carpenters to make bee boxes,
technicians to harvest honey, para vets for cattle
heath care and more. With the value chain under the
management of the community, a sustainable
economy is being developed in this region. A
stakeholder based approach has resulted in the
community taking ownership of natural resources.
Apiculture includes establishing traditional wall
units of bee colonies in a scientifically developed
bee box. This enables higher production, better
harvesting practices and easier division of colonies
to establish more bee boxes. There is anecdotal
evidence that presence of bees in the area has
increased the agriculture productivity upto 20%.
NGO: Appropriate Technology India (ATI)
Location: District Pauri, Uttarakhand
Duration: 2010 - 2016
population lives below the poverty line.
We have partnered with a local NGO - Appropriate
Technology India (ATI) to support 2,000 households
in 90 villages in Pauri district in developing a basket
of livelihoods. ATI integrates the traditional
livelihoods of the community with a value chain and
natural resource management approach. The basket
Improved practices of spice cultivation and usage of
better quality seeds have been introduced to make
spice cultivation an economically viable crop. Spice
cultivation has also reduced crop raiding and hence
the loss arising out of it. Use of organic manure has
enabled the community to get an organic
certification and seek better prices from the market.
The livelihood interventions are built upon robust
community governance established by formation of
19
20
livelihoods in umaria,
madhya pradesh
Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) is located in the
north eastern part of Madhya Pradesh and
encompasses an area of 1,161.47 sq km. There are
several villages spread across this area and are
mainly located on the periphery of the Bandhavgarh
National Park (BNP). The close proximity of the
villages to the forest makes man - animal conflict an
intrinsic characteristic of the region and instances of
livestock depredation and crop raiding are a part of
the local community’s lives. While there is no one
step solution to solving these conflicts, interventions
designed to reduce the losses arising from such
conflicts can not only change the attitude of the
community towards wildlife but can also provide
women play in the rural economy and it attempts to
formalise their role in enterprise development and
empowers them to take decisions through self
governing forums.
NGO: Indian Grameen Services (IGS)
Location: District Umaria, Madhya Pradesh
Duration: 2010 - 2017
sustainable alternative sources of livelihoods.
With this view, we have partnered with Indian
Grameen Services to develop a basket of livelihoods
for 450 households. The project aims to build and
strengthen local value chains for farm and non farm
products. The project focus is on the role that
Since the inception of the project in 2010, it has
mobilised 370 women from 8 villages into forming
27 SHGs and inculcated a habit of regular meetings,
savings and inter lending amongst themselves. Bank
accounts have been opened for each of the SHGs.
Through the SHGs, the households have been
motivated to build a capacity to adopt a basket of
livelihoods comprising at least two farm and one non
farm products. The farm based intervention includes
introducing a package of new and improved
agriculture practices, addition of new crops like
spices, horticulture and implementation of
techniques like intercropping and multi cropping.
Non farm intervention includes supporting micro
enterprises like small shops, flour mills, cycle repair,
mobile repair, tailoring, poultry, Non Timber Forest
Produce (NTFP) aggregation and more. Backward
linkages are facilitated through the local markets and
input suppliers. Forward linkages are established
with local markets. BNP being a tourist area offers a
significantly large seasonal market for local produce.
With non forest based livelihood becoming
remunerative, the dependence on forest is expected
to gradually reduce. The hotel association has been
brought in as a stakeholder to help facilitate direct
market linkages with its member hotels. The
challenge however is to match the demand with
supply at the right time.
The house holds have evidenced higher food
security and cash incomes. These have enabled the
households to access better heath care, higher
education, and more importantly reduced
dependency on the money lender. Spice cultivation
has reduced the crop raiding to an extent and the
basket of livelihood activities mitigates the risk
arising from agriculture loss and livestock
depredation. The most important outcome of the
project is the enhanced role that women now play in
their house holds and the local economy.
The success of the model is now being scaled up.
Village youth are being trained to provide technical
assistance to the households and facilitate linkages.
With scale, women plan to federate the SHGs into a
Community Based Organisation (CBO). The CBO is
expected to aggregate input supply, aggregate
produce to fetch better price from the market and
link with various eligible government schemes in the
region.
The initial years of the project have also in parallel
focussed on creating self governance within the
SHGs, increasing agricultural productivity, setting up
micro enterprises and establishing market access.
21
22
livelihoods in similipal,
odisha
The Simlipal Tiger Reserve (STR) is a compact block
of elevated plateau spread across 2,750 sq km
located in the central part of the Mayurbhanj district,
comprising 1,195 sq km of core and 1,555 sq km of
buffer area. STR forms a part of the larger Simlipal
Biosphere Reserve (SBR). It is a representative
ecosystem under Mahanadian Biogeographic Region
and one of the seven biosphere reserves in India
identified under the Biosphere Programme of the
UNESCO - with the broad objective of conservation
of the area. There are 65 villages in STR comprising a
population of ~10,000 households. 73% of this
population is tribal and dependent on the forest and
its biodiversity for livelihoods. The livelihoods
households in 31 fringe villages of STR. Initiated in
2009, the project in the first 3 years of
implementation focussed on i) Enhancing agriculture
productivity by promoting practice of System of Root
intensification technology ii) Building small farm
based enterprises by encouraging improved
vegetable farming and setting up small scale
commercial poultry units iii) Establishing market
linkages by creating collection centres in the villages
and iv) Creating robust community owned
institutions viz. village development committee and
Self help groups (SHGs) through continuous
mobilisation of the community.
activities to increase soil moisture in the villages
leading to an increased cropping intensity. It will
also focus on enabling the community to take up
government projects on Natural Resource
Management by preparing a comprehensive village
action plan and at the same time continue to reduce
the community’s dependency on forests and its
resources by ensuring enhanced incomes and better
ecosystem resilience.
The intervention has been designed so as to build
upon the existing skill sets of these communities for
good adoption rates, ensure acceptability and thus
sustainability. In doing so, the evident outcomes are:
i) Rise in the agricultural yield by 25-40% while
inputs (seeds, labour) reduction by ~ 50% resulting
in an average additional increase in income of INR
1000-1500 per month. ii) Vegetable farming being
done on an acre of land is providing INR 3000-4000
profit per month and those households that have
adopted poultry are earning an average profit of INR
6000-8000 and iii) Cumulative savings of ~ 15 lakhs
has been achieved within the 78 SHGs.
Location: District Mayurbhanj, Odisha
Duration: 2009 - 2018
Outreach: 1,500 households, 31 villages
primarily comprise subsistence rain fed paddy
cultivation, Non-timber Forest Products (NTFP)
collection from the forest, migration for wage labour
and illegal felling of trees.
We have partnered with Indian Grameen Services
(IGS) to provide livelihood services to 1,500
Although the first three years have lead to visible
impacts in these villages, bigger challenges remain.
Since 2013, the project has started addressing the
prevalent water scarcity and land degradation in the
region.
For this, command area of 250 acres has been
brought under the land and water development
activities by leveraging on various government
initiatives. The next few years will focus on
extending these land and water development
23
24
eco tourism in mangalajodi,
odisha
According to the World Trade and Tourism council
estimates in 2011, the tourism industry contributes
6.4% to India’s GDP and generates 7.9% of its
employment i.e. 39.3 million jobs. With an expected
growth of 7.8%, the sector represents significant
potential for generating livelihoods, especially rural
livelihoods where the share of eco tourism or rural
tourism is steadily increasing. Ecotourism with its
inherent potential of unifying conservation,
communities, and sustainable travel makes it a
viable livelihood proposition for the communities
residing near ecologically important regions such as
forest, wetland and desert ecosystems.
Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust is a community owned
and managed ecotourism facility promoted by RBS
flocking to the region from as far as Russia and
Mongolia each winter. It is a notified Important Bird
Area by Birdlife International and part of the Chilka
Lake which is a designated Ramsar Site. Diminishing
fish catch and lack of alternative livelihoods
opportunities had led to unsustainable levels of
poaching by villagers which had reduced the
migratory bird arrivals to a mere 5,000 in the year
2000. Over a period of time, Mangalajodi became
infamous as a village of bird catchers as virtually all
species were trapped or shot, to be eaten or sold in
the market as delicacies. A local NGO, Wild Orissa
concerned with the loss of birdlife intervened and
through rigorous engagement with the community
based on social and ethical reasoning convinced a
few villagers to take up conservation measures.
These villagers led from the front with the belief that
these flocking birds are the village guests and thus
it’s the community’s responsibility to protect them.
With persistent protection measures the poaching
had gradually reduced but the situation was tenuous
in the absence of alternative sources of livelihoods.
We partnered with Indian Grameen Services to set
up a community owned and managed ecotourism
enterprise that was set up in 2010.
Location: District Khorda, Odisha
Duration: 2008 - 2014
Outreach: 500 households, 1 village
Foundation India in partnership with Indian Grameen
Services (IGS). Based on the principles of community
ownership and Eco Tourism, Mangalajodi represents
a business model that is both economically viable
and environmentally sustainable. Mangalajodi is a
fishing village settled in the marshy shores, north
east of Chilka Lake and is a host to more than 200
species of resident and migratory birds that come
ensure that poaching doesn’t resurface. Currently
marketing and finances of the eco-tourism
enterprise are being professionally managed.
The Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust offers a 30 bed
lodging and boarding facility. During the last season
beginning November 2012 and closing in February
2013 it hosted more than 1,000 tourists and
conducted 350 boating trips. The Trust has earned
surplus in the last 2 seasons. Tourism inflow has led
to emergence of several micro enterprises in the
village like taxi services, internet cafes etc.;
generating more livelihoods.
The Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust is now confident
of hosting twice the number of tourists during the
next season. The intent is to gradually move towards
making the trust a self dependent and profitable
enterprise, the benefits of which shall continue to be
utilised by the community as well as the migratory
guests of the village. With Mangalajodi becoming a
popular and remunerative tourism destination, it is
catching the attention of few big hotels chains.
Warding off competition and ensuring a balance
between economics and environment is a challenge
the Trust would face in near future.
The Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust comprises 50
members and 10 of the members constitute its
governing Board. The governing Board is in charge of
overall management of the trust. The trust offers 2
kinds of employment to the members: a) For Birding
services – Boatman and Guides and b) For
Hospitality Services – Cooks, cleaners, maintenance
staff. Over the last 3 years, a series of capacity
building and technical training programmes have
been imparted to the members to enable them to
govern and operate the trust. All members on a
rotation basis undertake protection measures like
patrolling the marshes or educating the villagers to
25
26
livelihoods in kanha-pench
corridor, madhya pradesh
livelihoods and the lack of any alternate or
additional source of income has resulted in low
standard of living for the resident community. Due to
abject literacy and ignorance, there is lack of
awareness and perception about the developmental
activities. The communities have remained isolated
from mainstream development, and owning to their
traditional dependence on the wilderness, continue
to remain so socially and economically.
We have partnered with Foundation for Ecological
Security and PRADAN to work with 12,500
households in 175 villages to enhance income
from agriculture, develop a basket of livelihoods
options that will progressively reduce community
dependency on the ecosystem resources. The
initiative aims to promote household enterprise,
sources of energy for kitchen and lighting and
vocational training for youth for employment in
adjoining districts.
Located in the Central Indian state of Madhya
Pradesh, the Kanha - Pench corridor region is an
important landscape of the country. Its bio diversity,
comprising flora, fauna with verdant forests and
meadows, providing food, fuel, fodder, timber and
other forest products for resident communities,
clean and abundant water makes it a globally
important source of renewable energy and carbon
storage. Spread over an area of 10,865 sq km, it is an
important source of ecosystem services through its
hydrology i.e part of the area is a watershed for River
Narmada.
In recent times, much of the corridor is facing
degradation. The villages depend on forests and
NGO: Foundation for Ecological Security
(FES) and Professional Assistance for
Development Action (PRADAN)
Location: District Mandla, Balaghat,
Madhya Pradesh
Duration: 2013 - 2018
other natural resources for their day to day
sustenance. Their dependency varies from collection
of fuel wood and minor forest produce, livestock
grazing, unsustainable agriculture practices etc. This
sole dependency on natural resources for
Population, brings in interest and resources from
various national and global agencies. A Kanha Pench
symposium has been established by stakeholders
with the aim to bring together a group of researchers
and managers involved on issues directly related to
the sustainable management of the Kanha-Pench
landscape and its biodiversity. With an aim to
actively contribute to science-informed management
and conservation, this group includes officials and
managers in regional parks, researchers at local
organisations and students and faculty based in
universities.
The interventions are designed basis village level
plans based on land and water resources. They work
at household level to enhance productivity from
agriculture through a combination of watershed /
irrigation and on-farm practices. Alternative sources
of livelihoods are added through backyard poultry,
kitchen gardening, and animal husbandry activities.
Village level institutions under the Panchayat Raj
and the Forest Conservation Acts viz the Gram
Panchayat, Eco-development committees, Bio
Diversity Management committees are strengthened
to motivate community participation in local
governance and formulate governance of extraction
of resources from the forest ecosystem.
The importance of restoring the Kanha – Pench
Corridor has gained much focus in recent times. The
fact that it also supports a significantly large tiger
27
28
livelihoods in srisailam,
andhra pradesh
Tribals or adivasis represent the indigenous
population of India. They comprise ~8% of India’s
population and majority of them reside in rural areas
and forests. Their livelihoods are closely intertwined
with forests and natural resources and they
undertake subsistence agriculture and extract forest
produce. They have low levels of literacy and health
and are amongst the most economically backward
populations in the country.
In Andhra Pradesh, we are working directly for the
benefit of three tribes - the Chenchus, Lambadas
their reliance on the forests for food gathering,
hunting and collection of Minor Forest Produce
(MFP). There are about 200 villages inhabited by
these tribes surrounding NSTR. Agriculture and cattle
rearing though practised have low economic value.
With restricted access to forest and its resources, low
education and skill levels, the population has limited
opportunities for developing or accessing alternate
sources of livelihoods.
NGO: Conservation of Nature by Rural
Awakening (CONARE)
Location: District Mahboobnagar, Andra Pradesh
Duration: 2011 - 2015
Outreach: 1000 Households, 16 villages
and Erulas living around the Nagarjuna Srisailam
Tiger Reserve (NSTR). These tribes are classified as
aboriginal as they are the most primitive tribe in the
state, because of their subsistence way of life and
We work with 16 villages, where our engagement
with the community has helped developed
sustainable livelihoods like dairy, demand based
hand made products and made value additions to
Non-timber Forest Products. Encouraging fodder
cultivation to reduce cattle grazing has resulted in
food fodder availability for the cattle resulting in
higher yields of milk and the farmers have been able
to earn an additional source of income by selling the
excess fodder in local markets. We have also
encouraged farmers to undertake vegetable farming
as it has resulted in providing a direct income to the
farmers, proving to be a sustainable source of
income if undertaken sincerely. Our work also
includes encouraging women to take up embroidery
which has led to desirable outcomes as they have
been trained to create products that are marketable,
have access to raw materials and be linked to
markets to sell their finished products. This too, has
led to a viable source of income for the community.
Individual biogas units have also been installed in
the households to reduce fuel wood dependency.
This in turn has helped the tribe improve their
standard of living and fortified conservation efforts
in the region.
29
30
tribal craft development
in nilgiris, tamil nadu
The handicraft sector is the second largest
employment sector in the country, preceded by
agriculture and agriculture allied activities.
Traditionally handicraft is a home based industry,
using inherent skills and local resources to produce
utility products that are consumed predominantly in
rural and urban areas. Many agricultural and pastoral
communities depend on their traditional craft skills
as a source of cash income especially during times
of low agriculture produce, droughts, floods, and
other calamities. For some communities it is the sole
source of livelihood.
The recent decades have brought in much changes
many artisan communities these changes have
displaced the demand for their produce resulting in
loss of livelihood. The artisan communities today are
some of the poorest households in the country.
Besides the loss of livelihoods, the nation is also
losing the traditional skills or products that
represent our rich cultural heritage. A few
communities have however responded to the
opportunities that changes have brought in by
evolving into hand crafted niche or lifestyle
products. Establishing a viable handicraft based
enterprise not only leads to a sustained source of
income for the producer, but helps in reviving and
retaining our cultural heritage.
NGO: All India Artisans and Craftworkers
Welfare Association (AIACA)
Location: District Nilgiri, Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu
and Wayanad, Kerala.
Duration: 2012 - 2015
into the lives of traditional artisans with the advent
of mechanisation and standardisation of these
products. The factory produced goods have steadily
replaced the handicraft products with cheaper and
standardised products that are also utility items. For
We have partnered with All India Artisans and Craft
workers welfare Association (AIACA) to work with
tribal communities to revive and rebuild handicrafts
as a source of income through an enterprise
approach. Women artisans are formed into producer
groups with a focus on building their capacity
through training and workshops on manufacturing.
This enables the groups to expand and streamline
their operations and become commercially
sustainable. The efforts have been further
complimented by creating market linkages for the
embroidered goods. The Todas who live
predominantly in the Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu
number less than 1,000 today and have been the
centre of much attention because of their
‘unlikeness to their neighbours in appearance,
manners and customs’. They possess a unique skill of
embroidery that is considered an art and is
protected from duplication. 125 Toda members are
part of this initiative. In the future, efforts will also
be made to explore the international market and
create linkages for exporting this traditional art.
31
32
amchi livelihoods in thane,
maharashtra
Financial independence is a crucial element of
empowerment which enables women to be decisionmakers at home and in their community. In Shahpur
block, Thane District of Maharashtra we have been
working in 4 villages with the intent of overall village
development through social and women
empowerment. Though the villages are close to the
urban centres of Thane and Mumbai, the income
generating options available with the communities
were limited. Farming was largely at subsistence
level. High rates of migration was leading to lack of
labour in the village and negatively impacting the
agriculture productivity. The lack of alternative and
the help of our implementing partner, Population
First we began exploring income generating options
which were easy to learn and relevant to the needs
of their village. Interactions with the community
combined with field surveys revealed an annual
increase in farming and cultivation costs as a result
of rising cost of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and
seeds. Each year, the soil required larger quantities
of fertilizers and increased labour to prepare it for
cultivation. Yet the produce was diminishing in
quality. Farm soil had degraded due to continuous
use of chemicals. To counter this problem, we began
a vermi-composting project. Compost was made
using cattle dung and earthworms. Women were
comfortable working on the project as it required
raw material which is readily available at a small
price and it did not demand much time. The project
improved fertility of soil and provided a cost
effective alternative to chemical fertilizers.
culture. This became an effective method of earning
additional income for their community. The
community was trained in hospitality services to
cater to tourists who visit their village. The whole
enterprise is managed by the people of the village.
These local livelihoods developed continue to
generate a sustainable source of income for the
villages.
This activity was also turned into a low investment
and less time consuming livelihood activity for the
women as it helped them earn an additional source
of income. Women were organized into Self Help
Groups and were trained in construction of the tanks,
production of vermi-compost and marketing.
Training, knowledge sharing and identifying nearby
markets ensured that the women earned income
from this activity.
NGO: Population First
Location: District Thane, Maharastra
Duration: 2011 - 2014
Outreach: 700 households, 2 villages.
sustainable livelihoods was pushing these villages to
abject poverty.
Our initial interactions with the community revealed
that the women were willing to be trained to
undertake work that would not interfere with
household chores and other responsibilities. With
We have also worked with these villages to set up
a rural tourism enterprise that over the course of
three years has started earning the community a
sustainable source of income. The concept of rural
tourism was explored and implemented as an
opportunity for rural communities to allow tourists
from India and abroad access into their towns and
33
34
volunteer
engagement
RBS Foundation India believes that people are
important for bringing about change in society. The
young talent in our cities has the skills and the drive
to make a difference to the lives of communities that
are not so privileged. We are thus committed to
offering this young talent a platform and a conducive
environment from which they can volunteer time
and skill for the community. In this endeavour, we
have learnt that engaging people in social causes
leads to both personal and professional growth.
Donating time, money and skill is inherent to Indian
culture. As part of their individual social
responsibilities, people are known to frequently
engage with communities and causes of social
relevance. With the recent focus and developments
on issues of climate change, loss of biodiversity,
poverty, financial exclusion and more importantly
practising sustainable development, the scope of
Individual Social Responsibility too is evolving.
With the aim to align and complement Individual
Social Responsibility with the Corporate Social
Responsibility mandate of RBS India, we initiated a
platform called Magic Hands At Work (MHAW) in
2008, with a dual objective:l
Enhance one’s knowledge and skills on issues of
relevance in present times such as those of
Climate Change, Loss of Biodiversity, Poverty
magic hands at work –
programs and outcomes
Alleviation, and Sustainable Development.
l
l
Promote and encourage volunteering on RBS
Foundation India’s ‘Supporting Enterprise’
Projects. MHAW program is usually conducted at
sites of RBS India Supporting Enterprises projects.
Name of the Supporting
Enterprise Project
Livelihoods in
Sawaimadhopur, RJ
Outcomes of the
volunteering
£
Engage with local school authorities
to understand non-academic
capacity building needs of children,
relevant for their career growth
£
11,200 children in 42 schools and
20 villages have been informed of
career options and opportunities
through knowledge sharing sessions
£
Create modules for specific needs environment awareness, financial
literacy, career awareness and
personality development
£
Schools authorities have reported
that the presentation of modules
has built interest in children to seek
knowledge
£
Create a platform to facilitate a
continuous dialogue with children
£
Interactions with supporting
enterprise women entrepreneurs
What does it mean for the volunteer
Gains understanding of rural education
systems and rural enterprises
£
Conduct a survey with the SHG
members to grade the SHG’s as per
the guidelines prescribed by Banks
and regulators
£
Interact with the SHG members and
understand their livelihood activities
(9,260 hours)
Encourage and motivate a socially responsible
approach
Knowledge based associations with social causes or
knowledge driven actions have far reaching or
sustainable outcomes in relation to any kind of
social intervention or social change. The in-field
experience gained through MHAW enables one to
identify, understand and sensitise themselves to the
issues faced by the society and plan their actions
and interventions in alignment with the need.
Since its inception, MHAW has grown in popularity
amongst the organisation and has been customised
as and when to align with the evolving strategy of
RBS. Over a period of time it has been observed that
post being part of this program; volunteers have
been able to broaden their sphere of influence;
moving away from the notion of “feel good” to “be
better”. This has resulted in development of several
self initiated community actions with colleagues,
friends and family.
Livelihoods in Umaria,
MP
Activities by
volunteers
(1,302 hours)
£
Grading of SHGs helps design and
develops a need based capacity
building program to strengthen an
SHG. Facilitates SHG linkages with
Banks
Learns functioning of rural economy
Livelihoods in KanhaPench Corridor, MP
£
Household survey to establish a
socio – economic baseline
£
The baseline survey helps in
designing of project intervention
(2,489 hours)
£
Educate children and youth on
aspects of environment
£
Children and youth who constitute
the economically active population
of the regions in future are aware
about the impact of environment
Learns the delicate balance between
livelihoods and environment
35
36
magic hands at work – programs and outcomes
continued ...
Enterprises Project
Amchi Livelihoods in
Thane, Maharashtra
Outcomes of the
volunteering
£
(682 hours)
£
’Mystery shoppers’ or dummy
tourists for the rural tourism
intervention
Assess capacity building needs for
the tourism service providers
Activities by
volunteers
£
£
Enterprises Project
Village tourism management
committee gets to experience model
tourists which help build confidence
and set in place adequate systems
Habitat For Humanity
Outcomes of the
volunteering
£
(351 hours)
Build, rehabilitate and repair simple,
decent, affordable homes
Co-operation with the actual tourists
before they arrive
£
(888 hours)
£
Livelihood Enhancement
through participatory
natural resource
management, Gujarat
£
(682 hours)
£
Volunteer with the park
management to manage pilgrims
during the Mahashivratri Festival
Help park management to manage
the ongoing tree plantation and
watershed activities in the park
baseline for input supply
requirements of farmers for all
cropping seasons
Household survey to establish the
produces by a farmer for all
cropping seasons
£
Better park management during
important festivals and contribute to
efforts for increasing the park’s
biodiversity
Under the Mango Tree
(24 hours)
£
Prepare process maps and operating
manual for the organisation
the Business plan for the Farmer’s
owned Producer Company
Contributes to efforts of building
low-cost housing, that helps
marginalised communities have a
decent and safe place to live
£
Improve Operational efficiency of
the NGO
Gain understanding on functioning of
a social enterprise
Understand the value of biodiversity
£ The data collected would feed in to
£
Learn how low cost homes are built
and how housing related services are
provided to low-income marginalised
families across India
Learns the role of enterprise and ecotourism in rural India
Volunteering at Sanjay
Gandhi National Park
Activities by
volunteers
International Coastal
clean up.
(210 hours)
£ Collect trash from the beaches
£ Helps keep the beaches clean, data
collected is documented as part of
the Ocean Track Index
Understand the importance of clean
coastlines, a clean environment and
one’s role in it
Gain insights into the agriculture
sector; first hand interactions with
farmers and their challenges
37
38
magic hands at work – programs and outcomes
continued ...
Enterprises Project
Outcomes of the
volunteering
Livelihoods in
Mangalajodi , Odisha
£
’Mystery shoppers’ or Dummy
tourists for the rural tourism set up
(1,464 hours)
£
Assess capacity building needs and
requirements for the service
providers
£
£
Activities by
volunteers
Enterprises Project
Village tourism management
committees get to experience.
model tourists which help build
confidence and set in place systems
Livelihoods at Srisailam
Outcomes of the
volunteering
£
(288 hours)
£
Identify gaps in products offering
and design capacity building
programs for the service providers
Conduct a mid term impact
assessment survey at a household
level
£
(2,229 hours)
Assist the park management at
Ranthambore National park to
undertake a census of wild animals
£
Park management has the count of
wild animals in the reserve and
helps in measuring the success of
park management to protect wildlife
Grassroutes
Support the promoting NGO - Under
The Mango Tree to spread awareness
on Bees
£
£
Throughout the year, identify and
create platforms of promoting UTMT
honey
Learns the importance of apiculture
and experiences first hand the strong
impact of effective awareness
( 67 hours)
Higher sale of honey promotes
higher production of honey and thus
enterprise development
£
Value chain analysis helped
ascertain the marketability of the
products and capacity building gaps
that were then incorporated in the
project plan
£
Prepare process maps and operating
manual for the organisation
£
Improve Operational efficiency of
the NGO
Gain understanding on functioning of
a social enterprise
Livelihoods in the hills
of Uttarakhand
£
Assess the impact of the project as
intended
Learns the role of enterprise in rural
development
Learns the importance of wildlife and
forest management
Cerena Day – National
Bee day.
£
Value chain analysis for the
enterprise promoted through the
project
Learns the role of enterprise and ecotourism in rural India
Water Hole census.
Activities by
volunteers
(2,677 hours)
£
socio-economic baseline
£
The baseline survey helps in
designing of project intervention
Gain an understanding on rural
livelihoods and its dependence on
natural resources
39
40
volunteer
speak
Deepali Gupta
Through numerous sessions and discussions in
MHAW, we were made aware of our eco-system and
how each individual can contribute to protect it. The
sessions also gave an insight into various community
initiatives being undertaken within RBS, through the
Foundation. I believe, MHAW is a balanced mix of
awareness-raising sessions, thought-provoking
discussions and hands-on community work packaged
neatly into a span of two days!
Nagesh Mahindrakar
The Magic Hands At Work experience in Gujarat was
insightful. As part of MHAW, we conducted a survey
to capture details about agriculture activities like
input requirements, type of crops, cropping pattern
and production. These details would help the project
make a business plan for the farmers owned
Producer Company and establish direct access with
the market. During the course of interaction with
farmers, I learnt several things about agriculture and
the issues they face. I am proud to have been
associated with MHAW.
Simran Tiwana
The biggest takeaway from the MHAW workshop was
that I got my inspiration back - seeing the work
happening on ground, number of people genuinely
wanting to make a difference took away the
cynicism. Additionally, found the means: start small,
dip into expertise available at RBS Foundation India,
use the first success as the base for more initiatives
to follow.
the onward journey;
our people, their stories
Sumit Gupta
The best part about being a volunteer with MHAW is
opportunity to interact with people at the grass root
level. We get to understand everyday challenges of
people in rural India. It is good to see footprints of
RBS in these areas and the work on economic
inclusion. I feel proud of my association with RBS.
Upasana Shukla
Volunteering through MHAW is an insightful
experience. At the Supporting Enterprise Project in
Madhya Pradesh, I had the opportunity to interact
with students, educate and be educated on different
subjects like biodiversity, protecting forests and
wildlife. The knowledge sharing on the importance
of corridors and the need to protect them was
beautifully explained by RBS Foundation India. At
Uttrakhand, it was altogether a different experience
to see how people struggle for their livelihood.
Assessing their socio-economic condition through a
survey was a learning experience.
Participation in MHAW not only benefits the
community through the projects it simultaneously
enriches the volunteers with great experiences! The
experience gained by volunteering for social causes
is far more than what we give.
Vijay Sethi
The volunteering visit to the RBS Foundation India’s
Supporting Enterprise project was an enriching
experience. Through the interactions with women of
Self Help Groups, I learnt about the impact the
project has had on their lives, their learning's and
financial independence. I feel proud to have been a
part of the volunteer squad.
Enterprise development has been the primary tool
for poverty alleviation in India and it has seen
varying degrees of success depending upon several
factors such as the risk taking ability of the
community, access to factors of production,
infrastructure and supply chains etc. Such programs
lead to quantitative as well as qualitative impacts on
the community. Quantitative impacts include
increased incomes, savings and financial security of
the households, access to financial and banking
services etc., while qualitative impacts include
enhanced social capital such as participation in
village governance, higher attendance and
enrolments in schools (especially girls), community
harmony, family well being etc.
RBS Foundation India projects till now have touched
87,000 households and the quantitative impact are
continously tracked. However, we also bring out
some of the qualitative impacts from the ‘Supporting
Enterprise’ projects as revealed by the field visits
undertaken by the RBS FI team.
Human Development and Quality of Life Indicators
There is evidence that projects have had a positive
impact on human development indicators, such as
food security, cash incomes, access to healthcare
and school attendance especially where these are
directly linked to households that have started
earning a substantive sustainable source of income
from the enterprise that have been set up.
Women Empowerment
All forms of social capital have increased
substantially in the ‘Supporting Enterprise’ projects.
The projects have contributed to a gender awareness
and realisation of entitlement and rights as well as
practical means to lay claim on these. Gender has
come to be a central organising principle of the
project and has successfully been mainstreamed or
targeted in all projects.
Equity
Equity is an integral part of the project architecture.
All segments of the village community i.e. landless
farmers, small and marginal farmers, artisans and
women are encouraged to participate and take a
leadership role in the smooth functioning of formal
institutions such as Gram Panchayats, Village
Development Committees, and Eco- Development
Committees and play a more decisive role in their
functioning. They lead enterprises that ensure
sustainable livelihoods for them and their families.
The new bread winner
In each family, there has been an addition of at least
one new bread winner after the household received
support for their livelihoods. Women reported
having a formal stake in the household’s basket of
livelihood activity. With the focus on women in our
strategy, a clear social impact is of confidence and
empowerment as the woman now commands more
say in household decisions.
Drudgery
Drudgery in women was a key restraint to
productivity of women and their contribution on
household incomes. Setting up of household
enterprise combined with knowledge and
implementation of improved techniques has
resulted in reducing the drudgery in women
41
42
The onward journey:
continued ...
significantly. Women no longer have to spend long
hours on household work which has increased their
work productivity sufficiently.
Migration
Since the community had adopted enterprises that
have started earning the households a sustainable
source of income, migration of youth from the
villages has reduced. This stabilises a rural family
and ownership towards local livelihoods increases
significantly.
Reduction in community conflicts
Formal institutions and decision making bodies
empowered with knowledge and equal rights have
reduced community conflicts significantly and
enhanced community harmony and wellbeing.
Awareness and ownership for resource
management
Through knowledge and capacity building sessions,
the community has been able to understand the
need to optimally use our natural resources in a nonexploitative manner. Ownership of the resources has
contributed to their effective conservation and
preservation.
The community is at the core of the project
architecture and implementation. The ability of the
communities that we have worked with to adopt
practices that are sustainable for them, nature and
the community at large is commendable. The sheer
ability of an individual, household and community to
adapt on understanding the merit of doing so, has
largely contributed to their well being and
development.
43

RBS Foundation India Supporting Enterprise

Transcription

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