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ANNUAL REPORT 2023-24                                                                                                                                                                                  TRANSFORM RURAL INDIA


          Farm Prosperity                                        aspirations and create pathways for flourishing                  Success stories
                                                                 localities. Success in our CAL blocks depends
          In all CAL blocks we are prototyping the
          universalization of livelihoods anchored by the        on government programs like VPRP-GPDP and                             Women of Thandla Block
          120 CLFs. The dominant strategy is Low                 requires drawing support at both block and
          External Intensity Livelihood Actions (LEILA)          district levels to ensure effective delivery and                                                                       Their prayers were eventually answered. This time,
          focused on enhancing productivity and                  overcome administrative challenges. The                                                                               the Food Department decided to allocate ration
          deploying improved agricultural practices              capacity for contingency planning is essential,                                                                       shops to self-help groups instead of registered
          through the women collectives. The other high          reinforcing the need for robust strategies to                                                                         societies. The Transforming Rural India (TRI) was
          intensity strategy of sub-sector livelihood            manage uncertainties.                                                                                                 given the task of selecting the groups for 14 ration
                                                                                                                                                                                       shops, as a group selected by TRI had performed
          activities reached 35,636 households.                                                                                                                                        exceptionally well in MSP procurement the
          Innovative agricultural models such as the                                                                                                                                   previous year. The Food Department officials
          protected cultivation of commercial crops                   Outlook                                                                                                          trusted TRIF's ability to select the right groups.
          cultivation like stevia, fennel, dragon fruit and                                                                         They say, "Where there is a will, there is a way." This
          marigold, are set to scale up. Successful                                                                                 proverb holds true for the women of 13 self-help   With the cooperation of the TRI team and the
          implementation of orchard plantation, goat               Looking ahead, our Community                                     groups in Thandla block. Tasked with operating     NRLM team, 14 groups were selected. After
                                                                                                                                    ration shops by the Food, Civil Supplies, and
                                                                                                                                                                                       overcoming many obstacles and challenges
          rearing supported through MGNREGS also has               Action Labs will focus on achieving                              Consumer Protection Department, they were given    posed by influential individuals, the women of 13
          been demonstrated. 237 Agri Entrepreneurs                greater consistency in essential                                 an opportunity to change their lives.              self-help groups finally received the responsibility
          (55% females) are addressing gaps in local               component actions like CLFs, the                                                                                    of operating ration shops. Under TRI's guidance,
          value chains. Women FPOs are the emerging                Locality Development Compacts and                                During the pandemic, many migrant laborers had to   they performed excellently, leading the
          business forums in CAL, which is                         the activation of CLF-managed                                    return to their home districts, including Thandla   department to seek their assistance again for the
          strengthening the identity of women as                   WOW Hubs, while prioritizing gender                              tehsil in Jhabua district. Returning home, they faced   allocation of 15 more ration shops. The team has
                                                                                                                                    severe food and employment crises. The
                                                                                                                                                                                       selected capable groups, completed their
          farmers.                                                 intentionality in every engagement.                              government's free ration scheme provided crucial   paperwork, and submitted online applications.
                                                                   Additionally, integrating                                        support, but the fear of COVID-19 was so           Now, the final selection by the department is
          Gender Equity                                            environmental stewardship and                                    overwhelming that laborers hesitated to leave their   awaited.
                                                                   resource management will add a                                   homes to collect the ration. Additionally, the ration
          Gender awareness and related interventions                                                                                shops were located in distant villages, and the large   This journey of resilience and determination
          has been the focus during the year. Our teams            new dimension to these efforts.                                   crowds meant that it often took two to three days of   showcases the incredible capability of these
          brought on board police departments, Women               Strengthening local governance,                                  continuous walking to get their turn. Laborers     women, marking another significant step forward
          & Child Development (WCD) departments and                boosting women's leadership and                                  frequently prayed for a ration shop in their own   in their path to empowerment.
          the State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) to             enabling ecosystems for rural                                    village to save time and effort.
          support women safety and security in a few               women safety and dignity, will be
          states. The institutionalized mechanism at the           crucial in promoting deep
          CLF level to support women access-                       community involvement and
          entitlements and livelihood support through              decision-making. This aligns with the                              Sweet Success
          the set-up of Gender Help Desks (in Nari                 "Whole of Society" approach to
          Adhikar Kendras) is being replicated across all          comprehensively impact Quality Life
          the blocks.                                              outcomes and offer our CAL as                                                                                        Fleshed (Bhukrishna). It has shown substantial
                                                                                                                                                                                       economic viability, with the Bhusona variety yielding
                                                                   immersion sites, grounds for                                                                                        an average of 950 kg per 10 decimals of land at Rs 20
          Reflections                                               prototypes for learning and                                                                                         per kg, and the Bhukrishna variety yielding 507 kg per
          Community Action Labs are emerging as                    replication across various                                                                                          10 decimals at Rs 24 per kg. This success has paved
          fertile grounds for active experimentation,              geographies through public                                                                                          the way for scaling up the initiative to three additional
          where the Locality Development Compact,                  programs.                                                        Enhancing Livelihoods with Biofortified Sweet       blocks—Bero, Kurdeg, and Kersai, with nurseries
          along with high gender intentionality, is                                                                                 Potatoes in Rural Jharkhand                        already raised for 1.5 tons of vines for year-round
                                                                                                                                                                                       production. This illustrates Samaj-Sarkar-Bazar
          shaping up to be a uniform approach to deep                                                                               With the support of NABARD, initiated a            collaborative efforts engaging with Self-Help Groups,
          community engagement. These continuous                                                                                    groundbreaking biofortified sweet potato intervention   KIIT University, Mati Farm, and Farmer Producer
          systemic actions, particularly enhancing the                                                                              in the Gola and Dulmi blocks of Ramgarh District,   Organizations, have not only enabled women
          capacities of our teams, is strengthening the                                                                             Jharkhand. This endeavour involved 1000            through entrepreneurship in producing value-added
          information flow mechanisms to systemic                                                                                    women-headed households across 100 acres of        products like sweets and chips but also ensured
          integration with our PPiA and BMFL practices.                Scan to watch                                                rain-fed land, cultivating two nutrient-rich       sustainable agricultural practices and improved
                                                                                                                                    varieties—Orange Fleshed (Bhusona) and Purple
                                                                                                                                                                                       market access, thereby enhancing both nutrition and
          This will be crucial for developing scalable                                                                                                                                 livelihoods in rural communities.
          solutions that align with community


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