Working with the coastal, marginalised communities who form a majority of 277,000 population of Tiruchendur Taluk in Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu; 40 villages are covered under programmes for sustainable work through micro credit, ecological development, socio-technology, child development and appropriate technology.
Programmes
Improves rural communities` living conditions: increases access to natural resources; empower communities to exercise their rights and have greater control over their lives; helps women improve their health, socio-economic status; initiates and supports community members to identify local concerns and seek locally appropriate solutions collectively; supports community efforts to protect, manage coastal eco-system; shares experience of initiatives to promote mutual learning among village communities.
Community Forestry Scheme – plants sapling along streets, on common village ground; encourages kitchen gardens; has started community forestry, floriculture by distributing herbal plant varieties in two villages.
Conducts training programmes to develop leadership, solve problems on health issues, vocational skills, legal education, environment. Provides extended credit facilities to women repayable in easy instalments to enable them to generation an income by starting small businesses [in tailoring, rearing goats and vending]; helps women mobilize cash savings and form self-help groups [SHGs] and open bank accounts.
Cultural education – women`s cultural troupes use folk sings, street plays to spread communal harmony, environmental and health consciousness. Women, children actively participate in weekly cleaning campaigns to remove plastic waste material, to plant saplings, thorny bushes in 13 villages; facilitates immunisation under the national health programme organized by the health Ministry. Central Rural Sanitation Programme funds the construction, while beneficiaries provide the labour.
Has establish a centre, Community Advancement through service and technology, to train rural communities to use appropriate sustainable technology.
Water conservation – has identified potable water sources in village; set up percolation tanks, rainwater harvesting system to increase quantity of drinking water, has recharged surrounding groundwater. Eco-technology-women produce Spirulina as a nutritional supplement for children educational centres; communities produce vermiculture as biomass compost for manure in gardens, farms.
Educational – CRY supports supplementary education centres, evening school that provide children with playing material; conducts special coaching classes for secondary school students; conducts weekly computer classes in 15 villages. Has carried out impact assessment studies on socio-technological interventions at the community level [rainwater harvesting].
Publications Video documentary describing cooperation with eco-village` project, Voices Seldom heard – highlights local community`s socio-economic status.
Plans To link women SHGs with government rural development propgrammes; provide multi-skilled education and technology to youth, particularly, women to make self-reliant