Registration Details

GOPABANDHU DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY NGO Organization Members

GOPABANDHU DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY Source Funds

Contact details

GOPABANDHU DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY Key Issues and Operational Areas, Major Activiities & Achivements

Operational Districts: Malkangiri

Operational States: ORISSA

AchieveMents: The tribal and remote belt of Odisha comprising districts in south and western Orissa are inhabited by people who are conventionally backward and vulnerable due to inconsistent livelihoods. Poverty is pervasive mostly due to lack of proper access to and use of natural resources and low level of education and awareness. These areas are part of the contiguous poorest region of the country consisting of parts of Orissa and Chhattisgarh (CG): all the eight KBK districts, Southern Orissa, and three districts of Bastar region of CG. This region is one of the poorest regions of South Asia (Indian Subcontinent) with over two-thirds of people living below the poverty line. Moreover it has a high proportion (over two-thirds) of Tribal and Dalit communities. The area suffers from abject poverty and lack of local livelihood opportunities resulting in a high rate of distress migration. Compounding the difficulties in some pockets is the crippling effects of the Naxalite activities. Over two-thirds of the population consists of tribes and dalits (10-15%). The tribes are of various ethnic groups and are socio-economically more deprived than others. Within their ranks, there exists wide socio-economic divergence. Making them even more vulnerable are low literacy and serious health problems, caused by various factors such as early marriage, improper sanitation and hygiene, and inadequacy of nutritious food. Their aspirations and self-image are low. Outside influences are marginal and societal changes are slow. Even within one district, some pockets and blocks are more disadvantaged than others: these areas have poorer connectivity and no agricultural development, land distribution is skewed, there is low degree of undulation and vegetation, forest cover has diminished, and there is lack of infrastructure. The degree of entrepreneurship within different tribal communities is also varied. Following are some of the more common features of the area: • Undulating terrain with intermittent hills. • Slash and burn (Podu) cultivation is practiced by the tribal communities in varying degrees. • Ecologically, the area is at its early stage of deterioration. • Cultivable lands are mainly terraced, located in valleys, varies from 10% to 30% of the geographical area and highly topography-specific. • With less than 15% irrigation coverage, the area is mainly rain fed with traditional practices of mixed cropping to combat risks. • Around 70% of the farmers are small and marginal farmers and they own 50% of total agricultural land. Landlessness ranges from 15 to 30% in different blocks. • Cropping is mainly for household consumption and sustenance. • Commercial crops like tobacco and chilly is found in few pockets only. • Low agricultural productivity Food sufficiency varies from three to nine months a year, forcing families to migrate or find other livelihoods options such as selling wood in the local markets. Poverty, unemployment and lack of access to services have contributed to the spread of Naxalite activities in some of these pockets. To alleviate poverty and counter Naxalite there have been many specific programme launched by both state and central government. The programmes like OTELP (Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihood Programme), NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and WADI programme are targeted towards livelihood enhancement, employment generation and infrastructure creation; and if implemented in right spirit can make difference to the lives of many So the thrust would be to have synergetic collaborations and work on a multi-prong approach in order to: • Build strong community based organizations as the channels of development that can continuously access resources and services from different agencies for betterment of its members. • Judiciously invest in land and water resources to sustainably increase the crop production to provide round the year food sufficiency to the families and generate marketable surplus. • Promote micro enterprises for mostly the landless and also to supplement farm income. • Device strategies through which the development prototypes fit into a revenue model and are replicable over large area. In a scenario where independent efforts by civil society organizations, government or the industry have had limited success in alleviating poverty, there is need and opportunity to join hands to demonstrate and replicate models of development that can transform the lives of large number of poor. Project: Expanding Development Interventions of GDS GDS with its presence in poverty stricken western Orissa, has been able to make significant impact in improving the quality of life of the rural poor. The organization has promoted community based institutions like women Self Help Groups, their federations and cooperatives and linked them to mainstream institutions for different livelihood enhancement programmes. More than 100 SHGs and 10district level cooperatives have been formed. Different livelihood interventions are designed and delivered catering to the needs of both the landless and the landed. Agro-horticulture intervention under ITDA’s wadi model and improved agriculture (SRI paddy, improved millet, maize and vegetable cultivation) with suitable irrigation infrastructures like ring wells; gravity and lift irrigation are being implemented with more than 2500 families in the district. For the landless commercial broiler poultry farming and scientific goat rearing are being promoted with 400 families in the districts. The poultry intervention has garnered support from ITDA for its expansion and has also been integrated with maize farming in more than 600 acres per season in the local area for poultry feed, hatchery of 1.2 lakh chicks per month capacity for supplying chicks to its members and stock point at urban centre for retailing. The Project seeks part-support for expanding, intensifying and piloting the various livelihood enhancement programs in the endemically poor districts of Orissa. The Project seeks to co-finance development support costs of GDS teams, support development of community based organizations, fostering collaboration with other NGOs and livelihood prototype development in the new and existing project locations.