Jeevika Development Society

Jeevika’s intervention in Sustainable Agriculture began in 2008 when we heard about the System of Rice Intensification. Since our area has a large acreage under paddy production and over 40% of the families of the 10,000 women organized through us into the independent microcredit federation “Swayamsampurna” are involved with agriculture, it made sense for us to take up this activity. Also, in the heavily patriarchal world of agriculture, we insisted on the involvement of women farmers and employed women as trainers. Implements supplied through our intervention are looked after by community farm implement committees with 50% women members. And over 50% farmers registered with us in each season are women farmers. Over the past years the programme has covered around 1200 farmers, and has indirectly influenced around twice that number. The average yield of paddy was and continues to be 3.6 tons per hectare; with SRI we have been able to increase this to 5.4 tons per hectare at slightly lower total cost of production.

Swayamsampurna was founded to place equal priority on promoting women’s financial and social rights in 2008, and was registered as a Mutual Benefit Trust in 2010. Owned and managed by underprivileged rural women living across 55 villages in the district of 24 Parganas (South) in West Bengal, this unique financial institution has a 15 member Board of Trustees and a 52 member General Body comprising community women.

With the belief that access to financial resources is one of the key pillars to women empowerment, the traditional crafts based income generation programme began in 1990. It began to work primarily with Kantha - the traditional embroidery form of this area. It then expanded its range to manufacture soft toys and accessories. In 2006, garments were also added to the list of products.

Right from the time when Jeevika began to work in the community, it has observed that lack of opportunities of girls and women, violation of rights in general and violence against women and girls are the prime issues which affect the lives of women and young girls in the operational area. Jeevika felt it necessary to adopt a two-pronged approach – one being preventive and the other being rehabilitative - to combat the crisis which is affecting the lives of the young girls in its operational area. The interventions are meant to place equal priority on addressing immediate needs as well as designing long term approaches that will serve as preventive measures.