Mission : Search and experiment
with alternatives in some specific development subjects. If successful, try to
spread the models as widely as possible through various means.
Year of inception:
1990
Geographical area
: Baduria,
Deganga , Swarupnagar, Basirhat-I, Hasnabad, Hingalganj, Habra-I blocks of North
24 Parganas district; some Arsenic work in Nadia district; school project in
Kolkata.
Areas of activity:
-
Pre-primary Education –
14 centres with 900 children
-
Primary Education – 4
schools with 520 students
-
Youth and Culture – in 8
villages, with 600 children between 10 and 18 years of age.
-
Collaborations with
Government Education System: In 150 primary and SSK schools, 17 secondary
schools, 20 ICDS centres, Basirhat College.
-
Arsenic mitigation in
drinking water – in 90 villages.
-
Sustainable agriculture
– 115 villages in 7 Blocks with around 10,000 farmers.
-
Micro-finance – in 69
villages, through 7000 women in 620 self-help groups.
-
Health (Till 2000) --
mother and child care in 11 villages; regular blood donation camps, some
cataract operation camps.
-
Gram Panchayat –creating
participatory structures and planning systems in four GPs; intensive
experiment in one GP in 2002.
-
Flood Relief in
2000-2001. Community-based Disaster Preparedness in one gram panchayat in 2001
-
Shikshamitra : An
experimental secondary school and an Education Resource Centre started in 2005
in Kolkata.
Work
with Government:
-
Member of State Government’s design team to draw up DFID-supported 7-year
programme for Strengthening Rural Decentralization (SRD 2003).
-
Member of State Resource Group of DPEP-SSA for “Gender” and for “Community
Mobilization”(2002-04).
-
Appointed District Technical Agency of DRDA, North 24 Parganas to strengthen
the Government’s SGSY programme(2004-06).
Infrastructure:
Main administrative and
training centre at Andharmanik ( 1hr. 30 min. from Airport), 30 minutes
from Maslandapur Rail Station, with overnight stay facilities for 40 persons,
with telephone, email, TV, VCD player, computers, generator.
Smaller-scale office and
training facilities in four more villages.