Draft:Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti

Established in 1983 by a group of Gandhian activists led by Laxmi Chand Tyagi and Shashi Tyagi, Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti or GRAVIS is a non-governmental organization registered under the Rajasthan Societies Act, 1958. The organization pre-dominantly works with rural communities of arid regions including India’s Thar desert and in the States of Uttarakhand and Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.

GRAVIS works with the rural populations including marginal farmers, women, older people and mining communities living in arid climatic zones by organizing them in Community-based Organisations (CBOs) to actively involve them in community  development. Guided by the Gandhian principles of Sarvodaya (all rising, but the last person first) and Gram Swaraj (village self-rule) GRAVIS works towards enabling rural communities to take ownership of their environment, institutions, and relations.

The organization works in six key programmatic areas. These are:

Water Security

Availability and quality of water for human consumption remains a key problem in deserts and areas facing recurring droughts, insufficient rainfall and extreme weather events as a result of climate change. The main thrust of all water related interventions implemented by GRAVIS is to enhance water availability and quality of water used in households by conserving every drop of rainwater. Focusing on both traditional and modern rainwater harvesting technologies and innovative filtration techniques, GRAVIS promotes construction of structures like taankas (underground water tanks), beris (percolation wells), naadis (ponds) and bio-sand water filters (BSWF).

Agriculture and Animal Husbandry

Droughts and climate change deeply impacts the livelihoods of rural population in dryland areas as many communities heavily depend on rainfed agriculture. GRAVIS aids farmers in unlocking traditional wisdom, supports them in seed storing by setting-up community seed banks, increasing their yields from rainfed agriculture by building khadins (farming dykes) and securing their nutritional requirements by setting up Arid Horticulture Units for individual families. Seasonal and local variety of fruits and vegetable crops are grown in these AHUs for immediate consumption and access to nutrition filled diet.

Animal Husbandry is an alternative source of livelihood for the communities of Thar. But unfortunately, these animals are often living in poor condition because of lack of water, fodder and adequate care. GRAVIS helps families with veterinary assistance, pasture land development and fodder depots to ensure health and fodder requirements of livestock.

Health

Poor health is a severe concern as lack of sufficient food and water affects the health of all age groups. Malnutrition, waterborne diseases and infections because of lack of water and hygiene facilities and contaminated water sources affect women, children and elderly more while lung diseases and tuberculosis are widespread in the mining communities.

A cadre of Village Health Workers (VHW) appointed by GRAVIS oversee health and related needs of communities in the villages of Thar. With their support GRAVIS provides access to medical care to all including women, children and older people living in remote areas. Awareness and education sessions on various aspects of healthcare and nutrition are organized and communities are linked to affordable health programmes by making available all forms of medical care through GRAVIS hospital, satellite clinics and mobile medical services.

Education

Formal and consistent education is a challenge in many parts of rural India where basic needs like water, food and shelter are not met. Women especially in arid regions have to spend hours walking long distances and endure hard physical labour to fetch water in addition to other domestic tasks throughout the day.

Many girls are not able to attend schools regularly or drop-out because they end up fetching water from far distances and are involved in other domestic chores. Making water available at their houses frees up a lot of time for women and girls and GRAVIS ensures that this newly-won time is used for school education for girls and economic upliftment of women. GRAVIS supports formation of schools, appoints teachers, builds their capacities and provides children with study material, uniforms and often bicycles for them to cover vast distances to reach their schools or institutions.

Community Mobilisation

GRAVIS believes in the knowledge gathered through lived experiences of local population because it has helped them to survive for centuries in the harsh terrains of Thar desert and hence helps implement interventions which are a blend of traditional wisdom and science. GRAVIS facilitates formation of CBOs that represent different members from the society, i.e. older people, women, farmers, etc. These community organisations serve as a platform to come together and voice their views. Members of these CBOs are involved in every aspect of project planning, training, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Research and Advocacy

Research is one of the strongest components of GRAVIS’ work. Findings, processes and learning of various interventions are compiled as reports, studies and publications. These knowledge products are an open-source resource, easily accessible for sharing to exchange knowledge and encourage replication in other arid regions of India and the world.

GRAVIS focuses on strengthening the voice of vulnerable rural populations. Through its advocacy work, especially with women, elderly and mineworkers, the organization works towards raising attention on their needs and motivates the most vulnerable to vocalize inequalities whilst challenging the existing state of affairs.

With resources and support from the government, various overseas funding agencies and socially responsible corporations, GRAVIS continues to make efforts in finding viable solutions to chronic problems of water scarcity, food security and health for the desert and dryland communities of India.