District Poverty Initiative Programme, Rajasthan

Rajasthan Government launched district Poverty Initiatives Project (DPIP) in July 2000, with financial assistance from the World Bank in various districts of Rajasthan. The long-term goal of the project is to reduce poverty in the project designated villages of the district.

Project Villages

RDC is currently working in 30 project designated villages of Dungargarh block of Churu district of Rajasthan since August 2006.

Objectives

Our objective is based on facilitating and enabling measures for formation community interest groups (CIGs), grassroots organizations, village development associations (VDAs) and to improve their socio-economic status through facilitating enabling measures for Income Generation Programmes (IGPs).

Strategy

Our key strategy is for social mobilization followed by formation of Community Interest Groups (CIGs), i.e. groups of poor people brought together by some common interests, and Village Development Associations (VDAs), i.e. consist of all the members of the CIGs in a habitation.

Action Plan

As per our Action plan, we facilitate enabling measures to form new Community Interest Groups (CIGs) and Village Development Associations (VDAs) in the project designated villages, where there is less social capital for formation of such groupings. The facilitation/enabling mechanisms are as follow:

The Community Facilitators (CFs)

The Community Facilitators are contracted by us in the villages of the targeted district. The Community Facilitators are trained in social mobilization (facilitation skills, formation of new groups, strengthening of existing groups, group management, financial management, and group training).

Habitation leaders

During the process of group development, qualified and committed group members/leaders are identified and trained as habitation-level leaders and trainers. As a strong cadre of village group leaders is developed, the Community Facilitators would transfer responsibilities for day-to-day support of the Community Interest Groups to them.

Para-technicians

Based on group demand, and the nature of social/economic activities being undertaken by them, group members would be given special training as para-technicians (e.g., in primary health care, veterinary care, etc.). The training would be appropriately tailored to the groups, and would be held at the Panchayat level.