People of hills of Uttarakhand especially small land holders are facing massive migration to the cities and towns of the country in seek of good and safe life. The remaining rural population especially women, children, youth and elderly people are facing so many difficulties. A huge land escape and human resource is waiting for some feasible change so that the agro based income of these poor people may be increased. Parivartan Grameen Samaj Sevi Sanstha has kept this holistic issue to frame out the project proposal.

Thus the organization with the support of COMDEKS under GEF UNDP SGP has started the project "Empowering the poor and marginal farmers of 10 hilly villages & Sustainable Conservation of natural resources of Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand". The organization designed a holistic approach to raise income of the stakeholders as a pilot programme and centralized the idea to the women part of the society which is the main excel of the economy of the hills of Uttarakhand. SHGs are formed and encouraged to adopt new ways to develop their livelihood with joint practices. The traditional farming of traditional crops has been decreasing regularly due to weak nutrients, practices, production and marketing and increasing interference of wild animals. The available water of nearby ravines is flowing uselessly and beds of the streams are getting down regularly.

So an idea to raise the bed of a stream and sustainable water conservation through land development as a forestation in this programme is kept in the project proposal. In mini dairy programme with cross bred milking animals with local bred may increase the milk yield and help the income of stakeholders. In view of wild animal's interference spices production is introduced to the women led groups of ten villages and a youth club is encouraged for processing and marketing of all the finished production of the groups. Low smoke chullha is introduced to them for their cooking purpose because most of the rural villagers use fire wood and cow dung cake as their cooking fuel resulting smoke affects their health. The selected villages of the project are Kanda Khalsa, Saldang, Buransi, Kandai, Dewal, Chamna, Katliun, Dewal, Kot, Falswari, Kotsara, Barkarwari, Baidgaun and Tonkhya but the organization took some activities like spices production and conventional energy excess to Pokhri, Jhanjhar, Kathur, Nawan and Naudiyalgaun, Gadera and Syalangi also.

Project Strategy

The project was framed for 36 months for a sustainable development but the time period is curtailed for only 12 months, later increased 3 months more because the fund received very late, last week of April 2016 that means the time given to complete the programme within only 11 months, even then the organization tried its best to complete all the activities of the project in time.

PGSSS started village meetings of SHGs, Kisan Samuh and youth clubs adopting participatory approach with all stakeholders to introduce the programme and trainings. The local government is also requested to participate and help the programme. Mr. Chandra Shekhar Bhatt, DM of Pauri district called a meeting of the officers of the district to help the organization and take part in the activities and required training of the programme.