The Nabha Foundation—Focus Areas
Photo: Sanjit Das for The Nabha Foundation
Economic Development
The Nabha Foundation’s economic development initiatives form an important component of our integrated and sustainable approach to rural development. The focus is on landless, marginal, small to medium farmers and women.
- Sustainable Agriculture Program— synthetic fertilizer and pesticide use has depleted soil fertility and adversely impacts natural resources. In response, the Nabha Foundation is focused on raising awareness about sustainable agriculture practices and organic farming. In collaboration with Kheti Virasat , a network of 50 small and medium farmers has been formed who are being trained in organic farming techniques through the Foundation’s Research and Demonstration Centre. Each of the 50 farmers have allotted one acre of their land to practice organic farming.
- Microfinance/SHG Program—the program aims to promote social and economic empowerment of women. With a focus on empowering Below Poverty Line (BPL) families and backward castes through micro-finance, a broader goal is to ensure their participation in community level decision-making. The program has been launched in collaboration with Progressive Youth Forum. In the first phase 20 SHGs with linkages with banks will be formed in Nabha Block. Subsequently, they will be given skill training for income generating activities. Besides economic empowerment, the SHG members will also be made aware of various socio-economic issues.
- Livestock Development Program—the Foundation has organized livestock development camps in collaboration with the Animal Husbandry Dept. across various villages in Nabha Block. The aim is to enhance the income of small, marginal and landless farmers from increased milk production. The program also promotes awareness about government services for livestock development.
