From time to time, the Central and State governments formulate several programmes for development.

It's a familiar sight in rural villages - Women crouched over mud stoves with smoke billowing into their faces, as they cook for their families. It comes at a cost & it's usually their health, which is impacted from inhaling large amounts of smoke while cooking.

In rural India, communities are often impacted by multiple and inter-related problems. In fact, no two communities are the same, with each one having challenges based on the unique dynamics and nature of the community.

Mahatma Gandhi had a very clear perception of rural India and made an emphatic assertion that 'India lives in her seven and half lakh villages'. He held this conviction by saying that "If village perishes, India will perish too" and that "the progress of the country lies in the development of majority of its rural villages, the rural economy, industry and rural skills".

As we celebrate 150 years of Gandhi, in this newsletter, we reflect upon some of his core philosophies and Ambuja Foundation's work to advance these philosophies for the betterment of rural India.

In Oct 2017, Ambuja Foundation joined hands with the private sector banking giant HDFC Bank, to implement Holistic Rural Development Programs (HRDP) under their CSR initiative.

For the women of Farrakka, chickens were bad news. Many of them had lost large sums of money investing in poultry farming with encouragement of the Government - but with limited support, training or veterinary services, the efforts were disastrous.

Sukhdeb discussing issues with the women group

Knowing what to do in Community mobilization is important, but it is equally important to know what NOT to do.

When you visit a village in Rajasthan, you are bound to find a 'talab' close by - a village water pond that supplies water for drinking, domestic and livestock purposes.

When it comes to developing a rural community, unfortunately many interventions are undertaken by an external party and participation of the community in their own development is not always considered. At best, a general assessment of the needs of a community is undertaken and the willingness of the community to undertake certain activities is assessed during project formulation.

Developing institutions which are managed by their own members, is accepted as an important function for those committed to making development people-centric and sustainable. Ambuja Foundation has, from the very beginning, involved the community in charting their own future and whilst the process may look difficult in the beginning, has found that it actually pays in the long run.