With a severe drought situation for consecutive decades, the Bodwad region of Jalgaon district, Maharashtra was suffering from traditional livelihood destruction due to the natural factors such as the erratic seasonal rain. To aggravate the drudgery, the insecurity in the farm produce pricing, particularly for cotton, made the situation worst. Due to the multiplicity of adverse factors, the already broke farming community collapsed. Adverse policy incorporation of agrarian community and their livelihood problems have deteriorated the rural development processes for quite a few decades now. Bodwad region was trapped in such a vicious cycle of human and natural factors and their toxic interplay. In such a complex situation, HDFC Bank CSR pitched in through its Parivartan Community Development Program through its partner organization Krushi Vikas and it started a process of change, Parivartan.

Through the Parivartan initiative, Krushi Vikas devised a multimodal livelihood development intervention within the broader framework of holistic rural development. Keeping the watershed development and soil conservation as the core aspects of the development process, Krushi Vikas implemented the ridge-to-valley approach. With gradual conservation and development of natural resources, farmers developed a new hope. Rooting to this hope, Krushi Vikas introduced several pieces of training and capacity building initiatives for advanced farming practices, cost-effective manure and pesticide development, drought-resistant seed use and so on. Having been oriented to the endless opportunities in the agricultural sector and agri-allied sectors, farmers, and landless laborers in the Bodwad region geared up for the successful journey.

Through, Parivartan, Krushi Vikas provided a sustainable livelihood enhancement to the 10 project villages in the Bodwad region. The approach used was community-centric and gender inclusive hence it has attained a vibrant sustainability paradigm wherein the Farmer Producer Company is kept at the center of development organization, management, and sustainable distribution.

The project area is characterised by

1. Erratic weather conditions
2. Water scarcity and lack of irrigation
3. Lack of adaptive diversity in cropping pattern
4. Lack of livelihood and crop diversification
5. Lack of enabling environment and supporting institutions
6. Vulnerability for forced migration

Underlying the above Krushi Vikas and HDFC Bank CSR devised a multimodal development program. The intervention model followed a demonstrative approach as volitional trickledown at the level of community. The beneficiary choice was a collective process and considered obvious factors such as vulnerability, the urgency of need, poverty, and gender. Parivartan emphases on holistic interventions model including health and education. The relief phase was an entry point for the project and focused on drinking water. The rehabilitation process followed the ridge-to-valley approach for watershed development. The beneficiary contribution was mandatory for all project activities as the funding agency made it imperative for responsible participation. Sustainable livelihood and self-reliance were ensured through institutional arrangements that involved community-based organizations, village council, and FPO as the guardian agency that will ensure the end-to-end livelihood processes and governance.

Major intervention areas

1. Natural Resource Management: Drinking Water, Watershed Development, Soil, and Water Conservation
2. Agricultural and Allied Diversification: Horticulture, Sericulture, Livestock, Agri-Processing, Value Chain Development, Cost-Effective Agricultural Practices culminating to Sustainable Livelihood Practices
3. Women Empowerment: Self-Help Group-Based Social and Economic Development through Enterprises
4. Education: Infrastructure Development, Digitization, Quality Enhancement, Advanced Learning, Parental Engagement, Healthy Schooling
5. Health: Hygiene and Health Education and Awareness for Sustainable Behavior Change, Health Camps, Anemia Camps
6. Renewable: Promotion and Education for Adoption of Sustainable Energy Use, Solar-Based Lamps, Bio-Gas, and other Green Energy Products and Practices
7. Sanitation: Solid and Liquid Waste Management, Open Defecation Free Villages, School-based Sanitation, and Hygiene