AVI supports two of ASSEFA's projects:

- a diary programme to raise the incomes of 4,000 women in Vilupuram District, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry
- a post-tsunami women and children's health programme in 30 coastal villages just north of Pondicherry.

ASSEFA (The Association for Sarva Seva Farms) started in Tamil Nadu in 1969. Its aim, like NBJK in Jharkhand, was to enable formerly landless families to cultivate the land they had received through the Gandhian Bhoodan land reform movement in the 1950s. Now ASSEFA prioritises land based economic development with marginal farmers and the landless.

Mission Statement
ASSEFA's Mission is to 'improve the economic, social and cultural status of rural communities and enhance their skills and self-management capacity. It also wants the rural communities to unite without any kind of discrimination and work for the uplift of the social, cultural and economic life of all, and establish self-sufficient, self-reliant and self-managed communities based on the principles of freedom, economic equality and social justice.'

Programmes and Approach
ASSEFA now works with over 606,000 families in 7,920 villages in 8 states of India: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Pondicherry. Before starting a new project, ASSEFA assesses local needs and devises programmes aimed at long term sustainability and economic development whilst filling gaps in state provision, especially in education and health. Promoting self-sufficiency and sustainability - ASSEFA, in all its projects encourages the development of community based organisations such as women's self-help groups, women's dairy groups, and traders groups etc. to manage the programme when it withdraws. All the financial support it provides to individuals is through loans and it establishes branches of its Jana Seva Kosh (People's Welfare Bank), to handle the repayments and meet the future credit needs of the beneficiaries.

Dairy Promotion - In India, liberalisation of agricultural trade under the World Trade Organisation has made it impossible for farmers to grow cereals profitably, so ASSEFA is looking for alternative crops which will less easily be undercut by subsidised farming in the West. In the last 10 years it has developed expertise in milk processing and marketing as it believes that dairying can have a significant impact on women's incomes. ASSEFA provides loans to women to buy cows and then arranges the extension services, collection and marketing of the surplus milk. It now has 5 full fledged plants and 9 bulk cooling units in Tamil Nadu which handle 80,000 litres of milk from 20,000+ women with cows.

Agricultural Development - many small farmers grow crops mainly for self-consumption, so ASSEFA, through the Kosh, provides loans for seeds and other necessary inputs. ASSEFA is also keen to promote vegetable growing as an alternative to cereal production and in tsunami affected areas of Tamil Nadu has set up two markets mainly for fish and vegetables.

Micro Enterprises - in its project areas, ASSEFA also provides loans to enable rural artisans, young people and traders to start, expand or improve their businesses. It has established it's own marketing outlets in fifteen locations in Tamil Nadu to sell Khadi and Village Industrial products. This activity is approved by Khadi and Village Industrial Commission of Union Government of India.

Education - ASSEFA runs 820 kindergartens, primary, middle and high schools, technical training institute and evening schools, with an enrolment of 50,641 mainly in Tamil Nadu where it is the second biggest education provider after the state. Education is also promoted in tribal belt of Rajasthan, where quality education is provided to over 4,000 tribal children. ASSEFA believes in holistic development of the children. Towards this, the children are taught value based education such as learning non-violence, yoga and meditation, handi-crafts and livelihoods education, apart from regular curriculum prescribed by the State Government. In the recent years, ASSEFA has developed a comprehensive curriculum on learning non-violence for all levels of school children i.e., from primary to higher secondary education levels.

Community Health - Increasingly, ASSEFA sees poor health in rural areas as a barrier to economic development. It is, therefore, gradually giving greater priority to health in its projects. Through local health animators it provides emergency services and also works to improve awareness of government health programmes as well as sanitation, diet and other factors which impact on women and children's health.

Housing - ASSEFA has set up a company to help people in its project areas to improve their houses or build new ones to improve living conditions.

Articles on ASSEFA

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