heks

The economy has been booming in India for some years with annual growth rates of 7-9%. Sadly, the benefits of this boom are the preserve of a small proportion of the population in the industrial towns and cities of India. Growth is stagnating in rural areas where a good two thirds of all Indians live. Smallholders and farm hands fight for their survival in small fields, in most cases using the same tools and implements as they were using a century ago. Despite the economic boom India is still one of the poorest countries in the world.

The Indian caste system further underlines the social differences. People who do not belong to a caste, the so-called Dalits and indigenous people groups, are rejected by society and have precious little opportunity to leave their life of poverty behind.

The assistance programme for India is aimed at these outcasts. Particular consideration is given to the women who face additional discrimination. The aims of the projects are to secure food supplies, improve income, and to promote the importance of education and skills among the poor people.

Aims, points of focus, initiatives:

In geographic terms the programme concentrates on arid, rural regions in the three southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.The programme is predominantly intended to benefit poorly paid landless labourers who rarely find work to last throughout the year and struggle to feed themselves and their families on their daily wages.HEKS has adopted a four-step strategy to improve their living conditions:

1. Land acquisition: Specialist partner organisations help the landless labourers to negotiate their way through all the bureaucracy until they acquire their own plot of land - land which guarantees them and their families adequate sustenance.
2. Agricultural development: HEKS promotes natural and sustainable agriculture with types of grain suited to local conditions and mixed cultivation. Great value is attached to developing market gardens for year-round supplies of vitamins.
3. Income generation: Women in particular are encouraged to launch small - and often innovative - businesses which can guarantee them a minimum income. This is made possible by a savings and loan scheme.
4. Education: Education, training and skills are promoted among the rural population, grassroots organisations are built up and linked to form networks, and villagers are equipped to take an active role in village politics.