Picturing the story
The Showcase segment of Horizons has framed stories of hope and endeavour from across India
Leaves of life
The multi-themed and multilayered programmes of the Himmotthan Pariyojana, a Tata Trusts initiative, have helped more than 50,000 rural households in 600 villages in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
UPDATE: The Himmotthan Pariyojana has created 300 water supply schemes till date and now assists the central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in 290 villages in Uttarakhand.
Bee-ing the change
It began in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district back in 2017 as a pilot project in beekeeping and has progressed to a point where the money from the honey has benefitted nearly 3,000 farmers. These farmers have banded together to create a high-quality product: Aranya-Pure Chittoor Honey (centred in Chittoor district)
UPDATE: The Tata Trusts supported this programme until March 2020, when it was handed over to the state government.
LIVELY TIDINGS
Livelihoods is the staple theme in the spread of social development programmes supported by the Tata Trusts in the Northeast. In Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, the livelihoods thrust — implemented by the North East Initiative Development Agency, an associate entity of the Trusts — takes in a range of income-generation efforts in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and tourism.
UPDATE: The Tata Trusts continue to support this programme, which now includes 14,000-plus households in Nagaland; 13,000-plus households in Mizoram; and more than 6,000 households in Arunachal Pradesh.
ALL FOR ART
India’s rich cultural heritage sets the stage for the support the Tata Trusts extends to those engaged in performing, visual, literary and other art forms. A host of institutions and initiatives that have benefitted from such backing.
UPDATE: The Tata Trusts have down the years supported various performing arts and music projects with the aim of providing a platform for artistes and to foster India’s cultural heritage.
LOOM FOR A LIVING
Antaran, the crafts-based livelihood initiative of the Tata Trusts, was launched in 2018 in Kamrup and Nalbari in Assam, and later in Dimapur in Nagaland. Weavers received training to expand product lines, use natural fabrics and dyes and incorporate new designs. Antaran has opened up new avenues for these artisan weavers, with more than 1,200 of them being enabled through the project.
UPDATE: This programme successfully completed its first phase and is moving on to its second. The Tata Trusts continue to play a pivotal role while working to bring more stakeholders together for the development of the handloom sector through larger collaborative efforts.
THAT FLOATING FEELING
The floating huts of Loktak lake in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, traditional homes for the local fishing community, have been converted into homestays that offer a unique staying experience for tourists and backpackers. The Tata Trusts have supported these new entrepreneurs with solar energy solutions.
UPDATE: The solar power initiative was completed in February 2021 and was handed over to a local nonprofit that continues to enable community members in accessing renewable energy solutions.
FRUITFUL PATHWAYS
Watermelons in Jharkhand and mangoes in Maharashtra — that’s the way of two projects targeted at enhancing the livelihoods of local farmers. The watermelon venture operates across Jharkhand under the Tata Trusts’ Lakhpati Kisan Mission. The mango cultivation initiative, operational in 21 villages in the Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, has been an enabler for 1,000-plus mostly tribal farmers.
UPDATE: The cultivation of watermelons and mangoes is part of the farming layer within the Lakhpati Kisan programme. Some 10,000 farmers (across Jharkhand, Odisha, Gujarat and Maharashtra) are involved in the initiative, which is expected to reach 200,000-plus small and marginal farming families in its ongoing phase two.
IMAGE VILLAGE
Acclaimed photographer Sudharak Olwe has, over a period of 18 years, chronicled a variety of social development programmes backed by the Tata Trusts across India.
LEG-UP FOR LADAKH
Ladakh’s beauty shrouds a rough reality — this is an expanse where social development has had a difficult time making inroads. Easing the hardships local mountain communities face is the objective of the Leh Livelihoods Initiative, a wide-ranging programme seeded and implemented by Himmotthan Society, an associate organisation of the Tata Trusts.
UPDATE: The Leh Livelihood Initiative continues in a different form in the area. In October 2023, the Tata Trusts sanctioned a new five-year project, ‘maximising Himalayan agriculture initiative’, which is managed by Himmotthan Society in Ladakh as well as in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.