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SECTORS OF INTERVENTION:
Elements of MANTRA |
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 Enabling
infrastructure
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Gram Vikas' intervention in the rural
infrastructure sector focuses on mobilising communities
to pool resources to create basic infrastructure for
sustainable disaster-proof habitats. People contribute
labour and locally available materials. Gram Vikas
supports communities in accessing 'social costs', which
we believe are essential for basic services. The costs
are determined in the specific context of each
habitation and appropriate finances are raised including
local contributions, external grants and loans. |
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Housing |
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Gram Vikas provides financial and
technical support for building permanent, disaster-resistant
houses. In the plain regions, houses are made of brick
and cement, with filler slab concrete roof. In
inaccessible areas where cement cannot be transported, GCI sheets or tiles are used for the roof. In hilly
areas houses are built with locally available stone. As
a rule Gram Vikas supports construction of houses with
at least 45 square metres of plinth area. Each house has
two rooms, a kitchen space and a veranda. The houses are
designed such that toilets and bathing rooms can be
built alongside each house. |
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Loans accessed from Housing Development Finance
Corporation, Mumbai and Stichting DOEN Foundation,
Netherlands have been given by Gram Vikas to selected
families for the construction of the houses. The average
cost of each house is Rs.45,000. The quantum of loan
depends on the type of house being constructed and
ranges from Rs.10,000 to Rs.40,000. Gram Vikas also
provides training, technical guidance, masons and
support for bulk purchase of building materials. |
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The intervention by Gram Vikas has had an impact on
rural housing in the area, both self-financed and
government supported, as people are now more conscious
about design, costs and quality of construction. The
housing finance activity has evolved over the past two
decades from a full grant approach to a full loan
approach. Experiences have been varied in terms of
people's involvement, ability and attitude to repay.
Establishing the loan-based approach has been slow as
most government housing schemes operate on a full grant
approach. The process of accessing government grants is
however ridden by bureaucratic concessions and there are
very few allotments each year. |
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People spend a
considerable amount of time collecting materials and
contributing labour towards construction of the house.
During this period, the income of an entire household is
only nearly enough for them to eke out a subsistence.
Hence, they are unable to service the loan for the
initial two-three years. This is where the
‘credit-cum-subsidy’ of the government fits in. Under
this scheme, a subsidy of Rs. 12,500 would be available
from the government for a BPL family, which accesses a
housing loan from formal financial institutions. The
subsidy that the government proposes to give to the
households can actually go towards alleviating their
burden of loan repayment for the first two to three
years. |
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After persistent
efforts in lobbying with the state and para-statal
institutions, Gram Vikas has presently been recognised
by the state government as the nodal agency for
propagation of the ‘credit-cum-subsidy’ programme. With
this, Gram Vikas also shoulders the responsibility of
not allowing this to become just another target-oriented
programme and making sure that high standards are
maintained in the quality of construction and the
processes followed during and in the run up to the
programme. |
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Click here to view data on
Housing |
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Community
infrastructure |
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Communities are encouraged to leverage
funds from the government for building community
infrastructure including community hall, school
building, grain store, etc. Gram Vikas provides partial
support for the construction of community halls or
school buildings in villages where such common
facilities do not exist. Gram Vikas normally meets about
two-thirds of the cost of construction of these units;
the community contributes the balance amount. The need
for a multipurpose disaster proof community building for
each village became more critical after the cyclone in
1999. The multipurpose buildings are used for running
the day school, conducting village meetings, as store
and workspace for women, etc. There is a separate room
for storing grain in every building. |
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Technology development and
demonstration |
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Gram Vikas believes that appropriate
technology can be useful only when it can contribute to
enhancing income and employment of the poor. Gram Vikas'
participation in technology action research projects
like the Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) and
experiments in renewable energy from biomass and
biofuels has ensured that technology is adopted and
applied for use and management by village communities. |
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Vertical Shaft Brick
Kiln |
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The Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) is a
cost-effective, energy efficient and environment
friendly way of brick production. The VSBK technology
originated in China, where it is widely practised. The
technology was brought to India in the late 90's with
support of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation
and Development Alternatives. Gram Vikas was selected to
set up the second VSBKs in the country in 1997 (the
first was set up by Development Alternatives). Though
brick-making is generally a seasonal activity, the VSBK
enables the firing of bricks throughout the year,
providing stable employment and income. (http://www.dainet.org/enterprise/vsbk.htm) |
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Gram Vikas promotes the VSBK as a viable
rural industry especially for traditional brick moulding
communities, who typically work as migrant labourers.
Gram Vikas works with these communities to operate and
manage the VSBK, helping them overcome knowledge and
technology barriers to become owners of capital. |
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Read more on VSBK |
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Interventions in renewable
energy |
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Gram Vikas has been actively implementing
community-based energy programmes using biodiesel,
biogas, micro hydro, smokeless chullahs, and solar
photovoltaic applications. |
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Gram Vikas promotes integrated solutions to address
rural energy needs, where each project is directly
linked to one or more of the core programmes. Gram Vikas’
interventions in the energy sector help communities
develop and extract value from their natural resources
in a sustainable manner, and create overarching
institutional arrangements to manage systems and
installations at the local level. Each project
incorporates the MANTRA values of 100% inclusion, social
equity, gender equity, sustainability, and cost
sharing. In all projects, people identify their own
energy needs, assess the technical and social
feasibility for technology selection, contribute
financially, and participate in the implementation.
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Click on a project below to read more: |
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Biodiesel
Project |
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Micro-hydro
Project |
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'Smokeless'
Chullahs |
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Solar Photovoltaic |
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Wood based Gasifier Project |
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